Ah, the beauty of hindsight…

A good friend of mine asked me recently why I don’t shave my armpits. Hmmm. Here, with hindsight, is what I would have liked to say:
“It’s funny, because whenever anyone asks me that question I can’t help feeling a bit annoyed. Why not ask me why I’m wearing this jumper or these shoes? The question reveals that there’s something surprising here, something unusual, odd, out of the ordinary, something curious that you want me to explain. If I say it’s a purely aesthetical choice that wouldn’t be entirely honest. I have always preferred a ‘natural’ look, but there’s more than that. The remainder of my answer is in your question: I don’t accept a ‘norm’, a set of ‘rules’ on women and their body hair. My body hair is mine, it belongs to me and I cannot feel that I am truly free and truly equal in this society until I can spend as little time, effort and money as I choose on my own aesthetics. My ideal is a society free of such norms. Fashions come and go; playing with different styles can be fun. The day you no longer feel the need to ask me that question, is the day I’ll be free to have fun with my hair.”