January 6, 2025, 4:00 pm | Read time: 5 minutes
For many, the turn of the year is a new start and a time to slow down. Physical well-being and a positive mindset are often at the top of the list of New Year’s resolutions. For some, this means quitting smoking or giving up alcohol for a month. On the other hand, some give up animal products for a month. A trend that has less to do with health and more to do with female empowerment is going viral on social media under the hashtag #januhairy.
Body hair on women still elicits discomfort among many despite the rise of “body positivity” movements. However, in the vast majority of cases, not removing hair regularly has nothing to do with a lack of hygiene or laziness. This sentiment is shared by Laura Jackson, a young British woman. With the “Januhairy” initiative, she is encouraging her fans to give up shaving for a month.
How “Januhairy” Became an Empowerment Initiative
What began as a hashtag with a few thousand posts has now developed into an initiative that has over 40,000 fans on Instagram. The trend originated in England. It was here that student Laura Jackson stopped shaving her hair for a theater project as part of her final thesis. This ultimately led to a change in her relationship with her body. Jackson’s vision is for women to be free from the bothersome task of shaving and to be permitted to let their hair grow naturally, just as men do. Jackson now calls on women every January to simply stop removing their body hair and set an example.
Although she initially felt uncomfortable with the new situation, the whole thing turned into a kind of liberation. After all, as a woman, you often have to conform to social norms – and this narrative is being changed with Jackson’s “Januhairy” project. Acceptance of one’s body leads to more body positivity. At the same time, the initiative raises awareness of the fact that there is hair on a woman’s natural body, just as there is on men’s bodies – and that is neither unhygienic nor unfeminine, but simply human.
Since the inaugural “Januhairy” in 2019, Laura Jackson’s community has seen steady growth. On the Instagram channel, numerous women proudly display their unshaven armpits, arms, legs, and even facial hair, making a bold statement. “Why should I change the natural state of my body in order to be socially accepted?” reads one post. Laura’s idea is not fundamentally a newfangled phenomenon.
Hairy Armpits Since the 1970s
Body hair on women was not always as frowned upon as it is today. In the late 1960s and 1970s, in particular, unshaven armpits and legs were not uncommon. Hippie culture, for example, rejected the removal of body hair. Many women also put down the razor as a sign of feminism. Nevertheless, sooner or later, the hairless trend for women became established in society and was simply normalized. In magazines, advertising, films, and social media, the absence of body hair is often portrayed as the epitome of femininity.
It is, therefore, all the more important that initiatives like “Januhairy” draw attention to the fact that body hair is completely natural. For this reason, numerous celebrities actively campaign to put aside the razor. For instance, punk icon Patti Smith featured hair under her armpits on her debut album cover in 1978. Singer Nena also garnered attention in the 80s for her unshaven appearance. In the summer of 2014, women called for more naturalness under the hashtag #Freeyourpits. Model Sophia Hadjipanteli is also known for her bushy unibrow look and has already appeared in front of the camera for numerous fashion magazines.
Why is Women’s Body Hair So Frowned Upon?
Ideals of beauty are social constructs that accompany us throughout our lives. For example, a slim body and flawless skin are considered beautiful, while flab is covered up, and acne is wrongly stigmatized as unhygienic. The problem with body hair, meanwhile, is that it is normalized in men and even perceived as attractive and masculine. Women who do not remove their body hair, on the other hand, are often labeled as disgusting or unkempt.
A connection between body hair in women and attractiveness was already established by Charles Darwin at the end of the 19th century. As he had observed in the animal kingdom, the genital areas of primates are often hair-free, which represents sexual readiness. The natural scientist quickly transferred this theory to humans. In women, this communication about sexual behavior eventually spreads not only to the genital area but to all other parts of the body. Especially in the Western world, a hair-free female body is still often upheld as the ultimate beauty standard and a symbol of femininity.
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This Is Why the “Januhairy” Makes Sense
The “Januhairy” is primarily a sign of the normalization of body hair in women. But not only in terms of female empowerment, not shaving also offers a number of physical benefits. These fine hairs serve multiple crucial roles. On the one hand, they help regulate body temperature, and on the other, they protect the body from dirt or foreign bodies. Shaving can also irritate the skin and dry it out. Therefore, choosing not to remove hair isn’t necessarily about hygiene concerns or radical feminist ideology. It’s also a matter of practicality.
Ultimately, the “Januhairy” is not about persuading all women to never shave again. Instead, it’s about normalizing body hair and fostering greater acceptance and body positivity. Whether you find the trend aesthetically pleasing or not, participating in “Januhairy” is definitely an interesting self-experiment.