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"For Me, Body Hair Is Another Opportunity For Women To Exercise Their Ability To Choose" 13 Famous Women Who Have Publicly Embraced Their Body Hair
By Carley Suthers,
3 days ago
It's 2024, and more women than ever are ditching the razor. According to a 2016 study , nearly one in four women under the age of 25 had stopped shaving their underarms, and that figure has more than likely risen in the past eight years. So, why does it seem to puzzle people that women, too, grow body hair in this day and age?
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Especially when you consider that women did not even begin shaving their legs, armpits, or any other area until the early 20th century when Gilette introduced the Milady Decollette in 1915, natural body hair shouldn't come as a surprise. Which is why these 13 celebrity women felt compelled to speak out about not shaving in an effort to destigmatize body hair:
During a 2023 Bustle photoshoot to promote the film Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret , McAdams had her natural armpit hair on display. The 45-year-old specifically requested the magazine only minimally retouch her photos. During the interview, she referenced a 2018 photoshoot where she was featured with a breast pump, “I love that juxtaposition of beauty, glam, fantasy, and then truth.”
When asked about her opinion on shaving, The Notebook actress said , "I’m going to give you the advice [my mother] gave me: ‘Once you start, you can never stop.’ And I remember rolling my eyes about that and thinking: ‘Ugh, that’s not the fun answer.’ But it’s so true. Life is long, shaving is intense. But if you’re going to go ahead with it anyway, watch the ankle bones, the shins … Always have shaving cream," she continued, “If you want to stop shaving again one day, that’s okay too.”
Rom-com queen, Julia Roberts made headlines in 1999 when she showed up to the Notting Hill premiere with unshaven armpits. However, through the years, she has maintained that the look was not a feminist statement.
During the Pretty Woman star's 2018 appearance on Busy Philipps' talk show Busy Tonight , Philipps asked, "You rocked the hairy armpit at the Notting Hill premiere, and you never really said if that was like a statement. And when I was a younger woman, I kind of took it as a statement. I thought it was like really punk rock and cool.
And I just was wondering if you at the time were feeling like it was a punk rock statement or if you literally were like, 'I can't. I can't shave my armpits this month.'"
Mark Cuthbert / UK Press via Getty Images
Roberts replied , "I think I just hadn't really calculated my sleeve length and the waving and how those two things would go together and reveal personal things about me. So it wasn't so much a statement as it's just part of the statement I make as a human on the planet for myself."
In the September 2019 issue of Harper's Bazaar, Emily Ratajkowski was photographed fiercely embracing her natural body hair. The model penned an essay about her thoughts on feminism and sexuality. She wrote about her thoughts about body hair and women's bodily autonomy: "If I decide to shave my armpits or grow them out, that's up to me. For me, body hair is another opportunity for women to exercise their ability to choose — a choice based on how they want to feel and their associations with having or not having body hair."
However, she added, "I tend to like to shave, but sometimes letting my body hair grow out is what makes me feel sexy. And there is no right answer, no choice that makes me more or less of a feminist, or even a 'bad feminist,' to borrow from Roxane Gay."
Dave Benett / Dave Benett / Getty Images for Gurls Talk
4. Bella Thorne
Bella Thorne has gone viral, not once, but twice, for her embracement of her natural body hair.
In June 2017, Thorne posted a picture of her hairy calf to Snapchat with the caption, "OK fine. I'll shave." It created an uproar among her followers, not only because she chose not to remove her body hair, but with remarks and criticisms about the methods she used to remove it eventually.
One year later, in August 2018, the 26-year-old caused another debate among fans after posting photos of herself in a bikini with unshaven armpits. While there were some trolls, followers chimed in with support, with comments such as, "I stopped shaving my armpits bc of u and i’ve been 100x more confident since doing it."
