Rise Up Against Your Fashion Overlords - Taylor Williams

Gender-based physical expectations are mainly targeted toward women, the group harmed most by them. Many women experience some form of eating disorder because of the beauty standards enforced on them by other women or by society overall through media such as advertisements or films. Shaving has been pushed on women by advertising agencies since 1915 when sleeveless dresses became popular (an ad featured in Harper’s Bazaar, a fashion magazine of the time called underarm hair objectionable. -WYSK). The main reason they began marketing to women being that they weren’t making enough money just marketing to men. This societal expectation has grown to cause people to believe that body hair is gross and unnatural despite the health benefits having it provides -- it is there for a reason, after all. Shaving around genitals puts you more at risk for infections and injury as well as chafing. Pornography causes inexperienced people to be surprised that bodies are formed differently than those shown and may increase bad sexual experiences overall. Fashion has enforced a reliance on capitalism by making women’s clothing more cheaply and costing more for less functionality. For example, most women’s shirts are made from thin cloth, causing the need for a second (or third) layer. Men’s shirts, however, tend to be made for longer life and can be worn without anything underneath without risk of being pretty much naked. It also has caused physical harm to women by making them view themselves as being the “wrong” shape and causing them to try to change the way their body looks to make it more acceptable be it by starvation, dieting, or corsets. (see also: foot binding) The image of women being below men physically and mentally has been prevalent throughout history (excluding ancient Spartan women and several African tribes where women are more powerful than / equally powerful to men).

1. WYSK “Pit Stop: A Quick History of Women and Shaving”  http://www.womenyoushouldknow.net/pit-stop-a-quick-history-of-women-shaving/