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Breaking News, I Have Hair on My Legs

By May 11, 2018 Beauty

Today, I’m putting ethics and sustainability to one side. Today, I’m talking about body hair.

Why I Decided to Embrace My Leg Hair

If I remember correctly, I’d just come out of the shower, my hair wrapped up in giant twisted towel upon my head, as I lay on my bed in a dressing gown, not quite ready to slip into my pyjamas for the evening. I was probably absentmindedly scrolling through Tumblr on my laptop which I’d left out, procrastinating on unravelling my hair and brushing it through so it could be dried, when I looked down at my legs.

It had been a while since I’d last touched them and by that I mean, it had been a while since I’d removed the hair that grew upon them. I’d taken care of them just before Christmas because I’d felt like it was necessary to do so at such a festive time of the year, even though it was cold and snowing and I knew I’d barely look down at them for weeks on end as I concealed them with 200-denier tights and different pairs of trousers.

I must have stroked my hand down my leg and felt the hairs which had regrown stand up between my fingers because suddenly my legs had my full attention. I remember looking down and for the first time, feeling genuinely disturbed by something I saw on my body (the first time since I had chicken-pox, that is).

Quite honestly, it scared me. It scared me because I was looking down at something so natural and meant-to-be yet it felt and looked alien. I realise that how I’m articulating this moment in time might seem a little dramatic and hyperbolic but it’s exactly how I remember it. It unsettled me.

Why I Decided to Embrace My Leg Hair

I immediately jumped onto a Facebook conversation with a close-friend because although I knew what this was all about, I still needed to vent and exert this new-found energy and even anger, somehow.

I started to ‘shave’ (well, depilate with hair removal cream) my legs when I was about 13. I remember nervously asking my mum what I should buy in order to deal with it and she guided me down this new path of grooming. It wasn’t my first introduction to this aspect of ‘being a woman’, of course.

I remember a couple of years prior, sitting in a line with my back up against a school wall with a group of friends as we looked out our legs in front of us, several of the girls commenting on the fact that they needed to start shaving when they were barely even 12.

It was always a given that I would eventually start shaving myself, and so, that time came around and it became ingrained in my routine. Every 4 days, I’d jump in the shower with hair on my legs and vacate with dolphin-smooth skin… up until that day a few months ago, when I looked down and realised I’d forgotten what it felt like to see my legs do what they’re supposed to do.

This moment of disturbance came out of laziness because hair-removal isn’t exactly an easy task, as most of you will probably have experienced. Even if you’re a man who only shaves their beard, you can still relate that it takes time and patience to complete the job at hand, precisely. After all, if nobody was seeing my legs during winter, surely I should take a break until the sunshine reappears?

Christmas and its festivities had passed and now I was faced with this dilemma. Do I ignore the fact that I have become afraid of a natural process or do I challenge it?

In the aforementioned Facebook conversation, my friend and I discussed the hair-removal industry. A point arose, suggesting that hair-removal is, in one sense, a hypocritical action. We’ve become a society which doesn’t want to see hair on a woman’s legs yet we put so much attention on that (whether it be just day-to-day or in broader terms with things like advertising), that we almost highlight leg hair more than we would if we just let it be.

And yes, this is a recent societal development (at least from what I know in the West). In the early 1900s, due to more modest clothing being in fashion, women didn’t concern themselves with hair removal on a regular basis.

Why I Decided to Embrace My Leg Hair

Of course, it isn’t just leg hair that ties into this. All forms of body hair have been warped and deemed as ‘unacceptable’ when it comes to women’s bodies but I will talk more about why I chose to specifically focus on leg hair, further on.

I will add here, that if anyone jumps in to suggest that it isn’t just an issue that women have to face, then I suggest you move along because I would rather you save the both of us time and energy for a more intelligent discussion.

At that moment, I nervously decided to say yes to the challenge to stop removing the hair on my legs. I didn’t give myself any rules and I decided that if I ever felt uncomfortable, I would do whatever it took to make me feel myself again. I allowed myself to conceal my legs however I pleased and I made sure that I was always asking myself if I was doing it for the right reasons.

I call it a challenge because I believe it was. After four years of consistently removing my leg hair (more so in summer, less so in winter), it was a strange feeling to suddenly stop and watch my legs develop and grow as they would do without interference. After all, why are my legs any different to my arms?

Why I Decided to Embrace My Leg Hair

Naturally, like all change, it took a while for me to adjust but I felt comfortable in myself after not too long (it was honestly a relief to not have to worry about when I next needed to ‘deal with them’) but then I became faced with displaying my legs to the rest of the world as the warmer weather crept in and trousers felt like they were beginning to suffocate me.

