Hairy legs in an office setting

[Anonymous]

She should be free to shave or not shave as she chooses!

[Anonymous]

I mean, you should be able to have legs in whatever condition you want.

But people will judge. Again, they should not, but they will.

I'd just impress upon her that it's her choice but if you X then Y is likely and that is not fair but sometimes in professional settings it's best to attract the least amount of attention for your body when you are just starting out. Again, her choice, because that is fundamentally unfair. But worth saying.

[Anonymous]

Hairy legs are OK if the skirt is long. Now you are in a discussion about the length of her skirts...

[Anonymous]

You can be honest and tell her that it is outside the norms and that some people will judge (but not say anything, because they could almost certainly be fired for that) but then leave it at that. The rest is up to her. If she knows the norms and chooses not to follow them, she’s an independent thinker. Good for her.

And it’s not like it’ll affect her career path or promotion potential or anything. She’s in high school. Most normal people, if they notice at all, will shrug and think “huh, kids today.”

[Anonymous]

Nobody at work cares about her leg hair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can be honest and tell her that it is outside the norms and that some people will judge (but not say anything, because they could almost certainly be fired for that) but then leave it at that. The rest is up to her. If she knows the norms and chooses not to follow them, she’s an independent thinker. Good for her.

And it’s not like it’ll affect her career path or promotion potential or anything. She’s in high school. Most normal people, if they notice at all, will shrug and think “huh, kids today.”

OP. This is what I worry about, that it WILL affect her experience there and the recommendation she gets, etc. Later on when she has some seniority she can do what she wants. Right now she’s the most powerless person there, though. It seems bratty and entitled to go against office norms in your very first professional experience.

[Anonymous]

Xenniel here. Cultural norms for younger people are much, much different now. I might think it's odd if someone my age didn't shave, but I would think nothing of a teenager that doesn't shave. That's just what the kids do these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:is there a shaving requirement?

what should DD do about her tattoo?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can be honest and tell her that it is outside the norms and that some people will judge (but not say anything, because they could almost certainly be fired for that) but then leave it at that. The rest is up to her. If she knows the norms and chooses not to follow them, she’s an independent thinker. Good for her.

And it’s not like it’ll affect her career path or promotion potential or anything. She’s in high school. Most normal people, if they notice at all, will shrug and think “huh, kids today.”

OP. This is what I worry about, that it WILL affect her experience there and the recommendation she gets, etc. Later on when she has some seniority she can do what she wants. Right now she’s the most powerless person there, though. It seems bratty and entitled to go against office norms in your very first professional experience.

You have no idea what the office norms are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can be honest and tell her that it is outside the norms and that some people will judge (but not say anything, because they could almost certainly be fired for that) but then leave it at that. The rest is up to her. If she knows the norms and chooses not to follow them, she’s an independent thinker. Good for her.

And it’s not like it’ll affect her career path or promotion potential or anything. She’s in high school. Most normal people, if they notice at all, will shrug and think “huh, kids today.”

OP. This is what I worry about, that it WILL affect her experience there and the recommendation she gets, etc. Later on when she has some seniority she can do what she wants. Right now she’s the most powerless person there, though. It seems bratty and entitled to go against office norms in your very first professional experience.

or let her be who she is and find out now if this is the place and with uptight people where she'd want to work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:is there a shaving requirement?

this. must men be clean-shaven?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can be honest and tell her that it is outside the norms and that some people will judge (but not say anything, because they could almost certainly be fired for that) but then leave it at that. The rest is up to her. If she knows the norms and chooses not to follow them, she’s an independent thinker. Good for her.

And it’s not like it’ll affect her career path or promotion potential or anything. She’s in high school. Most normal people, if they notice at all, will shrug and think “huh, kids today.”

OP. This is what I worry about, that it WILL affect her experience there and the recommendation she gets, etc. Later on when she has some seniority she can do what she wants. Right now she’s the most powerless person there, though. It seems bratty and entitled to go against office norms in your very first professional experience.

That seems crazy to me that leg hair would affect a potential recommendation. They already hired her so they must faith that she can do a good job. So she needs to do a good job. You’re overthinking the hair.

[Anonymous]

Team DD. Don't force her into changing her body just because somebody may judge it.

Signed, a 35 year old woman who hasn't shaved her legs in a decade and has never once been impacted by it at work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:is there a shaving requirement?

this. must men be clean-shaven?

It's not about the "rules." It's about not wanting to stand out in a possibly negative way.

As OP mentioned, once she probes her worth in a professional setting she can buck against trends, but currently the overwhelming majority of professional woman shave their legs. This is not a hill I would die on for women's rights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can be honest and tell her that it is outside the norms and that some people will judge (but not say anything, because they could almost certainly be fired for that) but then leave it at that. The rest is up to her. If she knows the norms and chooses not to follow them, she’s an independent thinker. Good for her.

And it’s not like it’ll affect her career path or promotion potential or anything. She’s in high school. Most normal people, if they notice at all, will shrug and think “huh, kids today.”

OP. This is what I worry about, that it WILL affect her experience there and the recommendation she gets, etc. Later on when she has some seniority she can do what she wants. Right now she’s the most powerless person there, though. It seems bratty and entitled to go against office norms in your very first professional experience.

That seems crazy to me that leg hair would affect a potential recommendation. They already hired her so they must faith that she can do a good job. So she needs to do a good job. You’re overthinking the hair.

I think you underestimate the impact your physical appearance has in a professional setting.