Body Hair and Advertisements

History of Shaving

It is an expectation for women to shave. But this wasn't always the case. The idea was only popularized in the roaring 20s when women began to wore clothes that revealed more skin. Body hair was promoted as an "embarrassment" so companies could capitalize off the newly invented insecurity of body hair.

I find this interesting but very frustrating at the same time. The hours and perhaps days we spend shaving (if we add it up for a lifetime), derived from capitalism and the patriotic society where women's beauty standards are formed to please the male gaze.

I hate shaving with a passion and it makes me angry that it is part of the standard package to live without 'feeling embarrassed' in modern society.

The Roaring 20s

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Shaving Underarms

"In the 1920s, sleeveless women's dresses were increasingly becoming popular. Fashion was the first instance that made women began shaving their hair. Thus, removing the hair underarms became a priority. Before then, no one was shaving these parts. Even people considered the word underarm as outrageous. During this time Gillette invented Milady Décolleté, and they started a movement labeled Anti-underarm Campaign. Its purpose was to educate women about the importance of shaving their underarms and why they should use razors to do it."

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Shaving Legs

"In the 1940s and 50s, women were more encouraged to shave their legs hair. Since it was the time of World War 11, there was a shortage of nylon; therefore, they could not wear stockings every single day. Meaning, the only alternative was to walk barelegged while else people considered it unacceptable socially. When the society warmed up to the idea, women began shaving their legs to look neat.

Formerly, dancers were the only ones who were shaving their legs since people were obviously paying attention to them. Skirts gained popularity in the 1950s. Women were now showing much of the leg which prompted to shave their legs, armpits and tweeze their eyebrows. With this tremendous improvement, men weren't expected to shave anything."

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"For many years, people never cared about shaving their pubic hair until the birth of the bikini in 1946. Between the 1960s and 1970s, trimming took a different twist, and women were discouraged from trimming. In the 1980s, they were now encouraged on trimming and even to do a thorough shave.

During this period, videos and images of women who had shaved pubis were in circulation through fashion photography, which made women give it a thought. In 1987, Brazilian wax hit the market and salons started offering complete waxing. From then on, the idea of wax reached to people through word of mouth."

My views on this topic... For a while, the idea of shaving has irritated me but it is an undeniable fact that it boosts my confidence. Is there a way to deconstruct this beauty standard of the ideal 'shaved body' that is so deeply engraved in us? Or do I take the easy route and feel confident by conforming to the societal standard? It is complex and irritating to even think of. It is hard to find what makes me happy when I am convinced of these standards.

Research This page is part of the collection 'Part 2'.

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