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Take 19-year-old dancer, Macey Duff. A few years ago the American decided to stop shaving her body, and now she wants others to join her on her empowering self-journey.
She’s set up an Instagram page @maceytheearthling where she shares images of herself and spreads the message that being hairy can be a beautiful, feminine thing contrary to what society thinks.
“I started shaving around the age of 10. For what reason? Just because all the women around me did it, being taught it was what women should do,” she says.
“I’d shave any time hair began to grow; I was fearful of anyone even slightly glancing at my armpits, legs and bikini line if I had any visible stubble. I struggled with accepting myself.”
“It wasn't until a few years later when my family moved to Hawaii that I chose to stop shaving. My sister witnessed a woman in a one-piece swimming suit with thick, hairy legs, armpits, and obvious pubic hair at the beach and she was confident.”
She says she felt empowered on hearing about this woman but it wasn’t until she saw a woman on Instagram showing her dark long leg hair that she changed herself.
“My world shook when I witnessed a woman with body hair for the first time. I couldn’t even describe the relief I felt knowing there were women out there defying the standards placed [on] us to appeal to [the] public eye as ‘beautiful’ and ‘sexy’ – even ‘worthy’.
“I felt inspired and soon experimented with growing out my own body hair. I love it. It was frightening to say the least.
“Lifting my armpits in public at first was scary. The stubble was uncomfortable during the first few weeks, yet I can hardly even remember that period because now my hair is long and soft.
“I grew a very personal connection [to] my own body and felt a deep appreciation for simply being myself. It took about a month for my hair to comfortably grow out, I haven’t used a razor blade since.”
Since taking the plunge her twin sister, Ally, and older sister, Johannah (21), have followed in her footsteps.
Of course not everyone is a fan and she’s received plenty of hate, with strangers even coming up to her to share their disgust. But it doesn’t deter her, she says.
“I’ve had words like, ‘You should’ve been thrown away in the trash’, ‘too ugly’ and ‘too disgusting’ to ever have a partner [said to me].
“I've dealt with mean words through the comfort of being myself and honouring myself for allowing my body to be as it is because I know I’m worthy and beautiful, beyond my physicality.”
What are your thoughts? We’d love to hear them.
Sources: Instagram, Daily Mail
