To let hair be, or to not let hair be? Gender and body hair removal practices in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Abstract

Research and anecdotal evidence suggest women continue to remove body hair, and there is some evidence for cultural changes in men's hair removal practices. This paper reports on data collected using an online mix-methods survey from 584 New Zealanders between the ages of 18-35 (mean age 26, 48.9% male, 50.6% female). The data demonstrated that substantial proportions of both women and men in Aotearoa/New Zealand remove body hair from many sites. However, gendered differences remain, and a key dimension of gendered difference appears in the concept of flexible choice around body hair removal or retention. This was seen in the difference between perceived acceptability of having body hair (81% for men, 11% for women). These findings suggest that although men, like women, are now coming under some pressure to remove body hair, there is still a great difference in men and women's capacity to choose whether to bow to it.

Social pressures and health consequences associated with body hair removal

“…Leg and underarm hair removal is particularly ubiquitous among Western women; it is a relatively long-standing unquestioned cultural norm considered to be a natural part of good grooming. More than 90% of women in UK, Australian and US surveys reported regular depilation, typically by shaving, waxing, or using hair removal creams (Terry and Braun, 2013).…”

“…from the sides of a bikini) , and shaving and trimming of the bikini line tends to be dictated by choice of swimwear, underwear and sportswear. As these have become more revealing, removal rates of bikini-line hair are high: between 50 and 100% of women surveyed reported removing bikini-line hair (Terry and Braun, 2013). Norms around the removal of pubic hair within the bikini line are less concrete; however, evidence suggests a rapid increase in full pubic hair removal since the 1980s…”

“…Body hair on women has become an elicitor of shame and self-consciousness; those who choose not to depilate are typically subject to ridicule and abuse by comments that question their femininity, sexuality, hygiene and morality, and assume aggressiveness, animalistic traits, poor education, or mental health issues (Terry and Braun, 2013). This form of 'social policing' (Terry and Braun, 2013) is often executed by significant others and loved ones.…”

“…Body hair on women has become an elicitor of shame and self-consciousness; those who choose not to depilate are typically subject to ridicule and abuse by comments that question their femininity, sexuality, hygiene and morality, and assume aggressiveness, animalistic traits, poor education, or mental health issues (Terry and Braun, 2013). This form of 'social policing' (Terry and Braun, 2013) is often executed by significant others and loved ones. In a US study by Fahs and Delgado (2011), female students who did not to remove their body hair for 12 weeks regularly received comments from mothers, sisters and partners, who let them know of the undesirability of their 'gross' hairy bodies and their 'betrayal of appropriate femininity and sexuality norms'.…”

“…Braun and Terry (2013) referenced youth sexuality research (Holland et al, 2004) that introduces the concept of women holding 'a male in the head', whose imagined preferences and desires are assumed and internalised by young women. Rather, evidence suggests that it is women's friends that are more likely to influence this practice and police these norms, rather than sexual partners who are the imagined audience for pubic hair removal.…”