Cultural clues in the business section: Drifting further away from nature, we need to hold on to some of our animal attributes

You can find some of the most interesting cultural commentaries by reading between the lines of the business section. Take the story in Friday’s New York Times about Nair marketing hair removal products to 10-15-year olds:

“When a girl removes hair for the first time, it’s a life-changing moment,” the VP of marketing for the company selling Nair is quoted in the Times.

We laughed when we first read this, my husband and I, but then I realized—she’s right. The ritualization and symbolism of hair removal is, in fact, nothing new. Wikipedia has some basic background on hair removal for social, cultural, and religious reasons—and more. But I wonder if our contemporary culture’s growing obsession with depilation may be loaded with new meaning.

The Times article notes, “It seems that Nair, which had just a few products in the 1970s and now has 25 (including waxes and bleaches) is gearing up to remove body hair from nearly every member of the household but the family pet.”

So basically, everyone wants to be smooth and mostly hairless like highly-stylized anime characters or human robots. So clean so perfect. So un-animalistic. So un-natural. I think this trend might be linked to our increasing reliance and ever-tightening embrace of technology. We are moving further and further away from nature. And we must nip, or wax, or burn off with chemicals, the hair as soon as it starts to grow.

“The whole hair removal situation has changed,” another exec says in the Times article. “Now people are removing hair from eyebrows to toes, and using all kinds of different products. People are more open about it and they feel more confident, cleaner.”

I think that the distance growing between humans (especially Americans) and nature, evidenced by bigger things like our disregard for the environment and other animals, and our birthing practices, is symbolized by a smaller thing—our eschewing our natural hairiness.

Digressing for a look at the birth example, this month’s issue of Mothering magazine had an article on the large percentage of Cesarean births today in America (5 percent in 1970, 30 percent today). The story tied this to our “fascination with and blind faith in science and technology as the ultimate antidotes” to our culture’s fear of letting go and letting natural processes take their course. What could be more natural than birth? Yet, a woman giving birth in a U.S. hospital “may have to contend with up to 16 tubes, drugs, or attachments while in labor.”

Now, I am no luddite or hater of technology. I am writing on a blog. I design websites. Technology has made it possible for me to work from home. I love much about technology. Yay iPod! Yay online banking and bill-paying! But, there are some places where nature should be respected. When nature does a better job, for example. Foods. Birth. And I think we should hold on to more of our hair as a symbol of respect for nature. We may use computers to manage our lives, but why not live a life in balance. Step away from the computer for a good portion of each day. Step away from the razors and the Nair. Go outside. Play with some animals. Even if the animals are just other people, play with them really, not just online.

I wonder what clever ways we can come up with to provide balance in our lives between the natural, animal world and technology?