#Januhairy: Women are growing out their body hair to promote body positivity

KARACHI: The fact that women – much like men and all mammals – have body hair is considered a taboo worldwide. They are often made to feel “too masculine” if they choose to grow it out, which is why many ads promote hair-removing products by using women who have no body hair to begin with. This behaviour has led to the creation of a movement called Januhairy – a campaign that encourages women to grow their body hair out for the entire month.

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Exeter University student Laura Jackson from the UK, who created the campaign and aims to raise money for a body positivity project, said, “The acceptance of body hair on women is unfortunately still a predicament. We are displayed in the media as feeling ‘confident’ when our legs are smooth, eyebrows plucked, armpits waxed. Society seems to be behaving as if the natural hair we grow on our bodies is unattractive and distasteful.”

She started growing her body hair back in May 2018 and after a few weeks, felt more liberated and confident. Jackson told The Independent, “It really opened my eyes to the taboo of body hair on a woman. I realised that there is still so much more for us to do to be able to accept one another fully and truly. Then I thought of Januhairy and thought I would try it out.”

While many women are now lending their support and growing their body hair too, some men seemed to be “grossed” out by the idea, adding that they find such women very “unattractive”. This has led to a Twitter battle.