When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

Don't make no nevermind to me one way or t'other. I've never understood this problem people have with accepting people as they are. Let me give you a couple of examples, and I know there will be folks who might (probably will) say, "Eewww," but that's their problem.

Perhaps the thought that your body is bathed in trillions of bacteria and that they are everywhere inside your body is enough to give you the creeps. But as long as humans can't live without carbon, nitrogen, protection from disease and the ability to fully digest their food, they can't live without bacteria, and it really is just that simple.

Shaving body hair in 'those' places makes it easier to kill off large portions of those helpful little critters you need to help maintain healthy response to pathogens that come along occasionally. We overdo showering and we tend to use detergent based soaps because they make us squeaky clean, but they also are harmful to your friendly bacteria. Regular soft soaps without detergent additives don't do that.

No, I'm not advocating for the elimination of bathing, but I am saying that there is a reasonable level of moderation there as well. Yeah, I know, it's not what we've been admonished to do all our lives and advertising companies, detergent based products companies, and so on have made a fortune by keeping up the hype that nobody should smell, when nature says just the opposite. Again, there are reasonable levels one can maintain and still not 'smell bad'. By the way, deodorants are just fine and do help a little.

[popsci.com]

For the women, remember that all the ideas of what is beautiful, from body type to length of eyelashes and where and how much you shave is generated by men who work for large corporations that want your money. It is, of course, your choice, but this is one man who says he doesn't care if you have big eyelashes that you can bat at me or lips of that most recent alluring color that turns iridescent orange in black light. People who can't see the beauty of people just as they are make life much more difficult than it needs to be in so many ways.

I've also given this thought. In my profession I apply and remove casts from legs and arms. I am always saddened when women express their shame and general horror when they discover long hair has grown on their legs. They apologize profusely. What a strong and sad example of the power to control women's self-esteem cosmetically.

I don't care what anyone else does with their body hair. I shave for me, because I like how my skin feels smooth, and how it feels during sex.

You do you.

And men who like shaved genitals don't bother me. I personally don't like navigating pubic hair with a machete and wouldn't expect men to enjoy it, either. It doesn't make them pedophiles.

And the way you phrased your question at the end ABSOLUTELY makes it seem like you are looking for personal opinions, so quit biting anyone who replies as such.

I'm a hairy chick and I practice hair removal for me and me alone. I buy men's disposable razors. Fuck a pink tax.

In high school I became embarrassed by my arm hair - of all things! I was self conscious because I am fair skinned and my hair is very dark, so the contrast, I felt, made me look more hairy than I actually am. I started shaving my arms at 15 years old and now at 31 have finally had enough and am letting it grow out. One less thing to keep up with.

We are not perfectly hairless Barbie dolls, nor were we ever intended to be. As it is we spend too much money and time trying to fit this outrageous ideal of beauty stemming from companies trying to profit off our insecurities. I have yet to feel comfortable baring my hairy legs, but I strive to get there one day! Enough is enough!

I have an aquaintence in Nor Cal, an old Hippie woman activist. When we first met I sat talking with her for over an hour about previous activist functions she and I had been to, when several young girls all surrounded her, and cautiously began to talk with her.
I was puzzled, I pay little attention to superfiscial appearances and GREAT attention to character. I gave her a look like "WTF?", and she smiled and said "its my beard, gets the young ones every time"
THAT is when I noticed she had one, and that is when she noticed I noticed, and LAUGHED like hell.

SO I think its not such an issue for me . . .

I'm battling this too.

I stopped shaving pits years ago, if anything only trim, and I don't worry about it. I love not getting painful ingrown hairs anymore.

I used to trim pubes religiously, but I've slacked off on that. Pubes gross me out. Sorry not sorry. That area is closed to visitors so the grounds crew has been furloughed, but I still don't like a jungle.

I'd like to forget about shaving my legs also (my hair grows FAST, so it's like a 3x/wk thing if I want to stay smooth) because it's such a pain, but I'm not ready for the consternation that will inevitably ncome if I walk around with exposed hairy legs this summer. A model got death-threats for it. It's a thing.

I wish I was strong enough to do what I feel like in the face of certain pressures, but I'm just not. I mean, death-threats, people. Nope. I will either shave or wear leggings.

The guys I have been with have either had no preference or like what they like, but would never turn someone away on that basis. I never met a guy that was picky about it.

The marketing "geniuses" who came up with this idea stepped WAY over a line here. Coercing a specific segment of the general population to alter themselves on a daily basis simply to sell a product. But that's what they do best, isn't it? Making people feel inferior until they finally cave to the pressure to go along with the "in" crowd or be ostracized for not being the good consumer.

I remember in the 80's, when I was working as a department store manager, the "Epilady" came on to the scene. It was an agonizing torture device. It should have been named "Ripalady". It literally ripped the hair out of the skin. Yet, advertising made it seem like it was "the" thing to buy. I don't know anything about their newer devices except that they're ridiculously priced now and they have a laser version of it.

Marketing firms have preyed on women for decades. While women are sold shampoo, creme rinses, conditioners, body oils, body creams, exfoliating scrubs, concealers, highlighters, masks, pore cleansing rituals and feminine hygiene products, it's all been as a result of a patriarchal society that wants you to conform to some beauty standard that causes feelings of guilt if you don't.

