Saturday, July 2, 2011

a singlet--with hair



Thanks to a very informative dialogue on swim wear with a focus on butches over at Effing Dykes, I went and ordered myself the sweet singlet seen above in an aggressive stance picture of me.

There was a time I had a swimsuit, actual full on old school swimsuit, with tight legs and a binding kind of restrictive top, etc. I wore it so much it got all thin and useless. So, I'd been searching to no avail for something like it. Then the aforementioned discussion took place in the comments section of offing dykes (every time I write effing dykes on this ipad it auto corrects it to offing dykes, hee hee) and someone suggested wrestling singlets. Then I found this great black with royal gold trim and I ordered it. The damn thing took an eternity to come in the mail. One of Will's caretakers actually said, "you sounded like a little kid every day asking--'did my singlet come in the mail yet.'"

Then it arrived. It fits great, but my tits kind of slide out the sides, so I will have to wear an additional garment underneath if I plan on not offending the public with glimpses of too much flesh.

This is all a very long introduction to the the real question of this post. How many of you gender benders out there-- you passers for dudes, you mostly masculine types--shave your legs even though you are as butch as can be? Tell the truth.

I've played sports with plenty of super butch ladies and every single fucking one of them but me, shaved their legs. I know sporty dykes are a different breed, but many of these ladies were full on passers for dudes, gender benders, etc. When it came to their legs, well, they were silky smooth.

This all has been resurfacing for me, because I think my kk wants me to shave my legs. I think she is embarrassed of my extra hairy shins.
We went to a pool party the other day (it was a very strange crowd; friends of and the children of friends of kk's deceased mama--all pretty damn gender normative to say the least). I did not sport my singlet that day. It was warm and beautiful, but I stayed in my rolled pants and let my hairy sandaled feet and ankles make their presence known without letting the big sisters on my shins and calves be seen.

K had been hesitant about me getting into my swim gear, so I take this to mean she wants them smooth. Though, the one time I shaved, in the past, when we had been together maybe a year point five, she ended up thinking the smoothness was fucked up in relation to the rest of me.

My armpits will always remain hairy.

But, kk says one day, "maybe you should shave." and the next, "no don't; it will look too strange."

I'm mostly of the mind to always keep them hairy and let all of the onlookers with their frowns and befuddled looks keep their twisted, distorted and more painful to carry faces for themselves. Sure, every once in a while, I become very uncomfortable when I think that people are judging me because I have lady breasts and booty and also a thick weave of hair on my legs. It confounds the dumb. It enrages the already mean spirited homophobes. But, shaving is a pure pain in the ass. It does not reflect who I am.

While it may sometimes feel like I have a thousand boogers hanging from my nose (I mean legs), from the stares I get at the public pool, I say fuck em. Next time, I am at a high falootin pool party, my hairy legs might just end up clogging the filter.

14 comments:

KK said...

this made me giggle out lout, IR.
As the KK mentioned in the blog, I must point out 2 things:
1) your leg "WEAVE" was out at the pool party. while sitting with your pants rolled you let it all hang out.
2)i'm sorry i am bi-polar with the leg shaving thing. seriously. every once in a while i just think 'smooth is good' and, to be totally honest at 11:15 pm after a beer, to protect you from the stares.
But whatever my love, you rock it. you go.
xo

KK said...

Oh, and nice HUGE picture. ha ha ha

vee said...

Nice singlet!

Sorry about the leg hair stares. It's much less of an issue in the UK I think, than what it sounds like there. A fair proportion of dyke friends, not even those of a particularly gender queer persuasion, don't shave. But then, it's so cold and wet here we rarely get the chance to uncover! If you can brazen out the staring, I vote for not shaving; it's a faff, it seems like a personal contradiction for you and well, just let it be their problem (easy to say).

the injector said...

Vee.
Excellent point. This necessity for smooth legged women is a very American thing...
In the midwest, we only have a window of time to really sport our bare legs and arms. Yesterday it was 99F so that day counted as one of them.
Usually, only hippie type ladies and staunch queer kids do not participate in the shaving ritual, at least that is what I have noticed.
I wish we could be more like you all...

jessie said...

Good for you. Shaving sucks!

Anonymous said...

