In case you didn't know how shaving legs and armpits for women became a norm, you can blame the relentless advertising campaigns. At the beginning of the 20th century, women, and of course society in general, couldn't care less about the natural hair growing on their bodies. However, after sleeveless dresses came into fashion, advertisers began targeting women's hairy armpits, encouraging women to remove them. Then followed leg hair. By the 1950s, after what seemed to be merely a fad created by annoying advertisers, shaving your hairy legs and armpits became a social norm lasting for decades.
However, these days people have begun to question the long-lasting beauty standard and its effects on women's body image. While some of us merely participate in discussions, other women dare to quit shaving and turn to social media to show that natural body hair is nothing but a normal part of their bodies.
In 2018, a woman named Laura Jackson, who was sick and tired of society telling her how her body should look, created 'Januhairy', a campaign that encourages women to ditch razor blades for a month and share their progress pics on social media. The idea picked up and each year begins to fill up with women rocking their naturally hairy bodies. Scroll below for the list of hairy women that have shared their natural beauty in the name of Januhairy!
More info: Instagram
#1 Natural Body Hair
“There was this time where puberty was just commencing and gifted me a full-blown pube-stache, and to be given a razor to snip it off was a dream. I was thrilled to remove my hair and have baby soft, hairless skin. I was excited to finally be "beautiful". Until this little fantasy turned into a nightmare. Wherein I found myself disgusting. And if I couldn't wax it off, I shaved it all. If I was too lazy to do it, I just wouldn't go out. Because I couldn't look like that when I was going out, could I? I associated myself with something untidy, unpleasant, and loving myself turned into this tedious task because I couldn't. Until I was spotless. I had to be spotless every day. I couldn't miss a patch. I couldn't feel like a "cactus". I couldn't have them calling me a cactus. Because that's how it should be, right? Because that's what they said, that's what they like.
I now know I could. I could grow, and be just the way I am and be loved for it.
I want to grow. And I want you to see.
That I'm done. I'm wild and goddamn free.”
I now know I could. I could grow, and be just the way I am and be loved for it.
I want to grow. And I want you to see.
That I'm done. I'm wild and goddamn free.”
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64points
#2 Beautiful Hairy Body
“It’s incredibly validating to see this image Alex took of me shared with the intention to create a conversation how we see hair and femininity. Since this image has started to be shared I’ve gotten a lot of questions around the journey of my body hair. It’s something I’ve run from my entire life until about 3 years ago. To the point where I had developed anxiety around hair & didn’t want to even be around people who had a lot of it too. It was a deep self hatred reinforced through bullying & overall beauty standards. The last day I shaved was actually Valentine’s Day. I was told by my current boyfriend he would never take me anywhere nice with facial, armpit or leg hair so in order to please him I shaved everything so we could “have a nice date”. HE FUCKING DUMPED ME ON THAT DATE. And from that point on I made the decision to NEVER alter my body to appease someone else. That decision was probably one of the best I’ve ever made regarding my relationship with my body. Which only grew stronger when I was starting to be approached about modeling & making adult content. Modeling was something I’d wanted to do since I was a child but when I started maturing I noticed even after shaving how prominent my leg hair was so I literally just didn’t bother before. I grew up hating & hiding a part of my body that now people were LITERALLY worshiping. There are still hateful people yelling what they think of me in public but honestly who doesn’t deal with that? People will always find a reason to dislike who you are & what you’re about. That’s why I hang on to the people who love me & the kind words people send me. There’s also another reason I don’t shave that many don’t think of. I have Lyme Disease which causes chronic fatigue & an overall weakness of the immune system. So it takes a lot of energy for me to shave allll the hair I have that grows SO FAST. And when I did shave I got ingrown hairs & infections all over. My body literally had to deal with more bacteria on it JUST from shaving. This isn’t a PSA to shave or not shave. This is a PSA to choose to do what makes you happiest with your body. Thanks for reading my lil journey.”
