As beauty trends have gradually become more inclusive — with makeup offered in more natural shades than ever before and bras made available in an expanding number of custom sizes — women are also giving themselves more leeway when it comes to personal grooming. Body hair has been embraced by celebrities who speak proudly of their unshaven underarms and influencers who post unapologetically about their visible leg hair. Photographer Ashley Armitage has made body hair one of the focuses of her Instagram account, which includes portraits of feminine women combing their wispy underarm locks. Her interest began more than five years ago, when she noticed her friends were letting the hair on their armpits and legs grow. It made her question her own hair-removal habits. Armitage, 25, started to share imagery among friends that she thought was missing in the media: photos she took of women she knew with armpit fuzz, happy trails and unshaven bikini lines. A photo of the latter subject went viral a few years ago. Online, trolls attacked the image, and Armitage. It may sound extreme, but women who have had their body hair visible in photos on the internet are all too familiar with trolls yelling from a computer that they ought to shave.
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Whatever you choose to do with your body hair is totally up to you. Shave it, sugar it, wax it, laser it all off, or rock body hair the way Mother Nature intended. Either way, it's time we end the stigma surrounding women's body hair altogether. Unfortunately we live in a world where it's still seen as taboo for women to be anything other than hairless. But when New Jersey native and singer Halsey appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone with the slightest hint of underarm stubble this month, she was lauded by women celebrities across industries. Thankfully some razor companies have figured out the progressive way to address body hair removal — by actually showing women with body hair. When brands use models who rock hairy pits, legs, bikini lines, brows, etc. Don't Care!!!!!! Now Madonna's oldest daughter, Lourdes Leon , 22, has taken in her mom's body-positive footsteps and also opts out of removing her underarm hair.
Celebrities embrace body hair, too
After opening up about embracing her body - hair and all - in , the former Bachelor contestant and mom spoke on the topic again in , saying she wants to create a space for her daughter to grow up feeling like she can embrace her body hair in the same way. Martinez posted a new photo with toddler daughter Ruthie Ray on Instagram in May that showed her own unshaven legs and explained why she chooses to keep posting photos of it. At the same time I will never tell my children they can't change their appearance. I can only help them navigate and process why they want to, as I have done for myself. Getting candid about life as a new mom and postpartum recovery, the model shared an empowering photo of her body a few weeks after welcoming her first child Isaac Menelik Giovanni Ervin with husband Justin Ervin. In a black tank and grey disposable underwear, Graham snapped a bathroom selfie with her arm raised - also flaunting her grown-out armpit hair. It's been tough. In a personal essay for Harper's Bazaar in August , the model posed with unshaven armpits and opened up about her femininity. The singer posed for the July cover of Rolling Stone , and fans were quick to call her out in the comments for her unshaven underarms. Her sheer white dress also exposed her right breast under a sheer panel.
Female body hair is becoming more visible in popular culture and, while the issue has been around for decades, the new enthusiasm for hirsuteness has a 21st-century twist. I am usually late to catch on to shifts in the zeitgeist; this one came to my attention just recently. For the past couple of decades, I have seldom shaved my armpits. Now, all of a sudden, I was on-trend. Among both celebrities and the masses, female body hair is sprouting all over. In some ways, this phenomenon harks back to the second wave movement of the s and s, when feminists began to challenge restrictive beauty standards.
