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View Poll Results: Are you satisfied with your gender?
Yes 84 69.42%
No 14 11.57%
Not sure 23 19.01%
Voters: 121. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 07-04-2010, 02:04 AM   #151 (permalink)
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The business about shaving and taking care of your appearance... people do it because it's the social norm, why's that a bad thing? It's the social norm for a reason..
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Old 07-04-2010, 02:10 AM   #152 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by VEGANGELICA View Post
Legshaving IS conforming to social stigma. If you were an unshaven woman going out in public, then you would KNOW this, boo hoo.
It's not really social stigma, it's not like having hairy legs would cause a social outcry, it's just not considered attractive but so are a lot of things and with all the fetishes in the world surely you will find someone with a turn on for it.

I wouldn't say I'm being a conformist sheep just because I'm not attracted to unshaven legs, that's just how I feel, I know it's "natural" and all that but I just don't find it aesthically appealing and I consider it way too manly looking and yes I know that sounds bogus coming from someone with a domehead fetish.

But yeah I'm attracted to things like that which are considered freaky and bizarre by most of society and it's something I can never get anyone to understand. I understand what it's like not to fit in. But I don't think you're a bad person if you DO.

As I argued before I think it's an unfair generalization to say all women who shave their legs are being forced to do it, it's a personal choice. Yes it's a vital method in attracting males (and c'mon attracting mates via aesthetics is just animal instinct at work) but why is it a bad thing? Especially if they are satisfied with the results for both aesthetic and yes even comfort reasons?

Again there's nothing wrong with self maintenence, women just shave their legs for the same reason you maintain other parts of your body like hair or teeth or fingernails. You could play the "but guys have hairy legs" card sure but guys also have beards. I guess you could argue that it's unfair that men can be hairy but women are encouraged not to be hairy but I'm sorry, I conform to that view, granted I take it to it's greatest extreme.

If women really hated doing it and deemed it unnecessary I think they would make the same choice as you. As long as you aren't patronizing women who choose to shave their legs. If you're not tolerant of other people's choices you will never be able to eliminate social stigma, you'll only be able to replace it with another.
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Last edited by boo boo; 07-04-2010 at 02:20 AM.
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Old 07-04-2010, 03:32 AM   #153 (permalink)
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I'm content with being a guy. I like not having to deal with pregnancy, menstrual cycles, guys ogling me, higher standards for personal maintenance and the added emotional depth/sensitivity. On the other hand, I don't like that guys are discouraged from showing their emotions as it makes it hard for us to fully open up. I wouldn't confide in my best male mates about some things, but I wouldn't hesitate to approach most of my female friends on those same matters.

I find that I don't really connect with the brusque machoistic (is that even a word?) ideal of man or guys who live up to that... I find it obnoxious. Besides I'm quite quiet, pretty passive and I avoid competition/hostility. Not exactly a paragon of "alpha male dominance", not exactly womanly either
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Old 07-04-2010, 04:11 AM   #154 (permalink)
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Definitely, it is important for people to have choices. But when you claim that women shave simply as a positive "choice" and as personal "maintenance," when the alternative is to be mocked and viewed as hideous, while men can walk around with all their leg hair and no one bats an eye, the sexism of women shaving their hair should be obvious.

What I find sad about women shaving off their "unattractive" body hair as part of "personal hygiene" (when the same hair on a man is perfectly accepted) is that women become the instruments of their own oppression, even defending the practice...says the hairy feminist.
I'm not fond of this attitude, you act like if women make the same choice as you that's the progressive choice and if women don't make that choice that's enabling sexism.

I think that's pretty ridiculous. As heterosexuals we are attracted to those who are different from us in appearance, I don't think establishing physical distinctions between genders is sexism. We just like to be a little different from another. To say some women only get satisfaction from legshaving because they were forced to think that way is an incredibly arrogant point of view. I mean have you seen Tea Supremacist? She's all punk and sh*t, not someone you can pigeon hole into your "sexism slave" category. Any point of view based around the idea of "if they don't share this belief something must be wrong with them" is stupid. It's moral imperialism.

I sympathize with you if you have been ridiculed a lot for your appearance but it's something you chose to do and it's naive to make such condescending assumptions about women for simply not making the same choice. You choose to reveal your hairy legs and isn't that just a plead for attention? And do you not just want other women to join your cause so you won't be alone?

It seems like you're trying to guilt trip other women into your belief system by using the false dilemma fallacy.

There are a lot of civil rights issues women have to do deal with but you're always going after this specific issue for personal reasons and it's such a trivial subject. It's an act of personal maintanence and it's a personal choice just as guys growing beards like Rick Rubin is a personal choice but we'd get ridiculed for that too that doesn't mean that everyone who doesn't have a Rick Rubin beard is "part of the problem".

