Through the glare of the computer screen, one overriding discourse appears time and time again. It is a narrative that pairs women’s bodies with the concept of repulsion. I am reminded of the Twitter wars of last month when a group of women shared pictures of their leg and underarm hair all in the name of ‘Janu-hairy’. As the selfies began to roll in, so too did the online trolls, who were quick to label the growth as disgusting, unnatural, and, bizarrely, unhygienic. In a world where hairlessness is considered to be the natural state for grown women, despite the inherent biological impossibility, not shaving became an act of rebellion.
As the Janu-hairy movement gained online currency, the topic was debated on breakfast shows, with hosts asking guests on both sides of the ‘argument’, whether it is unnatural or not to allow hair to grow on our bodies, when we’ve been conditioned socially to feel repulsed by body hair on women.