Conference turris::womannotes-v1

    The reason I shave my legs (dread) is for the disgusting panty
    hose that I seldom wear to the office.  I hate prickly legs and
    my boyfriend hates it even more.  However, I don't shave my
    legs for him, it's me that can't sleep with prickly legs.  As for
    underarms, well... I basically hate putting a sharp cutting
    instrument to my skin but when I was in Italy a couple summers
    ago I gagged when the waitresses served my food with their hairy
    armpits on a hot summer evening.  I also don't care to have
    "razor burn" from my boyfriend's slightly unshaven face.  I also
    am NOT attracted to men with beards.  Oh, what a dichotomy!!
    Quite frankly, I'd prefer to not have the hair on my legs and
    underarms because it's annoying, and on the other hand, I do
    not shave every day because that's just a pain. Just typing
    this is making me nuts because I'm on the losing end here.
    -Nina

    Lets see....
    
    As to shaving my legs, in the winter time I generally don't.
    Since my hair is light on my legs and my skirts are long I 
    figure no one will notice anyway. (and being near sighted I
    hate to shave in the shower and my teenage son has this unreasonable
    aversion to letting me use his electric on my legs ;-) ).
    (My husband doesn't use a razor and yes I know I could buy one.)
    As to under arms, I tried going without back in my "mildly hippy"
    days, and lasted about 2 months. I didn't like the way I smelled!
    
    2. As to locking the door while showering at work I think I would
    too. Not out of shyness but to prevent any weirdos from wandering
    in when I was undressed. Perhaps the women who use the locker and
    shower regularly could be issued keys.
    
    I have always thouht that women were more body shy than men. I know
    guys urinate in semi public and seemed not to be bothered by
    group showering in gym. Certainly my husband and sons are more
    apt to wander around our house in their skivies than their sisters
    or I am. :-}. I do remember a discussion on this subject before
    - either here or in parenting where Dirk Lust commented that after
    bringing up three daughters he thought women were more comfortable
    about being undressed than men. It may thendepend on your family
    and how you were brought up. 
    
    It is my impression tho that in the early teens girls are more
    embrassed by the physcial changes to their bodies than boys 
    are and are more apt to try and hide themselves. 
    
    Bonnie
    

    p.s. I think shaving of the legs started in the twenties
    along with the wearing of silk stockings. I assume that
    people thought hair under fine silk looked odd and it may
    have damaged the expensive stockings.

I think whoever designed those darn stalls in LTN2 must be a man :-)!
The stall door is directly across from the bathroom door (wide cracks
and all). I don't know about the balance on the stall door, but I bet
some women look it to keep both doors from opening at once, while they're
standing there naked.
	Mez

    
    
    1.  The reason more women don't refuse to shave is simply this --
    we who operate in a business environment have to function within
    a not very flexible preconceived perception of what is appropriate
    appearance.  Hairy legs and underarms are perceived as being
    inappropriate, so basically, if we want to make it, we shave (the
    same concept as "dress for success").  We cater to other people's
    notions of what our appearance should be in order to smooth our
    own way in life.  
    
    2.  I've noticed this, too; although I grew up sharing a bedroom
    with two sisters and we are fairly open with our bodies among the
    female members of the family, I feel the same reluctance to expose
    myself in front of other women.  Could it be that we are afraid
    to be compared to them?  Women are very critical of their own bodies
    in our culture.
    
    Gloria

    re prickly legs:
    
    Prickly legs only last until the hair grows out.  I haven't shaved
    my legs since 1981 and haven't had any pricklies since then.
    
    	-Ellen

    I only shave my legs when protocol requires that I wear stockings
    to something.  I usually shave my underarms when I shave my legs,
    or sometimes in the summer.  I'm not very "hairy" anyways.

    I started shaving when I was in 4th Grade, since Sheila Breyer had
    such lovely blond hair on her legs and I had this awful black stuff
    on mine.  I was much more fastidious about it in high school, but
    even now I won't wear a dress unless I have recently shaved my legs
    and I cannot stand the sight of unshaved armpits on women *or* men.
    I have known many friends who don't shave at all, but it's not for
    me.
                Carol  

    I have very dark hair on my legs, and it grows rather long too.
    The only time I quit shaving my legs was in basic training in the
    Army, we had a contest to see whos would grow the longest.  I won.
    One lady corn rolled(like french braid) my hairy legs and hung some
    beeds on them.  Then I stood formation (we wore skirts with white
    anklets and black shoes.....very tacky)  The drill sargent almost
    choked since I was platoon leader and was standing in front of the
    entire group when the commander did the inspection.  I got cited
    for being out of uniform.  No sense of humor in the army.
    But seriously, because my leg hair grows so long I am subject to
    ingrown hairs.  So I shave for two reasons, *I* like the way my
    legs look better, and I don't get ingrown hairs.  As for the underarm
    hair, Deoderant works better on me when shaved, so I will continue
    to do that to by choice.  

    vivian

    I just like the way it feels to have smooth shaven legs.
    
