Man comes under fire for 'shaming' girlfriend with grooming comment

When it comes to personal grooming everyone has their own way of doing it and their own preferences.

We're used to seeing women on television and in magazines without body hair, however many now prefer to let it grow and be au naturale.

And while it's a woman's choice what she does or doesn't do with her body, some people still have strong opinions on shaving.

One man recently made a comment about the hair on his girlfriend's legs and found himself in a spot of hot water when he recounted the story on Reddit.

Writing on Reddit's Am I The A**hole forum the 22-year-old unnamed man explained the situation and ended up being branded a 'spineless idiot' by fellow users.

He said: "My girlfriend (23) of two years isn’t exactly the hippie, free-spirit, 'my hairy body is beautiful' type but she definitely never developed the habit of shaving consistently.

"She says it takes a long time, her skin is sensitive so she’s prone to bad razor burn, and she always manages to nick herself and bleed a lot. She pretty much only shaves when the hair is physically irritating her skin.

"It doesn’t necessarily bother me because I love her for who she is, but I do have a preference toward smooth, silky skin. Who wouldn’t, right?"

He went on to recall how they'd recently shared a shower together and his girlfriend said she might shave her armpits and legs.

"She said the hair was starting to get on her nerves and she wanted it gone," he continued

"Once she finished that up, she turned to her legs and said something along the lines of 'I think these are gonna be up next soon. That hair is starting to bother me too.'

"Now her leg hair was LONG, and even the lightness of the strands couldn’t cover up how much was there. It was bad. So, a bit harshly and sarcastically I will admit, I said 'yeah, you think it’s time to shave your legs? How long has it been?'

"She looked at me for a moment then started getting weepy-eyed, so I asked her what the deal was and she said 'I thought it didn’t bother you that I don’t shave. It hasn’t been an issue this whole relationship and now I feel like I’m being shamed'."

The man claims he told her that he isn't bothered that she doesn't shave, but would prefer to touch "smooth" legs and under arms.

His girlfriend remained pretty quiet after this then spent around 30 minutes shaving her legs to "make a point".

He added: "I’m frustrated that she just spent 30 extra minutes making a point, I’m frustrated that she’s acting mad at me for agreeing that she should do something she already said she wanted to do, and I just have to know if I should feel bad and say sorry or if I should just let her get her moping out then move on."

More than 2,000 people commented on the post and they had plenty of thoughts about the situation, with the majority taking the girlfriend's side.

One person replied: "Every time I read stories like this I'm amazed at how men who are supposed to be  in love with their girlfriends still manage to prioritise their preference for a certain body type or certain grooming habits over their girlfriend's own personal preferences and physical comfort.

"Even if you don't care about the trouble and pain shaving causes her, have you ever stopped to think that because her legs grow hair means it's supposed to be there? That it's natural? That you shouldn't be such a spineless idiot and try to make her think that it's gross to have hair on her body?"

Another said: "Yikes. He literally said 'I don't mind it BUUUTT'. "

A third added: "I can't believe he felt it was appropriate to make a sarcastic comment about her leg hair. She wasn't asking for your feedback, dude, she just said that her leg hair was starting to bother her. It wasn't a question. She didn't want your opinion. It sounds like this dude was just dying for an opportunity to voice his preference and didn't care much how he did it.?