What do you think? Is it ok to tell women to shave or risk “dudeness”?
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“Ignorant”, “Sexist”, “Insulting”, “Shaming women”, “Homophobic” say both men and women on hair removal brand Veet’s facebook page.
After a week of shocked comments about the company encouraging stereotypical gender constructs to sell more products, Veet eventually pulls its ad, only broadcasted in the US. It can still be seen online though.
At the same time, photographer Ben Hopper‘s work on natural beauty is getting viral and giving an appropriate response to Veet’s violent work.
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The advert was angrily received by many viewers for showing a man waking up next to his lover, who has been transformed into a man after not waxing. Another clip shows a woman hailing a taxi, which then refuses to take her because forgetting to shave has—surprise surprise—suddenly transformed her into a man.
It concludes with the warning don’t risk dudeness and informs women that wax strips could help them feel womanly around the clock. Shaming women and measuring masculinity by body hair is basically Veet’s work of art in these commercials. They sicken me. What about you?
A spokesperson for Veet in the UK said the US advert has not been aired outside of America and has been well received by most. “This is a US advertisement, and has only been aired in North America. In the UK our marketing focus is quite different,” a spokesperson said.
“While the current advertising campaign for Veet running in the USA has been well received by most consumers who appreciate its wacky, tongue in cheek humour, it has also provoked a great deal of comment. We take our responsibilities very seriously and the ad was carefully reviewed before it aired.
However we are very concerned by any misinterpretation of its tone or meaning, and in the light of the feedback received we have decided to withdraw it. We would also like to apologise for any offense it may have caused. That was certainly not our intention.”
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Some other media companies weigh in:
“In the time it took you to read that last paragraph, your legs got a fraction of an inch hairier, and you lost the name of Woman” wrote Alexandra Petri in the Washington Post.
“The implication of this (A Man Doesn’t Wake Up In A Bed Where There Is Another Man Unless There Has Been A Horrible Mistake) is more than a bit homophobic” wrote Kate Dries on Jezebel.
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Ben Hopper‘s work deserves a dedicated post for his work in photography. Please check out his photos of his last published project called “Natural Beauty”.
Hopper asked models and actresses to grow out their body hair and challenge the idea that hairy women are in any way unattractive or unhygienic.
As Hopper explains on his website, “Although armpit hair is a natural state it has become a statement. Why is that? For almost a century we have been brainwashed by the beauty industry, encouraging hair removal. By creating a contrast between common ‘fashionable’ female beauty and the raw unconventional look of female armpit hair thoughts are intrigued and a discussion is made.”
Indeed, centerfold and beauty photos from before 1915 often display plenty of body hair. After the first women’s shaving campaign in the 1910s, the industry took off and hasn’t looked back since. Along with their new line of feminine hygiene products cam countless ads convincing women that armpit hair was unhygienic and unattractive. This is for you, Veet.
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This article has dozens of people weighing in on our Facebook page. See what everyone is saying and express your own opinion here.
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Read on Mashable, Washington Post, Jezebel,
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Love this article, thank you. I myself am a 26 year old woman who does not shave a single hair on my body! I actually run a whole erotica site, NaughtyNatural.com based around beautiful women who do not shave and have a photo book out now called, ‘Unshaven’ http://amzn.to/1PO96rR
If you like this article and are a fan of women doing what they want with their bodys and rejecting social norms that say they should remove their body hair, I highly suggest you check out my work.
-Nikki Silver twitter.com/xnikkisilverx
They’ve got to be trolling. Seriously. There’s no other plausible explanation for crap of this magnitude.
The current fashion for women being smooth shaven goes back to the 1910’s when a shaver company merely wanted to sell more razors. That became the norm. Basically a created one. This ad continues that theme of created beauty values but takes it a step further by literally transforming a woman into a man if she dares have some naturally and biologically grown body hair. That’s what is offensive about this ad in my opinion. So, what you’re saying Jonathan, is that since the history of nailpolish is that it was created for men to decorate their bodies first, roughly… Read more »
What a coincidence, just last night I heard a talk about the history of female body hair. I hate to say it, but the hairy centerfolds of the 19th and early 20th centuries were somewhat of a historical anomaly. The practice of body hair removal goes back at least 2,000 years. The ancient Greek ideal was for women to have hair only on their heads. It’s been a remarkably resilient practice in Western societies ever since.
Sure, most men would shave as well.
I don’t think its sickening, I do not feel objectified….. I laughed, out loud…literally, I am a woman and I can laugh at such silliness… I wish the same could be said for others.
buddy who wrote it probably has a hair fetish lmao
holy… whoever wrote this article woke up on the wrong side of the bed. the ad is a funny ad, and its a good ad because it brings discussion to the issue of female body hair. if you’re saying anything negative about this ad, then you should be looking inward to see why this affects you so much, and try to resolve your personal issues.