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63points
#3 Stop Shaving
‘I stopped shaving my legs about 20 years ago, and have never looked back. my armpits followed about 5 years ago, and they have become one of my new favourite parts of myself! I feel like they add a beautiful splash of colour and texture to my outfit when I wear tank tops, and they are so soft! plus when I shaved my armpits, my right armpit was really hard to reach because I am missing my left hand, so this is way easier! I love showing off my body hair on my youtube show 'Stump Kitchen' because it portrays body diversity and more possibilities for what a woman's body can look like!’
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60points
#4 Gorgeous Hairy Legs
“I have palestinian heritage so I’m really hairy; I hate waxing cuz it’s pain, time and money; and I love my hairy legs cuz they make me feel like a bee (bees have really hairy legs and that’s one of the reasons they are the best pollinators)"
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59points
#5 Red Carpet Looks
“I went to a red carpet event without shaving my legs!! This may sound really dumb, but it was a big deal for me. I’ve finally gotten to the point where I feel (almost) totally comfortable like this.
I stopped shaving my legs and armpits about a year ago as a practice of self-love. I grew up HATING the hair on my body. I was teased for it, snuck my mom’s razor at age 9, and would pray that god would remove my hair from the neck down. I would panic every time I got invited to go swimming and hadn’t shaved.
I stopped shaving my legs and armpits about a year ago as a practice of self-love. I grew up HATING the hair on my body. I was teased for it, snuck my mom’s razor at age 9, and would pray that god would remove my hair from the neck down. I would panic every time I got invited to go swimming and hadn’t shaved.
When I got pregnant, I decided to work to overcome this insecurity. It’s not about “not believing in shaving”, it’s about believing I AM BEAUTIFUL, ATTRACTIVE AND “FEMININE” NO MATTER WHERE I HAVE HAIR ON MY BODY. It’s about showing girls you don’t have to listen when society tells you your natural features are ugly or gross. It has taken months to get used to it. The horrible online comments don’t help. But I’m getting there.
Remember, if someone has a problem with the way you look, that’s an issue with THEIR mentality, not YOUR body.”
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56points
#6 Stop Shaving For Januhairy
"See me // within it all I never saw myself seen I didn’t know of a language to make it make sense, feel real, to make it stick. surface living to quell the anxieties of not knowing who you are and where you come from. a void is not a dormant soundless hole, it can be a chaotic dissonant space, it can be a vortex at your core that wrings you out and leaves you broken. if I don’t see me, am i real? our stories buried and burned, histories willfully misrecorded, bodies brutalized and distorted. the heavy labor of our existence, the work that works to piece the pieces. our tongues cut, leaving us speechless, their language was never meant for us, our work is our narratives in flux, sounds, words, images, movement that is us. all new but rooted in a knowing that is before us all. even in my younger days where I never knew a world like this could exist for me, I felt a stirring that pushed me forth despite no blueprint or support, whatever that force was I thank it every day, and I work to nourish it."
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51points
#8 Armpit Hairdo
“I feel powerful and beautiful with my hairy pits. I feel even more powerful when it’s colorful. It makes me feel so powerful knowing that just some hair can cause an uproar, make people uncomfortable or angry. That they cannot stand hair on a woman. We’re all human beings and grow hair for a reason. So why is it okay for men but not women? I don’t think it makes me any less of a woman having it. I feel beautiful, sexy, comfortable, glowing, a goddess with or without it. I don’t care if you like it or not. I don’t care what you have to say on it. I don’t care what anyone thinks on it except me. As long as it makes me happy, that’s what matters.”
