This week is all about armpits, or more specifically, armpit hair.
The media was awash in pictures of celebrities and hippie types from Miley to Girls' star Jemima Kirke raising their arms to show off their hairy and sometimes colourful pits. While over in China a social media contest urged women to share “characteristic and beautiful and confident” images of their underarm hair in the name of feminism and freedom.
"I hope to raise the issue of the ownership of female body and to dispel the belief that it is wrong for girls to keep their armpit hair," said the contest creator, 25-year-old Xiao Meili. "Keeping armpit hair should not be seen as uncivilized or dirty - it is nothing of the sort."
"The greater message here is about discussing the ownership of female body and challenging the stereotyping of femininity."
Ditch the razor! R.I.P. wax! Meili's contest was a call to disarm if you will...
Is armpit hair really the last frontier in female beauty? Is hair removal a sign of subjugation of the female species, or something a whole lot more trivial?
Removing armpit hair is not a telltale that you are repressed by society.
Having gone through a requisite shaving boycott as a teen, I eventually picked up the razor again after a few months because I realized I preferred a smooth finish to a fuzzy one.
But my decision to shave or not to shave is just that - my decision - and it's not one motivated by trends or some weird notion of femininity.
Way back during the London premiere of Notting Hill, Julia Roberts got flak from fans and critics for her dark pits. But as a species haven't we moved beyond caring about people's underarms since then? I'd like to think so.
So do whatever the hell you like with your armpit hair, see if I care!
Shave, don't shave, wax, don't wax... But whatever you do, do it 'cause you alone feel like it, not because you feel pressured by some political or fashion statement.
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