Spanish women, in common with most of those in Europe these day, do certainly shave or wax their legs. Forty or fifty years ago European women did not shave their body hair, but that has all changed. You will not be labelled as a prostitute, unless you happen to dress like one!

You will be labelled as a foreigner, simply because you'll be speaking with an accent and will possibly dress a little differently to your Spanish counterparts. But don't go around worrying about pickpockets, I bet you don't worry when you're in a large city in your own country, yet there will be just as many pickpockets there as in Spain, it's a worldwide problem. Just make sure you keep any valuables secure on your body, don't leave your bag sitting on a table or on the floor, and don't flash money around, and you'll be OK.

Two things: shaving your legs or any other part of you is down to personal preference, in Spain and every other place on the planet.

Pickpockets don't discriminate by nationality, they just watch for someone who's an easy target.

All women and girls in Spain do shave their legs and armpits, like in France, Italy or Greece. It's in the barbaric countries of Northern Europe like Germany or Belgium that they don't because they are closer to nature and hence they prefer to look like bears, :-)

wax or laser even the ones that would normally be hidden by a skimpy bottom

sure why not

I'm going to be studying abroad in Madrid, Spain next month and I was just wondering if the women shave their legs? When my parents lived in Europe, shaving your legs meant you were a prostitute. Since I don't want to be seen as a prostitute and don't necessarily want to be identified as American/foreigner (because of pickpockets, etc.), I just wanted to know.

Also, if this helps, I'm 19. My mom said that sometimes the younger women do shave/wax.