So I’ve been hesitant to post any thoughts about this particular issue as I’d like to try and stay positive about women, femininity AND feminism, and the mere mention of the word feminism throws people into fits of epilepsy. But I feel that the topic of bikini/Brazilian waxing – as it relates to feminism – must be broached in light of so many articles of late, posting anti-waxing diatribes which put my industry – women – into a very bad light. As if we don’t have the maturity or wherewithal to make our own decisions about what we want to do with our own bodies, whether it has to do with reproductive rights or removing all the hair from our nether regions.
The last time I checked, the feminist movement, feminist belief, has to do with the ability to MAKE OUR OWN CHOICES equally with that of any other sentient being. This includes the ability to go fully de-haired in my lady bits. Why is it anyone’s business to judge those of us who like to see our own skin? Why must me removing my hair have everything to do with pleasing a man? Why does it automatically mean that I MUST be trying to look like a pre-pubescent teenager and that my partner is some kind of creep? Why does hair removal have ANYTHING to do with pleasing anyone other than myself?
I see between eight to ten clients a day – most of them for some type of bikini wax – from conservative trimming to the Full Monty with age ranges from 21- 70. And I’ve been doing this for nearly eight years, so I can tell you from an experienced point of view that most women who get some form of bikini service do so because of the desire to feel clean, fresh, well-groomed, and hate the time-consumption and irritation of shaving. NOT because they are trying to please a partner who wants to have sex with a pre-pubescent child. NOT because they are subjugating themselves to a man’s whims. NOT because we are conforming to society’s expectations. These narrow-minded views are unfair and based on a very misguided assumption that women are weak and don’t have the brains to make their own decisions. I won’t deny there is a visual aspect to certain types of bikini waxing, but WHY does it have to be equated with pre-pubescence?? Why can’t it be that we just want to show off our VULVA (say it with me – VULVA) because we think it is beautiful? And what IS wrong with the extra visual stimulation a bikini/Brazilian could provide? And for all the detractors who call full waxing ‘creepy’, perhaps you may need to try it first, open your mind to your own womanhood. All that beautiful skin? It’s you. It’s gorgeous – no need to hide it. It is feminine, it is feminist. Hair or no hair, it’s your choice. And based on my experience, one of the most common sentiments among my clients is expressed by the husband of one of my Brazilian waxing clients: “he doesn’t care what I do down there – he’s just happy for the invite.”
Let it out if you wish. Let it breathe. See the beauty that lies beneath.
