Women put down razors for No Shave November
Epic beards come to life for No Shave November, but that doesn’t mean people who can’t grow one can’t join the fun.
Lily Palmer, vice president of the Utah State University Perspectives club, and her roommate Holly Robinson, a sophomore in social work, made their legs a razor-free zone for No Shave November. This is their first time participating.
“I wanted to try it just because if guys get to grow out their beards and not shave, then I think girls should be able to grow their leg hair,” Palmer said.
Going natural doesn’t come without its nuisances, Palmer said. Her legs get dry and itchy, long hairs poke through leggings, and sometimes it’s tempting to cave in.
Robinson, on the other hand, enjoys not having to keep up an extensive shaving routine.
“I like it. I take shorter showers, save water,” Robinson said.
Despite the convenience of not shaving, society gives men more free reign on what they can do with their body hair. For some men, shaving is optional. For some women, shaving feels mandatory.
While all genders hold grooming and appearance standards, women have a much narrower line to walk in terms of what is acceptable, said Erin Hofmann, assistant professor of sociology at Utah State University.
“Women are punished more for social sanctions when they don’t conform to this narrow view of what physical attractiveness should be,” Hofmann said.
An online meme reads, “Women who participate in No Shave November will also participate in No D December,” implying that women who grow their body hair are repulsive to men.
Hofmann referenced media set in a post-apocalyptic world, such as “The Walking Dead,” as an example of grooming expectations. Men grow beards to depict that they are going through a rough time. On the contrary, women are never shown with underarm hair or bushy eyebrows.
“It’s not too gross to show a decomposing body, but armpit hair? There’s this sort of social disgust for women’s body hair that doesn’t exist for men,” Hofmann said.
As for why women are held to a higher standard, people can only speculate.
“We’re supposed to be seen as the more feminine, clean gender. I don’t know why. Having no hair is seen as pretty for some reason,” Palmer said. “It’s a big deal, too, if women don’t shave. They’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh! Look how hairy your legs are!’ But if you never shaved, they would be real hairy.”
On top of societal norms, the No Shave November movement in general is depicted as a boys’ club, Hofmann said.
No Shave November’s website does not specify that participants have to be men. However, mustaches and beards are exclusively depicted on their merchandise, while hairy legs are absent.
There is a battle of the sexes element as well, Hofmann said. No Shave November is commonly depicted as men growing beards in order to defy their girlfriends or wives. The first result in Urban Dictionary for “No Shave November” ends with, “But the real men among us will not only not shave but will have sex anyway, once again proving the theory that women are always wrong.”
“I think women get signals from the movement as well that they’re not entirely welcome,” Hofmann said.
Some women challenge this idea by choosing not to shave. They may decide against shaving because it’s generally time-consuming and expensive. It’s not uncommon for women to cut down on shaving during the colder months, when legs are bundled in pants and boots.
“Lily and I have a joke. Don’t shave in any of the ‘r’ months, in any month but summer,” Robinson said.
Others don’t shave to make a statement, whether it’s a feminist statement or to express solidarity for cancer patients who lost their hair during chemotherapy.
Regardless of how body hair is kept, it’s all okay, Palmer said.
“I just think if you have leg hair, if you don’t have leg hair, if you have arm hair or if you’re a girl and you have chest hair, or whatever you have, I think it’s perfectly fine. I don’t think you should shave just because people think it’s pretty,” Palmer said.
— whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu
@omgwhitshutup