Let’s talk about hair…

Have you ever thought about hair? It’s been on my mind quite a bit lately and relates to a project I started while in Fiji. I stopped shaving my legs. When was it that sleek legs became necessary for a woman to be considered feminine? It’s so unnatural. If you think about it, modern society equates the epitome of feminine sexuality with a hairless mole rat. Hairless pits, hairless legs, and a well trimmed… ahem. Anyway, I got tired of it. My legs, once sleek and as hairless as an eel, now have a long, fine coating. It started out dark and coarse, but has softened and lightened with time. Dark hairs now intermix with fine, blond hairs adding depth and dimension to the cascading field on my legs. Some of you may recoil in disgust at the description of my newly formed appendages, but I look at them with a sense of fascination, pride, and yes, slight repugnance. I’ve been conditioned right along with the rest of society. I can’t help but look at this new feature as an oddity… like the sudden sprouting of a third nipple. I can’t decide what I’m going to do about it when I get back to a culture that actually cares. Should I shave? I might feel like Samson when Delilah cut his hair. My new legs provide a sense of power from rejecting society’s imposed rule. But, I should admit that I don’t feel all that sexy with hairy legs. I’m now in a position where I must choose between empowerment and femininity.

There’s another peculiar aspect of hair that I’ve been pondering. Why is it that a full head of hair is beautiful and desirable, but once off the head that same hair is so repulsive? When does the disgust factor set in? Is there a grace period or does it happen immediately upon detachment from the scalp? There are three women with long, full hair living in our lodge, including myself. Needless to say, every once in a while someone recoils at the sight of an entanglement of loose hair, dust, and lint on the floor. No one wants to touch it. Why? It used to be on one of our heads not too long ago. What’s wrong with it now? If it’s the dirt, then why is it even more disgusting to pick slimy, wet hair out of the shower drain? Surely it’s clean. Anyway, isn’t long, wet hair sexy when cascading down the back of bikini clad swimmer? I’m not placing myself outside the realm of hair hating. I don’t even like picking my own hair off the floor or out of the drain. I just find this particular characteristic of hair (or humanity) strange and worth mentioning.