Bearded Ladies

So as it is revision season, this means that I will do anything possible to avoid revising. Hear hear. Thus, I have found myself in a bit of a 4od documentary hole. I now know loads about the fetish of giant babies, and dogging (more on that later). I have also been watching a documentary on Hairy Ladies, so I thought I would do some research myself. When did women start shaving?

Underarms 

 Women had no need to shave their underarms before about 1915 – after all, who ever saw them? Even the word “underarm” was considered scandalous, I still think it is a bizarre body area, what with it being so near certain other interesting body parts. Then came the sleeveless dress. According to Christine Hope, in an article entitled "Caucasian Female Body Hair and American Culture", businesses began "encouraging" American women to shave their underarms around 1915, An ad in the fashion mag Harper’s Bazaar decreed that to wear it (and certainly to wear it while participating in “Modern Dancing”), women would need to first see to “the removal of objectionable hair.” They didn't need much convincing, and by the early 20's, hairy underarms were so last decade. Whenever I see a woman rocking a bit of a pit-fro I am a teensy bit jealous that I will never be that brave. 

Legs 
The war against nature's leg warmers came a bit later, as changes in clothing allowed women to display more than just an ankle. Yes now it appears even bum-cheek is even acceptable. According to Hope, convincing women to shave their legs was more challenging, so advertisers pulled out all the stops. "Some advertisers as well as an increasing number of fashion and beauty writers harped on the idea that female leg hair was a curse." Well it is a massive effort. Fashion history wise, the 20's was risque on the bottom half too, but most women of the era didn't seem to feel the need to shave their legs, and when hemlines dropped again in the 30's, the point became moot. The 40's, brought even shorter skirts, sheerer stockings, and the rise of leggy pin-ups such as Betty Grable. “The removal of objectionable hair” suddenly applied to a lot more surface area.

Naughty Bits 
Was it porn actresses who started this one? Doctors concerned about disease? The Brazilians? Nah. For hundreds of years, the bikini wax has been a common practice among a group more often associated with extreme modesty: Muslim women. In much of the Middle East and North Africa, brides-to-be remove all their body hair before the wedding night. Yes, all. of. it. Frequently, they stick with the aesthetic after marriage – and some men do likewise. This is far too much effort for my liking. 

Some examples of hairy ladies.

Julia Pastrana,  who was born in 1834, suffered from hypertrichosis which covered her face in hair and had a jutting jaw.

Because of her appearance she was called a "bear woman" or "ape woman".

In the 1850's, she met and married US impresario Theodore Lent who took her round freak shows, where she would sing and dance.

After she died in 1860, her American husband toured with her embalmed body, which ended up in Norway. Tragically  she had a child with the American Husband, who probably only married her for money, and the child died aged 5 days. The father and husband then continued the tour will the embalmed child and Pastrana.

Mexican artist Laura Anderson Barbata began a campaign for Julia Pastrana's body to be returned home in 2005, with Mexican officials subsequently lending their weight to her request.

"I felt she deserved the right to regain her dignity and her place in history, and in the world's memory," Ms Barbata told the New York Times.

Her remains have now been returned for a proper burial, after a long campaign. People flocked to the town of Sinaloa de Leyva  where Julia Pastrana was laid to rest in a white coffin adorned with white roses.

"Imagine the aggression and cruelty of humankind she had to face, and how she overcame it. It's a very dignified story," said Sinaloa Governor Mario Lopez.

"A human being should not be the object of anyone," Father Jaime Reyes Retana told mourners.

 

This is Miriam, who began sprouting thick facial hair after the birth of her son 28 years ago.Today she says she's  feeling sexier and more confident than ever before, having finally stopped trying to get rid of her beard.

The German-born woman, identified only as Mariam, appeared on ITV's This Morning to discuss why she stopped tweezing the hair on her face which she had been plucking every day for almost two decades.

Mariam, 49, also explained to Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield that she is happy with the way she looks and would not change her situation, despite being criticised for her behaviour by her own mother.

'My mum said "do you have to shock people like this". Then she got used to it and thought that one day I'd finish it, and was patient, but now she's getting nervous and wants me to stop and become "normal".'

She received negative reactions from other people, too, especially on the internet: 'People can be cruel depending on where you go. 

'Some people say people like me should be sent to Russia or shot, but that's just one person on the internet writing horrible stuff. Other people say it's courageous and inspiring. So there are both sides.'

Mariam now travels with a circus as the bearded lady act, which she says she enjoys since she has studied acting in the past and also likes educating people about the issue. She said: 'I want to give people the opportunity to talk to a bearded lady, because usually they are too scared in the street.'

Mariam, who has been single for a decade, also says she is looking for a relationship now that she is feeling sexy and more confident. And she told Holly that even if she could she would not change her situation.

Good for her I say. I bet there are some people out there who like these quirks. She makes me wish I was brave enough to wear my beard.