"I feel like my relationship with shaving has changed a lot over the years and will continue to change. I go to a college where not shaving is considered hip and popular. That environment has definitely served as a catalyst to redefining my relationship with my body hair. I used to shave consistently in high school, but now I don't shave when I'm at college and I have tried to redefine my own ideas of beauty around shaving. But when I go home or go to an event, I usually shave.
At first, I was critical of that decision because I thought I wasn't being true to myself. But over time I have come to understand that sometimes the anxiety that comes with choosing to not shave is worse than just deciding to shave. While I don't care much about the negative comments my family might make, I definitely shave for fancy and/or professional occasions because those are situations where I want to fit in.
I also shave sometimes because it's something that my romantic/sexual partner prefers because I value her preferences. I have grappled and will continue to grapple with how to respect my body and to what extent I value the comfort and preferences of who I'm in company with, intimate or otherwise. That being said, I think it's okay to revert to someone else's preferences sometimes and it doesn't necessarily have to make me any less radical, powerful, or strong."