• hansolo@lemmy.today
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    16 days ago

    There is a certain degree of genetics and environmental adaptation here as well. Not all ethnic groups share similar body hair genes. It doesnt even seen to correlate to something like melanin production and higher/lower latitudes since body hair across Africa varies wildliy.

      • hansolo@lemmy.today
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        16 days ago

        Of course - what I’m saying is that there’s huge variation within humans. Some ethnic groups simply don’t grow as much body hair, or it’s not nearly as course or pronounced. My partner can go weeks without shaving her legs and it’s almost impossible to tell. Many East Asian ethnic groups have far less hair than Europeans or Levant peoples. People in West Africa have relatively little body hair, while I’ve seen women with full on beards and chest hair in southern African countries.

        If this conversation is between a Maori or Norwegian kid and a Bulgarian or Spanish or Armenian babysitter, that’s a stark contrast that actually would be plausible without the reality of unreasonable beauty standards ruining everyone’s day.

        That variation also means that the “logic” of comparing leg hair to cancer makes as much sense as comparing leg hair to my nipples. They don’t do anything either, but XY bodies still get them. And I would bet $10 that any kid young enough to be baby-sat and say that grows up to get lip filler and joker-esque work done by the age of 28.

          • hansolo@lemmy.today
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            16 days ago

            For sure, patriarchal beauty standards are to blame here. However, it’s also sort of weird to suggest that ALL woman, and in fact, all humans, have roughly similar body hair. That’s simply false, and easily proved false if anyone cares about facts.

            This isn’t some black and white issue, it’s something with degrees of truth, that’s all.