Hairy legs as a "disturbing sight"

Japan is not only suffering from record-breaking heat this summer, but also from an unusual debate about men's hairy legs, writes the French newspaper Le Monde.

As the country records an increasing number of kokushobi days, as the Japanese call days with temperatures above 40 degrees, a new term has emerged in the public - sunehara. It is a combination of the words for calf and harassment, and refers to the alleged "harassment with calf hair."

The reason for the discussion was the decision of the Tokyo authorities to further relax the dress code in offices from April, to make it easier for employees to cope with the extreme heat. Instead of suits and ties, polo shirts, short-sleeved shirts, sneakers and even shorts are allowed.

As Le Monde reminds us, the idea is not new. Back in 2005, when Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike was Minister of the Environment, she launched the “cool biz” program, which sought to reduce the use of air conditioning and electricity consumption. At the time, offices were encouraged to keep the temperature at 28 degrees, and employees were allowed to wear lighter clothing.

The new rules, however, opened up a completely different topic.

In surveys and television shows, some women have said they are bothered by men, especially middle-aged men, coming to work in shorts and revealing hairy legs. Some have described the sight as “disgusting” or “unpleasant,” and the term sunehara has spread from there. A survey of a men’s beauty salon found that 53,5 percent of respondents, most of whom were women, were against wearing shorts at work.

Le Monde reports that the debate has already begun to affect the cosmetics industry. More and more men are reportedly opting for laser hair removal, not just for looks but also because, as they say, they want to be “modestly” dressed when wearing shorts. One client at a salon in Tokyo admitted that he only decided to have the procedure after receiving a comment that his leg hair was “disgusting.”

Former member of the rock band Tokyo Tomoya Nagase joked about the new trend by posting a photo of himself in shorts on a motorcycle and apologizing to "anyone who is bothered by his leg hair."

However, there is a more serious side to the story. Professor Atsuko Tamada from Chubu University recalled that for decades women have been subjected to much stricter rules about their appearance - from makeup and hair removal to weight, clothing and aging.

"If shorts and sandals become common for men, then the same aesthetic rules should apply to them as well," she said.

A Japanese relationship counselor went a step further: she believes the very idea of ​​sunehara is absurd, but that's precisely why, as she says, the "dress code harassment" that women have been subjected to for decades should be reconsidered.

Thus, Tokyo's attempt to make life easier for its citizens in the increasingly hot weather unexpectedly opened up a debate about where personal taste ends and social rules about how the body "is allowed" to look begin.