I waver back and forth on shaving my legs. I’ve been this way for years. For about two years while I was in college the only thing on my body I shaved was my head. I had an awesome Mohawk, and shaggy legs and pits. It was kind of the reverse of what I was supposed to be doing.

I’m interested in questioning and challenging the status quo. Why should women shave their legs? What is up with that? Women have no visible leg or armpit hair until they start puberty, then they start to shave it off. So for a woman to shave her legs and armpits is to reduce her appearance to that of a prepubescent girl. There is something deeply creepy about this.

Perhaps you haven’t thought about it like this. Perhaps this is just a little strange to consider. But work with me here. Adult women normally have hairy legs and armpits, just like adult men have beards. In American society, men are allowed the option of not shaving their faces. But women who don’t shave are seen as outcasts or as lesbians, which often translates to the same thing.

When I did start shaving my legs I only shaved up to my knees. I remember my Mom teaching me how to shave. She thought I needed to shave all of my legs, but I don’t usually show off that much skin anyway. Why would I shave some area that people don’t see? I don’t wear short shorts or skirts. So why bother shaving that far up?

I remember one time when I was in middle school and a girl passive-aggressively challenged me on this. She said “don’t you think it is strange for someone to only shave half of their legs?” I agreed it was strange, and kept on doing things my way. My legs, my choice. I can’t stand it when people ask questions that way anyway. Anybody who takes the tack of “don’t you think that…” doesn’t really care what you think.

When I was in college some guys were really turned off by my hairy legs. This was very helpful. It was a great filtering system. If you want a hairless woman, keep on moving. If you want a woman who thinks about things rather than following along with the crowd like a cow, then we have a chance.

One guy got past the hairy legs, but then wondered if I was hard core enough to leave the pits. I was. He was impressed. We didn’t date, but he respected my choice.

It is kind of like how I like black women who don’t straighten their hair. I encourage people to leave things natural. Why do we feel a need to modify ourselves, to change our appearance other than the way that God made us? What else do we do to make others happy that is an alteration of our nature?

My husband is OK with whatever I do. He understands that it is my body and my choice. He is happy if I have hairy legs or shaved legs – he doesn’t care either way. I’m happy with however he wants to shave or not. If I was a guy I’d not shave my face. I can’t imagine how tedious it is to shave your face every day. I get by with shaving once a week, and that is partly because I wear long skirts.

But the pits? The pits are the pits. No more can I handle not shaving my pits. Maybe it has something to do with the Indian food I eat. Maybe it has something to do with “The Change” because I’m peri-menopausal now. I don’t know. I stink when I don’t shave. It offends me. So I shave my pits.

Shaving is weird. I don’t know why we think we have to do it. Some cultures make not shaving a religious tenant. Our culture makes shaving mandatory – if you don’t, you are marked as weird. I say be who you want to be. If you want to shave, do so, but do it because you want to, not because somebody told you to do it.