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seldearAfter reading through the comments on this metaquote, I'm curious.
Someone mentioned being a fat, hairy-legged feminist in the comments, which reminded me of something.
I don't shave my legs. I can count the number of times I've shaved my legs on my two hands without resorting to binary code. (Because, yeah, geeks read this LJ.) The first time it was pure practicality - my cat had serious fleas, I had serious fleabites, and I woke up one night at 3am and shaved my legs in the bathtub so I at least didn't have the hair itching me.
Of course, the housemates had something to say the next morning about the razor and hair in the bathtub. "SEL!"
But all the same, the girls in my church youth group - and my fellow youth group leaders - were fascinated by the fact that I didn't shave my legs. One of the guys said he had to tell his psychology class about this, because all the girls bemoaned the fact that they had to shave their legs, but shaved them anyway.
And the question that people inevitably asked me after the initial disbelieving: "You don't shave your legs?" was, "Are you a feminist?"
To be honest, I just never got in the habit while a teenager and never picked it up. Still haven't. My legs are still hairy. Possibly even hairier because of the occasional shave.
Why is the shaving or not-shaving of legs apparently such a feminist statement?
I honestly never worked it out, because I don't use makeup, wear jewellery, or wear particularly stylish clothing, and none of that is a feminist statement. Yet, not-shaving one's legs is.
Why?
Someone mentioned being a fat, hairy-legged feminist in the comments, which reminded me of something.
I don't shave my legs. I can count the number of times I've shaved my legs on my two hands without resorting to binary code. (Because, yeah, geeks read this LJ.) The first time it was pure practicality - my cat had serious fleas, I had serious fleabites, and I woke up one night at 3am and shaved my legs in the bathtub so I at least didn't have the hair itching me.
Of course, the housemates had something to say the next morning about the razor and hair in the bathtub. "SEL!"
But all the same, the girls in my church youth group - and my fellow youth group leaders - were fascinated by the fact that I didn't shave my legs. One of the guys said he had to tell his psychology class about this, because all the girls bemoaned the fact that they had to shave their legs, but shaved them anyway.
And the question that people inevitably asked me after the initial disbelieving: "You don't shave your legs?" was, "Are you a feminist?"
To be honest, I just never got in the habit while a teenager and never picked it up. Still haven't. My legs are still hairy. Possibly even hairier because of the occasional shave.
Why is the shaving or not-shaving of legs apparently such a feminist statement?
I honestly never worked it out, because I don't use makeup, wear jewellery, or wear particularly stylish clothing, and none of that is a feminist statement. Yet, not-shaving one's legs is.
Why?
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-11 07:53 am (UTC)Well, Yael will someday be old enough to be taught not to grab at the jewellery, and you can wear the jewellery again!