Look at the difference in the size of the segment of the store for the products being marketed to men. What do you see in the men's section? Five minute hair and beard color. Shaving cream and 5 blade razors. I think we can buy a bottle now that contains body wash, shampoo, conditioner, face scrub, mouthwash, deodorant and toothpaste all in one.

It's a ridiculous dichotomy of double standards.

I don't mind shaved or natural women

Do you think so little of women that we just bow down to a commercial? This is not 1950, I shave everything because I choose to and expect my partner to be groomed as well.

You do you, whatever makes you happy!

I don't care what people do with their own bodies. That includes everyone. I honestly tire (and feel bad about) having to explain to women I date sometimes in depth that I don't have any interest in making decision on their grooming. Like... It's apparently normal now for guys to tell women how much and what they shave?

I LOVED that you used the phrase "prepubescent girl", because I say that when asked why I don't/wouldn't shave my pubic area. Oh, I keep things under control, but I REFUSE to go the Brazilian route. I think we are meant to have hair; men too (although I don't like facial hair on men, which is my personal preference). I do shave my pits (I'm in Az, which is hotter than hell, so I prefer no hair there, though I don't shave every day), and I personally like my legs shaved (again, not every day). I guess you have to do what makes you feel comfortable, everyone else be damned!

I think everyone should shave everything all the time but that's just me. I've had longer body hair and it drives me crazy! Nothing to do with adds or magazines i just find it itchy and lotion feels so much better after you shave

Never bothered me and in fact always found "all natural" women attractive. My wife often doesn't shave her legs ... when she does that, I call her my Hobbit. And I mean that affectionately.

Dumbest thing in the world to me is women shaving ... down there, so they look like little girls. We have the porn industry to thank for that idiotic standard of appearance. And men who like it ... sorry guys, I think that's pervey. I don't want my woman looking like a pre-pubescent girl. It's a turn-OFF.

Anything that makes my wife's life more like mine, I consider fair. By that I mean ... I get out of bed, run a brush through my hair, and done. Other than showering and flossing, of course.

The amount of time women are OBLIGED to spend on grooming and makeup is obscene. If you enjoy it, that's one thing. But you shouldn't HAVE to.

I have always felt shaving is a cultural construct. Did it begin out of shaming women for profit? Sure it did. So now we are stuck with it, or not. I, being newly single find myself shaving out of desire to be attractive to the opposite sex. Much like birds who construct elaborate nests. I resent it but feel like I reap the benefits when a man appreciates the effort by caressing sweetly. Unfortunately I don't come across many evolved men in my part of the country. Lovely Indiana.

For me, it's my own preference, I don't care about society or what someone else prefers.
For me, yes I need to remove my own body hair. I love everything staying waxed.
I am more than secure with self.
I have been waxing since I was 14, it doesn't even hurt, it's called lidocaine. I sure as hell wasn't going to deal with
nasty as hair dealing with a mestrual cycle.
If some men prefer no hair what's wrong with that ? That doesn't make them perverts.

Luckily, as I've gotten older, I've noticed that the hair on my legs grow much slower. The only time I shave my legs is when I wash my sheets. I like how it feels, and that's just for me.
Armpits, on the other hand, get done twice a week. Also just for me.
I've never been with anyone who either complained, or expressed an opinion on the subject.
Anywhere else is no one's business, so I won't be discussing it here.

My mom told me when I started to notice hair, that if I started shaving, I could never stop. So I never started. The people that seemed the most offended are female.

Personally I am not a fan of fur... on myself or on my guy. However, I have a friend who LOVES the fur. Speaking for only myself, it grosses me out to even think of kissing a guy with a Duck Dynasty beard or having to run my fingers through chest/ back fur (just thinking about it now disgusts me)
I could care less about the "inequality wagon"... when it comes to fur, its gotta go!

The only place I grow hair that really bothers me is my upper lip. I can grow a moustache that rivals any teen boy a few years into puberty. Any other body hair doesn't bother me.

So then, women were "forced" to begin shaving due to "(focussing on making women feel bad about themselves & their "embarrassing" body hair)", presumably by men? It is just a diabolical plot hatched by perverted men who want adult women to look pre-pubescent? Hmmmm...I don't ever remember telling women that they had to shave anything. It must be that women are more easily coerced by men than I thought. It seems to me that the author of that post has some personal agenda against men. Don't blame men for your weak will, shave or do not shave...men are not twisting your arm.

Different people prefer different things. I don't equate no hair to pre-pubescent, I just view it as preference. It's their body to do with as they wish. I generally wax everything from my lashes down, but I don't feel like I have to, I just prefer it that way. I like being super soft and I have tattoos on my arms that show better on bare skin...

I like women, always have. Hairy or smooth, short or tall, skinny or fat, smart or ignorant and everything in between. Be yourself. Do as you will. I'll still love you and there ain't nothing you can do about that.

Female hair is ok, but capitalists have indeed manipulated social normality. I prefer her legs to not be as hairy as mine, but smooth, silky legs are cool. A little mustache isn’t too bad, or some sideburns. I would prefer it to be soft and fine. Armpit hair is cool, but again I don’t want as much there as I have. Arms are no problem at all. When I was about 17, this girl I worked with had hair growing around her nipples. Not cool. A hairy butt should be delt with. I just can’t. Around front, groom as you like, but I’m not a fan of I think it would be called Brazilian. But I don’t want a 70’s bush up there, either.
I guess overall I’d prefer the female to be less furry than me, but not bald.