Editing Human leg (section)

== Society and culture ==
{{See also|Leg fetishism|Miniskirt}}
[[File:If we lift our skirts they level their eye-glasses at our ankles.png|thumb|A 1854 English cartoon expressing the dilemma of Victorian women that had to either drag their hems through wet or filth, or slightly lift up their skirts and attract attention from men (many of which have developed an interest in female knees or ankles at the time)]]
In Norse mythology, the race of [[Jötunn|Jotuns]] was born from the legs of [[Ymir]]. In Finnic mythology, the Earth was created from the shards of the egg of a goldeneye that fell from the knees of [[Ilmatar]]. While this story isn't found in other Finno-Ugric mythologies, [[Pavel Ivanovich Melnikov|Pavel Melnikov-Pechersky]] has noted several times that the beauty of legs is commonly mentioned in Mordvin mythology as a characteristic of both female mythological characters and real [[Erzyas|Erzyan]] and [[Mokshas|Mokshan]] women.

In medieval Europe, showing legs was one of the biggest taboos for women, especially the ones with a high social status. In Victorian England several centuries later legs were not to be mentioned at all (not only human ones, but even those of a table or a piano), and referred to as "limbs" instead.<ref>{{cite web |author=Swati Gautam |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/style/medieval-europe-when-legs-were-taboo/cid/1814031 |title=When legs were taboo |lang=en |publisher=Telegraph India |access-date=2023-11-25}}</ref> Miniskirts and other clothing that reveal legs first became popular in mid-20th century science fiction. Since then, it became mainstream in [[Western culture]]s, with female legs frequently being focused on in films, TV ads, music videos, dance shows and various kinds of sports (i.e. ice skating or women's gymnastics).<ref name="psychologytoday">{{cite web |author=Leon F. Seltzer |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/evolution-of-the-self/201605/why-do-men-find-womens-legs-so-alluring |title=Why Do Men Find Women's Legs So Alluring?  |lang=en |publisher=Psychology Today |access-date=2023-11-25}}</ref>

Many men who are attracted to female legs tend to regard them aesthetically almost as much as they do sexually, perceiving legs as more elegant, suggestive, sensual, or seductive (especially with clothing that makes legs easy to be revealed and concealed), whereas female breasts or buttocks are viewed as much more "in your face" sexual.<ref name="psychologytoday" /> That said, legs (especially the inside of the upper leg that has the most sensitive and delicate skin) are considered to be one of the most sexualized elements of a woman's body, especially in Hollywood movies.<ref>Smith, Lauren E., «[https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1354&context=theses A Leg Up For Women? Stereotypes of Female Sexuality in American Culture through an Analysis of Iconic Film Stills of Women's Legs]». Senior Theses, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 2013.</ref>

Both men and women generally consider long legs attractive,<ref>{{cite news |author=Ian Sample |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/jan/17/humanbehaviour.psychology |title=Why men and women find longer legs more attractive |lang=en |work=The Guardian |date=17 January 2008 |access-date=2023-11-25}}</ref> which may explain the preference for tall fashion models. Men also tend to favor women who have a higher leg length to body ratio, but the opposite is true of women's preferences in men.<ref name="psychologytoday" />

Adolescent and adult women in many Western cultures often [[Leg shaving|remove the hair from their legs]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Phil Edwards |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/5/22/8640457/leg-shaving-history |title=How the beauty industry convinced women to shave their legs |date=22 May 2015 |lang=en |publisher=Vox |access-date=2023-11-27}}</ref> Toned, tanned, shaved legs are sometimes perceived as a sign of youthfulness and are often considered attractive in these cultures.

Men generally do not shave their legs in any culture. However, leg-shaving is a generally accepted practice in [[model (person)|modeling]]. It is also fairly common in sports where the hair removal makes the athlete appreciably faster by reducing [[drag (physics)|drag]]; the most common case of this is competitive [[swimming (sport)|swimming]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Michelle Martin |url=https://www.triathlonoz.com/Injury_n_Recovery/Why_Men_Should_Shave_Their_Legs.aspx |title=Why Men Should Shave Their Legs |lang=en |publisher=TriathlonOz |access-date=2023-11-27 |archive-date=7 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207210005/https://www.triathlonoz.com/Injury_n_Recovery/Why_Men_Should_Shave_Their_Legs.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>