Cultural and sexual aspects

Cultural and sexual aspects

Each culture of human society has developed social norms relating to the presence or absence of body hair, which has changed from one time to another. Different standards can apply to males and females. People whose hair falls outside a culture's aesthetic standards may experience real or perceived social acceptance problems. For example, for women in several Western societies, exposure in public of body hair other than head hair, eyelashes and eyebrows is generally considered to be unaesthetic, undesirable and embarrassing.^[2] Such hair can be removed, or can be covered up. In some cultures, the exposure by a woman of head hair is also frowned upon, but removal of head hair is not the norm. This is the situation in many Muslim countries where in public a woman's hair is expected to be covered by a headscarf or is a part of the hijab covering. In Middle Eastern societies, it has been the norm and local custom for many centuries, and regarded as proper hygiene, for a woman to remove body hair, especially under the arms and pubic hair,^[3] known as an act of sunan al-fitra. In Western cultures, removal of body hair by women (if performed) is more commonly for aesthetic reasons, and less for reasons of hygiene.

With the increased popularity in many countries of shorter dresses and swimsuits during the 20th century and the consequential exposure of parts of the body on which body hair is commonly found, there has been an increase in the practice of removing unwanted body hair, such as on legs, underarms and elsewhere.^[4] People may also remove some or all of their pubic hair for aesthetic or sexual reasons.^[5] (see bikini waxing)

However, some women in Western cultures choose not to remove hair from their bodies, either as a preference or as an act of defiance against what they regard to be an oppressive ritual. Similarly, some men in Western cultures show defiance by choosing to shave body hair, such as on the legs or underarms.

Many men in Western cultures shave their facial hair, so only a minority of men have a beard, even though fast-growing facial hair must be shaved daily to achieve a clean-shaven or hairless look. On the contrary, in some Eastern cultures (e.g.: Eastern Turkish and Iranian) a display of a beard is considered to be a display of wisdom. Some men shave because they cannot grow a "full" beard (generally defined as an even density from cheeks to neck), because their beard color is different from their scalp hair color, or because their facial hair grows in many directions, making a groomed look difficult. Some men shave because their beards are very coarse, causing itchiness and irritation. Some men grow a beard or moustache from time to time to change their appearance.

Some men shave their heads, either as a fashion statement, because they find a shaved head preferable to the appearance of male pattern baldness, or in order to attain enhanced cooling of the skull – particularly for people suffering from hyperhidrosis. A much smaller number of women also shave their heads, often as a fashion or political statement.

Some women also shave their heads for cultural or social reasons. In India, tradition required widows in some sections of the society to shave their heads as part of being ostracized (see widowhood in Hinduism). The outlawed custom is still infrequently encountered mostly in rural areas, the society at large and the government are working to end the practice of ostracizing widows.^[6] In addition, it continues to be common practice for men and women to shave their heads prior to embarking on a pilgrimage.