Is There More Pressure on Women to Have Good Hygiene?

by SodaHead Living Posted 2012/05/10 18:00:00

Related Topics: Hygiene, Lifestyle, Shaving, Student, Jean, Friends, Gross, Work, Leggings, Legs, Arms, Ugly, Hair, Smell

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836 votes
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	Yes	739 votes	88%
	No	97 votes	12%

We recently told you about a female graduate student who went 18 months without shaving her armpit hair -- and boy, did you have something to say about it! One SodaHead wrote: "It just looks ugly, and I remember the last time it was discussed during the hippie era. Doesn't matter with friends, but for dating it's a total turnoff."

Some of your comments got us thinking: Is there more pressure on women to have good hygiene than there is on men? And where does that pressure come from? Emer O'Toole of Dublin, the woman who stopped shaving her armpit and leg hair, said guys are totally fine with her fuzzy pits, but women are pretty grossed out by them.

Plenty of guys stop shaving the moment they finish the work week, and it's considered perfectly acceptable. Whereas if a woman has a little peach fuzz on her legs or under her arms ... pandemonium! Women are expected to look primped and smell sweet on a daily basis, but some guys don't even wash their jeans -- ever! What do you think? Is there more pressure on women than men to have good hygiene?

+38

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PJ Sweet Cheeks 2012/05/10 19:08:09

Yes

+20
Hell yeah! Look at the news yesterday....Hilliary Clinton photo came out...it made the news because she was not wearing makeup and her hair was not done.....could you imagine if they did this to a man?!!!! So not fair!!! Everything a woman does is based on her looks and that is not right!!!! Yet the ugliest men in the world if they have money they are studs!!! Give us women a break this is BS and men know it!
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Silversnake 2012/05/10 22:29:51

Yes

+2
We all have to conform to social standards. Men are considered incompetent if they don't bring in the money, have a good-paying job, buy things for his girlfriend or wife, be patient and self-sacrificing, be respectful to women even of they don't return the favor, etc.

Women are expected to...well, look good I guess

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Jayfeather to Silvers... 2012/05/10 23:49:41

+2
And yet we claim that gender equality has been achieved.

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2468 to Jayfeather 2012/05/11 01:51:12

It is more of a gender cease fire....like North Korea and South Korea.

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t.eliot, topbard 2012/05/10 22:18:55

Yes

+3
Sad, unfair and true.

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sockpuppet 2012/05/10 22:13:26

Yes

+2
Shaving has nothing to do with hygiene, and it's actually kind of a turn-off. To suit me, a woman should be as clean as I am, and punctual. Other guys probably just have higher standards than I do. :O)

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Jayfeather to sockpuppet 2012/05/10 23:51:15

+1
It's only a turn off because you were raised in a society where it is the norm to shave. But in other countries with fairer standards, you'll find men do not care as much, if at all.

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sockpuppet to Jayfeather 2012/05/11 00:04:55

+1
Body hair doesn't bother me a bit. I think shaving it all off is a turn-off.

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Jayfeather to sockpuppet 2012/05/11 00:11:57

+1
Same here. And if there's no hair in the..... forget about it.

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Melody 2012/05/10 22:03:56

Yes

+5
We all have to look the way that men want us to look.
Men decide how men look, and they also decide how women look.
Women may think they choose their style, habits, etc. but most of it is ingrained in us by the demands of men.
It's sick- women have to shower, shave, apply make-up ALL THE TIME while men get to laze around in their own filth with no repercussions.

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RoyJLores to Melody 2012/05/10 23:27:16

+1
Most women also see women with hairy armpits as kind of gross so is not just a male thing.

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Melody to RoyJLores 2012/05/13 17:03:36

It's not just about the armpits...!

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RoyJLores to Melody 2012/05/13 20:37:00

Well beyond that people are generally disgusted at both genders with bad hygiene

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Melody to RoyJLores 2012/05/13 22:44:44

Yes, but having hairy legs, being a little pudgy, or not being perfectly pretty is not bad hygiene.

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RoyJLores to Melody 2012/05/13 23:02:17

the legs and the armpits are generally seen as signs of good or bad hygiene, being pudgy or not perfectly pretty is not even part of the OP question whatsoever in fact it's off topic.

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Melody to RoyJLores 2012/05/13 23:11:00

No, being unshaven is not bad hygiene, it is NATURE

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RoyJLores to Melody 2012/05/14 04:58:50

Bad body odor is NATURAL too so are poisonous mushrooms and heroin going by that logic.

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Melody to RoyJLores 2012/05/14 21:49:57

And?

