this is such a beautifully written essay—there's a lot of writing out there about women's shaving practices and how it intersects with gender performance, but it felt like a real gift to get a careful consideration of shaving x masculinity!
this paragraph was especially beautiful to read—'This involuntary memory is a curious thing to have spill forth while shaving; for myself, for who I am now, shaving is a way of gently pushing the gender fader from one section of the spectrum to another, while the song that reverberates in my head during evokes a certain ball-grabbing machismo. Even the song’s title proclaims that words are not enough; you had better “show me yours,” so that “I’ll show you mine,” a call to domineering male action. I am vigorously pulled back into an earlier sense of self, as I enact a ritual to better embrace the person I am now.'
this is such a beautifully written essay—there's a lot of writing out there about women's shaving practices and how it intersects with gender performance, but it felt like a real gift to get a careful consideration of shaving x masculinity!
this paragraph was especially beautiful to read—'This involuntary memory is a curious thing to have spill forth while shaving; for myself, for who I am now, shaving is a way of gently pushing the gender fader from one section of the spectrum to another, while the song that reverberates in my head during evokes a certain ball-grabbing machismo. Even the song’s title proclaims that words are not enough; you had better “show me yours,” so that “I’ll show you mine,” a call to domineering male action. I am vigorously pulled back into an earlier sense of self, as I enact a ritual to better embrace the person I am now.'
Thank you for reading, Celine 🫶