ABSTRACT
I have enjoyed the time spent in beauty salons. I have also enjoyed the treatments I have received there, although this enjoyment has been tempered by a researcher's eye. Some of the treatment experiences have been relaxing, rejuvenating episodes in my life. Others have verged on the ridiculous. On one occasion as I lay on my back with my legs pulled up and a young woman I had never met before applied hot wax to my thighs only to remove it painfully seconds later, the full impact of the beauty industry became apparent. What powerful force could have persuaded me of the need to undergo such a procedure, while at the same time breaking every rule of polite social engagement? Perhaps only something connected to the intimacies and uncertainties of the body could have placed me, and millions of other women, in such a ridiculous position.
