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PUBLIC OPINION > Women Are Better Off Shaving Their Armpits

SodaHead Living 2012/05/07 13:00:00
Some people meditate to reflect on their self-image, or if they're really serious about it, visit other cultures where the idea of beauty is different. Few people do what Emer O'Toole is doing. The 28-year-old Dublin resident stopped shaving her armpits and legs 18 months ago. Of course, other people have done it -- even well-known people. Julia Roberts' unshaven appearance at the "Notting Hill" premiere in 1999 is probably the most notorious instance, but Drew Barrymore, Fergie, Lily Allen, and Tyra Banks have all done it, too. We asked more than 800 people if they think it's gross.

armpits recap

While O'Toole's confidence is admirable, it's not going to fly for most people. It's just too weird. For every person who admires her for what she's doing, two people can't help but be grossed out but it. Although, to a certain extent, that's why she did it. The Top Opinion wrote, "Sometimes it's good to question societal conventions. Good for her for having the courage to do just that." More often, comments read something like this: "Ewwwww. I don't care how natural it is. That's why women wax the unibrow."

Men Are Slightly More Grossed Out

Technically men were more grossed out than women by about 4%, but that's barely within the margin of error. We were actually kind of surprised to see so little variance between the male and female vote, but it indicates that this particular form of trichophobia does not discriminate. Both men and women are, for the most part, grossed out by it.

Bisexuals Put Up With It

There were only a few demographics that actually sided with O'Toole in a majority vote, and none of them were very strong. The strongest, however, was the bisexual vote. Bisexual voters were 24% more likely to condone female armpit hair and 5% more likely than homosexual voters, for a total of 55%. Obviously, bisexuals are going to be more willing to challenge gender norms and leave them open to interpretation.

Overweight Are Kind of OK With It

The most interesting correlation we came across was in the weight category. All weight classes save for the heaviest ("love handles") hovered around 30% approval, but 51% of overweight voters were OK with it. A quote from O'Toole might explain why: "I've started to examine where my confidence comes from. If it's my looks, and my self-esteem is linked to that, then I've realized I need to find other sources for that confidence."

If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit our poll about female armpit hair. We'd love to hear from you!
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Top Opinion

  • Bigbrowneyes 2012/05/07 17:13:33
    Bigbrowneyes
    +17
    I still can't get over how much hair she has under her arms...I don't shave at all and most people can't really notice.And contrary to popular belief, most women do not have anywhere near the amount of body hair that men do, and even if some do, so what?

    Again. It's not about cleanliness. If you think that, then shave your head because sweat and oil get trapped. There's this cool thing called soap, if you didn't know, and it's used to remove germs

    The only thing that you can legitimately argue is its aesthetic appearance in terms of your cultural relativism. You don't have to do it, but please stop insulting people who are happy with their natural bodies.

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Opinions

  • TKramar Lanikai 2012/05/07 22:09:15
    TKramar
    immaterial, actually.

    I've shaved my legs and armpits before, upon request.
  • Luver 2012/05/07 17:48:57
    Luver
    +1
    I think its all dependent on personal preference. If you don't want to you don't have to, don't think you need to because its what other people say you should. I do, because I like it better that way, but I think girls should.
  • President Camacho 2012/05/07 17:37:30
    President Camacho
    +2
    Cultural.
  • Charlotte 2012/05/07 17:24:00
    Charlotte
    Gets a little smelly but , whatever floats your boat.
  • Bigbrowneyes 2012/05/07 17:13:33
    Bigbrowneyes
    +17
    I still can't get over how much hair she has under her arms...I don't shave at all and most people can't really notice.And contrary to popular belief, most women do not have anywhere near the amount of body hair that men do, and even if some do, so what?

    Again. It's not about cleanliness. If you think that, then shave your head because sweat and oil get trapped. There's this cool thing called soap, if you didn't know, and it's used to remove germs

