Shaving

I started shaving my legs when I was 12 years old. All my friends had started shaving prior to this, but I was holding out. I didn't want to start, as I knew it would mean that I'd have to do it forever. It was the end of sixth grade. I had a dance recital in June and everyone was pressuring me to shave. So I did. I don't remember much about those early years except lots of blood, cuts and band aids. I was an adamant leg shaver. I hated stubble. I would shave everyday to every other day during high school. I eventually got better at shaving, not perfect though. I got scared once in the shower and took a 3 inch strip of skin off. The bathtub was full of blood and I had to pick the skin out of the drain. And I then had a conversation with my grandfather about how I could never been a stripper. It happens. For the most part though, I have kept my legs smooth. I never let the hair get too long, I always shaved if I was going to be wearing shorts, a typical girl I suppose.

This summer, when I got home from school I decided to stop shaving my legs. I was too lazy, too enraged with "the man" and just not in the mood to conform to what society wanted me to be. At first it wasn't a big deal. At first no one noticed. The hair got long enough not to bother me. It wasn't rough or scratchy. It was noticeable. I tried to wear less shorts so as to be less offensive. Then my mothers birthday rolled around and we went to get pedicures. I was informed before we went that I had to shave my legs, I was not raised this way, and that I could do whatever I wanted when I was in New York City, but when I was home I would be shaving. So I shaved my legs from the knee down. I did this because I didn't want to rock the boat, so to speak, and I also didn't seem to have much of a choice. I then started to let it grow again. For the same reasons as before, but this time also to prove that I could. So I let it grow. It went through the stages and got long again. Was soft and basically no bother. I started swimming and people started to notice. My mother was horrified. My family friends were horrified. Some of my friends didn't comment, others raised their eyebrows, others only briefly mentioned it and then moved on.

So after one particularly irritating day at the pool I shaved my legs. I hacked all of the hair off. I have yet to let it grow back in such a way, though its quite easy and maybe even a little tempting sometimes. So I never knew it would be such an issue to have hairy legs. I never thought I would be criticized so much for it. Men don't shave their body hair. Why do women have to? Is it some fixation on women being pure and virginal, perhaps child like and pre-pubescent? Am I make wild assumptions about this. Maybe. But I don't understand why I received so much flack for a decision that affects no one but myself. My legs, as I shaved them today, are nice and hair free. They probably will remain hair free. I will continue to shave even though it would be so easy to slip back into not shaving, into having hairy legs. I myself like when my legs are smooth. But that's probably only because that is what I have been conditioned to like. As have most other people in society. Since I am now a clean and civil, and hair free member of society, come and get me! I'm all you've ever wanted, minus the hairy arm pits.