"I know women of colour that wear long sleeves to avoid the embarrassment of hairy arms. I know women of colour that can’t look at the mirror at themselves because the sight of hair on their body is a reminder of all the years they have been bullied for existing. And I know so many women of colour that are expected to get over their shame and trauma to get rid of the razor the minute white feminism decided to reclaim the hair.
In “rad” spaces, hairless pits are the anomaly, and sometimes it seems like there’s an assumption that women of colour who do remove their body hair are somehow less aware of oppression. “I developed a habit of doing my eyebrows before y’all went through puberty because I was bullied,” a friend told me, “and now it’s a pleasant thing I like to do.”
These double standards are not just about women. Men in communities of colour are afraid of growing out their beard for religious and cultural purposes lest they be branded a terrorist, lest they become subjected to more racial violence and reinforce harmful stereotypes about their communities. But man buns and beards are all the rage for the modern, edgy, white man.
If you are a white woman that doesn’t shave, I would like to remind you that your ability to be hairy is surely a result of you challenging the patriarchy, but it is also a privilege of your white skin."
http://www.gal-dem.com/shavingforwoc/
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