    As far as women undressing around each other, I think the point
    made about not wanting to be compared has something to do with it.
     After all, there is much more pressure from society/the media/somebody
    for women to have beautiful bodies than there is for men.
    
    Lorna
    

>   I just like the way it feels to have smooth shaven legs.
    
I'm starting to feel outnumbered!  I hate to shave.  In the 
wintertime, when I can get away with it, I don't.  The hair
stops feeling prickly within a week or two and becomes
delightfully soft.  Then I have a major separation crisis
when something comes up which requires me to wear a skirt
and I have to shave it all off.

What really bugs me is the reaction people have to a woman
with hairy legs.  I admit that my hair (when it grows out)
is considerably longer and darker than most women's (and
most men's for that matter).  But I hate the shocked looks
I sometimes get in women's locker rooms when I'm changing
from slacks into sweats and I haven't shaved in a while.
On a good day I'll shrug it off as being their problem. 
But on a bad day,....well, no one likes to be stared at.

My hat's off to all the women out there who can withstand
the social pressure to shave.  I can't do it!

I, too, have not shaved my legs since 1980 and am much happier for it.
Last September I saw Rula Lenska (of VO5 hairspray fame) on stage in London.
Because we were sitting in the second row, we got a very good view of the
actors.  To my delight, I noticed that Rula has not shaved her legs for at
least as long as me.  I never thought of Rula Lenska as a role model, but I
take 'em where I can get 'em!

....Margaret

    Isn't it a drag that shaving is an issue at all?
    
    Me, I got hair.  Lots of it.  Won't shave the "bikini" area (because
    it hurts a lot) and so never (ever, ever) go to any beach which
    won't permit me to go nude (I feel less like a gorilla naked than
    in a bathing suit).
    
    Underarms?  _I_ still think underarm hair is attractive and that
    there's nothing wrong with the mild scent of sweat (like the smell
    of s*x, it seems pretty human to me), so I haven't shaved there
    since I was 12 (the one and only time I tried it).  [I can hear
    choruses of "ewww, gross."  Never have won any converts on that
    issue, but know enough women who feel the same way to know I'm not
    _that_ strange.]
    
    Legs?  Yet more hair.  I shave them a couple times a year, mostly
    when dealing with men who don't know me, my work, or my competence.
    Sometimes shave them when I feel like "dolling up," which also entails
    putting goop (aka makeup) on my face.  I try not to make it a big
    deal, but if people insist on bringing it up...
    
    I admire one of my close friends who has _never_ plucked or shaved
    the scads of big, black hair around her nipples.  How many dark-haired
    women are that confident of themselves and their attractiveness?
     Pretty "gutsy" if you ask me.
    
    It's always funny to watch the reactions of people who see my hairy
    legs for the first time: they stare then look away quickly but are
    drawn right back to my sockless (and hairy) ankles.
    
    My attitude at this point is, like Popeye "I yam what I yam," and
    if you don't like my hair <also insert: if you don't think I'm
    attractive>, that's your tough luck; _I_ like it, and there are
    plenty of people who don't think it's revolting to be born hairy.
     It _is_ a pain to deal with men on the street who call me "gorilla
    mama" when I wear shorts, though...
    
    Lee

    re -1:
    
    Yeah!  You said it well.  People here are saying things like "underarm
    hair grosses me out."  Well, indeed, that is your problem and I
    do not feel that I need to adjust for you.  Underarm hair is *natural*,
    not *gross*!
    
    BTW, on my bicycle trip in 1985 I did not meet any woman who shaved
    at all (I met about a couple dozen women).  It probably had a lot to do
    with not having to meet society's expectations (like work situations)
    and being outdoors the whole time, but also none of these women were
    "grossed out" by their own hair.
    
