hey 37, i havé réal friends and im still réal close friends with both m'y sisters

#44 Not all women have naturally nice eyebrows. If I didn't pluck mine, they'd be at a scary state of hairiness. To put it bluntly, my eyebrows would be quite akin to that of Oscar the Grouch or Bert from Sesame Street. Not really quite that bad, but you get the picture. I was tired of being made fun of by the whole of the male species, so plucking seemed a wise choice...

I think it's more of a thing where women are not meant to be particularly hairy. So...some people went overboard and created this unnatural shape that set itself up as the new standard. Because unnatural standards means women will pay ridiculous amounts of cash to fulfill them.

#50 I agree that some women who don't need to pluck their eyebrows still do pluck/pay ridiculous amounts of money to get them waxed. But some women really do need to pluck a little bit in order to avoid having what others have called "man-brows" as in insult in my general direction. :/

That's a nice way to think, 58.

Silverskin, you beat my response, and I think, phrased it better.

Let's put it this way. I had a slight unibrow. No matter how nice of a person I was, I received no positive male attention pre-plucking-- not even from self-proclaimed "nice guys" who "don't care about looks." As much as we'd like to think that looks don't matter, nobody seems to fall for the unibrowed chick.

72 - The people worth getting to know, are the people who wouldn't judge you based solely on your physical appearance. However, I also pluck my eyebrows. But I do it because I think it makes me look better, and feel better about myself - for myself. If I didn't feel like doing it, and didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't do it. And if people wanted to judge me for it, then they wouldn't be people I'd want to know anyway.

@ #77 you seem to be a wise woman. Attention from guys should never be the reason to do something. That's how you end up at the giving end of a line up.

I started plucking to make MYSELF happy, too-- I can quite confidently say that I look better after plucking my eyebrows. I feel more confident. I didn't just do it for the sake of male attention. Sorry if that was what it seemed like I was implying.

And while we're at it, what's with guys shaving their faces? Shouldn't we all just let our beards grow until we look like ZZ Top? I mean... there's no point to it other than looks, right?

That is the impression you were projecting because, and i quote: "I received no positive male attention pre-plucking-- not even from self-proclaimed "nice guys" who "don't care about looks."" Sounds exactly like you did it because boys didn't pay attention to you. I do, however, apologise for assuming.

While I do admit that male attention was a PARTIAL aspect of what made plucking so appealing, it wasn't by any means my main reason for plucking my eyebrows. :P

It just looks cleaner. Just like a man shaving his face or trimming his goatee. Like clipping toenails, getting a haircut, and wearing clothes that match. None of these make you a better person, ,but they make you more presentable. People will subconsciously take you more seriously, giving you a nice confidence boost. This isn't new.

it's confidence, really. if a girl feels good inside, it'll show outside. and if that inner goodness comes from a bit of preening, then go preening :)

#118 It was definitely a self-esteem issue for me, yup!

@skatterbug - I hear what you're saying about it not really being necessary to pluck one's eyebrows, and basically who cares. Maybe they are following an unrealistic standard. Maybe they aren't. Perhaps this ties in with the whole shaving of one's legs/underarms/private areas.

She also plucks her brows. She just keeps them thicker than most. The good thing about brows is you can change your look and it will grow back for a different look.

*most of the time. My mother's plucked her brows for years and it's stunted the growth if not stopped it completely of the hairs she's habitually plucked. Plucking damages the root. True, if you pluck them too thin one time they will grow back. But if you pluck them too thin for years, they definitely won't grow back in thick and bushy.