Instant Survey: Hairy Legged Hippy Chicks

But really only because I am lazy, not on any principle.

I checked "nope", but I would have checked "occassionally" if it were an option.

also, why isn't there an option for "yes, both, but only when i feel like it."
in other words, yes, i'll wear a skirt to work with 4-day stubble.
what a silly question.

.. Don't forget those of us who use heated tree-sap wax to remove our 'unwanted' hair. Legs are left smooth and supple, and the wax is tossed into a "green bin" as part of the local recycling program. Though it hurts more, it does last longer - and there are no plastic razors or disposable blades to toss out.

What about an option for shaving your naughty bits?

Aww, I want to vote. I'm a dude who shaves his pits.

I hate shaving–it takes a long time, and lasts not very long at all. It is a big effort, waste of water, and plastic, and ravors are expensive, so I opt for waxing.

Once you wax, you'll never go back!

I LOVE all you Treehugger women! Naturally furry, shaved naked, big, small, or otherwise! You're passionate about life & everything else.

I'm a guy, so I didn't vote, but based an old treehugger post regarding straight razors (which I cannot find now), I switched to a straight razor because the cost of disposables and the amount of waste they created was just too much for me. My girlfriend, intrigued with the idea of using a straight razor (it is fun) started borrowing mine. Eventually, I caught her red handed and bought her one for herself. She swears by it for her legs but would never use it under her arms (too dangerous). Legs are easy for a straight razor because you have many long straight lines suitable for a straight razor.

i hate shaving, i did it once in march for my moms wedding and remembered why i stopped years ago. i will probably not shave ever again or if i do it won't be for many years when i have forgotten how much i hate it

I get sugared. It is an ancient (Ancient Eqyptians), natural form of depilitation. Using water, sugar or honey, and lemon juice a taffy-like substance is formed. It is then like waxing only much gentler to the skin, can go on cold or warm (no burns), and pulls out shaft/bulb so hair comes back slower, finer, and over time, not at all. And ALL my hair comes off. Maybe not so pc but I like it; especially facial hair for us postmenopausal gals.

I agree with lots of you. If I have to shave my legs or pits I will, like to wear a tank top or skirts, other than that, I will let everything go. Now my boyfriend on the other hand doesn't like to have certain areas let go for too long :) *wink wink* WAXING is the best!!!

I don't shave because I don't feel like it. So nonpolitical, and yet so political, don't you think?

Phoebe: Where do you get 'sugared' at, it sounds interesting?

I checked yes, legs and pits because that's the case today, but "seasonally" or "when I feel like it" is closer to the truth.

I would have checked an 'occasionally' option as well. I don't shave for my normal life, but if I am getting pictures taken I do. I usually end up shaving 3 or 4 times a year.

I do wish it was more socially acceptable in the mainstream for women to have hairy legs, pits, and whatnot because then I would never ever shave.

why the heck do you care?

My answer isn't on there - I only shave in summer, and leave the blades alone during winter :)

I think I know an equal amount of dudes who shave their legs and ride bikes as hippie chicks who dont.

I wish I didn't feel like I needed to shave sometimes. My husband (who pretty much never shaves) recently pointed out my inconsistency about this, since I normally have the strength of my convictions to do what I believe is right, not what society randomly decides is acceptable.

So I sat down on a patch of "shaved" grass in a nearby park, and thought about it. I finally figured out that the reason I feel compelled to shave sometimes is that it interferes with the message I want to convey. I tend to be very outspoken, both in words and in actions when I'm out in public. For example, I bike (lawfully and respectfully) and walk and take public transit, not just because it's the best way to go, but also to set an example for others. And I teach, to spread the word about the rewards of sustainable, respectful, and compassionate living. But when I appear to be "weird", the general public tends to have less respect for me because they see me as being "other" rather than as someone like them. So my message is diluted, at least for the average person, if I look like a weird hippy. So, sometimes I choose to shave my legs.

