When Will Women Stop Being Scorned For Sporting Body Hair?
[Photo: Millie Mackintosh/Instagram]
Social media is a wonderful business. We can map our globetrotting adventures, stay updated with current affairs, chart our drunken nights out and keep in touch with friends and family members while they’re abroad. But it also opens us all up to trolling - something that the wide majority of us have experienced, celebs more than most.
Millie Mackintosh is one such famous face who’s recently been berated on social media for something completely ridiculous. The former ‘Made in Chelsea’ star posted a photo of her bare thighs (aka hot dog legs) on Instagram, making her fans green with envy that she was once again soaking up the sun in some beautiful location. But it wasn’t her no-so-subtle bragging that riled up some of her followers. It was the fact that she hadn’t waxed/shaved/Veet-ed her thighs before snapping the photo.
“ALWAYS shave top as well as bottom. I find it so gross, ruins the view,” commented one Instagram user. And this female was just one person who voiced their disgust at the hair on Millie’s thighs.
While the reality star didn’t get involved, her fans quickly jumped in to support her, responding to the haters and asking why it’s OK for men to have hairy thighs but not women.
[Photo: Instagram/Michelle Rodriguez]
This isn’t the first time a female celebrity has been slammed for showing a little body hair on social media. Last year, Michelle Rodriguez unveiled her hairy pits on Instagram - and divided her fans.
The actress posted a snapshot of her unshaved pits on Instagram, with the caption “yum”. And unsurprisingly, the post sent the “Fast And Furious” star’s 2.2 million fans into turmoil, with a number of her IG followers branding her as “disgusting”.
Others brought gender into it, with one fan writing, “I love you but NO! You are a woman Michelle you can’t walk around like that!”
However some of Rodriguez’s followers did support her grooming choice – or at least her right to make her own decisions about her body. “Why hate on someone for their grooming choices? Hair under your arms is only natural,” commented one Insta user.
We hazard a guess that body hair will always be a hot topic - despite those fighting to normalise it. After all, it wouldn’t grow if we weren’t meant to have it, would it?
Women in France are currently taking part in a movement to fight body hair stigma. Using the hashtag #LesPrincessesOntDesPoils (meaning #PrincessesHaveHair), more and more women are sharing images of themselves in order to normalise the body fur we all naturally have.
The hashtag was started by 16-year-old Adèle Labo, who encouraged other women to share photos of their body hair on social media.
It has since taken off, and social media is awash with armpits and legs.
Where do you stand on the body hair debate? Tweet us at @YahooStyleUK.
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