Hairless

Razors, tweezers, wax, and hair removal creams: these are the tools for the initiation rites that signal the passage from girl to woman. Today, the only acceptable places for a woman to have hair are on her head (preferably long), her eyebrows (not too wild), and eyelashes (not too sparse). All kinds of cosmetics are sold to achieve the desired effect of localised luxuriance. At the same time, the industry of removing hair everywhere else on the body advances relentlessly. Hair is no longer a sign of joy but a battleground of cosmetic surgery.

In this short book, the Catalan writer Bel Olid draws on personal experience to dismantle preconceived ideas about the supposed benefits of waxing and shaving, and to lay bare the social penalties that are meted out to any woman who allows their body hair to grow. With clarity and courage, Bel Olid exposes the contradictions and hidden costs of hair removal, and issues a rousing call to women everywhere to set themselves free from the urge to please everyone else and to focus, instead, on what pleases them.

Hairless is a bold exploration of a woman's right to embrace her natural body, encouraging self-acceptance over societal expectations.