Perhaps the challenge wasn’t necessarily allowing myself to grow my hair out, rather, it was challenging myself to ignore what people might think because we do live in a society where it is deemed as the norm to have shiny-smooth legs. (Even in razor adverts, most of the time the model seen demonstrating the product is often shaving against bare skin, already.)

I started gradually, as I allowed myself to do. I wore a floaty maxi dress with calf-high Dr Marten’s so you could only see a tiny slither of skin when the wind blew. I wore a skirt with knee high socks so it was only my kneecaps showing (which are the least hairy part of my legs).

And then I went to the beach.

I took off my skirt and I wore shorts and socks until I was overheating in a start-of-spring heatwave. I looked around me, at the people oblivious to anything I was doing as they soaked up the sun and the sound of the sea rolling in. I finally removed my socks and I ran towards the shore and I realised, it was something I hadn’t ever thought I would see myself doing.

It may seem like a first-world problem to have to focus on this all so heavily but it felt so invigorating. I’d passed the challenge almost unintentionally and within a few weeks, I was walking around town with shorts on and arriving at the beach again in just a bikini.

Nobody stopped and stared like I’d been imagining. Nobody called out and laughed. Because honestly? Nobody has the time to stop and look and decipher whether your legs are disturbing or not. Only you do because it’s your body. Try it yourself; see how many pairs of legs you actually pay attention to unless they’re being covered by an amazing pair of printed trousers.

These sorts of thoughts started to enter my mind when I listened to an episode of The Guilty Feminist podcast quite some time ago, where the hosts discussed the fact that these sorts of actions towards our bodies are all part of a choice. The important part to remember is why you made that choice in the first place.

I didn’t decide to start removing the hair on my legs at 13 because I felt genuinely uncomfortable with how they looked or how I was being perceived. I just knew it was expected of me. However, when you make such a personal choice based on what you believe other people will think of you, that’s not your choice. That’s you letting other people decide for you and for the most part, they’re strangers.

Why I Decided to Embrace My Leg Hair

As you’ve probably gathered, I still haven’t touched my legs since December. This is not to say I don’t participate in any other forms of hair removal. For example, especially in the summer, I don’t enjoy having hair under my arms when I’m hot and sweaty. That’s just not for me, out of physical comfort.

Although, for any part of my body, my mind could change in a few months, or even weeks. This is why I hope this doesn’t come across as me preaching or making anybody feel bad for the choices that they make.

It’s almost been an experience in honour of my 13-year-old self, who didn’t understand why she was doing what she was doing other than that it was expected of her.

I still believe it is expected of me (not necessarily individually, but myself, as a woman) and I still know that there are many girls (and boys) who will grow up believing this is what should be done. It should always be a case of what you want, even if it takes you time and a bit of a challenge, to truly understand what that means.


Tolly Dolly Posh on GIPHY

For anyone who has contemplated taking this sort of challenge for themselves, I would like to point out that during all of this (and even now), I was using Instagram as a tool to inspire me.

By following along with people who embraced natural beauty and even artists who used body hair in their work, I was able to ease myself into it whilst feeling supported. I even took to painting a ‘leg self-portrait’ to capture the journey, which is, of course, still continuing.

I’ve even started to notice that if I see a pair of hairy pins () in my feed, I don’t automatically jump to assuming it’s a man.

This is also a chance for me to say thank you to anyone who has more directly supported me in this by responding to my Instagram Stories about the topic. Community is so important and in this case, it can do a whole lot of good.

Add this GIF sticker to your Instagram Stories by searching “@tollydollyposh” under GIFs. For all your hairy leg (or pin) needs!


 

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Why It’s Okay to Feel ‘Okay’ | The Children’s Society

By February 22, 2017 DIY & Lifestyle

I’ve recently been in touch with The Children’s Society charity because they are currently trying to get more people, and specifically the UK government, to step up to the plate and stand up for girls. As a feminist and a girl/young woman myself, of course, standing up for girls is going to be of importance to me, however, it is even more important to me when the campaign they’re running is focusing on appearance and confidence.

the children's society good childhood report - confidence advice for teen girls

I was wondering how to go about this post but then I remembered a quote I read by Katy Bellotte on Instagram (you might know her as Hello Katy). It was one of those moments where I read it and thought to myself; that’s exactly what I mean, I just haven’t been able to express it so eloquently before! The quote was this:

There is a widely-popular misconception that confident people are completely without fear. Confidence isn’t “they will like me,” confidence is “I’ll be okay if they don’t.” – Katy Bellotte

Out of the whole quote, though, the word that stuck with me most was the word ‘okay’. My mind spiralled after reading it because it came to my realisation that, as young women, the word ‘okay’ is rarely used. And so I looked back on The Children’s Society‘s notes and wondered how I could incorporate this idea into my blog post when I scrolled down onto a quote from a teenage girl that had been part of their research – it highlighted another word for me; the word was ‘expected’.

