Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Hair Removal Commercials: Guilty of Sexism

Somehow, having hair, something that grows naturally on your body, makes women less of a woman.  This Veet Ad is complete with a slogan of "Don't risk dudeness," reinforcing the idea that it is not okay for women to have body hair, but it is perfectly fine for men to have it.  It is incredibly transphobic, homophobic, and misogynistic.  Many people think that it is innocent humor, including severa women.  However, it perpetuates a body standard. The commercial plants the idea in all women's minds that they are obligated to shave to be a beautiful person, instead of a hairy gross man.  I am not saying that you have to enjoy body hair on other people.  I am saying people should be able to comfortably be in a public setting with body hair, without being criticized or called names.
Usually, hair removal ads are a little more subtle, but this came out and blatantly said it.
"What does beauty feel like?"  Okay, I get it, soft skin is nice.  I am not saying that women should stop shaving if that's what they feel like they want to do.  But this commercial is guilty as charged too.  First off, these women aren't even shaving for themselves.  They are shaving for the men, putting women's worth in terms of whether or not men are attracted to them.  Also, WHY, please tell me, WHY are we so against body hair as a society, that the woman using the razor in the commercial is shaving an ALREADY SHAVED leg.  How are consumers supposed to see how well the razor works if the ad is demonstrating on a shaved woman? Are we really that phobic of hair in The United States? That would be like if in a Bounty Commercial, someone wiped down an already spotless counter! How silly would that be?

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