people on this post are so fucking annoying lol i can ATTEST i have not gotten into any trouble for my body hair HOWEVER that is an incredibly understandable concern when you've been shamed out of it up until this point, ALSO people may not show it directly but still note it and we are AWARE of the fact that they will note it, because WE HAVE LIVED THE SAME REALITY AND HAVE SILENTLY NOTICED BODY HAIR ON OTHER WOMEN. and it's fair to be marginally NERVOUS about being aware of how you are Perceived, having been the Perceiver. YES tell women it's okay, not that bad, most people won't care, those that do care most often won't show it, it's Not That Big Of A Deal, but don't GASLIGHT them into thinking they've been shaving for no reason all this time rather than DUE TO INTENSE AND LARGELY UNSPOKEN SOCIETAL PRESSURE.
ALSO realize that body hair is just one facet of your presentation & other things in combination with it WILL put specific women at risk of greater harassment. i do not know WHY that one time i entered a subway train and saw everyone - everyone - stare in unconcealed hostility at one poor solo fairly small butch woman who dared to wear knee-long shorts and leave her unshaven legs on display, which were drawing a lot of looks. and she was looking absolutely miserable, to the point where i (non-conforming but less pronouncedly masculine) felt compelled to act as a physical visual shield between her and as many onlookers as i could. i have no idea why that was happening so openly and intensely, but i felt worried for her, and i think that had a lot to do with her totality rather than just the presence of her body hair. so like. yes as a rule of thumb it's not that fucking bad & if someone is a bit of an asshole then yes, who cares; but sometimes it is surprisingly bad for women slightly different from you, and they are not making that up.
