IBADAN, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Two female Twitter users are causing ruckus on the social media platform after sharing photos of hair on their armpits and other parts of their body.
It was gathered that the duo are attempting to break “society standards” by refusing to shave.
Sharing an insight on their journey, @laetiky said their decision is hinged on being told by the society that your natural self is dirty, disgusting, not good enough and that to be accepted you have to submit to grooming rituals that can be discomforting, painful or expensive.
The tweets read; “Most women can relate to the discomfort it is to have to submit to beauty standards.
“When society tells you that your natural self is dirty, disgusting, not good enough and that to be accepted you have to submit to grooming rituals that can be discomforting, painful or expensive.
“I’m not yet where i want to be when it comes to rejecting beauty standards but I’m slowly getting there. I’ve been able to deconstruct myself on many aspect but the pressure to be “beautiful” still a little bit there.
“I had the opportunity to meet Esther, a very inspiring woman and artist. She describes herself as a body hair activist and i was really inspired by her story of self acceptance. She shared with me the journey of how she went from hiding her natural self to how she now embraced it.”
The tweep have received severe backlash from Twitter users who disagree with their ideology.
A tweep, Lemonade said; “🙄🙄
We have hair on our heads but we still groom them. Cutting, trimming, styling and weaving are all part of grooming.
You can’t say you are trying to accept your natural self so no grooming of body hair.
If that’s the case, then don’t groom the hair on your head too.”
Another tweep, Emeka Mbah wrote: “Flesh and blood has did not minister this unto you !!
She may as well not wear beautiful and very fitted clothes while she is at it. They’re all “beauty standards”.
Be natural, the way you came into the world.”
Ayanna also wrote, “I don’t shave because of beauty standards. I shave because of hygiene in general, and especially when it gets very very hot. I 100% support you all living your best lives, but let’s also not assume/generalize as to why other women are doing what they are doing.”
Chidinma Akuabatalum: “Basic hygiene is not a beauty standard nitori olorun. You people should not use dorty to k!ll others in the name of standing out. This standing out ga-esigbu mmadụ.”
Omada: “I’ve always wanted to know what the difference between male armpit hair and female armpit hair is, because it’s always a big deal when a woman doesn’t shave her armpit hair (they say because of hygiene) but I’ve seen men even male celebrities that have hair all over there 🤷♀️”
Black Girl Airneh: “Gosh!!! This was among d basic things I learnt in junior HS and I’ll share for free;
- shave pubic hair because it traps the urine and water in your undies which makes that area wet and a great breeding spot for bacteria. These causes odor, discomfort and infection.
Wake up!!!”
Omotayo of Lagos: “Why not just buy shaving stick and shave instead of stressing yourself like this?”
The duo are, however, not the first people defying beauty standards or societal norms; two years ago, a Danish woman from Copenhagen made a decision not to shave her face anymore.
Eldina Jaganjac, a 31-year-old tutor from Denmark, also decided to defy society’s standards of beauty by going boldly against them.
She became more and more frustrated by the expectations that were laid upon women in this age, even more so when it came to men who could just freely go around without the fear of being judged and without touching a single hair on their own bodies.
Jaganjac dropped all the formalities when she decided to completely stop plucking her eyebrows and upper lip hair back in March 2020, and soon realized that it made no difference to how she felt, as she found herself feeling just as feminine regardless of the “extra” hair on her body.