Wife said she would leave me if I shave my legs!!!!! (Page 2)

Its easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.....

Yay for Mrs. jndlpr!

My husband toyed with the idea for about five minutes one year. I told him he would be very lonely until his legs returned to their normal hirsute state. 

I don't think I'm going to be joining the shaved legs crew.  This year I've bought and aero helmet, will have race wheels before my season starts (both things I didn't think I'd have), but I don't think shaving the legs is the cards.  My girlfriend is totally against it, but mainly I just don't feel the need to.  However, for those who do, more power to you!

There is no scientific or logical reason to shave your legs.  Look it up.

One word against it .... stubble.

Edited by pga_mike 2010-02-27 8:53 AM

I wouldn't leave my husband as I am sure your wife wouldn't leave you.  However, I would be VERY unhappy and my husband knows this.

As a happily married couple we do our best not to each other off on purpose and he is a smart man so he won't be shaving his legs anytime soon.

If you want to shave your legs...tell her that you will miss her.

Regardless of what anyone says, the real reason men shave their legs is to show the muscular definition, to be more attractive. If the person you are trying to attract hates it, there is really no point, is there?

have a hard time believing your wife is serious. seems like you need to concentrate more on marriage counseling than shaving your legs.

Preach on shaggy legged brothers!  Its ridonkulous to me that folks see this as some kind of rite of passage as an endurance athlete.  Can you really give one valid reason why you want to do it that justifies your wifes ire about it?  I mean, in the end its your hair to manscape but i dont think too many women that arent familiar with the cycling and tri scene would think 'hey thats a great idea' vs um...wtf? 

*shrug* I haven't shaved my legs since last year. Then again, I'm practically hairless.

I don't see what the big deal is about it, either for her to insist you don't, or for you to insist you do.

And if it really is that big a deal, someone's got a much bigger problem than leg hair.

Men shaving their legs, women smoking cigars and drinking beer on the hockey ice. Everything is upside down. Soon dogs and cats will get along. Wait they already do, at my house.

x2

Sooo, how would you feel if your wife DIDN'T shave her legs?

You're a man... bask in your glory of hairy leggedness. 

and yes.. Happy wife = Happy life. 

She knows what she wants.  What's the problem? 

FWIW, I don't shave my legs because I don't see the point in doing so.  I've read all the arguments from those in favor of doing it and determined that it's just not for me. 

There IS actually a reason to do it.  I tape several areas on my legs.  Left knee and the inside of my right shin.  If you only shave certain parts to tape them, it is really scary looking, especially if you have dark hairy legs.

And may I ask why people have to constantly change what they want to do for someone else?  Compromise is different.  I would never be with someone that demands me to do things of such small significance.  No, I'm not trying to make this arguement about large life decisions.  If I want to wear my red hat, then goddamnit, I'm going to do it.  Nor would I tell my girlfriend that if she didn't want to shave her legs that I would leave her.  Yeah, I may think it's not as attractive, but it's her body, not mine.

Tell her that Seinfeld episode just isn't true...

I bet she'll change her mind the first time she sees your hairless calf muscles. Yum... And if she doesn't, then who cares? It's just hair and (un)fortunately grows back.

I am just curious. Has anyone who was somewhat hairy shaved for awhile and then later let it grow back. I am wondering how long you itched before it stopped. :-)

i never thought i'd date a guy who shaved his legs- ick!
but my lover now steals my expensive razor blades - he's never had hair on his legs as long as I've known him.  sometimes i get jealous of his silky smooth legs! 
and I still can't keep up with him on the bike, he's way tougher than I am so I've got no business complaining about anything!


i find that becoming a triathlete forces really good relationship changes in a lot of us!  out with the old, in with the smooooooooooooth

Just take it off
I had some weird looks from the rest of my clan, but that was 2 years ago, now its just the way dad does it.
make sure you buy her BRIGHT hair dye....she will get over it

As someone who has had *ahem* up close contact with women with shaved legs, I gotta say, it's niiiiiiice. Seriously, your wife may just find out that she really likes it, especially when you are both freshly shaved.

That said, I would say this warrants a convo. First question would be to ask what the real issue is here. Is she worried about you going in way to deep with the tri thing and is threatened by the time and energy it takes? That happens with a new hobby, you both need to work to make it okay. Is she worried about you getting "feminized" and not being "manly" because you aren't doing a contact sport or something more traditional and now you want to start messing with the basics of masculine hygiene? Again, that can happen with something new. Is she just worried about you doing something new, was it a knee-jerk reaction without much thought, did she actually mean it or was she a bit worried and meant to pull off a joke but came across a little too seriously? Honestly, get to the bottom of the comment.

Second thing would be to point out that hair does, in fact, grow back. I can see her getting pretty rip- over, say, a tattoo (though, again, what are the reasons behind being mad) because it is permanent. Shaved legs? Seriously, she'd only have to deal with it at most for three weeks-ish, depending on your hair-growing speed. If that is TRULY worth laying down such a statement, then yes, you need to either have some seriously tough discussions or see this as her way of getting out and understand it had nothing to do with leg hair.

But really, I'm serious. Physical contact takes on whole new worlds of yum with mutual shaved-ness.

I had hair down to my waist for my entire adult life. My mother once told me that I could cut it, that was fine, I didn't need to come home again. My spouse told me that she would be very upset if I cut it. I adored my super long hair, and it was a big part of my look and my personality. In a lot of ways, it defined me physically. People don't forget the 5'11" chick with 3' long red hair. I always kinda chafed under the idea that other people cared enough about my hair to have strong feelings, but since I liked it, I went with it. About a year ago, I chopped it off, way short, and I adore it. Love it, love it, love it. I don't intend to go back to long hair for a VERY long time. I shocked some of those same people, but then they realized that a) I was really happy with it short and wore it well, and b) I'm still me. They got over it, and now most of them like it, too. Who knows what'll happen with your wife, but eventually, this stuff passes. Ultimatums, not as much.