Consider this

[Susan]

In view of the recent controversy over facial hair in pictures, I ask you all to read this on today's Guardian newspaper web site.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... acial-hair

I must admit to being surprised my self. It certainly educated me.

[DonnaT]

The logic of Hairy Awarey is that if enough of us give up the tweezers, the sight of body and facial hair on women will be normalised and any stigma will eventually disappear. But is it really that easy?

Definitely not that easy. Same for being trans.

[April Rose]

Looks like a tough row to hoe. But I love them for trying. Anything that rips the crap out of "traditional" values I'm in favor of. I'm a homely, balding man in a dress. Why should I be afraid of hairy women?

[Andrea Elise]

While growing up I teased my sister, without mercy, about her mustache. She only hated it when I brought it up and never did anything about it through the years.

It really wasn't that big of an issue.

But to tweeze and pluck everyday to live up to yet another issue forced by society is just silly. I do it because I hate hair, but only on me.

I keep trying to simplify my life. I begin to understand that most of lifes complexity has been shoved at me by others. It no longer surprises me that, for the most part, I prefer my own company.

[DanteCarrie (FTM)]

erm Julie Bindel the author of that piece has been known in the past as been very anti trans, anti men, anti gay marriage and not actually a lesbian.
Mainly because she says she chose to be a lesbian and its not inherent and she chose it because men are oppressors and any sex with a man is rape by its very nature. and gay people shouldn't want marriage as its copying straights and why should they want to be like that and trans people are trying to steal rights from real women............
yeah shes crazy so any article from her i just would suggest you avoid.
Also any article that starts with as a proud lesbian feminist is clearly written by someone very self righteous and a bit of a prick.
but yes i do support women being hairy mainly because naturally we are just not so much as men and ancient cave men thought nothing of it back when we didn't shave they probably would have been freaked out by a shaved women and feared her to be stricken with somesort of illness.
hair removable is exhausting for either gender and should only be done if you do it cas you really want to for fun occasion and not feel as if you have to to be sexy. cas women look fine with hairy legs and men look fine with hairy faces whatever they wear i recon at least.
Beard Lover!

[Andrea Elise]

DanteCarrie, thank you for your insight regarding the author of the article.
Over the years I have had just about every style of beard/facial hair. I think as part of my denial mechanism and that is why I have tried to get rid of it.
I have seen some women with shaved head and I think it can look sexy. On others, not so much. Same with guys. And some guys facial hair styles look just plain stupid (to me).
But the freedom to do that is priceless. What society imposes on us, I think is exactly that, an imposition.

[DanteCarrie (FTM)]

NP it was at first just what I heard about her from others then read some of stuff specifically on sexuality and feminism and it was really bloody creepy but yeah just something to keep in mind when reading doesn't mean this article is bad just that shes bonkers LOL but yeah i think you are right some people have weird shaped heads so bald not so great

[Michelle Miller]

yeah shes crazy so any article from her i just would suggest you avoid.

This is the sad fact of the media today, regardless of the form it shows up in, print, television, radio, whatever, controversy, strife and finger pointing sells advertising, and keeps these hate mongering pot hole in the public spotlight.

[DanteCarrie (FTM)]

indeed i also find it weird that the guardian employ her and continue to i mean they are kinda left wingish and its as if they think having her is their liberal LGBT author but she really isn't shes terribly aggressive and rude in some of her older pieces I believe stonewall gave her an award and many many trans people rioted and protested because of hateful things that she had said about them in an article i also find it weird that she won anything from them maybe they missed the article where she says she chose to be gay and its not inherent and all women should be. bizarre

[Leeza]

Thanks Dante,

Often it is helpful the have some background on the auther. At least with that info you can have an idea of the slant of the piece.

Leeza

[Absaroka]

I didn't bother to read the article but in general I think any time society turns its fashion preferences into iron clad rules its a bad thing.

I know a number of women who don't shave leg or underarm hair on principle, and kind of admire them for that.

Zari

[Ms Zoe]

I would like to go back to the first line of Susan's original post and just say that the one thing that all of us have in common here is the fact that we are all practicing a form of self expression. We choose to express who we are in a way that we should all be able to understand. I would feel differently if the controversy centered around something that was not maintaining a "modecum of decorum" but it isn't. This controversy is about someone's form of expression that someone else did not agree with. To this I say, Get over it. My oinion is that,if you don't agree with something that hasn't exceeded any previously stated boundaries, just choose to disagree without any remarks that would be construed as hurtful or demeaning. There is a whole big part of the world out there, my sisters that would and do take great pleasure in demeaning us without us doing it to ourselves.

[Elizabeth]

Hi girls,

I don't know if anyone really thought about it or not, but the whole idea of women shaving body hair is a fairly recent event in the history of mankind. The idea of shaving armpit hair started in France in the 1920's.

You have to remember, women really did not have an opportunity to show their legs or armpits, much less bikini lines until the mid 20th century, other than the sleeveless look of the Flappers in the 1920's.

So while I do identity my body hair as being masculine, I don't feel the same way about GG's. Growing up in Wyoming, where there is two seasons, winter and 4th of July, I became used to seeing females who only shaved their legs in the summer months.

So while I admittedly like clean shaven legs and hairless armpits and bikini line, it's certainly not a deal breaker for me. It's all about what each person feels is right for them.

Love always,
Elizabeth

[Susan]

Elizabeth,

You make a very good point. Its very hard to realise how much things have changed in the past 100 years.

Thank you