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The story
Based on a BBC article, a column by writer Hioka contributed to mi-mollet about the “body hair police” was picked up on 5ch’s News Speed+ board. The article points out that women’s arm and shin hair gets zoomed in on and criticized, while men are rarely called out directly for the same thing — and 5ch users’ reactions were split. Some argued “isn’t the body hair police mostly women judging other women?” while others countered that “men’s armpit-hair grooming gets checked far more harshly online,” and the discussion expanded to grooming norms beyond body hair, like teeth whitening.
The “Body Hair Police” Who Zoom In and Pick Apart Women’s Body Hair — Is Even Arm Hair Not Allowed? The Gender Asymmetry Exposed by the “Shin Hair Harassment” Debate | mi-mollet
Writer Hioka, “The Ground Beneath My Feet Is Always Muddy” |
2026.8.29 Hioka
Source: bbc.com / Original article here
What people said
If anything, isn't the body hair police made up entirely of women?
I've had guys comment on me NOT having something. "Oh, you don't have hair on your fingers!"
Also things like "Wow, your nostrils are such a nice shape!"
I'm not trying to cry sexual harassment, but realizing men notice stuff like that leaves me half exasperated, half creeped out.
Women look at your face and fashion instead — stuff like "You're actually really pretty when you look closely," "Did you get new shoes?", "Oh, you curled your hair! What's the occasion?"
I think men actually have it harsher. Especially armpit hair — if there's even a little stubble, guys get dragged online for it.
When that whole thing blew up, it was guys who don't actually know real women who made a big fuss about it. Honestly, that much is pretty normal…
Doesn't bother me unless you're staring intently.
Healthy teeth on Asian people are naturally more yellowish because of enamel differences, not pure white — it's sad seeing celebrities get bashed for not whitening.
I wish something could be done about people capping their teeth with pure-white ceramics that don't match the size of their mouth. Whether their mouth's open or closed, it just doesn't sit right with the rest of their face — even when they smile it looks so artificial it's unsettling.
When I went to China, the local women had pretty bushy armpit hair too.
Back in the day there was a band with a female vocalist named Nena who had armpit hair too (Nena — the German singer known for "99 Luftballons").
A completely bare "paipan" is a turnoff (paipan = totally shaved). Bushy is fine too lol
About on par with the butt-hair burger, maybe lol
2channelers back then were all so full of life, huh.
If you add "cute" on top of that, it's perfect. That's exactly why she got popular lol
Because it's a legally exposable erogenous zone.
I'm into the big hairy "bear" type — hairy all the way down the back and shoulders, built like a tank.
Then don't go staring at old guys' shin hair either lol
Honestly, why shouldn't women just grow it out too? Plenty of American influencers promote leaving it au naturel under the banner of "self-love" (loving yourself as you are).
Not growing it out is really just about "not being able to handle it personally," isn't it?
Background and Key Points of This Topic
The original article is a column by mi-mollet’s Hioka, based on a BBC English-language piece, discussing the “body hair police” phenomenon — where women’s body hair gets zoomed in on and mocked — and the gender asymmetry in how men and women get called out for it. On 5ch, reactions split between the view that “it’s mainly women pointing out other women’s body hair” and the counter-argument that “men’s armpit-hair grooming gets scrutinized even more harshly online,” so the thread never settled into a simple men-vs-women fight. It also branched into grooming pressures beyond body hair, like teeth whitening and pressure to get ceramic veneers — points that go beyond the original article and reflect where 5ch users expanded the discussion on their own. Note that whether to remove body hair is ultimately a personal choice, and neither this article nor the thread is meant to endorse any particular grooming practice.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “The “Body Hair Police” Who Zoom In and Pick Apart Women’s Body Hair — Is Even Arm Hair Not Allowed? The Gender Asymmetry Exposed by the “Shin Hair Harassment” Debate.”
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