Women shaving their body hair is currently as normalized as brushing your teeth, but this was not always the cultural norm. Listen in to learn about the history of body hair removal and how the media, specifically shaving commercials, have interfaced with cultural norms and feminism, from the 1960s to today.
This podcast was written and produced by Sophia Mills. Music is by Filo Starquez.
Sources:
1968 Lady Sunbeam Electric Shaver. Directed by traci0dee, 2018. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojch6L3vgYc.
Banet-Weiser, Sarah. Empowered: Popular Feminism and Popular Misogyny. Duke University Press, 2018. read-dukeupress-edu.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu, https://doi.org/10.1215/9781478002772.
Fox, MeiMei. “5 Tips From Billie’s Cofounder On Building A Female-First Brand.” Forbes,https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/05/23/5-tips-from-billies-cofounder-on-building-a-female-first-brand/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
Herzig, Rebecca M. Plucked: A History of Hair Removal. NYU Press, 2015. Project MUSE, https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/193/monograph/book/76168.
Project Body Hair by Billie. Directed by Billie, 2018. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4DDpS685iI.
Rottenberg, Catherine. “The Rise of Neoliberal Feminism.” Cultural Studies, vol. 28, no. 3, May 2014, pp. 418–37. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2013.857361.
Thwaites, Rachel. “Making a Choice or Taking a Stand? Choice Feminism, Political Engagement and the Contemporary Feminist Movement.” Feminist Theory, vol. 18, no. 1, Apr. 2017, pp. 55–68. SAGE Journals, https://doi.org/10.1177/1464700116683657.
