I believe, of course, in women's rights. Women can do whatever they set their mind to. Women should be fairly compensated. Women should be in charge of their bodies. These are all similar to what feminism was when the movement began. I think feminism has changed, or at least been misunderstood in the past.
For a long time I believed that in order to be a strong woman I needed to disregard my feminine side. That in order to show my ability to be strong I should not strive to be pretty. I believed this even through college. It wasn't until much later than my view changed to what it is now.
In my perspective, a strong woman embraces her femininity. She is strong, and powerful. She says what she means unapologetically with confidence. She is able to accomplish anything not despite the fact that she is a woman, but because she is a woman. Women possess the ability to succeed in their lives. She is also beautiful. And she is proud of her beauty. Not to say she is vain. You can be proud of the way you look without being vain. As they say beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.
This brings me to my point. A good friend of mine shared a story with me yesterday, and it frustrated me so that I had to share. This friend took her 7 year old daughter to see a movie. During the before show bologna there was an advertisement promoting Shick shaving gel. This advertisement stuck with her daughter. It is a group of young "beautiful" women singing about how being hairy is gross. This ad had such an affect on this little girl that she, at the age of 7, felt self conscious of her leg hair.
What right does this company have to affect little children so much? Our society is painting a picture of beauty that has nothing to do with what makes a strong, successful, truly beautiful woman.
A few years ago I decided to stop shaving my legs. And this ad is exactly why. I was so fed up with the expectation of society about what my beauty should be, and I revolted. I went one solid year without shaving.
I got a lot of looks, and comments from men and women alike about my hairy legs, but I was confident in my appearance despite what society thought of me. Its hard to see in the photo, but that was taken during my year of the hairy leg.
What are we teaching our girls about themselves? What are were teaching our boys about the beauty of a woman?
If you too are disgusted and frustrated by the image of beauty society has chosen for us please join me in refusing to conform and stop shaving your legs. Trust me it isn't as hard or embarrassing as you think it will be. If you are a strong confident woman you are beautiful no matter what clothes you wear, no matter the amount of makeup you wear, and no matter how much hair you have on your body. If you want to join the beauty revolution comment on this post with how long you will go without shaving. Share with your friends. Change the image of beauty.
Stand and revolt! Hair is beautiful!
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