Boasting more than 80 years developing hair removal products, Veet is clear on the fact that women grow body hair. What the company isn’t so aware of is that these same women tend to get upset when someone implies that a little natural fuzz turns them into an undesirable “dude.”

Accusations of sexism prompted Veet to pull its “Don’t risk dudeness” ad campaign just two days after it debuted last Monday. The ad that prompted the most backlash featured an overweight guy in skimpy pajamas throwing a hairy leg over his horrified bedmate. When the hairy guy admits — in a woman’s voice — to being a little “prickly” after shaving just yesterday, the commercial implies that any amount of body hair makes a woman undesirable, unnatural and masculine.

Outraged consumers correctly identified the campaign as sexist and close-minded in general, and this ad as homophobic in particular. Veet promptly took to Facebook to respond to the flood of criticism, offering a somewhat apologetic explanation that affirmed the campaign was a female-designed attempt at humor.

Veet regrettably failed to recognize the reach and influence of its campaign. When presented to a national viewership, the ideas that reasonably pass for office humor turn into a societal agent that shames women’s bodies and promotes narrow beauty and gender norms.

Shaming women’s bodies by upholding unreasonable attractiveness standards is hardly a new concept. From the oft-photoshopped thigh gap to the lucrative plastic surgery industry, women are inundated with the message that various aspects of their bodies are objects of embarrassment and canvases for improvement.

And when it comes to body hair, U.S. culture already tends to cast natural fuzz outside the norm. In this context, Veet’s assertion that even day-old leg prickles make a woman undesirable carries particular weight. The company bolsters the idealistic expectation of perfect smoothness at every moment while feeding the idea that leg or armpit hair on women is embarrassing or shameful.

It isn’t.

What a woman chooses to do — or not do — with her body hair is entirely her choice. Those who choose to forgo shaving and waxing have the same right to feel beautiful as those who spend time and money removing their hair.

In this sense, Veet drastically overstepped its bounds. Intentionally or unintentionally, the company attempted to shape the gendered beauty standards that affect all women through its campaign. It would have had better luck inoffensively marketing a product to those women who reasonably prefer to go smooth.

Its attempt at humor was a rightful flop, and hopefully one that the flood of sexist accusations pouring into the company’s social media accounts will keep from happening again. The campaign only takes a positive twist when considered as a teachable moment.

No one has the right to dictate what’s shameful and what’s beautiful. And no one should have to be ashamed of something that’s as natural as the hair on top of her head.

Nicki Gorny is a junior newspaper and online journalism and Spanish major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at nagorny@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @Nicki_Gorny. 

Published on April 16, 2014 at 1:01 am