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Period: 1493 BCE to
When did body hair on women become less of a trend and why did it form into something us females are all ashamed of?
The evolution of body hair becoming shameful and "unacceptable" for women to have in society. This gradual evolution was not something that happened over night. It was years and years of very slow acceptance of other cultures or new trends. Women and men both played a role in making hairless women a common and almost expected practice. Because this trend was such a gradual evolution, the point of acceptance and the time where this became an expectation is hard to pinpoint. -
1492 BCE
The Met Mirror and Razor
Even though the practice of removing body hair existed in ancient Egypt, it could help raise social class and position of men and women. It was also used as a survival method against harsh weather, hence this artifact plays an important role in displaying the historical assumptions regarding body hair, and how they were not associated with beauty standards. [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/688624?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&ft=razor+and+mirror&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=1] -
200 BCE
Aphrodite- Google Arts and Culture
This marble statue, like many others who represent ancient roman goddesses or even regular women, presenting completely hairless bodies started to set beauty standards for women today. While men with body hair were manly and brave, women were expected to not have a single hair on their bodies. This artifact shows the transition of seeing body hair as a class issue to associating body hair with beauty.
[https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/aphrodite-venus-of-taurida-unknown/pwGYItP-bYukHQ] -
The British Museum-Tweezers
This artifact represents the transitioning of the idea that removal of body hair should somehow only be a requirement for women if they want to acquire a better social position. Despite the purpose still being strictly related to social class and position, this era was no doubt the starting of associating body hair with ideal body image. [https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1866-1203-183] -
Schermack Round Razor- Smithsonian
With hairless women just like sculptures of Greek and Roman goddesses appearing in advertisements, our beauty industry successfully associated body hair with shame and embarrassment. Whether it's tweezing, shaving, waxing, or depilatory, most women nowadays use some sort of hair removal in their daily beauty routines. Hair removal has become one of the most popular beauty procedures thanks to new technology.[https://www.si.edu/object/schermack-round-razor%3Anmah_1212412] -