The Repository @ St. Cloud State

Open Access Knowledge and Scholarship

Date of Award

5-2025

Culminating Project Type

Thesis

Styleguide

chicago

Degree Name

English: M.A.

Department

English

College

College of Liberal Arts

First Advisor

James Heiman

Second Advisor

Catherine Fox

Third Advisor

Masha Mikolchak

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Keywords and Subject Headings

Rhetoric, Feminism, Body Hair, Power, Gender, Identity

Abstract

The decision that women make to remove their body hair seems simple and aesthetic–most would place it under the category of fashion, more than anything. Many women say that removing their body hair makes them feel “cleaner” or “sexier.” There is scientific evidence that the practice is often physically and medically harmful, yet over ninety percent of women remove it. Most who do so label it a personal choice rather than an expectation or even a health benefit. However, when pressed to consider why they make the personal choice to remove their body hair, women often have a hard time coming up with an answer and find that they have never truly considered where their ideas come from on the matter.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore where these ideas about body hair come from by briefly looking at the history of hair removal and examining various shaving advertisements in the United States from the turn of the twentieth century through the 1970s–when the number of women removing their body hair went from zero percent to over ninety percent. When those advertisements are analyzed within existing rhetorical frameworks alongside the historical and cultural shifts happening at the time, one can see that language was strategically used in this arena to exert power in order to shape cultural attitude and action–especially within the categories of identity, value, and gender.

Within this analysis, I will spotlight the role of the media in manipulating the identity, value, and gender expectations of their audience in a capitalistic society. I will highlight the implications for women that still hold true today–consequences that go beyond simple monetary greed. These ideologies cost women time and money, harm them mentally and physically, occupy space in their minds, give them unattainable standards for their self-worth, and leave them underrepresented in society and held back from positions of strength and leadership. Women were beginning to gain more rights and independence at the turn of the century, and I believe that the power structures we see at play through these advertisements were a direct response to this cultural shift, with the aim to keep women in a submissive and underrepresented role in society, perpetuate a binary paradigm, sustain inequality, and maintain the patriarchal status quo.

Comments/Acknowledgements

My husband, Peter, has always been my biggest motivator and supporter, and this thesis is dedicated to him. I would choose you again and again to live this life with me.

Close runner-ups for that honor are my amazing friends–particularly Mandy and Matt, who have been immensely supportive of my ideas academically and personally, and who have helped inspire me to take on this important subject matter. Also Eric, Janelle, Tim, Evan, Jill, Jake, and anyone else who gave me feedback, generally supported my ideas, and entertained my crazy feminist rants during this project. I wouldn’t have had the confidence–or the emotional and mental capacity–to complete this if not for all of you.

My advisor and committee chair, James Heiman, has all my gratitude for making this thesis actually come together. Not only did you give me crash-courses when I felt like I didn’t know what I was talking about, but you always gave me fresh confidence and inspiration when I needed it throughout the process. I am grateful that I was able to connect with you and that you were willing to take on this project with me. My other committee members, Catherine and Masha, also provided expertise and perspectives that helped make this thesis the best it could be.

I also want to thank my parents, Brent and Linda. Though it may not have been intentional, you brought me up in a way that allowed me to be fiercely independent and self-sufficient. While we don’t always see eye to eye, you have always given me the support and confidence to dance through life to the tune in my own head. And I am forever grateful for that.

And finally, to all the children in my life who I am blessed to call nieces, nephews, and Godchildren: Sage, Lincoln, Scarlett, Luca, Eleanor, and Sophie. You inspire me, make me laugh, and give me hope for the future. May the world never convince you that you have to be anything other than you.

Download

Share

COinS