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RoyJLores to Melody 2012/05/15 01:20:00

I dare you to go out without bathing and no deodorant for a week and see how it goes. I dare you to challenge a male friend of yours to do the same and see how it goes. Just because it's natural doesn't mean it's beautiful. cold and flu and Ebola are also natural but there is nothing beautiful about them.

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Melody to RoyJLores 2012/05/15 02:01:42

All that matters to me is what I think of myself and what my significant other thinks of me, and we are both perfectly fine with being a little dirty or rugged now and again.

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RoyJLores to Melody 2012/05/15 04:03:41

Being a little dirty or rugged is not the same as being dirty for a week with armpits and legs that look as hairy as a male's and a guy with scruff har and a beard longer than Santa Claus with flies buzzing each of your heads. which would be te result if you took my challenge.

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Melody to RoyJLores 2012/05/15 04:18:05

After a week? Uhm, I already don't shave for a week at a time and still have pretty legs that do not in any way resemble a man's, and my armpits still look brandynew, and my boyfriend's beard does not grow that fast, I don't think anyone's does. This whole "shower every day thing" is new. 1700's and back people were dirty as fudge. Your reasoning is flawed.

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RoyJLores to Melody 2012/05/15 16:45:37

You are both gross and probably stinky too.

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Melody to RoyJLores 2012/05/16 03:06:23

Nope, I smell like sweet pea and almond butter 24/7! :)

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RoyJLores to Melody 2012/05/16 03:21:43

+1
Yeah right and pigs fly. :D

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Jayfeather to Melody 2012/05/10 23:52:52

+3
i agree. This double standard is ridiculous. Women are expected to do so much. Does anybody care about what the WOMEN want?

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MrFabul... to Jayfeather 2012/05/11 09:01:43

No.

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Jayfeather to MrFabul... 2012/05/11 18:34:10

I propose that companies need to stop putting pressure on women. They should try to convince customers with logic, not make them feel insecure.

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MrFabul... to Jayfeather 2012/05/12 02:55:15
Jayfeather to MrFabul... 2012/05/12 04:18:25

+1
Actually, the amount of body hair on a woman also shows the level of fertility. The view on hair was conjured by razor companies to make money. Makeup is a way of pretending you're not aging. The other stuff is 100% true though.

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Melody to MrFabul... 2012/05/13 17:07:42

There is no HAVE TO unless you're attracting men for the wrong reasons. Reality is far more beautiful than plastered and altered. Sure, not everyone is pretty, but not every pretty girl is smart, funny etc. or even fertile, to add to your argument. We are animals, yes, with instincts, but we are capable of LOVE, and love does not demand such petty and shallow things.

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Jayfeather to Melody 2012/05/15 02:06:06

+1
True beauty is within. And physical beauty is found in the natural state of things.

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Melody to Jayfeather 2012/05/13 17:04:48

Exactly, plus the problem is that women LET themselves be demeaned, even if they don't realize it.

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Jayfeather to Melody 2012/05/15 02:05:30

Precisely. I know of women who HATE following social norms, but they feel like they have no other choice. By succumbing to social pressure, they are preventing it from being stopped. If more women spoke up about their true feelings, the media would be undermined. The media uses fear and insecurity to pressure women into buying their products. it's wrong, but nothing is being done to stop it, because people are too afraid to speak up.

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Melody to Jayfeather 2012/05/15 02:07:42

Indeed. Hopefully those with voices will speak up soon. I know I will!

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Jayfeather to Melody 2012/05/15 02:11:34

+1
And I'm sure there are guys who would support those voices. I know I will.

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MrFabul... to Melody 2012/05/11 08:57:17
Melody to MrFabul... 2012/05/13 17:09:53

All the things you used against my argument are selfish things, and anyone who cares about that they wear based on society is insecure and immature. In a real relationship, love is more important than looks. Sure, people want to look their best because that's natural, and being thin is healthy, but the demand men put on women is ridiculous especially since they do bare minimum in return.

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Jayfeather to Melody 2012/05/15 02:07:04

Very true.

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Rhi-ot. 2012/05/10 21:57:43

No

+8
I have very good hygiene, and I expect a guy to have very good hygiene as well or I'll be kind of disgusted. It's just that there are more qualifications for "good hygiene" when it comes to women I think... not anymore pressure to fulfill these qualifications.
Good hygiene has some what been distorted too I think. Make up and hair done does not qualify as good hygiene! A clean face and washed hair is good hygiene.

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t.eliot... to Rhi-ot. 2012/05/10 22:20:09

+2
Well said.

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