I am off to parlour to color my hair and strip myself raw with hot wax. It’s my bestie’s wedding. And, I want to look flawless. Did I say flawless? Aah the dilemma of a new bie feminist! I belong to the tribe of young women who have understood that our previous generation of women have been handed a raw deal.
We are reclaiming our identity by questioning every convention. One of the many dos for women is to have smooth, buttery bodies, without even a strand of hair visible on it. We have been loyally following this rule, without voicing our opinions about it.
Cut to present, we are confused as to why are we mindlessly following these “rules.”
Waxing is painful ladies. There, I said it! I don’t mind the after-effects. But going through the same cycle month after month, and mind you very many times it’s not for ourselves. The whole exercise seems tiring. I am not against grooming. In fact women or even men, who prefer hairless bodies are not being dissed in this post. My only question is why point out a finger at women, who choose to embrace their body hair.
So, hair on my head is good. But on my body is crass and unfeminine, why so sir/ma’am? My body hair makes me look unattractive. Or does your myopic vision regarding beauty.
I must also admit that there are times when I notice women passing snide remarks or implicitly shaming their fellow mates for being hairy. Again, WHY? Why does a natural body feature irks us so much?
It’s easy to talk of self-love and embracing one’s true self. But, applying that in our lives, seems a bit difficult. I can say for myself that I simply adore women who have an unabashed and unconventional take towards beauty. They not only preach but follow them. Sadly, I have not yet evolved to be comfortable ‘in my skin.’ Not to the extent that I embrace my hairy self among my peers in public. *guilty* And that is hypocrite,I must admit.
If you admit (to yourself) this fact, half the battle is won. Take inspiration from these young women , who are smashing patriarchy with one creativity at a time.
Gender Pages Project is a safe space created for young artists and activists to talk about gender and art. Co-Created by Vanika Sharma and Shirin Choudhary, they feature some of the most amazing, thought-provoking creatives from different women. Including poems, monologues with pictures worth a thousand words. If you derive strength from these free-spirited women, your life won’t go on explaining yourself, even when it is not needed.
I hope to get as unabashed as these women. I have made a start. The leap of faith I took last year, was to not wax my legs. Didn't do it out of compulsion but frankly speaking, laziness. Must say, it was all in my mind. Nobody was bothered. Even if they did, nobody mustered the courage to smirk on my face at my unfeminine quality. I rocked a LBD (little black dress) with hairy legs in a party. So, I am slowly and steadily learning to celebrate my body hair. No kidding, it will take time. Till then, parlour awaits :)
Check out these reasons Why you must shave your body hair?
And, also What is it like to roam in public with body hair? these women share their stories.