Blogs Why women feel pressured to shave

The answer goes back centuries. Hair removal -- or otherwise -- has long shaped gender dynamics, served as a signifier of class and defined notions of femininity and the "ideal body."
However, in its most recent evolution, body hair is being embraced by a growing number of young women who are turning a source of societal shame and turning it into a sign of personal strength.
The rise of gender fluidity, the body-positivity movement and the beauty sector's growing inclusiveness have all contributed to the new wave of hirsuteness.
"It's been deeply stigmatized -- it still is -- and cast with shame," said Heather Widdows, professor of global ethics at the UK's University of Birmingham and author of "Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal," in a phone interview. "Its removal is one of the few aesthetic traditions that have gone from being a beauty routine to a hygienic one.
"Today, most women feel like they have to shave. Like they have no other option. There's something deeply fraught about that -- though perceptions are slowly changing."