PMS depilation

[ailbhe]

One of the things PMS does to me is makes me look in the mirror (which is unusual enough) and loathe what I see (very unusual indeed) and particularly loathe my lack of femininity (mm, quite, Ailbhe as masculine, yes indeed) and have a strong urge to depilate the feminine minimum - underarms and lower legs.

Normally, I quash this urge with a strong dose of militant feminism and a strict talking to about setting the example of being comfortable with my body image for my infant daughters. And it passes within twenty-four hours.

This month I succumbed and shaved. And remembered why it's such an awful idea. It felt better for less than two hours, and then it got really annoying, and as it grows back, it's getting worse and worse - the growing-back effect is annoying enough I may do something drastic just to avoid having to tolerate it, like, ew, shaving again.

The only upside is I feel slightly more confident in a skirt or dress which shows my lower legs, and really, that's part of why I DON'T shave normally. Me and my hairy ankles have a right to learn to feel comfortable in public.

Ho hum. Ailbhe, tool of the patriarchy, strikes again.

Comments

[clarahippy.livejournal.com]

I let my leg hair grow completely over the winter and became quite happy with it. First time ever since it is really quite dark. However I did buckle once the sun came out and I found myself avoiding skirts or dresses which would show the hairiness off.

I definitely feel more pressure to shave from other women than from men, in fact in my personal sphere of life there is zero male pressure to shave. I also couldn't care less what men thought but I shaved because I knew I would be judged by female friends and colleagues otherwise. To be honest this is what makes me sad about hair removal and why I experimented with stopping it over the summer. I find this really really sad.

I do shave underarms but that is purely because I find it more physically comfortable because otherwise I feel quite sweaty (probably TMI sorry!).

[hilarityallen.livejournal.com]

I similarly have found other women pressure me more to shave. I do tend to shave legs if I'm wearing a skirt, but most of the time I wear trousers. And I feel quite bad that I give in to the pressure to shave, as I feel it should be my choice, and not a matter of feeling I can't deal with the social consequences.