bobby bleistein

Bobby Bleistein

In Breanne Fahs and Denise Delgado. “The Specter of Excess: Race, Class, and Gender in Women’s Body Hair Narratives” women and their hair are assessed on a modern day scale. In this article it explains ways in which women are put down for having too much hair, one prime example of this is when Fahs explains an experiment that was done where women would not shave for a time period and would take criticism from their family and loved ones. These put downs would include sayings such as you look manly, you look dirty. These are which said in a joking manner but held true to the accusers. These women would also wear clothing that exposed their hair to the world. In many cases women with husbands/ boyfriends wouldn’t even have sex because their husband/boyfriend wouldn’t allow. For example when stated in the article that one woman’s boyfriend refused to hook up with her until she shaved herself. 

This although sounds like a terrible thing on paper and in this context, this is something that occurs on a daily basis for many women. Whom who may not be able to shave due to their culture or just choose not to must face these problems in their every day lives. I feel as if shaving for a women is something that we are accustomed, in America, to expect. I feel that some women would feel the need to shave for personal hygiene reasons but there would also be women who choose not to.  And if one chooses to not follow or abide by these “ gender rules” they become ridiculed and passed on with out even a look at what kind of person they are. This just goes to show how the perception of American gender beauty and gender rules have changed form the past.