Do Italian Guys Really Shave Their Legs?

A friend of mine who is Italian recently went to Italy and wrote back “The guys shave their legs”- and only from the knee down.

Is this true??

Somebody help me!:eek:

Since cycling is a big sport in Italy, those guys will probably shave - as for the rest, who knows?

I dont know about Italians, since all of the ones I saw over there, wore long pants, even in the hot Rome summer!

I do know some body builders, and they shave/wax their legs, arms, chest, and entire body!

In the school where my sister teaches (small Catholic high school in the midwest) it is now the “fashion” for the guys to shave their arms and legs. I had never heard of this. I remain flabbergasted. I mean, sure, I’ve known cyclists who do this, but normal everyday teenage males?

At the school, they have rules about not letting their beard or moustache growth accumulate. My sister says it is not unusual for her to have an exchange like this:

Cranky’s Sister: Brandon, were you overdue to shave today? Do I see five o’clock shadow?

Brandon: I dunno Mrs. Anderson, but my arms are smooth! Wanna feel?

I lived in Italy up until about a year ago. Serious cyclists shave their legs but I have never known any other men to do that.

I don’t know about Italians, but I did. In fact, I used to shave my whole body. Now I just use the 1/4 inch clippers.

I think that it just looks nicer and cleaner. It especially helps in highlighting muscle tone.

Oh My Gosh, CrankyAsAnOldMan, that is sooo weird!

I wouldn’t be surprised if they did; I know Italian girls have to shave their mustaches.

LOL! That isn’t true and it’s soooo stereotypical. I am not Italian and I was always envious of Italian women. The majority are pretty, petite, immaculatly dressed and have fabulous bodies and…no mustaches…um except for the one that worked inthe bookstore that had the whoel goatee things going one and…um. well never mind. But it isn’t a majority.

I would hate a guy to shave his legs. I know body builders and dancers who do that and it is prickly to hug them…yuk. I’d rather deal with the fuzz.

As Tapioca said, many serious cyclists shave their legs and it’s a big sport over there. One of the reasons for a cyclist to shave their legs is to help prevent infection in the case of road rash from a wipe out. Since cyling shorts usually come to just above the knee some guys probably only shave from the knee down.

Here’s some input:

"Cyclers yes, body builders yes, swimmers yes, and lately also some regular folks. The thing is Italians men,as well as women, are very concerned with fashion and looking well & tidy (they put A LOT of cologne). This leads them, not only to shave their legs, but often to “neaten” their crotch, get facials, manicures, pedicures etc. Beauty salons in Italy are doing amazingly well, since the customer base doubled… It may be bvious that these trends are popular mostly with middle-class and those classes above.

Italian men are spoiled by their females (especially Italian moms) and so have no force disuading them from spoiling themselves with these vanities."

– Claudia
(an italian friend)
buona notte,
Panopticon