Broad Spectrum

It’s a fact of life: women have body hair. Yes, I said it. We have body hair. Why does this topic make people so uncomfortable when our own bodies naturally grow it? Why is it socially acceptable for men to have body hair and not women? Why do we have to go through the agonizing process of shaving? These are questions that I have often pondered, and I can’t seem to come up with good reasons as to why girls shave their leg, armpit, and pubic hair. All I do know is society is brainwashing us into thinking our own body hair is gross and unsightly.

As women’s skirts began to rise in the 1920s, so did (literally) the rise of shaving. Society decided women’s legs should be smooth and hairless. But why? Up until the 1920s women did not even think of picking up a razor and shaving the hair on their bodies. Their hair was accepted because it was unseen by the public eye. If you think about it, body hair is not a masculine quality. Female bodies grow it as well.

Why does society think it’s okay to make women revert back to looking like prepubescent girls? We are not children. We are women. Body hair is a physical sign of womanhood. It’s natural. It’s raw. And it’s beautiful. The standards of beauty that are projected today are unrealistic and damaging to our generation of young girl’s. Society makes us believe that we have to look a certain way to be considered beautiful. (Pick up a copy of Seventeen Magazine and you will see.) But it’s not true. If you believe you are beautiful, that confidence will radiate through your inner being and shine out in beams all around you. Confidence is the key.

Now, I am not saying that all of you must burn your razors and bras. I am not some sort of radical hippie who is trying to make you conform to my ways. I am merely bringing to your attention some of my own personal thoughts. For a long time I struggled with my own body image issues. I took up running last year to try and lose weight, but I got discouraged after about three months. After that, I began to gain all of the weight I had lost, back. I went into a slight depression. I hated trying on clothes and looking in the mirror. But a couple of months ago, I decided that enough is enough. I started my own personal campaign of total self love and acceptance. Now I am not saying I am totally, 100% comfortable with my body. I still get the occasional thought of self-doubt. But I am much better than I was. My first step on that journey was to stop shaving for a while and learn to love my honest, God-given body. If you only take one thing away from this article, take this: You don’t have to shave, lose weight, or wear certain clothes to be beautiful. You ARE beautiful. You are uniquely YOU. Do not let society control your confidence. YOU ARE IN CONTROL.

-Olivia Hendrick