Report
49points
#9 Natural Body
“Today in our puberty lesson I talk to all of my students about where body hair is likely to show up, and not just in the normal places they may think of, we talked about extra body hair on our stomachs, arms, faces, lips and chest for all genders. —
We talked about pubic hair and how as you grow older it is common for your hair to cover more and more area. —
We also talked about labia minora and majora... how they come in different shapes, sizes, colors and length... to the whole class. —- We talked about why the topic of our bodies is uncomfortable and what our society’s role is in making us feel shame. —— We talked about why it’s important not to separate the class by genders to have these talks and how knowledge is power and we need to know our bodies and how bodies of any of our future partners may work. —
We talked about pubic hair and how as you grow older it is common for your hair to cover more and more area. —
We also talked about labia minora and majora... how they come in different shapes, sizes, colors and length... to the whole class. —- We talked about why the topic of our bodies is uncomfortable and what our society’s role is in making us feel shame. —— We talked about why it’s important not to separate the class by genders to have these talks and how knowledge is power and we need to know our bodies and how bodies of any of our future partners may work. —
We talked about “out of the norm” topics like how any gender can grow breasts. And we talked about how important it is to de sexualize breasts. —- We talked about how much shame and hurt it causes people who are judged for their bodies and the changes it’s going through. —- It was an amazing talk. Tomorrow we will have a q and a. I’m excited to see what more they want to talk about. —- I showed my leg hair again and the kids showed me theirs lol 😂 —- I said about 16161892 times “gender is a social construct” I hope they get it now hahah"
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48points
#10 Realistic Body Image
“Last month I discovered #januhairy; a movement of fuzzy lassie’s proudly proclaiming their allegiance to free-pitting for the month as an act of empowerment & body love.
I myself have been know to let the ol arm garden grow for years now😏😎 so I thought “what the hay-bale!🐴 I’ll tag @janu_hairy in an image of the fuz”
& they shared my post!
As did a few other accounts
Which lead to it being shown in an @ajplus video & 1000+ femme fur lovin’ folks finding my account.
Meaning..
I got my first dick pic since 7th grade chatroulette🤘🏾
& countless messages from 95% men saying things like..
“Hey.”
“Hey, I love ur armpits”
“I love natural women 👅💦”
“I’d lick ur armpits”
“I’d love 2 smell ur armpits”
“Can I have pictures of ur feet?”
“How long u no shave down there?”
“How long u been a hair activist?”
“How much $ for a body pic?”
“I love hairy vagina.”
literally. this list goes on...& on. 🤦🏽♀️
On one hand, It’s sweet that I’ve unexpectedly gotten 0 hate about it.. (we’ll, except a teacher commenting “gag” to which he received more pictures of my unapologetic pit pelt)((yeah I said it))
But like.. wutup w this far swing to the other side?
Why is the natural body a fetish?
& how is showing it somehow an invitation to be hit on? to hear about how it makes you feel in your weenie & divulge sexual fantasies i never asked to hear about?
& why does this automatically mean I’m an activist?
Here’s what I think..
•If I am advocating something.. Its no shame in choosing ur body’s expression.
•I’m stoked people are not only-not giving me shit, but are actually showing a lot of love.. it shows times are really changing
•I’m endlessly over the age old ‘invade & conquer’ sexually toxic masculine mentality that in its fundamental nature makes itself welcome where
👏🏾it👏🏾is👏🏾not. #goon&slideritebackoutofmyDMsthanks.
•You don’t need a # or a clever month name to get to know your body in different forms. Hopefully* everyday, for the rest of your life, you have the wonderful freedom to choose how you want to express yourself in this world. I hope you thoroughly enjoy the pleasure of choosing what feels rite for the only person who’s opinion really matters..
your own ✌🏾”
I myself have been know to let the ol arm garden grow for years now😏😎 so I thought “what the hay-bale!🐴 I’ll tag @janu_hairy in an image of the fuz”
& they shared my post!
As did a few other accounts
Which lead to it being shown in an @ajplus video & 1000+ femme fur lovin’ folks finding my account.
Meaning..
I got my first dick pic since 7th grade chatroulette🤘🏾
& countless messages from 95% men saying things like..
“Hey.”
“Hey, I love ur armpits”
“I love natural women 👅💦”
“I’d lick ur armpits”
“I’d love 2 smell ur armpits”
“Can I have pictures of ur feet?”
“How long u no shave down there?”
“How long u been a hair activist?”
“How much $ for a body pic?”
