Comments on The Galaxy Express: How Will We Eliminate Body Hair in the Future--Or ...

It depends on the locale. In Ancient Egypt, bald w...

2009-11-10T10:06:30.950-05:00

It depends on the locale. In Ancient Egypt, bald was beautiful and people wore wigs. The upper class, at least, was very clean. So were the Romans. Medievel Europeans, on the other hand, were dirty little buggers.

Well, yeah, but I seriously doubt it has as much to do with class as climate. Ya don't need nearly as much fur in the deserts as ya do towards the artic regions. :D

And even in Eygpt, they were always putting on those wigs for protection against the heat... so, it's like, take one thing away and put another on. This is the thing that's aways fascinated me about science fiction and fantasy stories. Yeah, they can be set anywhere, but they still have to be about people. Okay, make that something we can recognize as somewhat familiar in order to be able to identify with it. ;-)

Which means that the SF/F author can essentially pick an era or geographical location in human history and play with it. Big time. No limits.

And I don't simply mean alternative histories of Earth. I mean translating things onto new and other worlds that have absolutely no connection to Earth but social structure is still social structure and just because they might somewhat similar to Regency England, for example, doesn't mean they have to exactly the same.

We simply have to be able to recognize the human interactions as familiar. And we certainly have a long, rich history of those.

"I've read that we have less need of body hair now...

2009-11-10T07:18:48.677-05:00

"I've read that we have less need of body hair now than in the past. Scientists have speculated that we shed our fur for health reasons. Made me wonder if we’re evolving toward a state of complete hairlessness. If our ability to zap harmful micro- and not-so-microorganisms becomes a readily available technology (e.g., sanitizing sprays instead of showers), would a hirsute appearance remain a cause for concern?"

It depends on the locale. In Ancient Egypt, bald was beautiful and people wore wigs. The upper class, at least, was very clean. So were the Romans. Medievel Europeans, on the other hand, were dirty little buggers.

@Kimber An, Natalie, & Writer and Cat--You all sho...

2009-11-09T20:21:42.782-05:00

@Kimber An, Natalie, & Writer and Cat--You all should start a comedy troupe, the way you bring the funny.

It was so low, I didn't even have the usual skin damage to show for it.

Definitely good to know. I've always been curious about trying it.

Kim, thanks for the tip on that book.

@Jess Oh, I forgot all about lasers...! Is there anything they can't do, lol?!

Angelia, that beard-wipe idea is fantastic. Maybe you ought to patent it right now! Seriously, though, hair removal takes up so much time. And I love my husband's body hair--it's so weird that we're reared, generally, to have the opposite feeling when it comes to women. Ah, them's the breaks, I guess.

@BevBB Thanks, I will check those stories out at some point.

I forget what the exact method was, but there was ...

2009-11-09T13:31:36.491-05:00

I forget what the exact method was, but there was some form of more or less permanent body hair removal in Michelle Pillow's Dragon Lords (futuristc romance) group of stories. It stood out because the stories in the group were all concurrent and that part took place at the beginning when the "brides" were all being prepped before the "weddings". I just can't remember without going back and rereading what the actual explanation was.

Kim, I was thinking of Claude as well. He was an o...

2009-11-09T10:48:00.244-05:00

Kim, I was thinking of Claude as well. He was an old Xenoarchaeologist who had knocked around the rougher parts of the galaxy. He'd had his body hair erased during the last regeneration because of his experiences. (And the Exile saga is TOTALLY SFR. Everyone is in love, searching for love or being betrayed by love)

I created beard-wipes for my dark future. They're basically little depilatory towelettes, in a foil envelope and sold by the box. I suppose they can be used on body hair. Another (male) character in that milieu waxes all his body hair, except the pubes, but he's a masochist and likes the feel of it.

On a personal level, I shave my pits during the summer (helps the anti-perspirant work better) and my legs only when I'm wearing a dress. I work outdoors year round and LIKE the extra warmth. I hate creams and waxes etc.

Lasers, it's all about lasers, trust me.

2009-11-09T10:47:27.656-05:00

Lasers, it's all about lasers, trust me.

So many outfits in the future are composed of skin...

2009-11-09T09:19:10.513-05:00

So many outfits in the future are composed of skintight spandex *snirk*. I hope they HAVE removed some body hair or that's gonna HURT! My main reason to shave in the winter, besides vanity, is that my knee socks and tights hurt if my leg hair is long.

Not SFR, but I remember a main character in Julian...

2009-11-09T06:47:32.831-05:00

Not SFR, but I remember a main character in Julian May's Saga of the Exiles books making the deliberate, genetic decision to have no body hair when he went back to the pliocene. He kept the hair on his head for vanity :)

As a hairy female, I've tried a few types of hair ...

2009-11-08T23:42:32.325-05:00

As a hairy female, I've tried a few types of hair removal over the years. {Smile}

Electrolysis doesn't have to hurt. If you find a sympathetic practitioner, and if you complain like crazy when you start, you can get them to turn the current way down. Thanks to my low pain threshold and minimal pain tolerance, the hair kept coming back, but it did come out. It was so low, I didn't even have the usual skin damage to show for it. {Smile}

When I finally stopped because the practitioner left, and the main alternative was NOT sympathetic to low pain thresholds, I think it took two to three weeks to begin to show again. {Smile}

I've also tried depilitories. I didn't like the way they softened the skin; it was so fragile right after, any bump would break and bleed. However, it did take about a week to come back in. {smile}

Non-electric razors nick, but they seem to cut about twice as close as electric ones do using the same soap, etc. {pause} This reminds me of one option a vain-enough heroine or hero has. Carry a non-electric razor at all times. Even dry, the thing will cut hair. It won't get as close, and shaving will be uncomfortable, but you'll get the hair off. I save this last trick for the few hairs I miss when shaving my legs, but it would get the hair off. {Smile}

Personally, I find the not caring option has distinct advantages. Unfortunately, I've never quite managed it for some portions of my body. {Smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

Maybe they had electrolysis? Or wax? Ouchi mama! H...

2009-11-08T22:14:58.958-05:00

Maybe they had electrolysis? Or wax? Ouchi mama! Hmmm you're right there are very few books in my bookshelf that deal with excess underarm hair. Makes you think.

"Other than a means of making razor moguls filthy ...

2009-11-08T20:36:10.167-05:00

"Other than a means of making razor moguls filthy rich, leg shaving possibly creates the impression that a woman is young and fertile (less so than her older, hairy-legged counterpart). If men shave body hair, it’s frequently done in the context of sports, modeling, or combat situations. Holy double standard, Batman!"

Actually, this is why I insist my husband shave his beard. He looks like a young studmuffin with a clean face!