When I came to Guilford last semester I hadn’t shaved my legs in a year and a half. Shaving my legs was what “society” expected from me, so I didn’t want to do it, and I thought that anyone who did was brainwashed. One day, a little before winter break, however, I got a sudden urge to shave my legs. I wanted to, but I felt guilty because I felt it would make me a “bad feminist.”

Then I had a revelation. By not shaving my legs when I wanted to, I was being controlled by outside forces even more than if I had decided for myself.

I realized that shaving my legs wouldn’t make me a tool, rather, I would be a tool of the punk and feminist movements I was trying to adhere to if I didn’t shave even though I wanted to.

I started shaving again, and I feel great about it, because I know that it was my choice-not “society’s” or anyone else’s.

Too often, we are convinced that we have to boycott certain products or avoid certain actions to be a good feminist, activist, anarchist, Democrat, or whatever slot we are trying to fit into. We are constantly pressured by other people in the groups to read certain zines, like certain music, believe certain things, and avoid certain products.

However, it is impossible to adhere completely to one of these sets of ideals.

For example, I consider myself to be very anti-Bush. According to Boycott4peace.org, if I want to boycott companies who gave money to Bush, I would have to avoid several companies including Microsoft, Anheuser Busch, General Electric, Disney, UPS, ExxonMobil, Chevron Texaco, BP, Pepsi, Coke, and numerous others.

I also think of myself as a fairly ethical consumer. If I was adamant about only supporting ethical companies, however, I couldn’t use shampoo to wash my hair (petroleum products), drink soda, put gas in my car, or eat in the Guilford caf. Ethicalconsumer.com suggests boycotting Bacardi, Colgate, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Levi Strauss and Co. as well.

My point? Buying Microsoft software does not negate my anti-Bush identity. Using Colgate toothpaste or drinking a Coke every once in a while does not make me unethical. Shaving my legs does not mean I am not a feminist.

Everyone faces the same decision: what is important enough for them to take a stand for? It is impossible to understand others’ reasoning behind what they view as important. For me, shaving my legs is more an assertion of independence than not shaving them was, but this might be hard for some feminists to see.

It doesn’t matter what society tells you, nor does it matter what the groups you associate yourself with believe. You have to decide what is important for you.