Soon, we set aside a time for me to practice shaving my legs. Then we awkwardly moved on to whether or not I should shave 'down there.' Then he went on to explain that my mom had shaved her private parts out of personal choice, but she would get extremely itchy, so he warned me to think carefully about it for that reason. He told me that I didn't have to shave just because other girls were doing it, or because the media told me I should. He walked me through the fact that many women and young girls feel pressured to share areas of their body (like their legs and underarms) starting at around 10 or 12. My dad said, 'You're welcome to shave if you really want to, pumpkin, and I'll teach you how to do it correctly.' He used my childhood nickname as if I weren't going through the worst experience of becoming a woman. My dad, actually, had never been shy about discussing all the things a girl would normally discuss with her mom.
So, my dad sat me down for the most uncomfortable discussion of my life. I insisted I wanted to learn how to shave. This conversation, like many others, were now delegated to my dad. 'You're too young to start shaving,' he said. My dad paused for a few moments before responding, as he often did.