    The only thing that you can legitimately argue is its aesthetic appearance in terms of your cultural relativism. You don't have to do it, but please stop insulting people who are happy with their natural bodies.
  • Sass Bigbrow... 2012/05/07 19:27:16
    Sass
    +2
    Girls-- For years my Mom didn't shave her armpits because she wasn't taught to do it. It was smelly when she sweated and looked like she had Buckwheat from Little Rascals in a headlock. If you leave that hair to grow for any length of time, you will look like you have a BUSH growing under your arms. It is NOT attractive to ANYONE.
  • Keith Sass 2012/05/07 19:44:21
    Keith
    +1
    To some it might have been sweat has pheromones.
  • Bigbrow... Sass 2012/05/07 20:05:45
    Bigbrowneyes
    +5
    False. There are people who are attracted...And if your mom is unattractive, it doesn't mean everyone else is.
  • Aquaduck Bigbrow... 2012/05/08 03:27:07
    Aquaduck
    +1
    Women unfortunately have hormones that cause our armpits to stink more than men, that's why we shave. Bacteria gets caught up in under-arm hair, not on your head. And if soap was enough to keep us clean, we wouldn't need deodorant (which, by that way, gets stuck in the hair, and doesn't get to the armpit itself, so it does no good, therefore that musty smell is still there). just letting ya know.
  • Bulanov... Aquaduck 2012/05/08 08:42:14 (edited)
    Bulanova (Team Hargitay)
    I would like to see a couple of sources that say women biologically stink more than men. I don't believe it so right now, but if you can provide a couple of sources, I will consider it. I've googled it, but I haven't come up with anything. All I've gotten are articles that say women have better olfactory sense perception than men, meaning, quite literally, women smell better than men. XD At most, what I have turned up indicates biological stench is equal among the genders.
  • Bigbrow... Aquaduck 2012/05/08 14:36:12
    Bigbrowneyes
    I have not shaved my underarms for a while. I clean them religiously, and I use deodorant. They do not smell or look bad to me or anyone close to me, and it's a natural thing you get used to.
  • Sass Aquaduck 2012/05/08 16:14:34
    Sass
    +1
    THANK YOU!
    Men also sweat differently than women do, due to hormones. The armpit odor a man produces is a stronger musk than a female's, so even though a man doesn't sweat any more than us ladies, it sure smells like it, because his stench is a lot naturally stronger (ever notice how male urine smells stronger than female urine, too? It's the testosterone). As a result of hormones, to counteract the odorous stench of a man's sweaty pits, the deodorants aimed at men are indeed stronger and muskier than deodorants aimed at females.

    So perhaps men do smell a bit more sweaty than us ladies do, but the main reason we notice the stench at all (and even in ourselves) is that we naturally are more sensitive to armpit odor.
  • Sass Bigbrow... 2012/05/08 16:09:15
    Sass
    +1
    Ok, sweetie, you just keep thinking that. We aren't barbarians anymore ya know, at least "some" of us aren't.
  • Bigbrow... Sass 2012/05/08 16:16:10
    Bigbrowneyes
    Ahaha...Wow...Cultural relativism at its finest.
  • Anthony... Bigbrow... 2012/05/08 09:43:08
    Anthony Souls
    +2
    Comparing armpit hair with scalp hair is preposterous. Your scalp hair isn't embedded underneath your arms, nor rubbing all of the time through movements: your scalp hair isn't as concealed as your armpit hair. And I'm saying all of this to point out the obvious, there are differences between the two, which requires different hygienic methods: aka deodorant and shaving (if you use it as a method).

    Of course it's aesthetics as well, and of course it's subjective/relative: however, it's not going to prevent people from stating that it's unattractive to them.

    Take care,
  • Bigbrow... Anthony... 2012/05/08 14:49:14
    Bigbrowneyes
    Just giving something to consider...A bald head is easier to clean and traps less things from outside and eliminates the risk of lice. Comparing armpit to head hair may not be completely accurate, but it can show that removal of hair is only associated with good hygiene because a society has agreed that it is hygienic rather than exploring the science behind it. And there may be different ways of dealing with different kinds of hair, but removal of underarm hair is relatively new in this culture...Since the 1920s in the United States. Later for some other places, and not at all in others.
  • Sass Bigbrow... 2012/05/08 16:18:33
    Sass
    Deodorant goes beneath the arm because the armpit seems to be the locus classicus of all dirty, filthy, stinking, sweaty odors. But is that being fair to the armpit?
    In a word: Yes. Definitely, yes.

