Why I Stopped Shaving My Legs..
and why I won’t go back.
At first, I’d say It was probably just me being lazy. It sometimes made me feel ashamed and ugly, but then, over time, I grew to love it. I started to spend extra time in the shower just enjoying it, and I didn’t have to buy razors anymore. Win-Win!! I felt a little wrong for having hairy legs, and I wasn’t sure how others would react. Then one day, a lightbulb went off, and the little voice in my mind said, “if you don’t like it, don’t look”. I started questioning when and why I even started shaving my legs in the first place. I believe it was in middle school when all of the girls were talking about it. We discussed what we used to shave our legs and armpits (I haven’t committed to not shaving the armpits yet lol). I thought of how crazy it was that from such a young age, we are socialized into believing that it is just the normal thing for women to do. I remember going home and asking my mom about buying me the essentials for shaving because all of the ladies at school were talking about it. She taught me about it, and ever since then, I would do it once a week.
Why was I doing this? My answer wasn’t to make myself happy, so there was no good reason for me to be doing it. When did I start doing it? From a very impressionable age. At this age, we are often flashed images of what “beauty” looks like, and I now know that I am beautiful regardless of whether or not I shave my legs. It took me some time to transition from feeling ugly and ashamed to feeling beautiful with hairy legs, and I’m really thankful I did it. It made me realize that I was in love with the superficial image of myself that I created and not the true beauty I already had. I’m not going to spend an extra dollar and an extra minute on my shower routine when it doesn’t truly bring me happiness. My family and friends still love me and accept me for who I am, and I know there is a man out there who will love me for exactly who I am! I just realized it has been at least two and a half years since I have stopped shaving my legs, and I have no desire to go back. Whatever it may be, I hope that others can find the courage to do things differently than society pressures them to do! And remember, if they don’t like it, they don’t have to look ;)
