The expectations we set ourselves as women are ridiculous – I went without food so I could buy razors

Here’s what I could have bought instead


Being a woman is expensive. Because of the society we live in, many young women, including me, feel like beauty products are “necessities". But it wasn’t until last year that I realised just how expensive being a woman is, or how unnecessary most of the things we often feel to be “necessities” really are.

Rewind to Freshers’ 2016. My student loan hadn’t come through, and I was living off the pitiful remains of my Saturday job wages. I had to choose between buying a pack of razors and having fresh food for the rest of the week. I was going out that night; I bought the razors.

The sudden realisation that I was more worried about having stubble on my legs than eating well got me wondering just how much it was costing me to simply be a woman in western society. So, over the course of my first year, I decided to note down all the money I spent on hair removal products. And the total shocked me.

From September to June, I had spent £61.76. £61.76.

On a week to week basis, £6.99 here and there on razors or a waxing kit didn’t seem like much – but altogether, it suddenly seemed like an appalling amount to spend on perpetuating an ideal of women I didn’t even agree with.

Here’s what I could have bought instead of implements which made my legs bleed:

A month’s worth of shopping

No more dry pasta. Actual food that goes together. And maybe a vegetable or two as well. Mum would be so proud.

58 Créme Eggs

Because sugar is the fuel for revision, and there’s no such thing as too many créme eggs.

A Water Pump in Nepal from WaterAid

I could have done something that would have helped change the lives of people who’d never had the luxury of choosing between razors and nicer food.

Books on Feminism that would stop me prioritising shaving

Are you telling me that Caitlin Moran would spend £61.76 on razors?

Harry Styles tour tickets for my sister

Actually getting them would be whole different matter, but at least I would have had the funds to without having to live off freezer food for three weeks.

Subscriptions to 10 University of Edinburgh Societies for next year

Yoga. Ballroom dancing. Tea. Probably not philosophy. Definitely not maths.

Two of those UoE hoodies Potterrow always sell

Because clearly going to lectures and lounging around the library café isn’t enough proof I’m a student.

Multiple nights out at Hive

Without going into my overdraft. Oh the luxury.

A Flight to Paris

Visiting the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Arc De Triumph definitely sounds much more fun than shaving my legs.

But of course, I didn’t buy any of those things, although they would undoubtedly all have been better uses of £61.76 (with perhaps the exception of the Crème Eggs – 58 is arguably slightly excessive, even during revision period).

Instead, I chose stubble-free legs and to perpetuate an ideal of femininity with which I disagree.

I wish I could say that the experience has stopped me from spending so much on beauty “necessities”, but I would be lying if I said it has. However, it has made me aware of just how much women feel they need to spend money on in order to feel socially acceptable.