To shave or not to shave?

 

That's the question confronting students in classes taught by Breanne Fahs, associate professor of women and gender¹ studies in ASU's New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. Since 2010 Fahs has offered students the chance to participate in an extra-credit exercise related to body hair.

 

Female student participants stop shaving their legs and underarms for ten weeks during the semester while keeping a journal to document their experiences. For male students, the assignment is to shave all body hair from the neck down.

 

"There's no better way to learn about societal norms than to violate them and see how people react," said Fahs. "There's really no reason why the choice to shave, or not, should be a big deal. But it is, as the students tend to find out quickly."

 

Stephanie Robinson declined to participate in the project during the first two classes she took with Fahs, but took the plunge²（冒险尝试） during her third opportunity. "It really was a life-changing experience," she said.

 

"Many of my friends didn't want to work out next to me or hear about the assignment, and my mother was distraught（发狂的） at the idea that I would be getting married in a white dress with armpit（腋毛） hair," Robinson said. "I also noticed the looks on faces of strangers and people around campus who seemed utterly³ disgusted by my body hair. It definitely made me realize that if you're not strictly⁴ adhering to socially prescribed gender roles, your body becomes a site for contestation（争论，主张） and public opinion."

 

Robinson says part of her motivation for deciding to participate in the exercise was that in previous semesters she felt left out of the sense of the camaraderie⁵ of the students who were all bonding over their body hair, or lack thereof for males in the class.

 

"It's interesting how peer pressure within the class can create a new norm," Fahs said. "When practically all of the students are participating, they develop a sense of community and enjoy engaging in an act of rebellion together."

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