“A woman should wear fragrance wherever she expects to be kissed”-Coco Chanel
Laura Reynolds looks at some of the cheapest beauty products available
At last! It's June! Time for lazy afternoons spent lying on the grass drinking Pimms, watching the baby geese turn into teenage geese. Exams have almost finished, so surely in these last few weeks of term we should all be relaxing in the sun and going to Willow more than is good for us.
But sadly, these recreations require a sacrifice to the Gods Of Summer. Wearing hoodies and forgivingly draped knitwear is no longer socially acceptable. Convention demands some suitably retro sunglasses teamed with (gulp) minimal clothing. It's time to bring out those dusty shorts and sundresses that have been lurking at the back of the wardrobe. The miniskirts and vest tops are back. At some point it may even be necessary to don a bikini. If you're anything like me, summer crept up on you while you were looking the other way in the run up to exams. And you still haven't lost that weight from Easter like you were going to. And now it's probably too late because your housemates are planning a trip to the beach as you speak.
And that isn't all. It's impossible to get away with unshaven legs. Pasty skin has to be fake-tanned away. Make-up starts melting and making you look like a sagging waxwork. Hair goes frizzy in the heat. Sun cream must duly be applied. If you burn then you have to spend hours anointing yourself with aftersun to avoid unsightly peeling. It's all very stressful and upsetting. But even if there was time to fix all of these things, would it really be worth it?
The answer is: definitely not. But that doesn't stop us from devouring those articles that appear at this time of year in every trashy magazine, entitled "How to get the Perfect Beach Body". For some bizarre reason they always seem to hold up Kelly Brook as a model of what we poor readers are struggling to attain. Every time I see a picture of that woman frolicking in the waves with a perfect golden tan I lose the desire to ever leave my bedroom again. The message we tend to take from these articles is that summer is a time when the beautiful people go out and have fun whilst wearing as little as possible, and the rest of us either cringe in shame or go to obscene lengths to feel unembarrassed by our bodies.
This is a stupid state of affairs, and the only way to improve matters is by throwing caution to the wind and going outside unashamedly to bare those unshaven legs. Chances are no one will even be looking. Why should we let other people have all the fun just because we're embarrassed about the spare tyre we have knocking around? Surely everyone has some kind of hang-up about how they look, and now that summer's here it's time for us all to face our demons. Your friends should love you no matter how freckly you get, and as for everyone else, who cares?
Well, if the near-universal (male and female) aversion to female body-hair is not understood, it can not be commented on, and your incomprehension is therefore, as you say, beside the point.
I think the article is OK and I think some people (including men) get far too stressed about what they look like with their kit off in the sun. We're all grown-ups and I think we are quite, quite able to handle each other's inability to match up to media-perfect. In other words, I'm not sure there is a huge problem.
However, chastising people who object to a *celebration* of female obesity and hairiness, or oddly enthusiastic descriptions of sweaty groins, is childish and massively unrealistic. (Although, I would respectfully advise other commenters to take Gillian's apparent stance as anti-hero exhibitionist as I have: it is amusing and nothing more.)
My point was that going out with a bit of belly flab and unshaven legs: not a problem. 'sweaty groin': crossing the line
@ Spelling - 'oddly enthusiastic descriptions of sweaty groins'...OK read my comment again. I am saying would rather go out with hairy legs than wear tights in summer and get sweaty. I can't believe I have to reiterate this but...I don't want a sweaty groin.
I am not an 'anti-hero exhibitionist'; I get angry and upset if anonymous people who don't know me tell me I'm disgusting for agreeing that body hair can be OK (and for mentioning the words 'sweaty groin' - well, excuse me!)It's an immense pressure to get over - if you feel uncomfortable removing your body hair, you might feel more uncomfortable opening yourself to insults like I have received here, so it is heartening to read an article that 'celebrates hairiness.'
And what is wrong with that? Accepting your body has hair? It isn't childish to challenge people who find it disgusting; if no one did, comments like the ones I personally received here would never be challenged and people who are quite happy with body hair might believe they are unchallengable. They aren't.
Make you mind up! You said:
"I go out with unshaven legs (and underarms) and my belly hanging out in the summer, and not one person has ever looked at me with disgust or made comment. And if they had, I would have literally not given one shit."
So in person, it would be fine, but on an internet forum, you can't handle it?
I am not sure why you get so angry so easily. The comments you refer to express an opinion contrary to yours. If people find your hairiness unpleasant (or as others have pointed out, general female hairiness, not specifically yours), why can't they say so? You were at liberty to say you approve of female hairiness, why are they not at liberty to register disapproval of it? Aren't these articles able to accommodate vigorous disagreement?
People do not have to know you to have the right to say that hairy women are offensive to them. It is a concept. It would not ameliorate my view that hairiness in women is unpleasant if I knew you well and liked you.
Accepting that 'your body has hair'? What? Logic? I accept that my body has hair, but I shave my face. By your logic, all men in Western society would look like the Taliban. Knowing that my face produces hair does not lead me to make a moral judgement that I should not shave it because it is there. So what if it has hair? Do you object to the 90% plus of men who defy nature by habitually removing it?
I quite agree that we should shave or not shave as we like. But my concept of liberty also allows others to find one or the other yucky.
Aside from this, I return to my original point, which is not my personal distaste at female hairiness, but rather the amusing predictablity of a feminist grasping joyfully at one of the most cliched of feminist memes.
