Gen Z women are embracing their natural body hair
Young women are sharing photos and videos of themselves embracing something that has been considered taboo in the past.
Gen Z women are revealing they aren’t shaving or waxing anymore and are embracing their natural body hair instead.
The hairy trend has taken off on TikTok, with plenty of creators proudly showing off their underarm hair, leg hair or hair anywhere.
It is a complete 360 from the hairless brazilian wax culture that Millennial women embraced and faced.
While Millennials were smooth and battling ingrown hairs, Gen Zers are hairy and happy in response.
The trend has cemented itself so firmly in youth culture, some young women are even bragging about how long it has been since they last shaved or waxed.
Creator Calita Fire posted a video proudly displaying her underarm hair, sharing it had been three years since she’d shaved any part of her body, which she called a “flex”.
Similarly, popular TikTok creator Indigo Mischa is advocating for body hair to be normalised. She posts videos of herself in a bikini with her underarm hair proudly on display to break down the stigma.
She also calls herself a “hairy babe” and makes no apologies for not shaving or waxing.
The response is mixed. Sure, there are plenty of fans saying they find the hairy trend “inspiring” or “beautiful”.
Yet there are others slamming women for displaying body hair and declaring it “unfeminine”.
The negative feedback has spurred on a larger trend where female creators are sharing close-up shots of their body hair accompanied by DoJa Cat’s lyrics, “define feminine, I’m feminine”.
The trend aims to reveal that women can still be attractive, beautiful, and yes, feminine even with hair on display.
Psychologist Carly Dober said the trend is divisive online because of the history of body hair.
“Body hair has been associated with masculinity, and therefore any women who show body hair that is not socially sanctioned, they are going outside the traditionally slim ideas of what women can be,” she said
Dober said seeing women reclaim body hair on social media was “powerful,” because it is challenging traditional beauty standards. She said she hoped it would “expand people’s minds”.
“Personal preference is fine, but we need to consider who benefits from the ongoing policing of women’s bodies and their adherence to traditional beauty standards,” she said.
It has become a such a hot topic among young people that creator Marlie posted a TikTok mocking the logic behind hairy men not liking armpit hair on women, and it amassed five million views.
The witty skit featured Marlie posing as a man telling a woman she should shave her armpits.
The woman replied, “You don’t like armpit hair?”
The man declared, “No.”
“Then shave your armpits,” she hit back.
Her point was worshipped in the comments section of the video.
“For all the guys saying it’s their preference, well, I don’t like guys who have armpit hair, so shave, it’s my preference,” someone commented.
“It’s called natural hair,” another cheered.
Of course, not everyone was a fan.
“I personally don’t have a problem with women having any body hair. It is just that it looks weird,” someone wrote.