Armpit hair on
women Is natural

> Women’s armpits are none of your business

Jessica Berget
Opinions Editor

 

will admit, I have hairy armpits. I refuse
to shave my armpits for two reasons:
One, because I am protesting in my
own way against the beauty standards
and societal norms that are placed upon
women’s bodies, and two, I am too
damn lazy to shave them. Whether you
choose to shave your underarm hair—or
any body hair—that is your own choice,
but do not shame women for whatever

they decide to do with their body.
Some people claim armpit hair on
women is “unnatural,” which I say is
nonsense. If armpit hair—or any body
hair for that matter—on women isn’t
natural, then why does it grow there?

Why do women have body hair at all?

The truth is, women only started
shaving their body and underarm hair
for the sake of aesthetics because of the
popular razor company Gillette. At the
time, their only customers were men and
they wanted to increase their revenue, so
they targeted an untapped demographic
for shaving: Women. They started
marketing shaving towards women as a
necessity and advertising armpit hair as
undesirable. Their first women’s razor was
called “Milady Décolleté Gillette” (cringy,
I know,) and advertised underarm hair “an
embarrassing personal problem,” and said
that “a feature of good dressing and good
grooming is to keep the underarm white

and smooth.” They preyed on
women’s vulnerability and fear
of loneliness to sell razors. Fast
forward 100 years later, society
still considers armpit hair on
women as gross and unnatural,
all because of a genius, but

diabolical, marketing scheme.
It is a ridiculous double
standard that women are
expected to shave their body
hair and men are not. Don't
even get me started on the price
of women’s razors compared to
men’s. It can also be harmful
to women’s body image when
they internalize these notions
that no body hair equals beauty.
In high school, and even as
early as elementary school,
all my friends were shaving
their armpits, legs and even
their arms regularly. It was an
embarrassment if you were ever
caught with even a little a bit of
hair that was not on your head.
It personally made me feel
disgusting and embarrassed if
I noticed hair on my armpits
because I internalized the idea
that boys would only find me

attractive if ] had no body hair.
What people do with their
armpit hair is their choice.
Some women like shaving
their underarms and it makes them feel
more attractive, while other women

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feel the opposite. Whether they choose
to shave or not shave is their business
and no one else’s. Women should be

Cartoons and animated movies
aren't just for kids

> It is time to take animation seriously

Katie Czenczek
Staff Writer

 

Is understood the concept of “kids’
television” and why as soon as an art
form is animated, it is automatically
designated for kids. Sure, television
catered for kids does make sense. Kids
might not identify with protagonists
who work a nine-to-five job and then go
to the bar after work. But the problem
with the association between kids’
television and animated shows and
films is that adults are expected to watch
kids’ television only in the presence of
children, or else they are labelled as

immature. I found this especially to be
the case when I watched Inside Out, as

I sat ina theatre filled with adults all
bawling their eyes out at a movie that is
targeted towards a younger audience.
Often, these animated films and shows
discuss serious topics such as loss,
bravery, relationships, and many other
adult subjects, and do so in ways that are
far from childish. Animation is used as a
tool to bypass conventional storytelling
by allowing creators to animate literally
anything they want. This lets them
explore themes through a variety of
different ways, freeing them from having

to film in a movie set or out in the world.
Inside Out is arguably one of the most
accurate depictions of dealing with
emotions and even handles the topic of
depression with maturity. Hence, all the
adults in the theatre finally letting out
years of pent-up emotions all because a
children’s movie validated the notion that
people can feel sad. Revolutionary, I know.
In award shows, they have a separate
category where every genre of animation
must compete against one another to win
the single, designated award. Not only do
these awards completely disregard how
animated movies belong to a plethora of

judged on their character, not the hair
on their armpits. After all, it’s just hair.

different genres, it further delegitimizes
it as a lesser movie or television form.
Moreover, only three animated films
have ever been nominated for Best
Picture at the Oscars, with none ever
winning the award. I believe this is due
to how animation is still labelled as
childish and therefore not worthy of
recognition in “real” film categories.
Say what you want about animation and
about the adults who enjoy watching

it, but I will continue to enjoy watching
Steven Universe and any Pixar film

ever made. Well, maybe except for
Cars, but we don’t talk about that.

 

Illustration by Cara Seccafien

Image via lezwatchtv.com