I am a huge fan of Sesame Street. One of my favorite procrastination pastimes is hitchhiking from one fabulous clip to another through the vast annals of youtube. I ran across this video a couple of weeks ago, and it has been stuck in my head. . .
First of all, who could possibly be cuter than Grover? Uh-huh, I know- no clue. This skit drew me in with its catchy tune and the dancing monsters, but it closed the deal with downright amazing lyrics (included below).
I know that at first read the lyrics seem goofy, quaint, and appropriately childish, but give it a second read. But before you take that second glance, let me share two things. First, I don't shave. That's right, Zoe and I have something in common other than our predilection toward the utterly silly. The hair on my legs and under my arms is dark and thick- it's easily visible from across the room, or for that matter a crowded bus, which makes my legs the objects of a lot of attention on my skirt-wearing-days. When I first quit shaving this attention was unnerving and brought out a lot of shame in myself. I'm pleased to say that I've gained a lot of confidence with regards to my body, hair and all.
Which brings me to my second share, the time a five-year-old called my leg hair fur. One of the children I was caring for over the summer was having a random conversation with me and another child when she announced that something was "just like Emily's fur." I didn't understand what she meant at first, and then when I did I blushed a little. I wasn't exactly offended, but I didn't feel full of pride either. This was one of those revealing moments that showed me I still had some distance to travel with regards to reclaiming my body. At the time, I think I made some comment to change the subject and tried to move on.
Enter Sesame Street and it's fantastic sense of whimsicality, joy, and diversity. This song spoke to me as a direct validation of my body. More than a validation- more like a celebration. 'Cause, hey- I kinda grow it!
I've run across a lot of feminist discussions about body hair. Is it feminist to shave? Is it MORE feminist not to shave? Can we insert another hierarchy into our movements, this time evaluating people's hair choices? I find these discussions both enlightening and tedious at the same time, depending on whether the discussion goal is to create a standard of judging others (ugh, so counter-productive) or if it's to explore our personal relationships with our bodies and the culture around us (extra brownie points for exploring growth potential in these areas).
I believe that our bodies are, to quote popular blog discussion these days, 'a feminist issue'. Our bodies are hi-jacked and fashioned into particular little objects intended to sell cars, tiles, jewelry, alcohol, and every type of product on the market. Reclaiming our bodies as living tissue full of cells and blood and nerves, as bastions of feeling and experience, as vehicles to wisdom as well as sex- this is an incredibly essential endeavor.
Shaving is a relatively young cultural trend that was introduced as a way to make money. I am not going to say that shaving is wrong, but I will say that a vast majority of people shave for the wrong reasons. I will even make the pompous statement that a good number of feminists shave not just because they like the way it looks or feels for them, but because they believe the over-circulated images that consistently show that hairy women CAN NOT be sexy.
Reclaiming my hairy legs as another part of my sexy body is something I still struggle with. I don't get a lot of help on this front considering the appearance of every woman in any form of media in US Culture. The only time hair on women is ever brought up in movies is to make a joke (eew- gross! How horrible for the man that got tricked into that!). Well, unless the film is foreign, in which case the chances of a sexy woman having body hair is significantly higher. In fact, during the love scenes in Ang Lee's "Lust Caution" I remember feeling more in awe of the woman's hairy armpits than the incredibly intense sex. Finding positive representations of hairy women is so rare that a girl's gotta grab 'em wherever she finds 'em, even if that happens to be from the mouths of monsters.
Cheers!
Lyrics to "Fur"
Fur! I am covered with fur.
From my snoot to my spur,
I'm a furry girly!
Fur! When you stroke it, I purr.
When you poke it, I grrr.
It's a nice and curly!
Chorus:
Fur! Keeps me warm when it's brrr.
Don't you wish that you were
Fairly bursting with fur, fur, fur?
Yes, fur is beautiful, fur is clever,
Elmo's going to love it furever!
Fur! Unfurgettable fur!
Now, you may find fur too frightful,
But I'd never switch.
I find my fur delightful,
But, boy, does it itch!
You may see fur as horrible,
I say, "No sir!"
To me my fur's adorable,
And I'm covered with fur.
( He kinda grows it. )
( repeat chorus with counting)
Our head's in a whir,
Our thoughts are a blur
When we think of our fur-bulous,
Furst-rate fur!
Oh, fur! Unfurgettable fur!
