I’m up against the world and wondering if it’s worth it

By that, I mean the views of the world.  And by that, I am specifically referring to the view that it is mandatory that all women shave their legs and armpits.

I rarely shave my armpits, have never shaved my legs, and honestly think it’s kind of silly to do so.  The only reason I have shaved my armpits is because I know I will be in a situation (bathing suit, etc.) where my armpits will show and I don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention.  This will be discussed in further detail below.

The reason I think it’s silly?  I’m a biologist.  Biologists know about evolution and the fact that an organism’s body does not waste time and energy forming something that is not necessary for survival.  A very plausible explanation for the purpose of the hair is; protecting us from disease.  The skin of your armpits is very porous, which is why a lot of your sweat comes out that area.  This could make it a lot easier for a disease to get into your body.  Women only started shaving their armpits less than century ago (see footnote about origin of shaving) which means that it is very possible that the disease disappeared before then.  As we have seen in the past decade or so, diseases can resurface.  So what if that particular disease does and catches the majority of the female population without hair protecting their armpits?

Even if you don’t accept that as a possibility, why take the chance?  Like I mentioned when I was talking about evolution, I doubt the hair we have serves no purpose.  This is why I think it is silly to remove the hair for appearance purposes.  It’s kind of like a person who has never had to fight for their lives going ‘Hmm…these fingernails are unsightly and don’t seem to serve much of a purpose so I’m going to just remove them’.

As I mentioned before, I don’t much like attention so this is where I’m in a bit of a bind.  On one hand, I believe in my views very strongly and don’t want to ever have to forsake them but on the other, I really don’t want people to look at me strangely and stuff if I am in a situation where my armpits are showing.

This is how I feel I am up against the world.  Is it worth it to have to forsake my views to be able to avoid unwanted attention?

-Daine

Footnote:  Around 1912, a company for men’s shaving products decided they weren’t getting enough profit and they needed a new market.  They then created probably the most effective marketing campaign in history and now almost every woman shaves bother her armpits, and legs.  Freaky, huh? How easy it is to manipulate women when the appearance is brought into the equation?