{"product_id":"plucked-a-history-of-hair-removal-1","title":"Plucked","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eUncovers the history of hair removal practices and sheds light on the prolific culture of beauty\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nFrom the clamshell razors and homemade lye depilatories used in colonial America to the diode lasers and prescription pharmaceuticals available today, Americans have used a staggering array of tools to remove hair deemed unsightly, unnatural, or excessive. This is true especially for women and girls; conservative estimates indicate that 99% of American women have tried hair removal, and at least 85% regularly remove hair from their faces, armpits, legs, and bikini lines. How and when does hair become a problem—what makes some growth “excessive”? Who or what separates the necessary from the superfluous? \u003cbr\u003e\nIn \u003ci\u003ePlucked\u003c\/i\u003e, historian Rebecca Herzig addresses these questions about hair removal. She shows how, over time, dominant American beliefs about visible hair changed: where once elective hair removal was considered a “mutilation” practiced primarily by “savage” men, by the turn of the twentieth century, hair-free faces and limbs were expected for women. Visible hair growth—particularly on young, white women—came to be perceived as a sign of political extremism, sexual deviance, or mental illness. By the turn of the twenty-first century, more and more Americans were waxing, threading, shaving, or lasering themselves smooth. Herzig’s extraordinary account also reveals some of the collateral damages of the intensifying pursuit of hair-free skin. Moving beyond the experiences of particular patients or clients, Herzig describes the surprising histories of race, science, industry, and medicine behind today's hair-removing tools. \u003ci\u003ePlucked\u003c\/i\u003e is an unsettling, gripping, and original tale of the lengths to which Americans will go to remove hair.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"New York University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54025318924632,"sku":null,"price":86.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9781479840823__676f77ac623c1.jpg?v=1741159589","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/plucked-a-history-of-hair-removal-1","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}