Not matter the pattern or patches, pretty much everyone grows body hair. However, over time, the natural occurrence has become stigmatized as gross and unkept, for women especially, who opt out of shaving. A shaven body has become a mark of femininity, when in reality, no one should have to seek value pending on their body hair. Gen Z certainly believes that to be true, as many influencers are trying to normalize not shaving, to break the cycle of expectation over, well everyone. After all, hairy or not, there’s so much more to someone’s worth and beauty. With the hashtag #BodyHairIsNatural trending, people are sharing their hair without a care.
Women and girls are ditching hair removers.
Advertisements spend billions of dollars marketing razors, creams, waxing, lasers and more to women and girls with false promises that hairlessness will make them more “desirable.” In fact, women spend between $10,000 and $23,000 on hair removal throughout their lives. Gen Z folks are saying hair removal isn’t worth the cost both emotionally and financially. Sounds like a hairy situation for the hair removal industry.
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They want people to know hairy women are sexy.
It turns out that less people care about whether women are hairy than many of us were conditioned to think. A 2021 YouGov Body Image study revealed that 35% of Americans care if a woman shaves or not and a 7% said they should not shave. Either way, it’s about each person’s choice, and choice is always going to be sexy.
In fact, hairy ladies are often preferred.
People legitimately think body hair is hot, which dispels one of the ultimate lies that beauty standards have perpetuated. In the past it’s been viewed as ugly or something to be tolerated, but Gen Z is saying that it’s beautiful and something that people want.
Hair removal can do some serious damage.
Another fault of hair removal culture is the damage it can do to our bodies as we continue to remain hairless. The rashes, bumps, infections, discoloration, and other issues that come with shaving and waxing can have long-term and painful effects. Many people just want to feel comfortable without having to trade health for commercialized beauty.
Even professional models aren’t feeling it.
People often romanticize models for having perfect skin, no body hair and bodies that look like they were sculpted by the heavens. Yet, those images are illusions, and models are tried of them too. Elyanna Sanchez , 25, is a model and Instagram influencer and she explained that people have never cared if she shaved her body. For her, it’s something that feels natural and a part of her modeling career.
Some people turn their body hair into works of art.
Creativity has no limits, and body hair is no exception. When people can love an embrace their bodies, it allows for them to finally have fun. People enjoy dying and braiding their body hair into masterpieces. This act of pride is a way of asserting that body hair is a gift and not a curse, plus you can dye it your favorite colors!
Gen Z men are in on this movement, too.
One thing that usually helps a social movement develop is allyship, and people are stepping up. While all people experience expectations when it comes to body hair, those expectations are gendered. Those who present as women are the ones that are judged the harshest for having body hair, even though everyone has it. So, men are using their privilege to step up and toss the gender expectation for women to be hairless to the side.
The pro-hair community is growing.
Even as people still make rude comments like the one to this video saying, “I bet you don’t have a boyfriend,” the pro-hair crew is growing. It takes time for people to break away from what they’re used to, and maybe they’ll start shaving away their objections one day. For now, there are people across social media platforms using #BodyHairIsNatural and it’s a hit. People from various backgrounds are protecting one another, and it’s pretty awesome.
It’s not about forcing anyone to be hairy.
The key thing to keep in mind is that this hashtag isn’t about bullying people into being hairy, because that’s the same silly all or nothing standard that got us into this tangly mess. It’s about people choosing what’s right for them without others inserting their judgements, especially if that means shaming someone else. It’s kind of like, why do you wanna stick your nose in someone else’s underarm, anyway?
It’s helping women feel more human.
Once upon a time, Beyonce sang, “Pretty Hurts” (go ahead and listen, it’s a great song) and many people, particularly women, felt her words. Women feel as if they have to fit into a very specific “beautiful” mold, and if they fail, it means they’re not worth anything. This thinking creates a contest between women to be perfect, when in reality, we’re all just humans. We have flaws, we can be wrong, we can make a mess and we can be hairy — and it’s gorgeous because it’s natural.
Let us know what you think of Gen Z’s #BodyHairIsNatural movement in the comments and if you care about body hair or not.
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