    The sweat that is produced in the armpit is different from the sweat that gathers at your temple, in your hair, on your back or down your chest. The sweat produced beneath the arms is stronger, muskier and just generally more offensive. But not at all times. Fresh sweat even up there in the crux of the armpit does not normally have a naturally bad odor. The problem is that armpit perspiration, which is naturally stronger than sweat elsewhere, decays and decomposes quite rapidly. That is just one reason why your armpit sweat smells so bad.
  • Bigbrow... Sass 2012/05/08 16:28:11
    Bigbrowneyes
    Others' sweat does not particularly bother me, and I specifically ask my fiance not to use deodorant. Pheromones, you know. I don't care for my own scent particularly, so most of the time I use antiperspirant. Hair helps sweat to evaporate. Trust me. And there are men who prefer natural bodies...And my brother specifically asks his girlfriend to be natural. We can go on arguing about this for days, but I don't see how other people doing their "own thing" is so offensive to you that you would need to argue. It is not as though we are saying you shouldn't shave, but you are saying that people like me should and that it's disgusting not to...Why do you care? IDo you want to sleep with me?
  • Sass Bigbrow... 2012/05/09 14:51:20
    Sass
    GAG!!!!
  • Bigbrow... Sass 2012/05/09 16:45:19
    Bigbrowneyes
    Then why in the hell does it matter to you?
  • GLaDOS 2012/05/07 17:03:08
    GLaDOS
    I must say, I'm surprised how thick her hair is, there. I'm not used to seeing unshaved girl's underarms that hairy. I still say good for her, though.

    I wonder if the people who say that is gross also believe that penii are ugly/gross.
  • Bigbrow... GLaDOS 2012/05/07 17:15:43
    Bigbrowneyes
    Yeah that's more than average...Maybe if Drew Barrymore was on here, teehee.
  • GLaDOS Bigbrow... 2012/05/07 17:20:34
    GLaDOS
    I know when I don't shave, it doesn't cover that much area at all, and it certainly isn't that thick. But, it probably wouldn't have been seen as all that important if it wasn't that thick/full.
  • Bigbrow... GLaDOS 2012/05/07 17:31:28
    Bigbrowneyes
    Yeah. If there was a woman with the little bit of fuzz a lot of us have, there would have been a lot more "great" votes.
  • Lady Apple 2012/05/07 16:59:53
    Lady Apple
    Both man or woman '
    This is bad and disgusting and unacceptable view.
    Cleanliness is a duty
    In Islam, cleanliness from faith
  • GLaDOS Lady Apple 2012/05/07 17:03:40
    GLaDOS
    +1
    So... Muslim men shave themselves as well?
  • Lady Apple GLaDOS 2012/05/07 17:13:14
    Lady Apple
    F you mean special areas
    ((Yes))
    this is" not a binding but hygiene personal.
  • GLaDOS Lady Apple 2012/05/07 17:18:21
    GLaDOS
    I mean all over. Arms, legs, under the arms, genitals, face, etc.
  • Lady Apple GLaDOS 2012/05/07 17:46:53
    Lady Apple
    From the teachings of the Sunnah. Must
    Armpit and pubic hair .. for men and women
  • GLaDOS Lady Apple 2012/05/07 18:07:43
    GLaDOS
    +1
    So, just armpit and pubic hair? Interesting. Eliminate only the hair that produces our personal scents and allows a woman to determine the genetic compatibility with a man, and vice versa.
  • Lady Apple GLaDOS 2012/05/07 18:45:53
    Lady Apple
    It must, to be incomplete femininity.
    Kiwi fruit is not like "Hahaha
  • GLaDOS Lady Apple 2012/05/08 01:51:21
    GLaDOS
    +1
    Huh? O_o
  • Lanikai Lady Apple 2012/05/07 18:59:03
    Lanikai
    +1
    Si in the Afghan and Paki mountains where they have communal toilet trenches, and NO running water, how is cleanliness accomplished, much less shaving?

    I am calling BS on that one.
  • Lady Apple Lanikai 2012/05/07 19:04:39
    Lady Apple
    Afghanistan?
    i do not live there :)
    this personal freedom.
    But
    I have not a favorite.
  • WF - Rumpelstiltskin -PWCM~JLA 2012/05/07 16:25:20
    WF - Rumpelstiltskin -PWCM~JLA
    +9
    I say it is her body, her choice. If you will not date a girl for not shaving her pit, then don't.
  • LADY LIBERTY SILLY WORDSMITH 2012/05/07 16:00:08 (edited)
    LADY LIBERTY SILLY WORDSMITH
    +3
    IF YOU WERE to WEAR LONG SLEEVES or BURQA, IT'S OK



    But, IF YOU WERE to WEAR SOMETHING EXPOSING your ARMPITS: IT'S GROSS!
  • afro.ninja.rockstar 2012/05/07 14:53:28

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