Oh, you're here! Thank you, baby Jesus, for the return of the Injector.
Body hair and it's retention or removal is weird. I get funny, very veiled, looks at my unshaved armpits + shaved legs + two piece suit + totally femme presentation. Usually, I just don't care - it's laziness more than anything else. But sometimes, it does make me squirm a little. I hate being stared at, even for a covert second. But mostly, I just don't care.

eeny meeny said...

I just read this article--you might like it. http://www.bust.com/blog/2011/06/28/sensitive-girl-pit-problems-dealing-with-hair-haters.html#.TgzIUBpGiwU.facebook

I'm in between because I like the look of no hair but there's nothing worse than the unwashed cucumber prickle of one-day-old shaved legs. Plus, I get ingrown hairs and razor burn, so there's really no rational reason to make the effort.

My favorite part of your post was the title. Has a great sound to it.

fb said...

Oh my gawd, this made me die laughing in the library! You need to laminate this and hang it in the girl's locker room in some high school, so that all the baby dykes can get their groove on. Hold a clip board and a whistle, and I think you'd have a posse for life.

I totally saw the same feature on dyke bathing suits. The part about the white wife beater, bikini top, and board shorts as the uniform was so dead on. Have you seen these binder bathing suits from the excellent Les Love Boat out of Taiwan? http://www.lesloveboat.com/shop/index.php?cPath=93

I haven't seen these in person but my LG is seriously thinking of getting one. I am not sure whether to show her the picture of your singlet as inspiration or not....

And, crap, I'm so behind on the little one's present, but I swear it's coming one of these days, preferably before she ceases to need said baby item!

Please don't stop blogging. It is hard to explain why it's been such a wonderful connection for me to find without sounding like a cheerleader but your posts (and omg, images like today's!) have been hugely comforting, inspiring and encouraging. xo f

f said...

And I totally think you ought to round up a collection of butchy-genderqueer-dykey folks in their bathing suits for a swimsuit calendar.... this would complete my cubicle at work. I had the Butch and Female Mechanics calendars up for a while and they always got good reviews :-)
http://www.cablegalshideout.com/
http://www.sarahlyon.com/calendar/

Gretchen said...

I have so much admiration for those of us who can brave the stares and keep the hairiness (if we want it, of course). I have a pretty femme presentation, wear girly bathing suits, haven't shaved my armpits in years and have no plans to, but can not bring myself to wear a swimsuit without shaving my legs & bikini area. I really, really wish that I felt ok about leaving it, because shaving is the biggest pain in the ass (especially after a winter of no shaving, and my leg hair is like yours) but I don't. It doesn't "look" feminine to me and I feel feminine, even though I think that's bullshit learned yada yada. And dealing with people staring and judging and all that, well, I am not that brave yet.

But, I think you rock and you ARE that brave. Yep, fuck 'em.

Kate said...

a black womens exercise singlet showed up at the naked lady party if you want it as a back up. it is not as cool as the singlet posted but it would keep the top covered as not to offend the public (which i have my own opinions on female toplessness). if you want it i can drop it off.
I know women who are not hippies nor butch dykes who dont shave but are more feminine in presentation. i dont know if that makes a difference, i can only think it might. 'not shaving' is not my comfort level but i say dont shave and wear the singlet and fuck if anyone is looking/judging. wear it and wear it proud.

Matilda said...

Thanks for bringing this topic up, and for doing it in such a great way.
I'm also bi-polar about shaving or not. I usually shave my armpits and my calves but not my thighs (I have A LOT OF HAIR on the backside of my thighs). I wax my bikiniline, but I've stopped waxing the hair line below my belly button (don't know the english word for this, google translate suggested "picks string" - is it right?).
So, yeah... I have definately serious double standards when it comes to hair removal.
ps. thank you for choosing to continue blogging!

Anonymous said...

Love this. I've been struggling with both leg hair AND swimwear this entire Summer, so thanks for writing! Now, since I'm a new reader, to catch up on older posts and get up to speed...

Anonymous said...

This shit is cracking me up.

No one mentioned the hottie with a body.... (Unfortunate) big breasted dykish type. For the last couple of years, my swim wear has mostly included this standard bikini top that someone left at my house. I just sort of turn into this bimbo for a day, no big deal. Therew also the sports bra with shorts option. Seems like the only options other than singlet or wasting $ on other stuff that makes me feel like a crossdresser.