This isn’t a new concept for me. I’ve written about it before when I spoke about curating your own personal style and how in some respects, I felt as if I was expected to be a certain way; expected to dress a certain way at a certain point in my life. I’m sure it isn’t a new concept for you either if you’re a girl or a woman. All sorts of phrases lead back to the idea of expectancy, like ‘fitting in’ and ‘conforming’. If you feel as if you need to fit in; you feel as if you’re expected to be a certain way. If you feel as if you aren’t good enough; you feel as if there’s an expectation to live up to.

According to research by The Children’s Society, 1 in 7 girls feel unhappy with their lives in general, with 1 in 3 unhappy with their appearance. There’s pressure and there’s expectancy and there’s the idea of living up to a certain standard. What does ‘okay’ have to do with this, you ask? ‘Okay’ is a word stripped of expectancy. It’s okay to feel a certain way; it’s okay to feel down and it’s okay to feel as if you don’t live up to these societal pressures because as Katy’s quote suggests, confidence isn’t about not having fears. Confidence is about being okay with having them. Confidence is saying I’ll feel okay if I don’t look like this or I’ll feel okay if I don’t live up to what might usually be expected of me.

the children's society good childhood report - confidence advice for teen girls

I would say I’m a confident person, in fact, I’ve stated it many times in blog posts like this but in no way does that mean I have no insecurities or worries. I haven’t spoken to many people about this because it is rather personal to me but more recently, I’ve started to notice how much I focus on the size of my chest (Hi Dad!). I’m very small chested. I’m almost 17 and I still don’t wear bras (Hi anyone who knows me!) because there is quite frankly no need for them and yeah, there’s no difference when I wear slightly more fitted tops to when I wear baggy ones – there’s nothing there to see either way. I worry that I look younger than I am, I wish I could wear more open summer dresses that aren’t just straight up and straight down without feeling as if I’m a flat piece of paper and I really wish I could wear delicate triangle bras without feeling as if there’s no point.

It’s not that I necessarily want or need to be any different than I am but I know that in western society there is an expectation put on women for us all to have something in that department. It’s about understanding and realising that there’s an expectancy rather than developing upon on an idea or an image that is just there. It’s engrained within younger people to feel this way because there aren’t enough people shouting out and saying that it’s okay not only to realise there’s a pressure but that it’s okay to not be defined by it or expect ourselves to rely on it.

It’s okay to be who we are because that is who we are. We shouldn’t expect ourselves to change for anyone or anything but it’s also okay to listen to that pressure and start to understand it. This can be taken on for more than just insecurities, this can also be taken on board when we think about more mental issues and the health and wellbeing of our minds. Opening up about mental health is what we all need more of especially when insecurities and fears are often caused by anxiety and depression.

the children's society good childhood report - confidence advice for teen girls


~ THE OKAY CHECKLIST ~

Make a list of your insecurities
 Ask yourself where they came from
 Ask yourself who brings out your insecurities and who lessens them
 Make note of when you don’t feel insecure; what made you feel that way?
 When you do feel down or insecure, tell yourself it’s okay
 Tell other people it’s okay too
✓ Try to listen and understand yourself more and more each day
✓ Read The Good Childhood Report and spread the word!


I always try and leave my readers with something to learn from so I’ve made a small checklist of questions to ask yourself and small ideas to remind yourself of on a daily basis. I’m also going to link you up with three of my previously written articles and works on similar topics. There are checklists and helpful ideas within them too and I hope they will start to open your eyes up to why it’s okay to feel okay…

How to Combat Feeling Judged and Self-Conscious

“How do we skip out those thoughts that make us pressured? How do we stop ourselves from shrinking back down into that mold of ‘being normal’ or ‘being perfect?’. Well, I’ve thought about it, and I know you’re no doubt going to think I sound crazy but… I like to think about the size of the world and the universe. Yup, you read me right… I’m getting deep.”

How to Soothe a Sore Thumb

“The more you flaunt it, the more people will catch on to your awesomeness, which means in the end, more people will be flaunting their awesomeness, so nobody will have to feel like a sore thumb ever again.”

★ Accepting Change & Curating Your Personal Archive

“We have this incredible ability to store the outfits and the hairstyles and the make-up looks and the places we went and the inspiration we found in our own personal archives. We are the curators of our own archives. It’s scary, sure… the idea that we’ll look back and regret decisions or cringe over them, but that’s the great thing about storing it all and utilising these tools – we can gradually accept change and we can look back after a few weeks and start going ‘Oh, well I wouldn’t do that now’. We have time to process change, and we really need to take advantage of that.”


