As women, we’ve been taught that the socially acceptable thing to do is to shave our armpits (and other parts of our bodies) before heading out into public, but in recent years, we’ve seen a shift, and women seem to be adopting a new, more natural approach. Perhaps this newfound confidence has been spurred on by celebrities, who have publicly shown their unshaven pits, and proved to the world that gender stereotypes are outdated (shaving is a personal decision, not one that should be made based on your gender).
View this post on InstagramLong hair...... Don't Care!!!!!! #artforfreedom #rebelheart #revolutionoflove
Among the celebs showing off their armpit hair is Miley Cyrus, Madonna (who captioned her social media photo with “long hair don’t care”), her daughter Lourdes Leon, Amandla Stenberg, Scout Willis, and Jemima Kirke, who even stepped onto the red carpet in a beautiful red gown and proceeded to show off her unshaven pits.
Scout Willis #hairy #underarms pic.twitter.com/yYCH5oK83F
— FemaleUnderArms (@FemaleUnderarms) January 4, 2016
But it’s not just celebrities, although their actions do get more attention than the rest of us, and a British photographer has also created a series of black-and-white photos of regular women with armpit hair, in an attempt to encourage women that natural is beautiful, or, as Yahoo notes, “hairy is beautiful.” And there is no denying that showing the female body with hair in places we seldom see it is empowering!
Which is why there’s a good chance you will be seeing more women ditching their razors this summer because women are tired of being told that they “have” to shave. The change has been happening slowly, as Metro notes that research by analysts Mintel has indicated a decline in the number of women who shave. For example, in 2013, 95 percent of women between the ages of 16 to 24 shaved or waxed their underarms, and in 2017, this number had fallen to 77 percent.
The reason for not shaving could be simply because women do not want to, or that they are concerned with the effects that hair removal could have on their skin. Whatever the reason, shaving is a personal decision, and if you want to ditch razors and wax for good, well, you're not alone!
[Image via Shutterstock]
