There’s always been a debate about women shaving for as long as I can remember. Some think that shaving is completely mandatory – because hello, swimsuit season – while others view it as a “gendered double standard.” Earlier this year, Emerald gave her take on shaving. “Even if I know the historical reasons are kind of silly, I’m not going to stop because I like the look and feel of shaved arms and legs,” she wrote. Here, here.
Women started shaving their underarms in 1915 when the popularity of sleeveless shift dresses boomed. Shaving leg hair followed shortly after, as hemlines grew higher and higher. For the most part, people associate a clean-shaven woman with cleanliness…anything else goes against the grain and is almost taboo.
Breanne Fahs, a professor at Arizona State University, is changing that. She offers extra credit for women in her class who opt to skip shaving their armpits and legs for 10 weeks. Men receive extra credit for shaving from the neck down.
“There’s no better way to learn about societal norms than to violate them and see how people react,” Fahs said in this Buzzfeed story.
Sounds like the easiest A ever.
Candy Girls, would you nix your razor to fight the power (and to bump that grade up)?
[Lead image via]
Would You Skip Shaving for Extra Credit?
