Apparently, feminism and Brazilians don't mix. Brazilian bikini waxes, I mean. With increasing frequency, self-professed feminists seem to be talking about bikini waxes as if they were the spawn of the devil. Many even go as far as calling it anti-feminist.
To which I say, it is perfectly acceptable for a man to get his hair cut (or, say, wax his chest) so why not a lady? Isn't feminism all about equality? If you don't want have a bikini hair cut, fair enough. Believe or not, no one is forcing you. If you do, it certainly isn't something to be ashamed of. Having a neatly styled rug does not make you a bad person. Really, it doesn't...
Of all the things that need righting in the world, the crusade against the Brazilian bikini wax is one of the most unnecessary. The Brazilian bikini wax itself is also rather unnecessary, but if it makes someone happy that they have nothing but a landing strip of hair, then good for them.
Yes, it's painful, so what. If we want to suffer to prevent unsightly sprouting from our bikini, that's our business. It's hardly a crime against humanity.
The oft-cited argument against bikini waxing, and hair removal in general, is that we're doing it for men, and that if we're doing it for men, that is very, very wrong. I, however, beg to differ. Men, using a rash generalisation here, are very unlikely to notice if you missed a hair when shaving your legs or have a centimetre more bikini line than is fashionable. Women, on the other hand, probably will.
In the grand scheme of things, who we're doing it for hardly matters. Last I heard, doing something for someone else makes you 'generous', 'giving' and other positive words beginning with 'g'. My take on it, is if you want a hairy vagina, have a hairy vagina. If you don't, wax it off. Either way, if you're happy with the state of affairs in your part of the woods, then what is there to rant about?
Charlotte Howells is Editor of Kiss and Makeup and Nollie. Despite speaking out in support of the Brazilion, she probably couldn't take the pain.