# Do French women in general shave their armpits? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 30, 2005, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575 "2005-10-30T07:17:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/21 "2005-10-31T03:14:19Z")
A thick heated paste of sugar, maybe with lemon juice added, is spread over the area and strips of cloth applied on top. The sugar cools. Then the strips of cloth are sharply pulled away. It’s a difficult method to get the hang of, not very efficient unless you’re an expert at the technique. How do I know this? That’s… personal. A slightly modernized version of the method is sold in America, packaged under the brand name Moom[sup]TM[/sup], which comes from the Persian word for ‘wax’. No actual wax is present. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/22 "2005-10-31T06:13:30Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Mine doesn’t! > > Anyway, don’t get too smug, Americans. Muslims—men and women alike—shave\* both their armpit hair and pubic hair as a religious tradition. From their point of view, pubically hirsute Americans must seem as gross as Europeans seem to Americans. > > \*Actually, Muslim women tend to “wax” it off with sugar. Oh, great! Now, I have a fetish for Muslim women. Like THAT’S just what I needed; another fetish, thanks for that. :rolleyes: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/23 "2005-10-31T08:27:03Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > A thick heated paste of sugar, maybe with lemon juice added, is spread over the area and strips of cloth applied on top. The sugar cools. Then the strips of cloth are sharply pulled away. > > It’s a difficult method to get the hang of, not very efficient unless you’re an expert at the technique. How do I know this? That’s… personal. A slightly modernized version of the method is sold in America, packaged under the brand name Moom[sup]TM[/sup], which comes from the Persian word for ‘wax’. No actual wax is present. Uh wha? Cooked sugar is HOT and should be kept far away from sensitive bits. Shalmanese - who, after cooking bacon in the nude once, now ensures adequate skin coverage whenever dealing with hot liquids. ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/24 "2005-10-31T08:45:43Z")
> [@Plynck](#): > > This may be an urban myth, but I heard once that it started as a result of men returning from WWI. They would tell the women at home that European women shaved their legs and armpits, and the American women adopted this custom. Later the women here realized that it was only the prostitutes that did this, and the men had developed this mistaken impression by… oh I don’t know… spending time in meaningful conversations with these women, perhaps? See now, I had heard that when the men all went off to war (depending on who’s telling the story, WWI or WWII), the companies selling shaving-type accesories realised they needed someone to sell their product to. So they encouraged the hot young starlets of the time to appear in public without stockings, showing off hairless legs, and with their shaved armpits visible. And, since every women wanted to look like a star, they all started shaving their armpits and legs. The fact that there’s so many different versions furthers my opinion this is an ubran myth. I can’t find anything on Snopes about this, however. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/25 "2005-10-31T08:53:53Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Is it true that all the girls in France do the hoochie-coochie dance? I’ve heard that they don’t even care if you can see their underwear. ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/26 "2005-10-31T10:26:32Z")
Out of the 30-40 French women I know between, most of whom are between 20 to 40 years old, all shave their armpits. I think it’s kinda dated ! ---
**Author:** ![Arwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Arwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/27 "2005-10-31T10:45:16Z")
I think there should be a law against shaving natural body-hair. Why do people want themselves to look like pre-pubescents, other than to cater to their paedophiliac tendencies, hmmm? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/28 "2005-10-31T11:38:33Z")
> [@Arwin](#): > > I think there should be a law against shaving natural body-hair. Why do people want themselves to look like pre-pubescents, other than to cater to their paedophiliac tendencies, hmmm? :dubious: I don’t care what they look like, I just don’t want anything caught in my teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/29 "2005-10-31T11:48:42Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Is it true that all the girls in France do the hoochie-coochie dance? I dunno. But it would be fairly easy to assess the bikini-line shaving habits of French women. Would one of our French dopers mind going to that place where the ladies wear no pants? I hear there’s a hole in the wall where the men can see it all. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/30 "2005-10-31T11:59:42Z")
Unshaved armpits ? Offensive, repugnant, repulsive, execrable, abominable etc. ( from Oxford Thesaurus) 😃 It’s natural ! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/31 "2005-10-31T13:15:09Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Most likely about the time when American women began to shave. When was that? The master speaks: [Who decided women should shave their legs and underarms?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_012.html) Arjuna34 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/32 "2005-10-31T15:15:30Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I don’t care what they look like, I just don’t want anything caught in my teeth. You engage in axillingus often? ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/33 "2005-10-31T15:21:29Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > irishgirl, who has spent time in French female communal dressing rooms. Wot, no pics?!? ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/34 "2005-10-31T15:27:25Z")
> [@Arwin](#): > > I think there should be a law against shaving natural body-hair. Why do people want themselves to look like pre-pubescents, other than to cater to their paedophiliac tendencies, hmmm? :dubious: I don’t have a desire to look like a pre-pubescent, I live in a hot climate. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/35 "2005-10-31T15:42:57Z")
> [@Arwin](#): > > I think there should be a law against shaving natural body-hair. Why do people want themselves to look like pre-pubescents, other than to cater to their paedophiliac tendencies, hmmm? :dubious: :dubious: right back at ya. Why can’t we get though these kinds of threads without insults, eh? If you want to remain unshaved, feel free, and I won’t insult you, but don’t you insult me either for shaving. I hate excess hair anywhere but my head, and I don’t do it for my “paedophiliac tendencies”, I do it because a)I like smooth skin b)I’m Indian, I sweat a lot and hate it c)I like it! And that’s all there is to it. Law against shaving natural body hair - sure hope you were joking. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/36 "2005-10-31T16:02:05Z")
I don’t think there should be a law against it, but I sure wish more women would quit doing it! Girlfur… mmmm! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/37 "2005-10-31T17:55:44Z")
Last year, I met a woman, here in the US, who had shaved the sides of her head, but not her armpits. It was clearly a fashion statement, but I don’t know what she was saying. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/38 "2005-10-31T18:13:55Z")
> [@Arwin](#): > > I think there should be a law against shaving natural body-hair. Why do people want themselves to look like pre-pubescents, other than to cater to their paedophiliac tendencies, hmmm? :dubious: **Mod Note** **Arwin**. If you want to start a thread debating the subject, or if you want to Pit people who shave their bodies, then you know where those fora are. If you want to contribute to this thread, then do so without such comments. Understood? **samclem** GQ moderator ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/39 "2005-10-31T18:25:47Z")
> [@](#): > > if you want to Pit people who shave their bodies, then you know where those fora are Ahem, “pit”? 😃 and shouldn’t that be “foramen”? ---
**Author:** ![Arwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Arwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575/40 "2005-10-31T20:18:28Z")
**Anaamika** , **Samclem** , you two certainly know how to beat around the bush … :rolleyes: 😃 But I’ve learnt my lesson. Next time I’ll use a clearer smiley. 😉 ( In all honesty, I didn’t think _anything_ in this thread would be taken seriously, except perhaps the link to Cecil A. ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-french-women-in-general-shave-their-armpits/328575.md?page=3)