Ode to My Armpit Hair

by kirsten anderberg (kirstena [at] resist.ca)

Sat, May 5, 2007 5:38PM

I've never owned a disposable razor, I haven't shaved since '78
Prepubescent armpits are not natural on grown women, I see shaved armpits as body hate.

Armpit hair is natural, Armpit hair is soft
Armpit hair is not a prickly mess, Not a puffy forest of shadowed stubs.

Ode to My Armpit Hair

By Kirsten Anderberg (http://www.kirstenanderberg.com)
Written May 4, 2007

I've never owned a disposable razor
I haven't shaved since '78
Prepubescent armpits are not natural on grown women
I see shaved armpits as body hate.

Armpit hair is natural
Armpit hair is soft
Armpit hair is not a prickly mess
Not a puffy forest of shadowed stubs.

I love my armpit hair
I would be sad if it was not there
In Europe, shaven underarms are rare
And as an eco-feminist, I just can't buy "Nair."

I raised my arm this evening
And there was my soft long hair
Endeared, I felt sorry for women
Who were scared of what grows there.

Who would I be shaving for?
Who benefits from it all?
Perhaps the purpose is to distract my energies
From facilitating patriarchy's fall!!

What does my armpit hair symbolize?
Why does it threaten you?
Shaven armpits that use deodorants get cancer more often
And corporations stink more than you!

For more information: http://www.kirstenanderberg.com

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§Patriarchal contempt, hatred and fear of women

by Utopia Bold

Sun, May 6, 2007 9:31PM

Great poem!

Armpit hair is only one aspect of a womans body a male dominant society wants to control. Every square inch of our beautiful bodies must be altered—liposuction, breast "augmentation" botox injections of deadly botulism in our faces, tummy tucks, genital mutilation in many Islamic and African nations where men prefer desexed women (and now here in the US among immigrants) shaved legs, face lifts, eyelid surgery for Asian women to make them "look American", starvation diets (emaciated women are easier to beat up) etc etc etc

EVERY WOMAN'S BODY IS PERFECT THE WAY IT IS!

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§Reject Corporate Brainwashing

by Jimmy

Wed, May 9, 2007 10:30AM

Armpit hair is OK!

Generally speaking, men are not "forcing" women to do anything to their bodies in the USA. Consciousness raising, learning about alternatives, and personal resistance to peer pressure, family pressure, and the mass media is all that is needed here for women to stop obsessing with their body image. In a large portion of the world it is another story altogether. In those areas, total patriarchy rules absolutely, with painful physical punishments, even death, for women who do not follow the rules- unlike here, where you actually have a choice. Unless you are a Mormon, in which case RUN!

So as a male who does not mind female armpit hair, leg hair, or whatever natural size breasts a woman happens to have, all I can suggest to "natural women" is keep telling your sisters to take a good look at the self-obsessive lifestyle that corporations and their media puppets entice them with and reject it in it's entirety, including crap on TV, Rolling Stone, and "lifestyle" magazines like "Cosmo", etc. If they get put down in any way from their male or female friends, dump those dummies and find better allies. Start at the Teen level. That is where that baloney gets imprinted the most. Actually the Disney Channel starts a little earlier at the pre-teen level. Check out the sexist imagery and dialogue on that channel's primary-colored "tweener" shows. Then write a letter to the Disney CEO. If you have kids, boycott that crap and give them better things to do.

Peace out.

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