Thérapie aesthetics clinic has a new campaign to promote its laser hair removal packages. Launching the tagline, 'Your bush, your rules', they coordinated a flash mob of dancers to pop up in various London locations, parading faux purple pubes.
Their cheerful merkins came in various shapes and sizes - from a mega muff to a landing strip.
The campaign was designed to appeal to Gen Z, who, the media report are fighting back against the expectation that women should be Barbie doll-esque. I.e. going entirely hairless down there.
Of course, there is some friction here as Thérapie is promoting their fur fighting services. You can imagine their PR team furiously brainstorming how to create messaging around it that will appeal to the under-thirties. They came up with the aforesaid stunt and the strapline: 'Do it your way.'
It got me thinking about my approach to depilation. Full disclosure: I've been battling my pubic hair for 42 years with varying degrees of success. It's been costly, time-consuming, sometimes painful, often farcical, occasionally satisfying, and mainly frustrating.
© InstagramBut here's the win. Now I'm older, I'm less hairy.
We need to celebrate the good stuff about getting more decrepit. And thanks to hormones, as the years roll on, my hair follicles are less productive. Joy.
Whereas once I'd have to shave my legs twice a day if they were to be super smooth (I'd get the 5 o'clock shadow), I can now go at least a weekend. My underarms are similar. And without getting too personal (on second thoughts why ruin the habit of a lifetime?) I can whip around my nethers with a Gilette and it's painless and irritation-free.
In my teens or twenties, it was like hacking through a thicket. Practically needed a scythe. Hair removal was, for me, like painting the Forth Bridge. Once I'd made it from my chin all the way down to my (hairy) toes, I'd need to go back to the beginning.
© InstagramBut should I have spent all that time and energy?
We are back to the two competing narratives surrounding hair removal that the Thérapie campaign highlights. The first is that we are socially conditioned into it. That it's a gigantic waste of time, anti-feminist and is all about appealing to the (porn-influenced) male gaze.
Say HELLO! to your Second Act
HELLO!'s Second Act is a newsletter for women in midlife and beyond. It's completely free to sign up and is a one-stop-shop for advice and inspiration on the issues our Second Act community have told us matter most: health, relationships, travel, menopause, divorce, careers, finance and more.
Alternatively, it's a part of self-care and grooming that makes you feel polished, pulled together and sexy.
I think you can believe both of those things at the same time. And a lot of us do.
The teenagers and twenty-somethings in my life tell me that despite the noise on social media about rejecting your razor, the reality is at school and college pubes are still derided and the pressure to be mannequin smooth is very real. It's complicated.
Do I think we will ever see a day when full body hair is back? Maybe. But selfishly, I hope it's not too soon, as my growing power is now seriously age-compromised.