“I love hairy vagina.”
literally. this list goes on...& on. 🤦🏽♀️
On one hand, It’s sweet that I’ve unexpectedly gotten 0 hate about it.. (we’ll, except a teacher commenting “gag” to which he received more pictures of my unapologetic pit pelt)((yeah I said it))
But like.. wutup w this far swing to the other side?
Why is the natural body a fetish?
& how is showing it somehow an invitation to be hit on? to hear about how it makes you feel in your weenie & divulge sexual fantasies i never asked to hear about?
& why does this automatically mean I’m an activist?
Here’s what I think..
•If I am advocating something.. Its no shame in choosing ur body’s expression.
•I’m stoked people are not only-not giving me shit, but are actually showing a lot of love.. it shows times are really changing
•I’m endlessly over the age old ‘invade & conquer’ sexually toxic masculine mentality that in its fundamental nature makes itself welcome where
👏🏾it👏🏾is👏🏾not. #goon&slideritebackoutofmyDMsthanks.
•You don’t need a # or a clever month name to get to know your body in different forms. Hopefully* everyday, for the rest of your life, you have the wonderful freedom to choose how you want to express yourself in this world. I hope you thoroughly enjoy the pleasure of choosing what feels rite for the only person who’s opinion really matters..
your own ✌🏾”
Report
45points
#11 Naturally Hairy Body
"Hair grows on your body where it is meant to grow. It's natural. It's not unclean or unhygenic or gross. It's normal but for some reason society has decided that hair on women is abnormal and disgusting and shameful. It is none of those things!
If you want to shave then go for it! If you don't want to shave then that's fine too!
It's your body and you are in control of how you look after and maintain your body. Your aesthetic is yours to choose and it's yours to change as and when you please"
If you want to shave then go for it! If you don't want to shave then that's fine too!
It's your body and you are in control of how you look after and maintain your body. Your aesthetic is yours to choose and it's yours to change as and when you please"
Report
43points
#16 Getting Hairy For Januhairy
"Rocking our body hair and feeling incredibly glamorous at graduation ball. Body hair is not ‘un-feminine’, it is natural and you should choose whatever you want to do with it. You are beautiful, be kind to yourself. Have you continued to grow out your body hair over the summer? If so, what sort of reactions have you had? Lots of love as always, your Januhairy gals Laura and Ruby"
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39points
#17 Beautiful Natural Hair
“Why does society still shame women for having body hair? If a woman has armpit hair, she's apparently "disgusting", "unkept" or has "bad hygiene", but if a man has armpit hair, no one says anything because "he's a man"...really? That's the only reasoning we need? If you leave a comment about your opinion, please also leave your reasoning.”
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39points
#18 Perfect Body Image
“My last photo like this had people telling me I had too much body hair and too little whilst demanding I either shave it off or keep growing it. My take away from these kinds of comments is always: I do not care what other people think about my body because I am the only person who has to live in it. Every decision I make is my own. And I’m passing that on. This is particularly important as we enter the Christmas season i.e. the season where body shaming relatives come out of their homes to tell you to stop eating the panettone and ‘watch your waistline’
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39points
#20 Embracing Your Natural Body
“There’s a lot of talk in the body-posi movement about women + non-binary folks* embracing their body hair, which is great. but every time this conversation comes up, the bodies & hair that’s used as an example for this embracing are light-skinned and/or with straight & fine hairs.⠀
⠀
so I wanna shout out the babes with the 4C pubes, with the thick & coarse bushes, with the razor bumps & ingrown lumps from strands that coil into themselves, & the body hair so dark & defiant that it refuses to be hidden or tamed.⠀
⠀
your body & the journey to love & accept the hair that grows out of it is a radical act of body sovereignty. I see you."
⠀
so I wanna shout out the babes with the 4C pubes, with the thick & coarse bushes, with the razor bumps & ingrown lumps from strands that coil into themselves, & the body hair so dark & defiant that it refuses to be hidden or tamed.⠀
⠀
your body & the journey to love & accept the hair that grows out of it is a radical act of body sovereignty. I see you."
Report
38points