Daniele Venturelli / Getty Images
In response to the backlash, Thorne later penned an essay for InStyle, writing, "Because I have a vagina, I have to be feminine all the time? Excuse me, but no. Whether I'm a tomboy or a rebel, I'm comfortable with it, so why shouldn't you be?...As much as I see myself and other girls get hate for having body hair. God forbid I'm not all waxed and oiled up AT ALL TIMES."
5. Madonna
Madonna first debuted unshaven armpits in 1984, the same year her chart-topping album, Like A Virgin , was released. However, it wasn't until 2014 that the pop icon put them on full display. In a selfie on Instagram, she raised her right arm to show her natural hair with the caption , "Long hair...... Don't Care!!!!!! #artforfreedom #rebelheart#revolutionoflove"
During a 2011 interview with Harper's Bazaar, the "Material Girl" singer explained , "Going to high school, I saw how popular girls had to behave to get the boys. I knew I couldn't fit into that. So I decided to do the opposite. I refused to wear makeup, to have a hairstyle. I refused to shave. I had hairy armpits." She continued, "The boys in my school would make fun of me. 'Hairy monster.' You know, things like that."
When asked about her views on societal norms, she stated, "I've always asked, 'Why? Why do I have to do that? Why do I have to look this way? Why do I have to dress this way? Why do I have to behave this way?"
Michael Putland / Getty Images
6. Drew Barrymore
Notting Hill Julia Roberts all over again! Drew Barrymore made headlines at the 2005 New York Fashion Week when she first showed the world her unshaven armpits. However, it wasn't until 2023 that the Charlie's Angels star gave a deeper look at her shaving habits.
During an Instagram video in April 2023, she revealed that she was "finally shaving after three months." The 49-year-old admitted about her self-care routine, "My legs aren't shaven. I try to clip my nails down because I don't like dirt under them. I try to work out three times a week with girlfriends, and I usually make it two days a week, which is something. Three days a week is the goal. Sometimes, if I have time, I can do four days a week. It's just that there's no time."
Dimitrios Kambouris / WireImage
7. Halsey
Halsey (who uses she/they pronouns) rocked the unshaven look on the cover of the July 2019 issue of Rolling Stone . The "Without Me" singer had been vocal about her body hair choices the year prior when she posted a selfie showing a small portion of her armpit hair. A troll responded by reposting the photos with an "LOL" sticker over the hair, with the caption, "What the hell is this?!!"
The 29-year-old calmly replied, "It’s an armpit you’ve put a sticker over. Not sure what else there is here to explain?"
However, there was still some criticism when they appeared on the magazine cover in 2019. Although, the reaction was mostly positive from other celebs and fans alike, with singer Zara Larsson commenting, "I loooove the fact that they didn't edit the armpits like most magazines would do. Women are not little babies who don't have body hair. Stunning cover."
Amy Sussman / Getty Images
8. Marsai Martin
In 2020, Marsai Martin took a stand against beauty standards by posting an Instagram carousel of herself with the caption , "Normalize girls having hairy legs. 😭👍🏾"
The Black-ish actress received positive comments from fans, such as "Tell em again sis!!!!!....for the ones in the back👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾," and "Wheww I thought I was the only one🙌🏽🙌🏽😭😭😍😍😍"
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
9. Ashley Graham
Ashley Graham has been honest about her body hair choices many times. First, in a 2017 interview with Glamour, in response to a fan's question about shaving, the model revealed , "Honey, I have a full bush. Period. It’s about your preference and your partner’s preference."
Three years later, during the pandemic, Graham went viral for posting photos of herself in the bathtub rocking armpit hair. That year, in a cover story for Elle , she stated that she quit shaving while she was pregnant with her oldest son, Isaac, "I haven't shaved my legs, my bikini line, or my armpits since my third trimester, and I don't care."
Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic
In 2021, the 36-year-old showed her body hair progression when she began a partnership with razor company Flamingo, "Day one of me not shaving my legs because I don't want to," she revealed in a video posted to TikTok. "Day three of not shaving my legs because a little stubble never hurt nobody. Day four and I still don't feel like shaving my legs or my pits if you can imagine. Day 11 of not shaving my legs because I don't want to and I'm still hot."
