Fundy women and shaving (or not)

[dilannsmom]

I grew up fundy lite (skirts/dresses to church, jeans/pants to school etc). Shaving was the norm at my church--men are supposed to be hairy, women are not. My mom "taught" me to shave to my knees. She didn't think there was a need to shave any higher than that (she was fair haired...I am not).

I played along with the shave to the knees until the summer I was 13. Then, the first time I put on a swimsuit and noticed "things" hanging out it was into the shower to shave from ankles ankles to WAY past my knees. :pink-shock:

[gustava]

I went to school with a very fundamentalist Pentecostal girl in high school who didn't shave her legs or pits. She also had waist length hair and was skirts-only. She did, however, go to college and she was smart as a whip.

Some of the objection to leg-shaving and makeup may have come from those practices originating with prostitutes.

I'll bet some fun die heads would asplode knowing that the Koran mentions some grooming practices that follow.

Cleopatra, shaving wasn't always part of being a well-groomed woman. (See comment about hookers above.) There was also a thing in the early 70s for feminists not to shave their legs. I didn't for a while. but came to the conclusion that it felt better for me to do so. Razors also got better so that I was not sending about half of my legs towards the Atlantic Ocean every day or two. OUCH!

Oh yeah!!!!!

[marmalade]

Shaving legs/arm pits was pretty normal.

What about "grooming?" Did Gothardite women bother shaving even the bikini line, given they weren't going to expose it in a bathing suit? I can't see any pubic grooming at all, let alone a self-inflicted Brazilian! :o

[Savoring Samsara]

In my experience, it varies from person to person and from church to church in terms of what is believed or taught on this matter. I have known more fundamentalists who shaved religiously (no pun intended) than those who didn't shave, though - as others have said, it seemed like a conventional femininity thing to me. In issues like this, I think that beliefs and practices are a lot more variable from fundie to fundie than we might sometimes assume.

[PennySycamore]

dilannsmom, our 9th grade gym teacher, a grad of Abilene Christian College (Church of Christ), used to do the shave to just above the knees thing. The problem was was that she always wore shorts that were slightly above the shave line and that she also had black leg hair. It was not attractive.

edited to add a comma

[lemonhead]

What about "grooming?" Did Gothardite women bother shaving even the bikini line, given they weren't going to expose it in a bathing suit? I can't see any pubic grooming at all, let alone a self-inflicted Brazilian! :o

LOL I was so sheltered growing up that I did not know about shaving my bikini line, much less more extensive grooming, until after I was married. As far as the swimsuit problem, boys and girls were not allowed to swim together after the tween years, and even then we wore very modest one piece suits with very long t shirts over, so no "strays" would have been visible.

[singsingsing]

I didn't know what brazilian waxes were until I was in my 20s. I still can't fathom getting one - cannot imagine lying spread eagle on a table while a stranger waxes my nether regions. Yiiiikes! But my disclaimer for this would be that this is just my personality. I have no issue with anyone else getting them done. :)

[delilahdog11]

I would just assume that fundie girls shave because it is more close to the feminine ideal. Men are hairy and women are not. There may be some strict families that don't let their girls shave because that could be seen as too overtly sexy and should only be done by a woman once she is married. I have no idea because none have really spoken on the subject.

[gravelmonkey]

There was a post on Feeling Feminine back when it was still in operation. The "authoress" suggested that Christian women shouldn't shave. It was vain and worldly, and she chose to spend that time on things more in accordance with God's will.

Huge arguments broke out in the comment section. Half agreed, the other half felt more feminine with bare underarms.

[FloraKitty35]

i think the maxwell girls do shave in that little bit of leg they show

They might start shaving what isn't showing when it's long enough to woven into fabric for their hair shirts. One can never do enough penance in Maxhell. :pray: :worship:

[miffy]

It wouldn't surprise me if some of the more worldly fundie wives do their own waxing, because that's what headship likes.

[Jana814]

It wouldn't surprise me if some of the more worldly fundie wives do their own waxing, because that's what headship likes.

Agree!

[fullmetalheart]

That's a really great question. In Duggar-land, wouldn't shaving one's shins be "taking away from their countenance" (or whatever their typical spiel about modesty includes)?

I swear to God, their use of the word "countenance" cracks me up every single time.

B.D. (that is, Before Duggars), I'd never heard it used outside of the Bible , and even then a particular verse mainly used as benedictions in a church service. I was like "Seriously? SERIOUSLY?"