How many MEN on here wouldn’t couldn’t care if their woman’s legs were hairier their own? I don’t care what ANY woman thinks, I don’t care about biology(in terms of above arguements). I do know this: I don’t want my woman to have more hair on her legs than me. You do what floats your boat, but like MANY men I find it, JUST.PLAIN.WEIRD!
@Anonymous… She can have as much hair on her body as she damn well please. My girlfriend who is a cop does not shave her arms, legs, or pubic area. She does trim her pubic region. It does not bother men one damn bit. Why? Because I know that beautiful and lovely person laying next to me in bed is a woman. I know that highly charged sexual being is a woman. Oh how I love it so!! Honestly, I am very much turned off by women with bare pubic areas (not that I have seen that many in reality).… Read more »
I don’t have a problem with people analyzing this ad. The problem I have with it is they believe the ad is responsible for the way society is. This ad is merely a mirror what really occurs in reality. Not only that, but they believe that criticizing the ad and lambasting the company somehow solves the issue. It doesn’t. And yes there are MANY guys that feel this way about women and hairiness. Whether we’ve been programmed by society or just prefer it from the get-go is irrelevant.
I see that most people know that the ad is just a mirror. A mirror that helps reinforcing it.
Knowing about societal programming is relevant for many of us.
And if there are MANY guys that feel like women are men for not shaving, well, what can we say about that hight number of male idiots?
That first comment comes across as ever so slightly ignorant and just plain mean. “Just ignore these feminist types and focus on the good ones”. I mean, really.
Not sure how you find it ignorant, am I mistating a fact? I can see how you think it is mean, but I disagree…A should be free to choose what type of girl he likes and wants to be with. A girl should ignore guys who disagree with their views and a guy should have the same right, dunt you agree?
You say “like a lady”… women and men both have hair on their bodies for a reason.
Just because society has constructed a system in which baldness = feminine, it doesn’t have to be that way, and gender does not need to be acknowledged in that way. Natural beauty, and choosing to embrace the way our bodies are maintained is not feminine or masculine, it is personal choice, and a human right. Yes, everyone has their own preference, but the point is not to shame someone for their body.
And was Josh trying to shame anyone for their bodies?
I’ll agree that first comment of his is a bit harsh but not totally untruthful.
He basically said feminine women/ladies don’t have body hair.
Oh, Danny, Danny… always condoning sexism against women, no respect for you. 🙂
do men become feminine once they start balding?? John thinks so!
Well, in a sense they DO, actually. It happens more as they get older, they start gaining more fat (feminine trait), some even get small “breats” (feminine, indeed). Fat men in general lose their masculine figure to look kinda feminine.
Women are not men. They are not “less” than a man, but they are not a man. It is okay to treat a lady as a lady and TO EXPECT THEM TO ACT LIKE A LADY. Men, there are way more women than men. There are many women that like to be treated like a lady and want to be seen as feminine. Just ignore these feminist types and focus on the good ones.
Did you read your comment through before you posted?
Yes. Did you?
Wow. That is ugly, Josh.
You dont agree that a guy has a right to ignore females who are not feminine if he is attracted only to feminine women?
Do you agree that you have a right to ignore biology because it doesn’t fit into your little fantasy mind that you have created for yourself?
And while we’re at it maybe we should start a campain to rid all men of the nipples they keep carrying around as if they had the right – don’t they know they are being feminine by having them?!
men with nipples are just too feminine for me… don’t they know nipples are for women?
No one was freaking talking about this. You can ignore anyone you want.
The ARTICLE ABOVE (read that for once) was talking about freedom to be who you are, and groom as you please. And you bring your nonsense here because you feel your ~~~feminine women paradise~~~ needs defense or something. Gtfo and grow a brain, with the part that generates compassion intact.
(Hair is feminine, btw. That’s what WOMEN have, that shows their puberty/fertility, just like man after puberty/fertility)
no josh, women are not men. but it’s not because they have naturally growing hair on their bodies, it’s (believe it or not) because of the fact that they have breasts and a vagina. is this such a hard concept? hair grows for a reason. god forbid a woman doesn’t take 30-45 mins out of her schedule every day to shave little hairs off of her legs. that would just be unnatural. right?
Women are not men and vice-versa (no shit, Sherlock). Check.
It’s okay to treat people with manners. Check.
It’s okay to expect whatever you want from people. Check… just don’t complain when they aren’t who you believe they should be.
There are “way more” women than men… well, it depends on how much “way more” is to you.
Sure, some women like to be “seen” as feminine or masculine or whatever. Check.