I've been having a trivial discussion with myself over the past few days. I tend to have this internal dialogue every few years, never quite landing on a decision that settles long term.
There is no serious way to state it. The question is simply, should a woman bother shaving her armpits, legs, etc? Are these necessary steps in order to achieve beauty?
Being that whether or not to shave is a culturally determined thing, I think I can say confidently that my desire to conform to being hairless everywhere but my head is quite culturally conditioned. Is that value enough to conform? Are the reasons for this cultural condition valid and reasonable?
Likewise, I don't find it sufficient to decide to not shave simply to be counter-cultural. Rebellion doesn't feel like a valid pursuit.
Recently I heard: It is the embarrassed who shave.
Now, though that is provocative, does that sit as true? Perhaps true in some regards, but in all? Does there need to be an absolute truth?
So today, I shaved my lower legs but nothing else. For now, that is my internal compromise: keeping beauty as culturally understood for my legs, but allowing my arm pits and other places to reign free.
Tomorrow I may act differently.
