{"id":12747,"date":"2014-09-02T07:00:46","date_gmt":"2014-09-02T14:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145696.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=12747"},"modified":"2014-08-28T07:45:20","modified_gmt":"2014-08-28T14:45:20","slug":"body-hair-gender-norms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/articles\/body-hair-gender-norms\/","title":{"rendered":"Body Hair Project Challenges Gender Norms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An extra credit assignment in a gender studies class challenged students to take a look at how we view body hair and gender. The results are so interesting!<\/p>\n
Arizona State University professor Breanne Fahs gave her gender studies students an interesting extra credit assignment<\/a>, according to our sister site, Ecolocalizer. This was no paper or presentation. Instead, women in her class could stop shaving their body hair for 10 weeks. Men could participate by shaving everything from the neck down for the same time period.<\/p>\n The students got a chance to see what happens when you violate societal gender norms.<\/p>\n I thought that this quote from a female student was especially eye-opening:<\/p>\n \u201cMany of my friends didn\u2019t want to work out next to me or hear about the assignment, and my mother was distraught at the idea that I would be getting married in a white dress with armpit hair. I also noticed the looks on faces of strangers and people around campus who seemed utterly disgusted by my body hair. It definitely made me realize that if you\u2019re not strictly adhering to socially prescribed gender roles, your body<\/a> becomes a site for contestation and public opinion.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nBody Hair and Gender Norms<\/h2>\n
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