At the end of the video, Graham holds a razor and pans to her hairy legs, stating, "and now I'm shaving because I wanted to because it's my body because I get to chose if I want hair, if I don't want hair just like you."
In a statement on Flamingo's website, she said , “My philosophy has always been: shave what you want, wax what you want, leave what you want — do what works for you.”
10. Willow Smith
Willow Smith appeared with her mother, Jada Pinkett Smith, and grandmother, Adrienne Banfield-Joneson, on a 2018 episode of Red Table Talk . During the interview, the conversation shifted to body hair, with the "Meet Me At Our Spot" singer revealing that not only did she receive criticism from social media followers about her armpit hair, but some of her family did not understand her decision either.
“You always get on me for my underarm hair,” she told Pinkett Smith, “Gammy’s always like, ‘Do you want me to trim it for you?’
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Pinkett Smith then asked her daughter why she chose not to shave. Willow explained , “I mean I didn’t really make the decision not to shave, I just kind of didn’t shave. It takes too much time. I just want to get in the shower and get out of the shower.”
“I’m going to be like my ancestors and just do what i need to do."
Her grandmother added, “There are going to be some people who are accepting of it and some people that aren’t. And at the end of the day you have to be comfortable in your own skin.”
11. Julia Michaels
Fans began praising Julia Michaels on social media in 2020 when they noticed her unshaven armpits in the music video for her song " Lie Like This ." The singer stated in May 2020 that "social norms can eat an eggplant" and decided to stop shaving.
She later revealed , "I had taken a trip with some of my friends, and [my underarm hair] had started to grow out, and when I shaved it, I didn't feel like myself; it was really strange." The 30-year-old also shared that her decision not to shave stuck after she discussed the matter with her boyfriend and received his support.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
The "All Your Exes" singer continued, "There's something really liberating about doing the things that people tell you not to do and I get a kick out of that," she said. "If it's something as simple as growing my armpit hair out, I'm down for it. You'd be surprised at how many men comment on my social media still being like 'That's disgusting. You should shave it,' and it's like, why do you feel like you can comment on my body?"
12. Drea de Matteo
On a recent episode of Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Robert Iler's podcast Not Today, Pal , former Sopranos costar Drea De Matteo opened up about her body hair choices. The actress shared that she doesn't regularly shave but did for the role of Adriana La Cerva in the hit HBO show.
The conversation around body hair began after Iler revealed that he was "in love" with De Matteo during filming but couldn't get over the fact that she did not shave her armpits.
Jon Kopaloff / FilmMagic
Telling the Sons of Anarchy actress, "People always thought I was in love with her [pointing to Sigler]... they didn't know I was in love with you. We had one issue, me and you, and it was that you didn't shave your armpits."
"Oh I still don't," she replied
Sigler asked, "They would make you shave it for the show?" To which, De Matteo responded "I would shave for the show. I shave sometimes for my photoshoots and sh-t. But I don't have that much hair anymore, I'm old."
13. Paris Jackson
Paris Jackson proudly flaunted her armpit hair in a 2017 Instagram post, revealing that she had been growing it for two months. And, of course, she received backlash from followers who found the look unappealing.
The "hit your knees" singer later shared a video in response to trolls saying, "I didn't realize that people were going to get so upset over my armpit hair. I didn't realize that was such an issue. It is so funny. People are really mad. I wish I could post some of the responses. You can just tell how angry and infuriated these people are."
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images
She continued, "I love hair, and sweat, and BO. I f*cking love it. I think it's great. Some people think that it's like super disgusting, especially on girls, but every human body does it. It's natural. Get over it."
The Swarm star defended her decision on X, as well, tweeting "wow she grows hair like every human being on the planet, what is she doing with her life."
Later that same year, she also showcased her leg hair on Instagram with the caption , "If you're not competing with your brother over who can grow longer leg hair wyed [what are you even doing?]."
What do you think about not shaving natural body hair? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
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