– Deep down, I know that everyone has hair – news Vestland

– My arms were visible the whole time. They were tickled. At secondary school, Vanessa Vågstøl Hilland (18) became aware that her body hair was darker and clearer than on others. The students would compare arms. The message from the boys was that she was hairier than them. That led to her finding the razor. Already at the age of twelve, she grew her upper lip. Before the prom, she removed the hair on her upper arms. Then she tackled her thighs. – I don’t think I would have thought about it if no one had pointed it out, she says. Vanessa thinks she had darker and more prominent hair on her upper arms than the others in the class. Before her tenth grade prom, she shaved off the hair on her upper arms. – I couldn’t see anyone around me who had something similar. When Vanessa got a comment that she had more of a mustache than a boy in the class, she grew her upper lip for the first time. She was only twelve years old then. When she was in middle school, her body hair started to bother her. – I don’t think I would have thought about it if no one had pointed it out, she says today. – No one had anything like it. During her youth, she missed role models who could tell her that it was okay to have hair. – I couldn’t see anyone around me who had something similar. Deep down, I know that everyone has hair, that it’s just more or less obvious. Finally, she walked around with stiff hair on her arms sticking out from the shave. Then she decided to quit. She has since let her hair grow. She still believes that there is an unwritten rule that girls cannot have body hair, she wrote in an article in Avisa Nordhordland. – I want it to be normalized for women to have body hair. Because we all have that, says Hilland. Walking around with stiff hair on her upper arms that stuck out, she decided to let her hair grow out. Now she wants to be the role model she herself missed. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news Signs of masculinity That girls are criticized for body hair in the classroom does not surprise Kari Jegerstedt. She is head of the Center for Women’s and Gender Research at the University of Bergen. – The reason is completely clear. Hair on the chest and arms is perceived as masculine, she says. Jegerstedt believes that there will always be norms for what is seen as feminine and masculine in society. Hair is particularly important here. – People are very interested in these things. Gender norms are ingrained in the culture. Children are also particularly keen to fit in, she says. Kari Jegerstedt, head of the center for women’s and gender research at the University of Bergen, thinks it is good to show opposition to the norms. Photo: Privat – It is extremely important to expand the room So that it has been since after the Second World War. An industry then emerged that sold hair removal products aimed at women. She points out that it caused a great stir when actress Julia Roberts appeared at a film premiere with hair under her arms in 1999. – The norm today is for women to be clean-shaven. It was seen as a huge scandal, says Jegerstedt. At the same time, she believes that the pendulum can swing the other way for the generation growing up now. – Is there any point in fighting to normalize body hair on women? – That she wants to show resistance to the norms and expand the space is a very important work. Change is possible. There is no reason why we can go back to the way things have been, she says. Actress Julia Roberts appeared at a film premiere with hair under her arms in 1999. – It was seen as a huge scandal, says Jegerstedt. Photo: IAN WALDIE / REUTERS



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