There is a woman in my office who has chosen not to shave her armpits. I know this because she is constantly raising her arms and showing off her hairy pits. We have a dress code in the office that men are not allowed to wear tank tops, or sleeveless tops of any kind.
And I’m grateful women don’t have the same restrictions, though we are still requested to keep our shoulders covered. When it’s warm, we often will wear tank tops under a light cardigan or open blouse. It’s during these moments that this woman is incessantly raising her arms.
This isn’t about my personal hygiene preferences — it’s an affront! Her armpits are bushy and black, and it’s extremely unpleasant to look at it, as it would be on a man. I may be the one writing you, but I’m not the only one disgusted by this woman’s appearance. Is there anything we can do as a collective group? My first reaction is to say that, without research, I don’t think there’s anything you can do about this.
I’m sorry you have to go to work in an uncomfortable situation, but this response is non-specific to your issue, meaning, it’s not about the pits. Without getting HR to come down on their no-tank-top rule, which would affect every woman in the office from your explanation, I would ask first if you could move to a different part of the office where you don’t have to be near this woman all day. If she’s not part of your team, then it won’t matter to anyone, and she doesn’t need to know why you�.