Body hair has become a prominent topic for feminists and women in general. The existence of it, or lack thereof, sparks a lot of conversations that can get heated in seconds. Why should women have to shave? Why is hair an important factor for feminists? Why is it even considered a political statement?
While there are no easy answers, activists and feminists of all sorts explore women’s complicated relationship with body hair and the effect it has on their image and self-esteem. In an interview with Bustle, Dana Suchow, a public speaker and educator, talks about her body hair and what it felt like when she decided to stop shaving after having done so her entire life.
Suchow is prominent on social media, having over 33k followers on Instagram. Her brand specializes in fueling conversations about feminism and self-image. In the interview, she explains that she started shaving her legs and body when she was 12-years-old, and decided to stop doing so during one winter when she was single. “There was no reason for me to shave every Friday night like I had been doing for years,” she said.
While Suchow still fits into society’s beauty standards and has an easier time than some, she claims that having body hair does influence other aspects of her life. “It’s interesting. While I’m scared to show my hairy body to a man, I have zero problem sharing pics of it to thousands of people on Instagram. A thousand comments from strangers is still less scary than one comment from a man in the bedroom.”
Suchow claims that even though the amount of body hair in her body doesn’t dictate how much of a feminist she is, she is still sticking to not shaving until she can finally feel comfortable in her own skin and not feel like her hair is something that’s repulsive or that has to follow certain societal norms. You can check out the full interview on Bustle, and see some of Dana’s work on her website.