I'm a lot older than you. I remember feminists shouting at young women on campus for having shaved their legs! I'm sure you wouldn't do that and things have moved on a lot since those days. But your exhortation that it is OK to hang your belly out and have hairy legs reminded me a bit of some of the attitudes then. Of course it is OK. But it is also OK to say yuck now. (It wasn't then...but we know more about personal liberty now and are tougher now on bullying campus ideologues.)
Why do I give a shit here and not in person? Cos a) anonymous cowards and b) I was calling them out on their hypocrisy - 'oh good article but GILLIAN YOU FEMINAZI!'
People absolutely do NOT have the right to call me (and it was specifically ME, you'll note) 'wrong' and 'disgusting' in my appearance without expecting a damn good fight back. Especially if you have no knowledge of my appearance!
David, when was the last time you felt the pressure to remove your hair? I'm willing to bet you never stayed indoors instead of going out because you'd run out of wax strips; you've never felt like crying because you looked in the mirror and realised you'd forgotten to shave your armpits; and you have never been told by strangers that the unavoidable growth of bodily hair is repugnant (but only on arbitrary parts of the body).
It took a hell of a lot of strength for me to get over the pressure I've been under all my life and decide not to remove my body hair. My aim is to INCREASE the choice women have, not to DECREASE it (re. the 2nd wavers shouting at women who'd shaved their legs). If I ever thought I lived in a society where no-one really cared about my body hair, you've all proved me wrong.
No, I don't give a shit if you think I'm disgusting. But I sure as hell give a shit that a woman might read the comments above and think they're unchallengable and the only view out there.
But they do expect a damn good fight back. So they retain the right to express distaste. No-one is saying you can't or shouldn't defend your position, are they?
Folks have no knowledge of your appearance? *You* are telling them about your appearance. It was in your first post. They are responding.
For a large number of Yorker users, anonymity is a good idea. When that anonymity is used to express opposition or anger, it does not necessarily equal cowardice. This is a subject very dear to my heart. Well over half of under-25s have not got the slightest clue how your future employers and God knows who else will use the trail of fun stuff, rantings, photos and other stuff you lot leave in your wake on the web, Twitter, FB and so on. While to some Yorker anonymity may equate to cowardice, to me it equates to prudence. Whether light-hearted or vigorous in debate, many people do not do themselves any favours at all with a superficially laudible but ultimately mistaken openness and transparency. And then there are stalkers! It is not discovery by you they are guarding against. If you are going to have a seriously out-there web presence, better make sure it is spotless. Sorry, but I think it is an easy, lazy and obvious jibe to have a pop at their anonymity.
You're too emotional. Chill. You won't ever win debates with this level of anger, capitals, double and triple exclamation/question marks.
Sigh yes,yes. Preach prudence and control whilst you deliberalty provoke with phrases like Gillian, you do make me giggle! Are you real? Had you been 15 years older, I'd accuse you of aping Millie Tant for uni-based larks. Classic! and I would respectfully advise other commenters to take Gillian's apparent stance as anti-hero exhibitionist as I have: it is amusing and nothing more. Provoke emotion and you get emotion.
Anonymity when expressing hurtful or derogatory comments can only be described as 'prudent' if you think it's right that people can say such things and not get any consequences (like the ones you pointed out). Avoidance of consequences = cowardice.
Bored now. As, I suspect, is everyone else on The Yorker.
Oh, take the banter on the chin, woman. C'mon. You knew perfectly well that you were going to get into a ruck when you gave the thumbs up for women with hairy pits, which is why you did it.
As for everyone else...I wouldnae like to speculate!
You off, are you? Erecting a sign in your garden that reads 'Do not throw stones at this sign', no doubt. 
Tra!
comment deleted by the author Just happened across another article in which the same commenters make an appearance. There seems an odd culture developing on this site whereby some people attack other commenters anonymously for views expressed/hinted at on completely distinct articles. It could even be described, in some cases here, as mild bullying.
So as much as, David Spelling, you believe we all leave too much of an internet footprint these days, I think that's a bit of a non sequitur. I, for example, am posting anonymously for a few reasons, one of which is that if I ever comment again on another Yorker article, I don't want trolls sniping that I'm such a feminist/leftie hypocrite/idiot because of one comment. Not sure how The Yorker people feel about this, I guess there's not much you can do about it. But it seems like such a juvenile attitude to have.
Not wanting to tag onto the end of the heated set of comments on this article, I was going to refrain from posting, but I just wanted to bring up something unrelated to the discussion but related to the article - it's a good piece and I can clearly see the author wanted to get across an encouraging, who-cares vibe designed to question aesthetic conventions and instill courage in the reader who can relate to these worries. I'm just a bit concerned with the unspoken 'them and us' feeling this article seems to generate: girls who stoop to such measures to 'look good' and those who don't and shouldn't feel bad about not doing so, whom you seem to be addressing. There's no reason to be dismissive of those who do exercise or wax or whatever, even if they only do so to fulfil society's concept of beauty. If feels like by saying 'so what' to the lack of a beach body is here also a way to somehow state your superiority and disdain for those who do strive for it. Ofcourse, this may not have been the author's intent, but a clearer tone may have helped in persuading us that this isn't just someone having a bit of a rant about those who, unlike them, may just be able to lay off that second doughnut and not live in fear of being dubbed a slave to societal expectations.
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