(CNN) – The first month of the year is traditionally a time of change and resolution. Gym memberships spike, people seek new jobs in record numbers, and abstaining from alcohol and meat becomes a popular pastime.
But in the last six years, this time of year has also been marked by “Januhairy”, an initiative that invites you to leave the knife of the month. Despite its name, the post is still relevant and the campaign’s official Instagram account, which has more than 40,000 followers, posts photos of celebrating her hair in a circular fashion throughout the year in an effort to normalize it.
“Januhairy is liberating because it makes you think about how you treat your body and why,” Januhairy founder Laura Jackson told British newspaper Metro in 2021, adding, “Maybe soon we’ll get to a point where other people can just do whatever they want. I want to with respect to hair and we probably wouldn’t even want to talk about it. That would be something.
Although there is evidence that ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Renaissance Europeans practiced hair removal, the prestige quo for Western women (i. e. , that armpits, legs, bikini line, and hairless upper lips are more socially acceptable) emerged after the return of men from World War I. House with disposable razors, just for women to revel in.
Fashions were changing, too, and clothing revealed more skin with more style: sleeveless tops that exposed the armpits, for example, and top hems that showed more of the wearer’s legs. Razor manufacturer Gillette saw a golden opportunity and, in 1915, introduced the “Milady Decolette. “Advertisements at the time described it as a woman’s “smart” solution to “an embarrassing non-public problem. “
“It’s a very conscious decision (on Gillette’s part) to aggressively expand its market to women,” Breanne Fahs, a professor of women’s and gender studies at Arizona State University, said in a phone interview with CNN.
This marketing coincided with the rise of fashion photography in magazines which meant images of new beauty standards spread like wildfire. A century later, female body hair remains taboo to many – even in societies that celebrate the benefits of all that is “natural” elsewhere, from cosmetics to food.
A Powerful Standard
In 2021, a study by market research company YouGov found 59% of Britons considered female armpit hair “unattractive,” with men and women largely holding the same view, at 57% and 61% respectively. But the research also found that attitudes were generational, with younger people less likely to find female body or facial hair unattractive, and younger women in particular more accepting of female body hair.
Certainly, hair is becoming more visual in mainstream circles: the hashtag #bodyhairpositivity has more than 214 million views on TikTok, the Billie razor logo shows hair on its models, and an attractive product called Fur Oil is available to anyone who needs it. to melt armpit hair.
However, the bigger picture tells a less progressive story.
“Compliance rates of body hair removal are staggeringly high,” said Fahs, who cited research that between 92 and 99 percent of women in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and much of Western Europe regularly remove their leg and underarm hair. “That’s really shocking for a norm that has no health benefit: We can’t get that level of compliance with seatbelt wearing or teeth brushing. It’s amazing how powerful this norm is.”
In fact, while activism around framed hair is more visual and projects like Januhairy are gaining traction, Fahs said that while “we need other people to rebel more than they really are. . . We don’t see any knowledge that helps this (an accumulation of hair on the female body). ) It’s a widespread trend, adding that pubic hair removal is “only increasing. “
Question your beauty ideals
Roxanne Felig, 27, from Tampa, who is studying for a PhD in social psychology, regularly posts to social media about her choice to grow out her body hair and features on the Januhairy Instagram account. It’s a personal choice that attracts much criticism from strangers, especially on the internet.
“Most of the time it comes from women, which is very contradictory,” she told CNN by phone. “It’s getting aggressive. There are other people who leave vomit emojis and say I’m gross. “
These reactions echo the accounts of Montreal artist Esther Calixte-Bea, 27, who also appears on the Januhairy Instagram account and uses her artistic practice to document her body, with the hair on her chest that she spent years despite causing her pain. . , inflammation and even infection.
“There are hateful comments, rarely racist, but there’s never anything new, it’s very repetitive; others put monkey or gorilla emoji,” said Calixte-Bea, who also gave the impression on Januhairy’s Instagram account. I’m angry, but I’m used to it. “
The most brutal reaction was in person: “The worst I ever had was two men who filmed me.”
Women’s hair is also racialized. Historically, there have been countless examples of colonial powers imposing hair removal as a means or punishment, and Charles Darwin’s suggestion (in his 1871 e-book “Descent of Man”) that excessive hair expansion was primitive has given rise to similar disturbing narratives. respectability and hygiene.
“Women of color often have much darker body hair,” says Professor Fahs. “There are different implications if you have light blonde hair than if you have darker, coarser hair.”
With all of this in mind, it’s easy to see just how high the stakes can be, similar to hair growth, for women of color.
“External judgment may sound very scary, but in order to normalize something, more people want to see it,” Calixte-Bea said. “I can’t just say, ‘I want to normalize my body hair,’ still (not show my) frame hair. “
Structure hair also has other degrees of acceptability.
“Armpit hair is still regarded as the most disgusting or difficult to tolerate,” says Professor Fahs, noting that she has written on a multitude of debatable topics, but armpit hair is the one that “really makes other people because it is perceived” as a greater violation of gender norms and of classic femininity than leg hair. “
With Januhairy just around the corner, Felig understands how complicated it is to grow your hair: “It’s complex, because the advantage of shaving is that people don’t harass you. “
She advises taking the time to think deeply about why we make the possible choices we do, which Fahs and Calixte-Bea echo.
“So many women have never seen their body as it’s meant to look,” says Calixte-Bea. “Allowing your body hair to grow out can help you question ideas around beauty and how you truly feel about your body.”