October 15, 1999

You've been there a million times—standing in front of your mirror, cleansing, moisturizing, exfoliating, sloughing, plucking, waxing, powdering…when does it ever end? But as you stand there, applying your "Powder Fresh Scent" deodorant, have you ever stopped to ask yourself why? I mean, why do we shave our armpits, for example? Or why, why the dreaded bikini wax? A simple answer would be, "Well, to look attractive, of course." But does this really answer the question? A more complicated answer would mention something about body hair and social conditioning, that is, in some western societies (such as "mainstream" U.S.A.) shaved armpits are attractive. Unshaved ones are not. In fact, at the deep, subconscious level, hairy armpits may conjure images of genitalia. Therefore, it's not that hairy pits are unattractive, but that they are indecent. Actress Julia Roberts learned this the hard way by recently appearing in public with hairy armpits. Her adoring public did not embrace the new, hirsute Julia. It preferred the old, depilated Julia. In France, however, her hairy pits would have felt right at home. Très bizarre, n'est-ce pas? Beauty is complex, non?...

Left: Jolique tests the "pit" waters...

But pits are just the tip of the iceberg, folks. As a kickoff to the Jolique website, I think it's appropriate to begin our beauty discussions by conducting a brief historical overview of human beauty and adornment. Beautification and adornment (a word that encompasses the use of cosmetics, clothing, jewelry, piercing, tattooing, etc.) are collectively one of our most basic human instincts.

The "beauty" instinct is superceded only by our instincts to acquire food and shelter, and is closely tied to our reproductive instinct. The manner in which we adorn ourselves can convey many things, perhaps the most important of which is sexual. What we wear can serve as a signal—an allurement—to a potential "mate" that we are ready for some action! I mean, not that sex is a conscious consideration for us at all times (well, at least not at every single moment!), but it is a subconscious consideration when we dress ourselves, comb our hair, or put on our makeup—not only do we want to look attractive and to feel good about ourselves, but we also enjoy the attention we get from others when they notice our attractive appearance. Freud put it more bluntly: "There is to my mind no doubt that the concept of "beautiful" has its origins in sexual excitation and that its original meaning was 'sexually stimulating.'" He would have loved Julia's hairy pits! Next >>>