Thank you so much for your thoughtful response, KimRae. It sounds like you raised eight independent and strong-willed daughters, you must be so proud!

You bring up a lot of great points. I had not even considered the health concerns of not letting your body hair grow out and therefore possibly missing indicators of hormone imbalances or other diseases.

I also think your friend's statement based on his conversations with other male friends really illuminates our society's fetishization with prepubescent bodies and our obsession with pressuring women to stay youthful. I think that definitely is one of the factors for why many women feel compelled to get rid of their body hair.