John Rose

Writer & commentator on culture, politics & freedom. Resilience, faith & self-reliance. Unfiltered truth from the Jerusalem Cross. Cutting through modern noise.

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

Do you remember when you joined X? I do! #MyXAnniversary

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

Joe Biden trying to get funding for his library!😂😂

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

**Gillette (and the broader beauty/razor industry) created a new market for women's shaving in the early 20th century through targeted advertising that tied into shifting fashions, social norms, and manufactured insecurities.**

### Key Timeline and Tactics
- **Pre-1910s context**: Most American women did not routinely shave their legs or underarms. Body hair removal wasn't a widespread "necessity" for women (though ancient cultures like Egyptians practiced it for other reasons). Straight razors existed but were cumbersome and mainly used by men at barbershops.

- **1915: Gillette launches the first women's razor** — They introduced the **Milady Décolleté**, essentially a repackaged men's safety razor with a smaller head and feminine marketing. This came after Gillette had saturated the men's market with its safety razor (patented earlier and boosted by military contracts). The goal was expansion to the untapped female half of the population.

Early ads focused on **underarm hair**, framing it as an "embarrassing personal problem" that hindered "good grooming" and "good dressing." Example language from a Gillette ad: "The Milady Décolleté is a beautiful addition to Milady’s toilet table – and one that solves an embarrassing personal problem... now that a feature of good dressing and good grooming is to keep the underarm white and smooth."

Marketers avoided the word "shaving" (seen as masculine) and instead promoted smoothness for elegance, especially as sleeveless dresses and higher hemlines exposed more skin in the 1910s–1920s.

- **1920s expansion to legs**: As flapper-era fashions popularized shorter skirts, bare legs, and sleeveless styles, advertisers (Gillette and competitors) ramped up campaigns. They portrayed visible body hair as "objectionable," "unseemly," masculine, indelicate, or unhygienic. Ads in magazines like *Harper's Bazaar* showed women in revealing gowns with smooth skin, creating social pressure.

This wasn't organic hygiene or beauty evolution—it was a deliberate campaign. Multiple companies coordinated efforts starting around 1908–1915, leveraging new mass advertising in women's magazines.

### Why It Worked
- **Fashion synergy**: Rising hemlines and sleeveless trends (post-WWI cultural shifts, women's suffrage, etc.) provided a visual "problem" for ads to solve.
- **Psychological tactics**: Shame + aspiration. Hair became linked to poor grooming or embarrassment in social settings. Depilatories and razors were sold as solutions for "fastidious" or "well-groomed" women.
- **Market creation**: Gillette had saturated men; women offered massive growth. By the 1930s, it was normalized, with further boosts in the 1940s from WWII nylon shortages (forcing bare legs) and Hollywood influence.

This turned a non-issue into a multi-billion-dollar industry standard that persists today. It was highly effective consumer psychology, not a response to pre-existing demand. Similar tactics have been used for other beauty norms.

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

@MarcusGustavus @elonmusk We need another crusade!

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

@WeaponsVault Automatic hole puncher

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@IAmSteveHarvey God!

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

@ClownWorld Christ is KING!

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

@conspiracyb0t https://t.co/s1LgsXtaOf

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

@Mrgunsngear Have you ever heard of or shot R.I.P. ammo? Watched a few videos on it and it seems gimmicky, but wanted your thoughts https://t.co/RIxqIKwdo8

[Brandon Fugal @BrandonFugal]

In less than 24 hrs Season 7 of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch launches Tuesday nights 9/8c on HISTORY! Welcome back to see behind the gates of the most scientifically studied paranormal hotspot on the planet @HISTORY

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

@ClownWorld You're from the whole continent? I bet she couldn't last 24 hours in Bamako, Mali or Ouagadougou, BFA. The entitlement of Americans who never leave the US.

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

@andyb7274 Use @ProtonMail and you won't have any issues!

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@googlechrome @dokubariALO Use @brave

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https://t.co/wgSDAS84Wn

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

https://t.co/LTuer29R9I

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

@JohnCleese It's Jerusalem at the end of the Crusades. Britain is turning into the new Iran in 1979.

[John Stossel @JohnStossel]

Hollywood portrays civilian gun owners as fools, more likely to do harm than good.

The FBI confirms defensive gun use is rare.

But researcher @JohnRLottJr says the FBI data is wrong, that civilians SAVE lives all the time.

[John Rose @JohnRoseWrites]

@atensnut And American women think they're oppressed!