Airless

This image was inspired by a poem by Adrienne Rich, Snapshots of a Daughter-in-law. The line that so struck me goes like this:

“She shaves her legs until they gleam like petrified mammoth tusk.”

It speaks about the habits and traditions given to us from our mothers, behaviors we’d barely questioned or given a passing thought. The words “petrified mammoth tusk” really drove home for me how the older generation perpetuates the social conditioning of the younger one (this applies to men and boys too).

Shaving one’s legs is a curious thing for a female to do. Given that sexual dimorphism is a real biological thing for many species, the act of shaving one’s legs accentuates sexual difference and makes a female even more attractive to the male (apparently). However, shaving any body part can be uncomfortable and the denuded area often suffers rashes, ingrown hairs, and occasionally opportunistic bacterial and or yeast population blooms. Shaving sucks. So does wearing high heels. Or stuffing one’s body into a sausage casing of shapewear. (But hey, you do you, boo.)

We choose to do all these things today. Still. We like it. We also do it to make ourselves smaller and more childlike. But perhaps because of the feminists of the 20th century, we’re able to question it and ask ourselves if it’s right for us, if we want to participate in it. And if we don’t want to, that’s ok. For now, we have that option, thank goodness.

Slowly, we move our human species into the social future that we work toward. However, no freedom is ever guaranteed and we may have to fight for a long time before our freedom to choose can be normalized and accepted.

How do you interpret this image? Leave comments below and share.