History Behind Women Shaving Their Legs

Wearing a bikini, shorts or a miniskirt is part of American fashion. The styles show off a lot of "leg." In American culture those legs are predominantly without hair. It's not a genetic biological evolution, but an evolution of our society.

Considerations

In modern time until the early 1900s, not much thought went into the hair on a woman's legs or under her arms. The reason for the shift to being clean shaven is not a dramatic event such as war or a disease, but a well executed marketing campaign.

The modern insistence on smooth legs and underarms is not a new phenomenon. Historically, there is evidence that past civilizations shaved, scraped, plucked and tweezed away hair from the body.

Time Frame

According to quickshave.com, there is evidence from 3,000 to 4,000 B.C. that women were removing body hair, sometimes using dangerous ingredients like arsenic as a depilatory cream. (Reference 1)

Around 500 B.C.Roman women removed hair with razors and even pumice stones.

Egyptians removed hair from their entire body, including their heads. Their reasoning was both aesthetic and to combat disease and pests such as lice. (Reference 2)

Modern History

The Journal of American Culture; Caucasian Female Body Hair and American Culture; Christine Hope; 1982 revels that the modern act of shaving under the arms and legs was engineered by nothing more than a marketing blitz to sell razors. The campaign has become known at The Great Underarm Campaign. (Reference 3)

Fun Fact

It started with an article released May, 1915, in Harper's Bazaar. Words expressed in the article such as "objectionable hair" led women to begin shaving under their arms. Fashion did play a role in this transition because the style at the time was sleeveless tops.

Razor sales quickly doubled and the campaign was a tremendous success. Over the next several decades as skirt lines began to inch upward, the practice of shaving the legs became more widespread.

Famous Ties

An inference is made to the famous Greta Garbo pinup around World War II and her smooth legs as the final catalyst for North American women to embrace shaving their legs.

References

• quickshave.com
• Women in Ancient Egypt

Resources

• The Straight Dope