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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The board room is already mostly a thing of the past. My youngest DD shaves, my oldest college-aged DD can't be bothered, although I told her I thought she should shave for her summer job outdoors in customer service (her hair is very dark), so she shaves once a week. I know I probably shouldn't have told her my thoughts, but lots of the general public, and possibly even her supervisors, could look at hairy legs on a girl as not a clean look (same thing as beards on the boys, which she told me they did have some guidelines for beards for the boys). Of course, it's her choice, but I do think as her mom I should prepare her for what people might think, and what type of dress or grooming might be appropriate for different settings. She's a pretty naive young adult who thinks most people are as progressive as her friends are, and that anyone who's not is in the minority or is "wrong". As she transitions into the adult world and leaves her bubble, I am nervous she is in for a rude awakening.
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Ick - you were wrong

If no one in middle school or high school are nothing her, do you think adults are going to frown on it.  Like WTF cares.  [/quote]

I agree with the PPP. She was not wrong. It is not wrong to tell your kid how others might react and suggest they be prepared for that. That's parenting. I consider it GOOD parenting - guiding, preparing, but not demanding compliance with norms just for the sake of complying with norms. Allowing the child to make informed decisions and being prepared for potential consequences or reactions.
This isn't a matter of life and death. We're not talking about doing drugs or smoking or something.[/quote]

I agree with you. I am the poster who asked about the future board room. I am curious if the DDs of these prior posters were getting internships in Big Law or Big 4 if they would advise them not to shave. A 16-17 year old girl is 2-3 years away from her first exposure to an office job and I wonder how the “I don’t care attitude “ would serve them.  [b]In my experience from observing interns and college hires the “I don’t care what others think “ translates into poor work ethics.[/b] Teaching young adults some basic norms of socials behavior is important in my opinion- how to dress and groom appropriately for a professional environment, how to shake hands and look people in the eyes during conversations, how to properly use a fork and knife etc. but I may be old school based on the majority of opinions shared here[/quote]

I don't think this necessarily applies to a girl who doesn't shave. It isn't a general "i don't care" attitude. It's a self-assurance and lack of compulsion to "beautify" one's self according to someone else's standard. They care how they look; they don't care if others think they should shave (or wear make-up, or not use black nail polish, or etc). My daughter cares very much about her schoolwork and her performance in her extracurricular activities. She does not believe she should have to wear make-up or shave. She knows different venues call for different types of dress, though I think most of society is more casual than in the past and many adults as well as kids don't think it's as important to dress up for a lot of things we used to (church, even school - ie, pajamas/sweats/shorts - we would never have been able to wear those things to school. And schools holding official "pajama days" doesn't help!)

Anyway, I don't think you should automatically conflate girls not shaving with poor work ethic. A person can exhibit both behaviors, but can also exhibit one exclusive of the other.[/quote]

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