What are females told to shave first, and when?

Do you ever ask “guy” questions?

I suggested to my daughter that she should shave her armpits before her last ballet recital in December. This was the first time I made the suggestion. She was 10. just turned 11

A ballerina does not look good with hairy armpits.

Or could you at least restrict them to adult women? This is skeeving me out.

First? I think it just depends on what hair is growing in and what clothes you wear.

I think I shaved my legs first, but I’m not 100% sure. My legs had hair way before underarms or girly parts.

My mom first plucked my eye brows when I was around the age of 9. Just few that drive her crazy.

“females” though?

@Hypocrisy_Central is curious. Why is this wrong? He is male so he’s familiar with the time frame of first time male shaving. There’s no need for him to ask the men of Fluther this question.

Actually I’m sort of curious as well. I never received the guidance on womanly things. I once debated with a friend over leg shaving she at the time thought au natural was best. She was blond but I think she did eventually change her mind.
I also remember we had a teacher with very long dark hairy arms. It was whispered that she shaved her arms when she was young and that was why she was so hirsute. I started shaving my arms shortly after that. Determined I would never stop esp if they got that bad. Luckily I found the wonders of epilation to be quite handy in that regard. It took me years to figure that out. And I was never able to make nair or home wax kits work. I gave up on those rather quickly. But yep I figured it all out on my own.

@chyna – as brilliant as we men are, we don’t know everything. Particularly when it comes to the details of women.

Rather than being derisive and judgmental, why not understand that we can’t exactly ask our mothers these questions.

So we go to a neutral and non-judgmental forum like Fluther.

Legs. Then arms. Not the face until recently.

I was never told to shave: I decided when and what on my own.

@jonsblond Asking about women shaving is totally fine! I have no problems with the content of the question. But whenever someone uses “females” as a noun for women It’s like, ugh, again? Females as a noun is really more appropriate for animals. Like… David Attenborough standing a safe distance from a herd of wildebeasts, talking about the females nurturing their young. This question is a neutral subject, but people use “females” all the time in arguments against women. That’s off topic and I’m sorry if it strikes people as overly picky and politically correct. But I’ve been annoyed by it about a million times, and maybe this was just number million and one, I don’t know.

@chyna Do you ever ask “guy” questions?
I do, you just missed them, or ignored them. ;-)

@dappled_leaves Or could you at least restrict them to adult women? This is skeeving me out.
For guys, at least around here, the first shave was like a watershed moment in the coming of age saga. I know about wehen and how with guys because I hung out with guys, In another thread a female Flutheronian alluded feeling pressured to follow a certain societal expectation and shaving this or that, when and how often is a part of that. I wondered if there was a societal rule, written or unwritten that says if you are female you must shave your pits, and you have to start at X age etc.

@jonsblond [….is curious. Why is this wrong? He is male so he’s familiar with the time frame of first time male shaving. There’s no need for him to ask the men of Fluther this question.
Great Caesar’s ghost, why can other people be that enlightened or use their logical radar as well as you?

First legs, then eyebrows (plucking, then waxing as a teen), then armpits.

I was never encouraged to shave my pubic hair while I was growing up, nor should I have been. The thought of a parent suggesting their child shave their pubes is creepy. I made the decision to do that on my own when I was 17. It took me seven years to find out that waxing pubic hair is way better.

I remember when my girlfriend (who went on to become a beautician) sat me down in my own bathroom when we were about 16 and attacked my eyebrows. Damn that hurt! I didn’t do it again for years and years.

My eyebrows are so blonde you can barely see them. I’m 44 and I’ve only plucked two eyebrow hairs. I feel like I’m missing out. ;)

Hah I was always elected the eyebrow plucker. I had some fun until I ran into a gal with worse then Groucho Marx eyebrows.

Seriously, though I never took it as far as waxing, I enjoyed it. Plucking and framing the eyes. Sculpting something that was in or suited a personality. It transformed so many faces.

@Dutchess_III @livelaughlove21 DDid the idea come from peers, either as suggestions or teasing, or a female relative as a suggestion on fitting into society or that is what is expected of young ladies to do?

@Hypocrisy_Central What idea?

^ As to what to shave and when to start shaving it.

@Hypocrisy_Central Social norms. Most women shave their legs and pluck their eyebrows. No one person gave me the idea. When I grew noticeable leg and armpit hair, I knew I wanted it gone without being told to shave.

^ Thank you for your honest answer, it is much appreciated.

On further thought I would like to agree with @livelaughlove21 society did have a big influence.

How much is hard to say because I really disliked the feeling of hair against my skin. I wore mostly skirts (a religious thing) and am extremely tactile. Then also laying in bed there is something so satisfying about rubbing smooth legs together underneath a crisp cool sheet. It just feels clean and relaxing. It didn’t originate as a sexual thing though I was aware and curious. It is an interesting to question whether I would have acted the same without it being such a big part of women’s culture in America.

@Hypocrisy_Central The first time it came to my attention was in 6th grade. We were at recess or something, playing baseball. We were lined up at the chain link fence, waiting our turn to bat, and some one whispered, about a girl 2 people in front of us, “Roxy shaves her legs!!!”
My folks / family never said anything one way or the other.