Bearded Lady

By: Mara Altman

Narrated by: Mara Altman

Length: 1 hr and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Mara Altman, author of the best-selling Kindle Single Sparkle, returns to top comic form to address the problem every woman faces but no woman wants to acknowledge: facial and body hair. Her brave, witty memoir gives readers a rare, honest glimpse into the hidden world of lasers and razors. It begins in childhood, when Altman discovers that hair sometimes grows in unexpected places - and that it's best to remove it immediately, or risk ridicule from 8th-grade girls. It continues into early adulthood, when romantically inclined men make offhand remarks about her fine coating of fur. From there it's a hilarious, heartfelt journey from Barcelona to Bangkok in search of a cure, an explanation, and the perfect pair of tweezers.

©2012 Mara Altman (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Emergency. Tweezers.

Mara Altman deftly tackles the extremely taboo first world problem of hair removal in modern America.

Of COURSE I don't want you to know about my unmentionable hairs. It's obvious I have arm hair, and sometimes I give up on my pits and legs for a few months at time because lalala I can wear tights and longsleeves, and I am Staunchly Feminist about my lower region. But I have parts you don't know about. Emergency tweezers in my purse.

We don't talk about this. EVER. We never talk about emergency tweezers, and Mara Altman WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IT. And it's a beautiful thing.

I wish we lived in a society where this was not a big deal. But if we did, then I wouldn't be able to listen to Mara's hilarious exploration of our culture, how it came to be, and the terrifying billion-dollar industry that now stands because of it.

In short, if you're a person who grooms, listen to this. Now. It'll take you like an hour. And you'll laugh and commiserate the whole way through.

Hilarious pursuit to be less hirsuit

Would you consider the audio edition of Bearded Lady to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version, but I think I would have preferred to listen. I like Mara's voice, and I wish she would narrate other works as well!

Have you listened to any of Mara Altman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not yet, but intend to do so!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed at parts, and all in all related to her anxiety and struggle with hairiness. As a woman of eastern European descent myself, I've had my fair share of mortifying and memorable moments in my effort to remove unwanted hair.

Any additional comments?

This book was an enjoyable listen, and I definitely recommend it. It tackled the sensitive issue of women's body image in a clever and funny way, without being preachy.

Humorous Anecdotes and Explanation About Hair

I enjoyed a review over on Stephanie @ Fangs Wands and Fairydust blog about a newer release from this author. Her humorous approach to both positive body image and explanation about body functions, particularly the unsightly ones, sparked my interest. I discovered she had written this similar, short sampling of the same topic already. I chose to experience it on audio with the author doing her own narration.

This sampling is about body hair on women though body hair in general gets a bit of the focus. She starts off with a poignant, humorous narrative about her young teen self discovering that having body hair anywhere that is not approved by the society norm can mark you among your peers. She goes on to share how she spent a great amount of time after that eradicating, mostly with the help of pros before one day on the brink of marriage, she stops to wonder why she- and women in general- are forced to remove all that hair to be considered acceptable and even beautiful. She consulted those who studied it scientifically, anthropologically, and even consulted women who lead and follow current beauty trends. The results were mixed and unsatisfactory with nothing definitive she could latch onto. It all came down to self, really. Self and finding another accepting person in the man she was with- and, he was more than accepting of her just the way she was.

Without brow beating a person, I liked the mix of personal anecdote, actual research, and the willingness to tackle a not so pretty subject about female humans- body hair. She's willing to ask the questions that most of us have thought about, but in no way want to bring up even among family, friends, and significant others. I liked her style and would read/listen to more of her works.