# Why I don't shave **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 12, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904 "2004-02-12T19:21:17Z")\ **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:** [February 14, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/21 "2004-02-14T19:37:25Z")
[**I like hairy women.**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=71265) I support you, beautiful **BernieW**. You go, girl! Hugs to you for not giving into pressure and leaving all your womanhair in its natural state. Nothing is sexier and more beautiful than natural. Womanhair so fine, silky, soft, and feminine. _Mmmmmmm_… Love it. I can sort of empathize, because I’m a man with a beard and long hair. I get all kinds of shit for my choices, but I don’t let it bother me, because I like my choices and my body is my own to care for as I see fit. I also don’t shave any of my body hair, even though in the present day men are under pressure to shave their body hair too (chests and backs). The hell with that. What a useless bother to have to shave all the time! I keep myself scrupulously clean, shower every day, and if anyone can’t tell the difference between dirt and hair, clean hair, they’re idiots. Women’s body hair, including leg hair, is one of the sexiest, most attractive things about a woman, and something I cherish all the more because of its rarity. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/22 "2004-02-14T19:38:03Z")
I have a pretty thick beard and a pretty full head of hair. If I didn’t shave/cut it all off, I’d wind up looking like Grizzly Adams. Though I’m out of the dating game, I used to have long hair in my crazy youth, and found out the hard way that I couldn’t pull it off as well as, say, Johnny Depp. Ladies preferred me clean-cut and clean-shaven, and I came to realise making a “statement” amounted to increasing the slope of an already uphill battle. I mean, silly me for thinking maybe that, after a week hiking in the mountains, with a wild head of long hair, a beard you could scrub pots with, and my all-natural human stink, the objects of my great affection wouldn’t object greatly to me. It’s cool you wanna go au naturale and do the hippy-chick moon-goddess thing. I’m sure you’ll find a commensurately hirsute male complement, and the two of you can kick off your Birkenstocks and passionately abrade one another betwixt hemp-woven sheets. Ooops, gotta go. Time to get my ass waxed. ---
**Author:** ![BernieW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecc23a/32.png) [@BernieW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BernieW)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/23 "2004-02-14T21:12:01Z")
Yes, I did purposefully enter my opinion into “Great Debates”…In defense of my saying that our “ideal” image of women parallels prepubescant boys was because if you look at society our idea of a beatiful woman has veered away from the curves of a natural body to the straightness of a male body, except for the breasts. Has anyone read the book “Zaftig, A Case For Curves”. I am not into the whole “hippy” thing. I tried patchouli lotion once and I broke out into a rash! 🙂 But, I am very natural, yes. I just think that it is so sad that we only promote shaving and don’t promote equally not shaving. Hair is a sign of maturity - so how come when a girl “comes of age” so to speak she is handed a razor? Why don’t we give girls the option to or not to? I mean, come on - we live in a society where eating disorders are an epidemic partly because we portray an image of what a woman should look like that goes against nature. My boyfriend told me that the first thing that comes to his mind is that “it’s not clean”. Of course I laughed and replied…“So, I guess you must be really dirty.” ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/24 "2004-02-15T18:51:36Z")
> [@BernieW](#): > > In defense of my saying that our “ideal” image of women parallels prepubescant boys was because if you look at society our idea of a beatiful woman has veered away from the curves of a natural body to the straightness of a male body, except for the breasts. Ah, yes. and women who desire clean-shaven men and dislike chest and back hair desire prepubescant boys also, right? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/25 "2004-02-15T21:08:36Z")
> [@BernieW](#): > > Yes, I did purposefully enter my opinion into “Great Debates”…In defense of my saying that our “ideal” image of women parallels prepubescant boys was because if you look at society our idea of a beatiful woman has veered away from the curves of a natural body to the straightness of a male body, except for the breasts. Has anyone read the book “Zaftig, A Case For Curves”. > I am not into the whole “hippy” thing. I tried patchouli lotion once and I broke out into a rash! 