    
    	-Ellen

    I have very little body hair, and what I have is blonde, and I
    absolutely refuse to shave it. If anyone asks (none of their business,
    right?) I just tell them that European women don't shave, and they
    are very sexy. I guess I do get defensive about it, especially underarm
    hair, but I have never been embarrassed enough to shave.
    
    My daughter, who has darker hair, does shave, but then she always
    has, even when her hair was lighter. That's her choice.
    
    Except for in front of my daughter and mother, I am very shy about 
    revealing my body. Those open dressing rooms in department stores
    give me agonies. I guess I've stopped wondering why; that's just
    the way I am.
    
    My body is mine to do with as I please, so I leave it unshaven and
    hidden!
    
    Stel 

    re: .16                                
                                           
    Unfortunately many European women do shave.  And depilate, and wax, 
    and otherwise torture themselves.          
                                           
    If you ever come here and forget your razor or "Neet", they're readily 
    available in most stores.                        
                                           
    re: .0                                 
                                           
    Funny, I used to be on the self-conscious side.  Then I joined a
    "Fitness" (the generic noun in French for "health club") and got
    totally accustomed to strolling about the women's locker room au naturel.
    Nobody bothers to wrap themselves in a towel for a sauna or turkish
    bath either, as Hollywood would have us believe.  
         
    It's just very comfortable.  Not all the women have classically
    beautiful bodies (well, ok, *none* of us have classically beautiful
    bodies), but each seems to have made some kind of peace with her body.
                                                      
    Helen         

    
    
    I shave under my arms a couple of times during the summer, almost
    never between September and May.  My legs get clipped every 6 weeks
    or longer.  I wear dark stockings with suits and dresses, I don't
    know if anyone notices the hair - I don't.  I don't think that any
    body hair is gross, sometimes is nice and soft and ....
    
    I know of a number of professional women who do not shave, but then
    they don't flaunt it either.
    
    		_peggy
    

    I'm prone to ingrown hairs but I shave my legs and armpits regularly.
    My dermotologist said that I have been shaving too often and too
    hard.  So, now I only shave every-other day (except in summer when
    I shave EVERY day).  I wear a teeny weeny bikini so off goes the
    bikini hairline every weekend.  I use a dipilatory (cream that burns
    the hair) and I have had no problems.
    
    As for changing in front of other women at my heatlh club, I NEVER
    use the changing stalls (too much bother to go from the stall to
    the locker back to the locker to the stall and so forth.  So, I
    just strip down and I don't care who's looking.  I'm happy with
    my looks and if THEY are embarassed, so be it.  BTW, I don't have
    a terrific body that you read about.  I'm just comfortable with
    what I do have and I don't hide behind the locker door either. 
    But, I did hit my head on one last week while tying my shoes.  Ouch.
    :-)

    I have a butterfly tatoo on my hip and I think the looks I get in
    the ladies locker room are funny. I never shave my legs in the winter
    but my hair is blonde and light so it's not much of a statement.
    I still can't bring myself to go bare legged in the summer without
    shaving though. American men act so grossed out by it, can I claim
    to be a victim of society or must I admit to vanity and wanting
    to please men? Liesl

re.20

You can  claim  anything  you  please  -- personally though, I'd rather show
strength  and  admit  vanity  than  weakness  in  claiming to be a victim of
society.

- Linda

    
    Hair never bothered me!
    

    HALLELUJAH!!!!
    
    And I thought _all_ men were crazy. :^)
    
    Lee

        It seems to me that Selma has shaved a couple of times in the
        last 17 years, but I have no idea why. It wasn't to please or
        impress me, as I see nothing wrong with a little hair. It
        certainly doesn't detract from her sexiness. 
        
        As to locker-rooms, I've always envied women theirs. I can't
        stand the lack of privacy in men's locker and shower rooms. I am
        very uncomfortable being naked in front of strange men, and
        moderately so in front male friends. Nudity in front of strange
        women (which I've seldom experienced) is embarassing and in
        front of female friends doesn't bother me at all. 
        
        And it's not (all) what you are thinking. It all harkens back to
        my boyhood, when I got beaten up a lot--by virtually every guy
        in my class. While I got over the grudges and the bitterness and
        the fear and the insecurity moderately fast, all things
        considered, it left me with two quirks. I don't like sitting
        with my back to a room or door, and I don't like to be naked in
        front of men. Both amount to not wanting to be vulnerable. 
        
        JimB.

    RE: .24  "equipment envy"
    
    There's a funny scene in the movie, "Lucas", in which the title
    character, an academically advanced, pint-sized, 13-year old boy,
    uses his wit to turn the tables on some locker room jocks who cast
    aspersions on the size of his "equipment".

    

        Actually, other than one incident in Jr. High School, I've never
        really had any experience with "equipment envy". I do remember
        be ridiculed once either for being too hairy or not hairy enough
        in that period when if you are not absolutely average the kids
        will point it out. To be honest I don't remember which it was,
        although I suspect that I was late. What I do remember is that I
        was terrified it would turn into another beating--they had
        mostly stopped, but weren't unheard of. 
        
        My discomfort at being naked in front of men has nothing to do,
        so far as I'm aware, with equipment envy or anything but shear
        discomfort at being vulnerable. It's like being unarmed and
        facing threatening or armed people, or sitting with my back
        exposed to dangers I can not see. I knew fear of physical threat
        for so long that it left me uncomfortable in a few situations. 
        
        JimB.

    As a boy, being naked in a locker room bothered me mostly because
    of the problem of getting an erection for no reason whatsoever and
    especially if there was the *slightest* reason to.  I was taught
    that its wrong to be naked in front of someone else, especially
    girls, and that was enough reason for it.  The stress of being seen
    coupled with the stress of what would be thought if it *did* happen
    was more than enough to cause it to happen.  When it did happen,
    the other boys would tease and make it that much worse.
    
    Now, as an adult, I don't let it bother me, I have better mind control,
    although it still bothers me a little.  Now, in a women's locker
    room...different story.  There's no amount of control in that situation
    for me.  I have learned to accept that men don't have separate showers
    and lockers and I take a quick shower facing the wall.  It bothers
    me around strange men but not around friends.  Even adult men will
    stare and giggle, believe it or not.  The adults I'm thinking of
    were both in their early 20's and looked like the type who would
    tease someone just for fun.  I simply turned and faced the wall,
    discreetly, finished and left.
    
    And, to answer .0, 1), my wife shaves because, like me, she doesn't
    wish to attract attention.
    
    Spence

    I haven't been following the conference for a while, so I was delighted
    to come upon this note upon my return.
    
    I vote for hair.  As a male, shaving is equally onerous.  I also
    vote for sweat, as have a couple of other replies have indicated.
    If we could rely on our sense of smell a bit more, we could probably
    avoid some less than satisfying entaglements with members of the
    opposite gender who just don't "smell" right.  It sounds funny,
    but it would probably help.  Leave it to the guys (gender implied)
    on Madison Avenue to foul up a wonderfully natural contribution
    to natural selection.  Yes, I find odor and hair sexy.  Beyond that,
    they are both wonderful indicators or health.
    
    After we win the hair revolution, could we then focus on neckties.
    I am told that the tradition started when sword fighting was in
    vogue.  Supposedly, it is difficult for a sword to cut through silk,
    so warriors wore silk scarves around their necks.  Now, having been
    raised in the warrior class of our country, I can appreciate that,
    but to stylize the practice for corporate warfare leaves alot to
    be desired.
    
    Hi Vivian.  You should have known better than to think that the
    Army can take a joke.  (You wouldn't have any pictures would you?)
    
    Craig

    Re: Question 1
    
    I shave infrequently in the summer.  I've noticed that if my armpits
    are kept moderately 'close' the combination of sweat and deodorant
    doesn't stain my light blouses.  My husband also shaves his armpits
    in summer for the same reason--to help preserve his wardrobe.
    
    Re: Question 2
    
    It's been great for my morale to hear from others of you who are 
    'immodest' in the locker room!  I refused, even as a young girl,
    to conform to a standard of behavior that seemed silly.  Even though 
    I wasn't trying to force anyone else to conform to my behavior, (i.e.,
    not yanking their towels off, taunting their shyness) I was treated 
    with shocked hostility by the other girls for walking naked to 
    the shower with my washcloth-sized towel over my arm instead of 
    struggling to wrap it around me.  (There was a practical consideration 
    here as well as ease with my own body--I was quite hefty as a teenager 
    and those towels were so ridiculously small I couldn't even pretend 
    to cover myself up with them.)  
    
    I came to understand that many other girls (and now women) are shy 
    about revealing their bodies anywhere, but as a young girl and even
    a sexually awakening teenager I couldn't understand why.  I now 
    have a better intellectual grasp of possible reasons, some of which 
    have been touched on in this note.  Perhaps comparison fear is one
    cause; perhaps (and this is more sobering) the general subtle fear
    that causes most women to be so careful even extends to female-only
    facilities.  Peraps not many women feel safe even there, but always
    on-guard against possible marauders.
    
    What has not been pleasant (for me) is other girls and women treating 
    me as if I were a crude slut for not also 'behaving shy'.  I am
    not fearful in locker rooms or showers, and I behave as if my
    nakedness is completely natural (which it is, in the shower or the 
    locker room, while undressing).  But after putting on my glasses 
    (which I'm blind without) I catch at least one woman giving me 
    what I've come to call The Look--that all but screams "How can you 
    just walk around like _that_??  Have you no decent feelings??  How 
    dare you just let other people see you, look at you??"  When I was 
    a teenager, well-meaning friends actually took me aside to tell 
    me such things.  No one says anything as an adult, but The Look 
    is the same.  I've seen it directed at other 'immodest' women
    using shower or locker facilities.
    
    It makes me sad that I have only twice caught a Look that says, 
    "Look at that strong, proud woman!  Oh, I'd love to be at ease 
    with my body like that; I'd love to be fearless like her."

    Marcia

    Re:  Shaving:  I shave my underarms frequently in the summer; it
    does save the old clothes.  I shove my legs less frequently; they
    itch in hot weather.  When the cooler weather arrives, I shave my
    legs infrequently, and wear whatever color pantyhose or whatever
    that I chose.  My hair is light-colored, and I supposed that does
    make it less obvious.  
    
    As to walking around a dressing room, shower, etc.:  If I'm going
    to take a shower, why would I put on something??????  Having been
    raised in an envirnment where you covered absolutely everything,
    over the years my attitude has changed; I don't mind my body, so
    why should someone else?   Also, like Marcia, those towels *NEVER*
    have fit around me, so what difference does it make?  I'm for doing
    whatever suits the individual.
    
    Hi, Marcia!
    
    Val Verge

    it has taken me a long time to be able walk around naked(in locker
    rooms etc...)
    dont know why it used to make me feel uncomfortable because my mother
    always walked around naked in front of me when i was a child.i 
    remember one comment she made"how else are you going to learn about
    your body".
    
    i have one question which may be viewed as strange.how many of you
    ever saw both your parents nude?in talking with friends they seemed
    to find it "strange" that i had never seen my father nude.
    
    kelly

    Kelly, I certainly never remember seeing either of my parents
    undressed - tho I did share the bathroom with my mother when
    she or I were using the facility. I don't know any women who
    have ever told me that they saw their fathers undressed. 
    Bonnie

    I never saw my father naked except once.
    
    I was going to school late for some reason, and was sitting on my bed
    in my room waiting for my mother.  I was facing the hall and the
    bathroom.  My dad was showering, and he came out of the bathroom nude
    and headed for the bedroom.  He didn't think I was home. 
    
    He was really angry at me for sitting there "when I shouldn't have
    been there".
    
    Holly

    please don't think my family was perverted, but...
    
    My parents used to wander to and from the bathroom to shower - without
    clothes.  They'd use the bathroom with the door open.  There were
    no hangups.  They calmly answered the anatomical questions that
    cropped up.  Oddly enough, after reaching a certain age, I am now
    the one who closes the door to the bathroom, who turns away when
    dressing, who needs to wear a bathrobe to the shower.  I have acquired
    these habits from my college peers, and from society.  I am concerned
    what others think when they see my body, and I am ashamed of its
    imperfections sometimes - in the gym showers - in the locker room
    - and with my own roommates.  
    
    *sigh*
    
    -Jody
    

    re: .22 et al:
    
    I'd just arrived at my duty station in Germany and was sightseeing
    in town with a couple other GIs when one of them made a comment
    on the order of "Wow!  Look at that chick!  What a fox!. . .Oh,
    wait a minute. . .never mind. . .did you see the hair on those
    legs??"
    
    Well, yeah, (sez me to myself), I did, but its only hair, and
    it's not "disgusting", just different, and mostly I see a very 
    attractive woman (drool, pant).  To my great delight, I found that 
    the standard American male aversion to women's body hair prevented 
    them from wanting to date these young ladies.
    
    Leaving lots more opportunites for me (oinker that I am, er was -
    in those days, I wasn't "easy", I was "instant").
    
    Steve

    I agree with Jodi (-.2) that society tends to dictate behaviour
    in the shower.  I find that I just can't be as modest as the average
    person in the showers at work or at a health facility, because,
    as most of you can identify, I just don't have the time to fool
    around.
    
    I reminds me of basic training in the Air Force many years ago.
    We were 30+ girls/women from various backgrounds who, for the first
    few days were extremely modest in the shared latrine; however, the
    schedule during basic training did not permit this for long.  When
    you realize that you have 8 minutes to get up, shower, dress, put
    on lipstick (we HAD to wear it - silly, huh?), make the bed, tidy
    up and be out in front of the building (in order, of course) - and,
    believe me, we ACTUALLY DID that - 8 minutes flat! - modesty flys
    right out the window.  NOWHERE in the world will you see two or
    more women using the SAME shower nozzel - in cooperation, even.
    That's real teamwork!
    
    Thank God it's over.
    
    			Kathy

    Thank the goddess another woman vet welcome..Ex nav..
    
    MaggieT

	Oh god, I'm another. I recall a girl from basic who just refused to
	take a shower with the rest of us cause we wouldn't let her use the
	shower curtain (hey, we had to wash and dry them if used them). 


	one day I'lll start a topic on just how much I hated basic training.

	I mean, who gives a s**t if their hangers are exactly one inch apart.

liesl

    Hey, liesl, don't look now, but I STILL fold my undies the Air Farce
    way!  Ya, and I can still get dressed in the dark.  ;^>
    
    			Kathy

    re: 38, et al:
    
    While there are moments when I think that either men or women
    are extraterrestrials (the one utterly alien to the other), I'm
    brought back (to Earth, so to speak) by notes like these.
    
    Your experiences sound almost genderless.  While we didn't have
    shower curtains (which we wouldn't have used for the same reasons),
    we did have a recruit who wouldn't shower with us.  Trouble was
    that in any given training day, there were about 6.5 minutes 
    available for showering, thus our "buddy" began to raise quite
    a stink - literally - and prompted us to give him a GI shower.
    
    And why does my wife think I'm nuts for folding my T-shirts folded
    just so?
    
    Please do start that note on Basic Training; hatred of Basic may
    be one of the few things we can agree upon unanimously.
    
    Stand at ease,
    
    Steve
    

	I always got a "modesty attack" when I was forced into the old
"group shower" routine in my high school gym days. To this day I am still
very uncomfortable in that type of setting and I can't really say why. It
just feels so "unnatural" or something. Funny, it should be the other way
around but I guess I have let the pressure of society get to me. Anyway,
it is not a problem any more since I am no longer "forced" into a"group
shower" situation.

	I guess another thing is that (and this may sound "weird") I am
somewhat grossed out by the sight of another guy in the buff. That was always
another problem I had in the "group shower" days. It was always a challenge
trying to keep from getting glimpses of the other big hairy bodies that I
shared the shower with! Yuk! Weird maybe, but that is the way I am. It tends
to keep me out of the restroom with the shower in it around lunch time!

	On hair: I am one of those "traditional" (in this sense anyway)
American males who would rather not see hairy legs and armpits on women
but I certainly recognize any persons right to do whatever they want and
it won't bother me. And I am *not* the type that would stare or make a
comment to anyone either! I don't have any double standards however (as
in: hair in certain places is okay for men and not for women). Actually,
I once shaved a moustache for an SO who found it "uncomfortable". I really
do *hate* shaving myself but I don't like the feeling I get when I have
a beard either (I have tried!) so I guess I am stuck with another routine
that I find unpleasent. Oh well.

						- Dale the male -

    I hate to shave.  So in the summertime, I shave my legs if I'm going
    to wear shorts or a bathing suit, and usually will shave under my
    arms regularly.  However, once the cooler weather sets in, I very
    rarely shave.  I don't think about the way it looks.  I wear nylons
    and believe it covers it up.  It doesn't bother my husband one way
    or the other.
    
    As for modesty, I am one of the modest type.  Except around a few
    close friends, when in high school I dreaded gym.  I still feel
    uncomfortable around other woman, although the feeling is not as
    bad as when I was younger.
    
    Debbie

    
    RE .36, .37, .38
    
     FWIW  Theres a veterans file over on node UCOUNT::VETERANS
     that been seking female vets. It would be nice to see you over
     there. 
    
                         Bob B   USNR - R  (Still serving)