Shave It Or Save It!?

A Brief History of the Art of Shaving.

The art of removing body hair began long long ago. Records on ancient cave walls depict prehistoric people using clamshells, flint knives, and even sharks teeth to shave unwanted hair. Circular solid gold or copper razors can be found as far back as the 4^th millennium BC in Egyptian tombs.

In the 4^th century BC Alexander The Great encouraged his men to shave so enemies couldn’t grab their beards during melees.

In 1847, William Henson invented the hoe-shaped razor. In 1895, King Camp Gillette, a traveling salesman, combined this shape with the idea of a disposable double-edged blade. He wanted to create a product one would need, use, throw away, and then need again (a true capitalist). And thus, the disposable razor was born.

For more history check out this awesome article. 

WHY WOMENSHAVE:

Underarms: In 1915,  “Harpers Bazaar” an extremely popular ad magazine,  published an add for a sleeveless dress; the first dress of it's kinds. However, in order to wear it, the publishers first decree that women must see to “the removal of objectionable hair” and by the early 1920’s underarm hair was so last decade.

Legs: The 1940’s rolled around and hemlines become short, tights became sheerer, and the rise of pin-ups, such as Betty Grable, began shaving their legs hairs. A trend that caught on quickly. 

Vagina:For hundreds of years, bikini wax has been a common practice of Muslim women. The night before the wedding, brides-to-be removed all of their body hair, yes all of it. Some women stick with the practice throughout their marriage and some Muslim men joined in. 

And thus was born the social norm of becoming a naked mole rat upon puberty. Personally, I don’t care about body hair. I am a woman and should not be made to feel bad about hair on my body, especially because there are no proven health benefits to shaving. The only reason women shave is because an add in a magazine in 1915 told us to. And you know who wrote that add? A man!  As is so typical of our patriarchal infrastructure, one man, almost 100 years ago,  decided that all women should shave their underarms because he found it, “objectionable”. Well I object to men telling us what to do with our bodies! Don’t get me wrong I’m not all natural but I do go days without shaving the pits and, candidly speaking, I can’t remember the last time I shaved my legs. Ladies, can I let you in on a little secret? Men really do not care if you’re shaven down there! And if they do, they don't deserve to see it in the first place! Acceptance is sexy and so are lovely lady locks. So shave it or save it, it's up to you!