Interesting. When I lived in England, I worked with a lot of women from all over, specifically South Africa, the British Isles, Holland and Poland. The Dutch and Polish girls did not shave their armpits, and thought it was amusing that anyone would. This was a while back, however. Maybe that bit of social signalling has undergone a weather change on the Continent.
I live in Europe (I'm not European, but I've lived in many countries in Europe and it has been 6 years in total). Women in Europe shave/wax their armpits very regularly. I don't know where you got that odd fact from but it's completely false.
I shavemy arm hair. I think it's as normal as shaving leg hair. It doesn't bother me much but I just like the look of it. I think it's fine if women don't want to shave their arm hair, it's just preference really. So go ahead if you want shave it off. It's not weird if you do, lots of women do it. Personally, I'm too lazy to wax or bleach. So I opt for shaving.
I have heard of bleaching body hair like arm hair, but even that seems a bit extreme. Guess it just depends on whether the self-consciousness is ruining your life. A friend of mine would get a huge, dark hair on her chin, and she finally got tired of plucking it, so she just went and had electrolysis. She never would have been comfortable letting it show. On the other hand, a bohemian-type friend of mine has a pretty full mustache, and she just wears it without any self-consciousness at all. Maybe you can get a friend who will tell you the truth to say whether she has even ever noticed your arm hair. It might be less conspicuous than you think. If you do consider the bleaching route, go to a professional.
You sound like me when i was young! lol When i was younger, I use to be self conscious of the same thing. I tried shaving but now that I look back at it... i feel like my actions were unnecessary and I wouldn't do it again if I could. Be comfortable with who you are. If you want to try it for kicks, I say do it! But don't do something just to "fit in".
I feel that my arm hair is more abundant than other people I know. I even have a few small dark hairs on the back of my hand. I don't think it is enough to signify a medical problem as PCOS especially since I am slightly underweight. I have had an increase in acne recently though. I really don't want to shave my arms but they make me feel self conscious.
I've never known anyone who has shaven their arm hair. In Europe, women don't even shave under their armpits. Is your arm hair really thick or dark? Otherwise I sure wouldn't bother.
I don't. Some people I know do. It's all a personal choice.