Just because people ridicule you for choosing not to do it doesnt equate to sexism because men and women alike are considered undesirable if they don't do certain things, like if we don't keep ourselves sexually presentable, but this is truly the case for both sexes. We just happen to associate women with cleanliness and smooth legs is part of that concept, but it's something most women embrace so what's the problem? Should they be FORCED to go grizzly addams just because a few women don't like it? Women who have a choice of their own anyway? Isn't it just easier to do what you wanna do and not give a crap about what other people think about you? If you're SO devoted to being different in the first place why take other people's opinions about you so personally?

Seriously, when you're gonna do something that's very different from what most people do you're gonna get made fun of, that's just the way it is. But telling the world that they need to adapt to your world view is pretentious, are you for sure that isn't the reason people pick on you?

Instead of forcing your beliefs on others, the next time someone calls you Sasquatch legs tell them to f*ck off, problem solved.

I mean if you're so devoted to defying beauty conventions then why is this the one that's so important? Hair is also a part of social stigma and conformity is it not but you still have your hair, so by your logic women can only be truly free if they shave their heads right? Well guess what. Just because I think a planet of bald chicks would be kickass doesn't mean I have the right to try and convince women that hair is bad. I dig my thing and everyone digs theirs and that's just fine.
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I only listen to Santana when I feel like being annoyed.
I only listen to you talk when I want to hear Emo performed acapella.

Last edited by boo boo; 07-04-2010 at 04:25 AM.
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Old 07-04-2010, 06:12 AM   #155 (permalink)
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I would be interested, Tea Supremicist and Burning Down, to hear your opinions on why you shave if you stopped shaving, went out in public in shorts or a tank top, and experienced people's reactions to your leg and underarm hair (their stares, their cruel comments).

Maybe people in the UK and Canada don't react like they do in the U.S., but after facing ridicule as one does here, I think it would be hard for a woman to say she truly shaves because she WANTS to. Rather, I think she would admit that she shaves because she knows that if she doesn't, she will be ridiculed, and SHE HAS BEEN TAUGHT TO BELIEVE THAT HER BODY HAIR IS UGLY!!!!!! After all, if a woman LIKED her leg and underarm hair, would she shave it off? So, why doesn't she like it?? THAT'S the important question to answer.
Unfortunately for me, in the area I live in I don't really conform to the 'correct' image anyway. With the tattoos, weird haircuts and general attitude I have I'm commonly known around here as 'that dyke' or (my personal favourite) 'that freak'. I can't walk down the road without having to walk past at least one person who will comment on my appearance in a cruel way. I'm used to it now (I've never been one to conform, but not in a scary Lady Gaga way ) and I can genuinely say it really doesn't bother me. So, added to that, if I stopped shaving my legs and underarms, it would just be yet another thing for the 'locals' to pounce on - this could all be down to the fact that I live in a small village because I get less comments when I venture into the bright lights. I'm not really sure it would affect me that much. But as I said earlier, it feels nice. There's nothing better than having a long bath and feeling all smooth and moisturised and soft! I agree that it is a social norm and that it is expected of women, from other women and men alike, but for me part of it is taking pride in my appearance (even if nobody else seems to like it!) which is important to me because if I feel that I look nice and have made the effort for myself then I feel good. If that makes any sense...
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Old 07-04-2010, 06:17 AM   #156 (permalink)
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If women really hate shaving their legs that much just do what my sister does which is stop whining about being persecuted & just buy a pair of f*cking trousers.
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Old 07-04-2010, 07:21 AM   #157 (permalink)
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There have been quite a few girls/women on here comment that they really feel they have been held back by their gender. Now, I can certainly see how in many, MANY situations, being female makes things a little more difficult for me, but I honestly can not come up with a single instance where I was actually denied an opportunity because of being female (aside from certain religious ceremonies or rituals I was denied entrance to while travelling, but that's a pretty isolated and obscure situation). I'm really curious to know how you were actually held back from a specific goal?
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Old 07-04-2010, 07:40 AM   #158 (permalink)
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Mo'nique got something to say y'all.

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Old 07-04-2010, 07:46 AM   #159 (permalink)
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There have been quite a few girls/women on here comment that they really feel they have been held back by their gender. Now, I can certainly see how in many, MANY situations, being female makes things a little more difficult for me, but I honestly can not come up with a single instance where I was actually denied an opportunity because of being female (aside from certain religious ceremonies or rituals I was denied entrance to while travelling, but that's a pretty isolated and obscure situation). I'm really curious to know how you were actually held back from a specific goal?
Im really curious to know some of the responses to this too. I am not going to claim that we are completely equal in all walks of life just yet because i dont believe we are quite there yet but in our average, day-to-day life i just dont happen to be seeing women being held back. I dont see women losing jobs, failing to get a job or frankly any other instance of women actually unfairly losing out on an opportunity or being held back simply for the reason that they are female. If this is not always the case then i would be very interested to hear some stories the women here may have.
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Old 07-04-2010, 07:59 AM   #160 (permalink)
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In lesser developed countries, it's not uncommon for women to live in constant fear of rape and abuse, even female circumcision. Living in England or other well off countries, it's easy to assume the sexes are equal, or at least almost equal, but some countries are two worlds away from that ideal.
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