🙂 But, I am very natural, yes. I just think that it is so sad that we only promote shaving and don’t promote equally not shaving. Hair is a sign of maturity - so how come when a girl “comes of age” so to speak she is handed a razor? Why don’t we give girls the option to or not to? I mean, come on - we live in a society where eating disorders are an epidemic partly because we portray an image of what a woman should look like that goes against nature. My boyfriend told me that the first thing that comes to his mind is that “it’s not clean”. Of course I laughed and replied…“So, I guess you must be really dirty.” I would be interested to know exactly how many women were handed a razor, as opposed to saying, “Mom, if you’re going to the store, can you pick me up a razor?”, or whatever. Your claim that our ideal of a woman’s body is a “boy with breasts” is completely wrong. Jennifer Lopez shows up in the top three in every “Hottest Women” poll- would you say her figure is “boyish”? Britney Spears? Pamela Anderson? Hardly. The focus may still be on breasts, but it doesn’t mean the rest of you is supposed to look like something from a men’s locker room. Besides, if our idea of a beautiful woman had anything to do with the male form, we would _want_ hairy women, no? I don’t ask you to shave because I want you to look younger. I want you to shave because I don’t like getting hair in my teeth. If you have a personal attachment to your body hair, and keeping your body “natural”- because, after all, the natural female form is _tattooed_- then more power to you; I find it deeply unattractive. ---
**Author:** ![Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/2bfe46/32.png) [@Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xavier)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/26 "2004-02-16T00:41:00Z")
It’s all good and dandy for you to say **BernieW** , but have you ever had to go down on a woman who doesn’t bathe down there as she should? Well then, you’d know the pain and anguish of a man who has had to endure keratinous flossing for two months. It’s smelly and you get tired of it. Easy way to stop all this madness – “I’m your venus… I’m your fire… your desire!!!” That’s right baby. ---
**Author:** ![CloudCar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@CloudCar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CloudCar)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/27 "2004-02-16T01:58:25Z")
As far as the prepubescent boy thing goes I have often been left standing dumbfounded by what many guys I’ve know to find appealing in women. To each his own for sure, but I just don’t get it why a woman who looks like a twelve year old boy would be seen as exceptionally and outstandingly sexy and desireable by what would seem to me a signifigant number of men. I just don’t get it, nor would I necessairly want to. I’m in the curvy is better camp. Hair does not bother me either. Not in the least. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/28 "2004-02-16T12:16:58Z")
Take the [following survey](http://www.mil-millington.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/pits/index.html) and find out… Grim ---
**Author:** ![Coulbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Coulbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coulbean)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/29 "2004-02-16T13:01:53Z")
I don’t shave, but its mostly out of laziness. I don’t feel that i should take ten minutes out of everyday to make my skin irritated and itchy. But I also don’t wear make-up or tweeze my eyebrows or long for breat-implants and many other things women have been taught to do. Good for you and your courage. But don’t expect all men to suddenly long for hairy women. It’s all a matter of taste. ---
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/30 "2004-02-16T16:09:52Z")
I think what you prefer pretty much depends on the women you’ve grown up around. I’ve grown up around shaven women, and I associate women with hairlessness. Prebuscent boys are the LAST thing I think of when I see a shaved women…how did you arrive to that conclusion anyways? ---
**Author:** ![NotBob13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e19b73/32.png) [@NotBob13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotBob13)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/31 "2004-02-17T16:55:46Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I concur with the OP. As a man, I hate fake balloons and shaved hoo-has. I like women to look natural. lt’s gotten so I can’t even look at porn any more. Give me that 70’s bush any day. I can’t say it any better. Amen. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/32 "2004-02-17T18:47:23Z")
You couldn’t pay me to shave my pubic hair. I might be convinced to give it a bit of a trim, but no way am I losing it altogether. I do not want to deal with growing it back, and I do NOT want to have to keep things shaved. I hate shaving my legs enough, why would I want to shave even MORE of me? I would happily give up shaving my legs if I had an SO who liked them hairy. _ahem_ I still think I’d be Gorilla Woman, but if that’s what you WANT then that’s what you’ll get, by Og! But the pit hair still goes. Sorry, guys, I hate having hair there. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/33 "2004-02-17T20:51:12Z")
> [@Jomo Mojo](#): > > I also don’t shave any of my body hair, even though in the present day men are under pressure to shave their body hair too (chests and backs). The hell with that. How the dickens do you shave your back? I have almost no body hair at all (I know, TMI), but I cannot imagine how I would go about shaving my back. I have enough trouble with my chin and cheeks (I have a moustache). Do you have a razor like one of those back-scrubbers, with a long handle? 😕 As far as the OP, if you’re happy, I’m glad. But as to shaving the Happy Place, I don’t really see the attraction. Is this at all common? I guess it never occurred to me to have a preference. Another of those girl things I neither understand, nor care to. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/34 "2004-02-17T21:07:25Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > Ooops, gotta go. Time to get my ass waxed. Well, if that’s not the funniest thing I’ve seen all day…this is definitely sig-worthy. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/35 "2004-02-17T22:20:47Z")
