Do Zalanthan women shave their legs?

[Barzalene]

I bet they shave their everything to cut down on places for the lice to live. Men too.

[jstorrie]

I assume that Zalanthas is like Earth in all ways except those that are specified in the docs. So until I see something in the docs that says such-and-such society favours/does not favour leg shaving, I'll assume that the prevalence of leg-shaving there is the same that it is here.

[Ashes]

I think the question is more, "does your character shave her legs?"

[spawnloser]

jstorrie, so you're saying that the prevalence of leg-shaving is... mixxed at best?  Some people do it and some don't?

[Maso]

Uhm.

My character waxes?

[Twisted Minstrel]

I know a certain Krathi that can zap that pesky hair out permanently for the low price of four small.  :wink:

[Cale_Knight]

Yeah well I know a Nilazi who will make sure the hair never grows back.

EVER.

(ominous music)

[Gimfalisette]

I know a certain Krathi that can zap that pesky hair out permanently for the low price of four small.  :wink:

Electrolysis seems like more of a job for an Elkrosian, to me.

Of course, ANY of the elementalists is going to be so much better than a mundane at hair removal. YET ANOTHER WAY MUNDANES ARE GIMPED.

[Wolfsong]

It's a good time to play a dwarf. No uncertainty.

[phatpasco]

Women shave there legs! tell that to my wife ..I dont think the women would shave there legs, The women are as crafty as strong as whatever as the men. Shaven legs is a sexist thing. So NO they wouldnt, my opinion.

[najdorf]

this topic reminded me something. Why do elkrans have hair? I am sure i saw an Elkran with hair and eyebrows.. How can the body keep hair-roots alive?

[Southie]

The... same way it keeps other cells alive?

[Angela Christine]

Women shave there legs! tell that to my wife ..I dont think the women would shave there legs, The women are as crafty as strong as whatever as the men. Shaven legs is a sexist thing. So NO they wouldnt, my opinion.

Unless men shave their legs too.  

[alger]

If people more often than not take sand baths and actually scrub, would the tendency be that their body hair would be rooted away often?  If such were the case then continuous practice for ages would certainly produce people with a lot less hair on their body that they don't really need to shave.

As for concept of beauty, the idea of fabric comes into mind.  Since there are a lot of silk in the upper class of the Zalanthans wouldn't it carry over that silky smooth idea of touch is actually favorable?  Furs are considered better if they are soft and pliable.  Low class linen have a loose weave which means it has less thread, this also means that they are coarse when felt.  Better quality would have a less rough feel to it.

That being the case I think it is natural for pampered citizens to think that the preferred texture for skin would be smooth.  Mainly because the idea of a rough surface is actually more ghetto.  Then it would follow that thick and coarse hair is not something that a noble would want.  As for the general population though, if they thought that the rugged life style was preferable then I would think they preferred a rougher texture.  But then you also have to consider the population in general, if they think of their own preference as representation of beauty or would they actually look up to the noble class for such concepts.  It is important to note that in a poverty stricken society, the majority of the low class tend to look up to the upper percentile as the idea of a better life.

[Nao]

Skin that's got some hair is probably a lot smoother than crudely shaved skin. Stubbles are rough, hair usually isn't.

Anyway, since body hair is most common and most developed in northern european types, I don't think it's so much of an issue in zalanthas.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Alger wins.

Truthfully, it's really whatever your particular character prefers. Obsidian makes for a fine edge, a wet hand and soap make for lather ... it's not really an issue of technology.

Therefore, it becomes an issue of culture, and while I think that civilized people, particularly middle to upper class, would often shave, and possibly the lower class would often imitate, it's certainly likely that tribals would never even think about it.

[NoteworthyFellow]

Therefore, it becomes an issue of culture, and while I think that civilized people, particularly middle to upper class, would often shave, and possibly the lower class would often imitate, it's certainly likely that tribals would never even think about it.

I think it would depend on the tribe and how much contact they have with "civilization."  For instance, most elven tribes?  Doubtful.  Gypsies?  Probably do.  Malarn?  Hairless already.

[Drew7uk]

A few other ancient methods have been mentioned and, for what it's worth at this stage of the convo, women in ancient Greece and Rome used to singe the hair from their body as well.

I think the evolution of Zalanthan races would probably mean that individuals had a lot less, or thinner hair over their body as well.

As for the attraction factor, I think it would really depend on the woman/culture like today. A number of women don't shave body hair in some places and some do, as we've discovered!

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

That's fair as well, Fellow.

[Goldberry]

It's a good time to play a dwarf. No uncertainty.

[staggerlee]

This is one of the problems with trying to conceptualize an entirely fictional world, some of our cultural baggage bleeds through.  

A lot of the little things we assume are the same as modern north america if the docs don't say otherwise, and at best we can try to apply traditions from other real world places and times.  It's hard to get a satisfying answer.

Personally I really try not  think about it one way or another, just like I don't think about it much in real life.

[Ravenfeather]

In the Wheel of Time - the Aeil would have steam tents, small rooms in which many of them would sit, pour little water on hot burning coals then use an item to scrape themselves clean while they were sweating.

As it was a small cramped area, little water was needed as for hair, I guess this sort of fitted in with someones comment about the Egyptians removing hair via methods of friction.

Either way, I also think it can go both ways, just as it does IRL - I would say that using 'we have a high lack of water' as a reason to say it never happens would be too strong a view point.  Saying also people never bath or clean themselves is much the same, there are ways they would not be sticking horridly, they wouldn't be as clean as we are - but they would not smell like a rubbish tip... unless they were scavenger type PC's living in rubbish tip-like fashion

[Nao]

I'm pretty sure they all smell. Even the nobles. People everywhere smell, highly industrialized first-world countries are the exception. Zalanthans would have to wash their clothes every time they start to smell of sweat - nearly impossible, so body odor would probably be normal. Shaving the armpits would help a bit, but not smelling when you don't wash every couple of days or at least use some kind of deodorant would be nearly impossible, too.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Perfumes are used ... descriptions typically state that these perfumes are very heavy. So yeh, we all smell, but some of us smell better than others, or worse, whatever the case might be. Perfumes are your friend.

[Angela Christine]

Shaving the armpits would help a bit,

No it wouldn't.  

Hair doesn't stink.  This common misconception may exist because people who don't bathe usually don't shave either.  Filthy hippies and hobos stink because they don't bathe, not because they don't shave.

The objectionable odour is caused by anaerobic bacteria eating your excretions, not the excretions themselves.  When you shave your pits the fold of the arm pit is able to seal better, making a more inviting habitat for the anaerobic bacteria.  A nice hairy armpit doesn't seal well at all, so it stays comparatively well ventilated.

If two people (or two armpits) bath equally often and equally thoroughly, the shaved armpit should smell slightly worse than the hairy armpit.