How did female body hair become taboo?

About this episode

According to Healthline.com, the human body has around 5 million hair follicles. Now you might not have guessed, but that figure is around the same for both men and women. And our body hair has a lot of important functions. It helps regulate body temperature by keeping us warm or retaining sweat to cool us down. It also protects sensitive parts of our bodies from infection, like the eyes and genitals. And yet, women often go to great lengths to have their body hair removed, and there’s a taboo around having hairy armpits or other body parts. It’s in no small part down to gendered social control. Is body hair removal a recent development? When did that become the case? What about pubic hair? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here : ⁠⁠Why do people get angry when they drive?⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Is palm oil really bad for your health?⁠⁠ ⁠⁠How to make the most out of a rental property?⁠⁠ A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. First broadcast: February, 18th, 2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices