My male partner has told me over and over, “I really don’t care whether you shave your legs or not.” I appreciate this, but I’ve known for years that I shave my legs not to be attractive to him but to avoid being judged by other women. I know that building confidence in my natural body will take time. It makes me feel bolder to remember that for thousands and thousands of years, women didn’t give a second thought to their leg hair (the way men continue to do today).

Still, the patriarchy wants me to be so ashamed of my natural body that I spend any amount of money and time and pain to pretend body hair doesn’t exist. I don’t want the patriarchy to win.