EP - 124 - "Your Body Hair is Gross!"

In this episode, I’m unpacking the history of female body hair removal, the rise of shaving and Brazilian wax culture, and why women are taught to see natural body hair as “gross.”From Ancient Egypt and razor advertising to pornography, patriarchy, and Eurocentric beauty standards, we’re digging into how female hairlessness became tied to femininity, desirability, cleanliness, and control. Why is body hair considered masculine on men but unacceptable on women? And why does modern beauty culture reward women for removing visible signs of adulthood from their bodies?Are. You. Ready?****************Sources & References:Attwood, Feona. Mainstreaming Sex: The Sexualization of Western Culture. I.B. Tauris, 2009.Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Vintage Books, 1995.Gill, Rosalind. Gender and the Media. Polity Press, 2007.Herzig, Rebecca. Plucked: A History of Hair Removal. NYU Press, 2015.Ovid. Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love). Translated by James Michie, Modern Library, 2002.Peiss, Kathy. Hope in a Jar: The Making of America’s Beauty Culture. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011.Strings, Sabrina. Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia. NYU Press, 2019.Tyldesley, Joyce. Nefertiti’s Face: The Creation of an Icon. Harvard University Press, 2018.Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. Harper Perennial, 2002.Additional historical and cultural analysis referenced throughout the episode includes studies on Ancient Egyptian beauty and grooming rituals, Islamic hygienic traditions and body hair practices, feminist media theory surrounding bodily surveillance, pornography and beauty culture, beauty labor and gendered self-surveillance, racialized beauty standards, Eurocentric femininity, and contemporary discussions surrounding Brazilian wax culture, “clean girl” aesthetics, and social media beauty trends.****************Leave Us a 5* Rating, it helps the show!Apple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beauty-unlocked-the-podcast/id1522636282Spotify Podcast:https://open.spotify.com/show/37MLxC8eRob1D0ZcgcCorA****************Follow Us on TikTok & Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!YouTube:@beautyunlockedspodcasthourTikTok:tiktok.com/@beautyunlockedthepod****************Intro/Outro Music:“Fame Inc” by Savvier — https://icons8.com/music