Most women start shaving as pre-teens and then mindlessly continue to do so without ever questioning the societal implications. But saying “no thanks” to gender-normative behavior can be incredibly freeing! That’s why Tamara Zeitz, a feminist hero, decided to give up shaving and embrace her natural bodily functions. That is, until her boyfriend gently teased her about it.
“I was about to shave one day when I suddenly realized I didn’t have to,” says Zeitz. “No one was forcing me and I was in control of my own body! So I stopped shaving for like two months until my boyfriend playfully touched my hairy legs and said, ‘You starting a drum circle?’ That’s when I started shaving again.”
Two months razor-free? Iconic!
Zeitz learned a lot throughout her two-month stint as an au naturale goddess. Saving a few minutes in the shower each morning allowed her to then savor her morning cup of coffee, and allowing herself to make her own choices about her body made her realize how many other grooming and makeup traditions were solely rooted in the patriarchy. Incredible work, Tamara!
She was able to strongly stand against societal expectations, until her boyfriend ran his fingers up her leg and said, “You’re like my little pet.” Then she immediately started shaving again!
“He shaves too, so it’s like, he gets it,” Zeitz adds. “Like he can’t really grow a beard and it always comes in super patchy. So he shaves it off every two or three weeks. If he’s putting in the effort to look presentable 40 percent of the time, I should probably be hairless always, right? I mean, right?”
Right, girl!
Zeitz’s main takeaway from her hairy legs days is that shaving really does waste a lot of time. She’s now considering alternatives to shaving so that she can live that shave-free lifestyle while remaining the hairless baby of her boyfriend’s dreams.
“I’m thinking about getting lasered. It’s apparently incredibly painful and doesn’t always work but it seems worth it. I don’t know. Am I ‘womaning’ properly? I honestly can’t tell.”
You def are, girl! Thanks for being an inspiration to us all!
