When did women in America begin to shave their legs and armpits? And who started this fad? And Why?

Answer 1

Well, apart from the obvious religious reasons, women's legs are more prone to infection if they have hair on them, and the process of removing that hair is FAR less traumatic than shaving a man's legs.

Besides, who wants to date a girl who looks like Sasquatch?

Answer 2

This is a very interesting question and I do not know the answer to it. But I know that in many countries it is normal for women not to shave themselves. Honestly, there's nothing wrong with that. There is no medical reason to shave. None at all. I know that many men shave thier faces because it is itchy or in the way. But if the same is true for leg and armpit hair then why don't both men and women shave those places? It is a society based thing. What is acceptable vs what is not. A very interesting question.

Answer 3

The only thing I can tell you about it is that women have been shaving there legs and armpits for a long long time. I think it is a good idea and I don't consider it a fad. If you leave hair under you armpits' washed good and you use deodorant they can still stink. So I would prefer to shave armpits and legs. It looks nicer also.

Answer 4

It's a strange thing to think about because, since the practice is so standard, I have almost never seen a hairy woman in my entire life. I, like most people, have basically been conditioned to think of hairiness as a masculine quality (or at least a non-feminine quality). So really, sometimes I honestly have trouble comprehending that.... naturally.... women would actually be hairy in those places. It seems unnatural to me- even though it IS the real natural way for their bodies to be.

I can only assume that if there was no such cultural standard, hairy women would just seem normal to me as I would have no conditioning to the contrary. Therefore, if women never shaved, it wouldn't seem disgusting. But since they do, it seems disgusting when they don't.

Answer 5

In the West, the practice began around 1915 in the US and UK, when one or more magazines showed a woman in a dress with shaved underarms. There is nothing about the practice of shaving that produces new follicles for hair to grow out of; this myth most likely persists because stubble does not taper like hair that is allowed to grow long and because short hairs feel coarser than longer hairs of the same thickness.

Answer 6

"This standard emerged during the early twentieth century, as women's legs became more visible owing to shorter hemlines, and when the safety razor made the practice of leg shaving practical. The reasons for this cultural standard are debated, but it is sometimes seen as an example of a cultural mechanism for increasing sexual dimorphism. Others have suggested that it was promoted as a means of selling razors to a broader segment of the populace." (wikipedia)

As far as armpits, I would say it would be for the same reasons... tank tops and sleeveless swimsuits became popular as did being smoother there.

Answer 7

I don't know, but I wish they never did. I hate shaving, and I usually don't do it much...only in the summer when I'm going to wear shorts or a tank top.

As for a reason...I'm guessing that maybe guys found girls who naturally don't have much hair attractive, and then all the other girls started shaving in order to meet that standard of beauty. It is similar to how many women nowadays wear push-up bras to make their boobs look bigger because big chests are now the current standard of beauty. Also, more and more women are getting breast implants; however I wouldn't go so far as to say that is the norm...yet!

Who knows...maybe in 100 years somebody will ask: "When did women start getting breast implants on their 18th birthday? And who started this fad? And why?"

Answer 8

Was not only woman in America, but women through out Europpe, started in 60 tys, started shaving because men found it more sexy.
Since then women have started shaving other parts?
Well as a man I am all for it, when giving O bare skin is better than getting hair in your mouth?

Answer 9

I've heard that it started after WWII, when American soldiers returned home and requested that their women picked up this habit they learned in Japan.... during the war, Japanese prostitutes would shave because the lack of hair made them look younger.... but i can't find the source for that right now.
Another explanation for this is that stockings became harder to obtain during the war and women started shaving to appear more feminine when they couldn't cover up their legs.

you can also read this:
http://www.quikshave.com/timeline.htm

Answer 10

I don't know exactly when, but they started A LOT before us european.
I'm against shaving. If we have hair there should be a reason... It makes no sense to get rid of them.
Shaving it's just a part part of the process of getting as far away from nature as we can...
And, of course, it's just a way to make everybody spend a lot of money in shaving products...
Commercials makes you think that hair are disgusting so you spend money to get rid of them for all your life...
Think about it...

Answer 11

Shaving legs started in the fourties when there was a shortage of nylon stockings. I don't know about the armpits.