My mom just told me these things:

1. She wants me to shave, because my legs look "terrible"
2. My father feels the same way
3. It is more "socially acceptable" to shave your legs
4. People are going to tease me when I go back to school because of my legs
5. I won't have any friends because of my hairy legs
6. It bothers her that my legs are hairy
7. If I want to have hairy legs, I can go and move to Europe
8. When I'm 18, she doesn't care if I shave or not, but as long as I'm living in her house, I have to shave
9. She doesn't understand why I'm "making it harder for myself"
10. I'm already different enough from everyone around me, and I don't need this one little difference, too, to set me apart from everyone else
11. She bought me a twenty-buck razor and I told her I would use it, but I didn't. I lied to her, and she's mad about that.

I was really, really pissed off and upset after this, but after a talk with my younger sister, I've calmed down a little.

Here are my responses to the points my mom made:

1. I care because??
2. If Dad hates hairy legs, you go ahead and keep on shaving your legs and make him happy. Me? I'm not his wife. I don't care if he thinks I'm sexy or not. Besides, if hairy legs on women bother him, he should try shaving his legs regularly and see how much he likes it! Then maybe he could at least see what it's like for women who shave their legs regularly.
3. See Point 1
4. I've been teased before. I can deal.
5. Umm....I have friends. Lots, actually. And they don't give a crap about my hairy legs. They wouldn't care if I suddenly got a bunch of zits on my face. They wouldn't care if I gained a hundred pounds. I have friends, real friends, and they don't care how I look. Besides, if my friends stopped being friends with me just because I won't shave, why would I want to be friends with them anyway?
6. I'm sorry it bothers her. I really am. But that doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly change for her.
7. Fine, get me a passport and a plane ticket. I'll gladly go to a place where women can have hairy legs without getting flack from their mothers.
8. What the hell? Who does she think she is?? As long as I'm in "her house," I have to shave? Okay, I'm not stupid. I acknowledge that this is her house. But these are not her legs, they're mine! I own them, not her! I am the boss of my own goddamn legs, thank you very much.
9. I'm not trying to make anything harder for myself! If anything, I'm making things easier for myself! My sister made the point that if I don't shave, I don't have to buy batteries for an electric razor or any shaving cream if I shave in the bathtub. I'm not trying to rebel or be different from anyone else or anything. Shaving just annoys me. Women grow hair on their body. It's natural. This is how my body is supposed to be. I don't want to shave when I can't see any point to it. What's wrong with hair, anyway?
10. If I'm already so different from everybody else, how is getting rid of this one little difference going to make my social status better? Look, I know I'm different. I'd rather read than socialize. I love old rock music. (In fact, I'm listening to The Beatles right now.) I'm gay. I'm a Star Trek/Harry Potter/Star Wars/Lord of the Rings/comic book geek. I'm already a freak. How is shaving my legs going to redeem myself in my peers' eyes? People at my middle school already think I'm really weird. I don't see how shaving my legs is going to make them feel any better about me.
11. Okay, this is the one point where I admit she's right. I lied to her. We were at a store, and she decided to buy me a twenty-buck electric razor. I let her, because I wanted her to just get off my back about the whole shaving thing. I thought that if I let her buy me a razor and I told her I was going to use it, she would leave me alone. Well, no such luck. I went to a pool with my family today, and you could plainly see that I hadn't used the razor. I lied to her. I feel bad about it. I'll gladly pay her back for the stupid razor. I have a spare twenty bucks.

My mom's always told me that she'll accept me for who I am, no matter what. I don't get why she's suddenly changed her mind. Besides, isn't it a good thing if I'm self-confident enough to go out in a swimsuit without shaving?

I'm kind of scared. What's she gonna do about this? I mean, come on, she's my mom. She's the queen of the house. Is she gonna punish me in some way if I don't shave? At the very least, she's probably going to yell at me. I hate it when she yells at me.

The thing is, she thinks she's doing the best thing for me. I know it. She seems to think that my life will be so much easier if I shave. She actually told me that when I get a job, I "won't look professional" if I have hairy legs! But it's not like I'm going to wear a skirt when I get a job. I hate skirts. She knows that. I don't even own one. I'll probably be wearing a pair of pants when I get a job. I told her this, and she immediately moved on to a different reason why I should shave. I hate it when people ignore it when I make a good point! I'm a logical person. My family's always telling me that I'm "too logical," especially my sister. I think about things. I don't just accept them at face value. Whenever my sister and I are bickering and I use logic to prove her wrong, she hates it. She calls me "too logical" and then starts yelling at me again.

Now it seems my mom's doing the same thing. She told me that I "should just shave." But WHY? Why? What's the point? If she can't give me a good reason to shave, I won't do it. It's as simple as that. I don't usually question what my mother tells me to do, but these are my frigging legs, not hers!

Any advice? Any at all? It'd be nice if someone had some.