I was on a swim team in my crazy youth, too…leading up to championships, we grew any and all hair out as much as we could stand it, and then the night before, removed it all. I mean all of it. Anything not covered by a Speedo met the razor. We’d even shave where there was no visible hair. We were going for maximum hydrodynamic efficency, and besides, jumping into a pool with not a hair on your body is a wild sensation indeed. Some of my teammates wend hog wild, and shaved their heads bald and removed their eyebrows. I chickened out at that level and only got an extremely close crew-cut (after sporting a mohawk for a while, which was allowed until the end). It was so cool. As our hair grew back, girls would ask to feel our heads (the one above our cervical vertebrae). Nothing like having all the cuties rubbing your head like you were some kind of puppy. Even if it only lasted a week. Anyway, the benefits were rapidly offset by the growth of stubble in places I’d never had it before. I’ve got some pretty hairy-ass legs, and stubbly legs under denim is no fun, especially when you’ve got my stubble. Armpits: Yeeeouch! Arms: Prickly! Later, when I got into cycling for a while, I was shaving my legs beneath the spandex shorts (which gives one the appearance of having hairy shorts on when naked)…again, the bad part wasn’t the shave, it was the aftermath if I didn’t shave again in a timely manner. Seems to me if you shave, don’t stop! And if you don’t, don’t start! ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/36 "2004-02-17T22:29:19Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > How the dickens do you shave your back? > > I have almost no body hair at all (I know, TMI), but I cannot imagine how I would go about shaving my back. I have enough trouble with my chin and cheeks (I have a moustache). > > Do you have a razor like one of those back-scrubbers, with a long handle? 😕 Jesus, I’m so sorry I happen to know this one. A good friend of mine from high school was exceptionally hairy, and he had to **force his little brother to shave his back for him.** :eek: I’m almost certain the kid’s scarred by now. That said, I think he worked out a sophisticated system last I’d spoken to him. Since he’s been moved out of his parents’ house for well over 10 years now, the “sophisticated” method he now employs apparently involves a Mach 3 razor duct-taped to a ruler. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/37 "2004-02-17T22:41:51Z")
I shaved for the first time in 18 years this weekend. Today I missed being able to stroke my beard. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/38 "2004-02-18T12:27:44Z")
> [@BernieW](#): > > My point is exactly this: That women should not be made to feel inferior because of a preference such as mine. Wouldn’t you say that women are ostricized for this on a whole? The problem with your position (and frankly the tone of your OP fits right in) is that it is just so “me, me, me, it’s all about me!” Get over your fixation on yourself. Get over your egocentric victimised idea that when someone does something that they want to do, the incidental impact upon you was their motiviation. Your point can be rephrased as exactly this: everyone should dishonestly pretend they like the way I am, so that I can feel loved even when I express a preference which involves being a way that those people don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/39 "2004-02-18T13:25:35Z")
[QUOTE=Xavier] It’s all good and dandy for you to say **BernieW** , but have you ever had to go down on a woman who doesn’t bathe down there as she should? Well then, you’d know the pain and anguish of a man who has had to endure keratinous flossing for two months. It’s smelly and you get tired of it. QUOTE] I hope all the hetero men who express a preference on this realise that this works both ways. I am saying nothing about you **Xavier** , obviously, as I don’t know you and am sure you are all squeaky clean and sparkly. But a quick straw poll round the office reveals that women would sooner say to a man that she didn’t give/didn’t like/sucked at ( 😃 ) bjs, rather than to suggest to her beloved that a bit of a wash might improve his chances exponentially. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904/40 "2004-02-18T13:52:31Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > Jesus, I’m so sorry I happen to know this one. A good friend of mine from high school was exceptionally hairy, and he had to **force his little brother to shave his back for him.** :eek: > > I’m almost certain the kid’s scarred by now. > > That said, I think he worked out a sophisticated system last I’d spoken to him. Since he’s been moved out of his parents’ house for well over 10 years now, the “sophisticated” method he now employs apparently involves a Mach 3 razor duct-taped to a ruler. I am wondering how much I would have to trust someone before I asked them to shave my back. Or anywhere else, for that matter. I have never even had a barber shave, and when I had my vasectomy, seeing the nurse approach my private parts with razor in hand was enough to make the boys try desperately to return to the inguinal canal. Again I thank God I have little by way of bodily hair. I am sure I would come out of any session with a ruler and a razor looking like Our Lord and Savior after His flogging. Zeesh. Regards Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-shave/228904.md?page=3)