A post about hair

Yes, about hair. And I don´t mean the musical.

I was just logging on in Facebook and saw a post by a fitness-/health-company. They asked their followers on their opinion on a picture of a healthy, happy girl in a dress with armpit hair.
But they didn´t ask just, they kind of implied it was not ok.
"Ran into this in our news feed...HAD to ask you guys your thoughts..." Why do you pst this in the first place? You are a fitness company!


And after looking at the comments I got a bit angry. Gross was a word mentioned often. Especially by guys.
Sure, our society says its not ok. But who says its not ok, to have hair on your legs, your armpits or wherever you like? Girls get hair there, just as the boys, when they hit puberty. While it is ok for guys, its not for girls.

I am not a feminist, but this freaks me out a bit. 
Its my own decision if I do shave, wax, laser or not. It shouldn´t be a problem for anyone that meets, talks or sees me. I don´t get the "hairs are unattractive, unhygienic and not ok" movement. 
Yes, I shave. Yes, I do this because I think it looks nicer. Yes, I might do so because I was told so by society. But this doesn´t mean I need to. Its my goddamn own decision. 

Or maybe it isn´t. And thats why I wanted to share it with you. 
Why I shave and when I shave should be my personal decision. Not something I need to do so I can be accepted. 


The girl/women in the posted picture is Emer. She is a blogger, feminist and activist. She started not to shave her legs, armpits and anything else over a year ago because she realized she hated to do so. But she did it all the time, just to be accepted. So she started a project. And noticed its a struggle, she felt ashamed, the need to hide it and to explain it again and again.
You can find her story and answers to some questions here.

"I stopped shaving because there’s way too much pressure on people to conform to stupid arbitrary gendered bullshit. It had gotten to the point where, rather than just evoking mild theoretical disapproval, that pressure had begun to piss me off on a day to day basis."

I don´t want to start a feminist debate but I thought it was a interesting thought. That shaving ourselves is nothing we only do because we want to (as we might if we wear a dress instead of a jeans or put make-up on) but  something we are supposed to. 
I wondered about this since I was 14. Do I really need to do this to be loved? 
I guess I don´t. And as long as I keep in mind that its my choice to shave or not to shave, I can do whatever I want to. So if I one day decide I will stop, it should be totally ok.


This is just me rambling. I hate it when people judge others- and hair is just that- Hair!
Seeing this being discussed on a fitness-company´s FB-Page made me realize how much pressure we (as in girls and boys) are still facing every day.
That´s why I felt like I needed to spread her message, to tell people there is no NEED to, if you don´t want to and above all: Don´t judge. 
It´s not gross, its not unhealthy, its just normal. Something we all have. So get over with your judgments- I won´t judge you just because you never leave the house without the safety of makeup or nail polish. So please don´t judge anyone who doesn´t want to shave. Maybe they didn´t want to, maybe they thought it wouldn´t matter- and they are right.