You can read more about The Children’s Society here

How do you tell yourself it’s okay to feel okay? How do you deal with insecurities? Share your wisdom in the comments!


I’ll be back soon with some fashion week content…

(Obviously The Children’s Society is a charity so this blog post is in no way sponsored. I just feel strongly about these sorts of topics.)

 

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Accepting Change & Curating Your Personal Archive

By June 12, 2016 DIY & Lifestyle, My Style

Today I wanted to talk a little bit about ‘making your mark’ or leaving your personal imprint in the world, in terms of how we look back on ourselves from a certain point in our lives. That sounds a bit odd, but the idea came to me when my dad stated something a while back over dinner…

personal archive - accepting change - being yourself advice

personal archive - accepting change - being yourself advice


WHAT I WORE: Faux Leather Jacket (Peacocks – old)* // Floral Blouse (Jumble Sale) // Bohemian Maxi Dress (Pull & Bear) // 1B99 Dr Martens (Mastershoe My-Shu)* // Rings (Various Stores)


“It’s funny really, when you’re older and we look back, we won’t have many pictures of you in summer dresses, will we Tolly?” is what he said.

What he said really stuck with me, but not for the wrong reasons (just in case you’re worried Papa Posh!). It got me thinking about the idea of our future and past selves and how in the digital age of instantly uploadable photographs and Facebook ‘Memories’, we’re always looking at what we were like then and now, and how it will be so much easier to compare our past selves and cringe over decisions we made ‘back in the day’ when we have this back log of data and endless streams of photos and saved moments in the future.

What my dad was saying was true – when people look back on my younger self, there won’t be any floral dresses or what some might label as ‘girly’ photos of me, because I’m just not that kind of person. I’m not a tomboy or anything like that (I mean, I’m wearing a dress in these photos and my blog is covered in pink and purple – ugh, *eye roll* 🙄 to stereotypes) but I’ve never been the average kind of gal to prance around in little ankle socks and daisy chain printed skirts.

Having the means to digitalise memories and have them saved onto your laptops and phones (or ‘in the cloud’) means we can see all of the changes and transitions happening, and I think what we need to do is accept that. Things do change. We all change.

personal archive - accepting change - being yourself advice

personal archive - accepting change - being yourself advice

For people my age, this is probably one of the hardest things to accept. The idea that we don’t stay as this set person and we don’t always end up being the person we thought we’d be. We can try our best to mould ourselves into what we want to be, but there’s always going to be things that we can’t help doing differently. The reason I’m connecting the dot between this and what my dad said, is because I evolve constantly. I don’t wear summery items of clothing because I’m wearing faux-leather jackets and utility dresses one minute and then blouses and bohemian dresses the next. That’s part of becoming who I am – and part of that is realising, I won’t be able to look back on myself and see this one type of person. No matter how hard I try to create this one aesthetic, there will always be multiple, because I’m still changing.

As a blogger and someone who uses social media rather often, I know what it means to be putting out this specific persona and display of yourself. You probably do too, whether it’s because of what you’re posting or what others are posting. How many Instagram accounts do you go on which are neatly laid out and in a specific colour scheme? Dozens, maybe hundreds, probably… and that’s great; it’s creative and uniform and part of art, but do you know what the biggest struggle is when you start to do that? Adapting to change.

personal archive - accepting change - being yourself advice

personal archive - accepting change - being yourself advice

Accepting that change and realising that looking back on what you were then compared to now, is so important. I was listening to a podcast recently (Ladies Who Lunch, if you’re curious) and one of the ladies (who lunches, heh – Cat, I believe) said that she – as a YouTuber and online influencer – is glad that she has the ability to look back and see where she came from, because it’s an archive of her life and her journey.

We have this incredible ability to store the outfits and the hairstyles and the make-up looks and the places we went and the inspiration we found in our own personal archives. We are the curators of our own archives. It’s scary, sure… the idea that we’ll look back and regret decisions or cringe over them, but that’s the great thing about storing it all and utilising these tools – we can gradually accept change and we can look back after a few weeks and start going ‘Oh, well I wouldn’t do that now’. We have time to process change, and we really need to take advantage of that.

In response to my dad’s statement – you’re right. You won’t see many pictures of me in fluttery dresses and cardigans, but what you will see, is a timeline of the person I’ll become and a record of what not wearing those summery prints, means to me.


Do you find it hard to accept the fact you aren’t the same person you were last year? Are you happy with your personal archive so far? Let me know in the comments!


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