Asian men just aren’t hairy. I’ve seen very few with facial hair. The little body hair that I have seen on men’s legs or arms is laughable compared to the yellow jungle on my arms and legs. This isn’t something I would normally start noticing, but I couldn’t help it since my students instigated my attention to my own “hairy” arms.
It doesn’t bother me at all; I think it is pretty funny, but, without fail, at least once a day a student will notice the difference of my arms compared to his or her father’s. “Teacher, fur,” is the most common statement. I have also gotten, “Your arms are like a bear.” The most startling, however, will be when I am walking around checking homework and a student begins rubbing my arm. The kindergarteners first discovered it, but they are not the only ones who do it. Even the curiosity of the 5th graders leads them to poke at my arms. The other day a first grader asked if I would cut off some of my arm hair and give it to him so he could show his mother. I didn’t.