Obviously, I don't like this predicament - feeling forced to do something unnatural and even painful. And that's exactly why I teach - to encourage the next generation to consider nature (including the human body) to be "normal" rather than weird. And I've learned that sometimes you've got to work with people's mindsets before you can change them!

Like some of the others above, "seasonally" or "when I feel like it" describes it best. In winter, I keep the extra leg fur to keep warm, in summer I shave it to stay cooler. Pits always get a shave, to limit my excessive sweating.

I wish this poll had a way to indicate the responders' country... the results would probably be different for respondents in the US and in Europe, for example.

I have to admit I feel a little uncomfortable when my wonderful unshaved hippychick SO wears sleeveless tops and sits with her arms folded behind her head. Intellectually, I know this is totally insane so I never say anything, but it's hard to stand up to the images we're constantly bombarded with. On television, in movies and magazines, the men seldom show body hair, and the women NEVER do.

i don't understand what is so weird about not shaving, i mean i know that society thinks it is weird but it makes me sad, i wear tank tops and shorts year round and have for years, i first started shaving when i was about 11 and then when i was about 14 i noticed an older girl that i really looked up to didn't shave. i never knew i didn't have to shave until i realized i knew people that didn't shave and so i stopped. i live in berkeley california so probably people here don't care as much and no one ever says anything.
it just makes me sad that people feel they need to shave to not seem weird

Turil, I have the exact same conflict - except in regards to wearing a bra. I have A cup boobs, and even after 2 kids, no sign of sagging. So I don't feel the need to wear a bra. But there are certain outfits where this bralessness can be ascertained. I too am in the business of education and am (very) outspoken and passionate. Many of the groups with whom I work are made up of rural, older, white males. So sometimes I feel the need to wear a bra, simply to avoid THEM feeling uncomfortable.

Erin and THers, maybe a poll on the bra-wearing-ness of THers??

I’m a guy so I did not vote. However, I’d like to voice my opinion on the topic of removing body hair. Like anything we do with, or too our bodies it is a personal choice. And should only be influenced by those we love and are loved by. If anyone cares weather you have natural hair under your arms, on your legs then I think that it is there problem.

I am married to a lovely lady who happens to be from Holland. Until she moved to the US she had not shaved, waxed or in any way removed any body hair. To this day she has not shaved her legs. She was asked by her employer to have her arm pits. I think I was more upset about it than she was. Although I could see their side, (working in retail) I guess I saw it as an infringement of her rights. Like others of you as long as she worked there she would shave during the summer and not during winter.

Weather you chose to remove your body hair or not, as long as you are happy with yourself, that shows and that my friends if very appealing to us men.

Guess I'm in a minority these days but I'm a guy who finds a woman's natural leg/ pit hair a real turn on; both visually + in an intimate situation, I love the sensual qualities of the fuzz! Shame there are so few hairy women left these days compared with decade or so ago. Strength to those unshaved women!

well, i dont shave my legs because i really dont see a need to. i mean, who was it that said ladies had to shave their legs? how do we really know what beauty is when most people dont get a chance to think about it for themselves. the media controls the majority of the information we recieve, so is it really that surprising that we tend to reject everything they tell us to and to like everything they tell us to like? i do however shave my underarms...but because the smell gets to me.i guess you can cover it up with enough patchouli, but ive gotten so used to patchouli that i cant smell it anymore. i think everyone should just be free and natural the way they were always meant to be. what's the point of modifying our bodies the way other people want them when our bodies become apart of the earth again? open hearts and open minds......

This increasing mania towards shaving every part of the body has me stymied and a little weirded out. I think a woman looks best when she doesn't shave. It's natural, it shows she has better things to do with her time, it's a little rebellious... and it just plain looks better. Hairless girls (especially when they shave their arms and nethers) look plastic and artificial.

