Hair Removal

I first wrote about hair removal on this blog a couple of weeks ago {see wgaw blog archive: hair removal} and attempted to explain the fact all Arab women remove all their body hair, on a regular basis. But somehow I think I failed to put across how it is approached or accepted here.

When an Arab woman waxes her forearms, lips or face it is seen as a very positive thing to do. Girls will discuss in great detail amongst themselves how their hair is growing back and many have electrolysis over their entire body.

Describing someone as having waxed their forearms would be a compliment for a woman in the GCC. Women here wax their entire bodies for all special occaisions and especially when they marry. It has extremly sexy connotations for just about all the Arab men I know.


Urban Legends
1
A friend's husband once told her Arabic women always shaved their pubic hairs in the summer and when they were getting married. She asked him to elaborate as she couldn't imagine he'd know such intimate details without there being something fishy going on.
His reply?
“Anything and everything to do with weddings and body parts was open to discussion between women and men in the run up to a marriage.” ~ummm~

2
One day in class one of the students said to me,
"Don't get angry when I tell you this. My wife got angry when I told her, but you mustn't get angry."
I promised not to get angry and wondered what on earth it could be that the student was going to tell me.
Then he said, "It's personal, and you mustn't get angry."
Again I promised not to get angry and asked again what it was he wanted to tell me.
Finally he blurted it out; "Your hair, the hair on your face. Have you ever thought of having it removed?"
And he made a rubbing motion on his cheeks with his hand. I replied I had never thought of having it removed.
"I told my wife to remove her hairs. I told her she'd look much nicer without them on her face. So would you."
He continued,
"And I think your husband would prefer you that way too. You should do it."
I said I would think about it.
"You must, it would be much better."