I don't have a fetish or anything. I don't get turned on by the sight of hair on a woman, I am just turned off by the lack of it. A century ago, no woman shaved (and they often were *gasp* pleasantly padded as well). That's the ideal, in my opinion.

I don't shave. Why should women?

Shaving is a patriarchal imposition...we should,nt be so afraid to look like an adult female of the species! Besides, forget stereotypes of treehuggers. Just do what you feel is natural and right--and simultaneously break white, liberal middle-class stereotypes about beauty and commodification of the body (see sexist tshirt ad posted on this site to right...)

Being a guy I am not compelled by society to shave and regret that the norm dictates that women do. There is something special, courageous about women who defy the norm and forsake the razor or the wax. Truly it is a gift to glimpse the unshaved woman. It's nature's way, so let it grow.

Hey,

I just want to put my two cents worth in as a guy posting here. I think shaving is WAY overrated for both men and women. I think women look awesome unshaven everywhere. That's how you were created. Keep that hair. It's sexy! Lots of us guys love it.

Take care,
James

I think it's crazy that there is so much pressure for Women to remove their body hair. The movement as we know it was the product of corporate greed and it still is. I think it's a bit weird that it also used to be that men only needed to shave their face (if they wanted to, there was never any shame placed on doing one or the other) but now since the companies want to sell more razors and products for hair removal, there is a trend for men to shave their entire bodies too.
I wish I could meet some people here in Minnesota that feel the same way. Friends, someone to date, whatever, it saddens me that it seems that there are no natural women around here and that a lot of guys are going the waxed/shaven route.

i do not shave my legs or armpits ever. im a tree hugging feminist and i dont feel that i should have to. and yes i run around in sexy little tanks and i show my legs. i certainly dont think like the masses so i have no qualms if they think i look different because i am. i do get asked about it from time to time, mostly other women asking me if it bothers men (they dont say it does, for the record) and i have no issues discussing it with nonjudgmental curious people.

I only wish I could find some lady who feels like I do: that you are what you are, superficial notions that a woman (or man, for that matter) has to look like a wax doll. In fact, making love to a woman who shaves everything except her meticulosly trimmed eyebrows and the hair on her cranium gets me uneasy to the point that it smakes of pedophilia to me. We should not let the dictates of some closed minded martinets rule what should matter, that we should live & let live. Free your mind and the rest will follow.

I don't usually shave no matter what time of year it is. And, I am a fairly hairy woman. I used to shave when I was younger and in high school just to 'fit in', but pretty much stopped completely after that. Its too bad that most woman feel so much pressure to conform to such strict standards in terms of what society as a whole defines as being feminine. We are individuals, not some glossy fashion magazine 90 pound 'models', and should be treated as such.

I only shave my legs and armits when im wearing reveling clothing. I only do it to please me though, not because I think its proper or anything I just find it annoying to have itchy extra hair. Personaly I think it doesn't matter if someone shaves or not, it's their body let them do what they want! Peace&Love.

Itchy extra hairs Josianna - hairs that grow naturally aren't extra. We have hair on our bodies to help regulate body temperature as I'm sure you know.
It seems like most of the women are saying they don't shave much, or when they do it's because they are wearing revealing clothing, its summer or they just feel their hair is somehow superfluous. Most of the guys seem to be saying they quite like natural body hair & prefer that to the plucked chicken or plastic doll look.
Women who shave & say they only do it to please themselves are kidding themselves, unless they do actually find their own bodies repulsive. And if that is the case we might ask why. This is a big question.
As a hairy woman I have experienced rudeness and had pressure from men & women to make myself fit their view of what a woman should look like. I have been told by men & women that women who do not shave, pluck and wax are disgusting.
Notions of femininity & masculinity are gender constructions not sex characteristics.
I find the notion of the plucked and waxed woman as repulsive as some find the notion of the natural woman.
Why are women so repulsed by their natural womanliness that they unthinkingly shave, pluck & wax, without really considering what this action says about women & girls in our society.

cool =]