We all know the extent to which the main stream press tend to over-react when any woman in the public eye ventures out with visible evidence that she is not some hairless genetic anomaly, something actresses Mo'nique and Julia Roberts can probably relate to.
But if body hair is still a taboo for women, then facial hair is even more so. In an article in the Guardian today Julie Bindel discusses her own struggles to reach a state of acceptance of her stray facial hairs, and argues that women should overcome the stigma.
A Bristol based campaign (the catchily titled Hairy Awarey!) encourages women to just let their hair grow as it pleases with the rationale that if enough women stop conforming to myths of hairlessness, facial and body hair on women will become normal and acceptable again.
Interestingly the article also references several women's feelings of freedom and 'elation' on abandoning the razors, if they are able to get past the societal disapproval and judgement such decisions tend to entail.
Surely the point here is choice. There is something very wrong with a situation where women are judged and criticised for keeping their bodies in what is an ultimately natural state (the particularly unpleasant Daily Mail article about Mo'nique seems to imply that her lack of 'personal grooming' is somehow more important than the Golden Globe she has just won).
Hair removal, or not, should be a case of personal preference, but until it ceases to be a cause of public scandal perhaps we all have a duty to embrace and celebrate hairy women!
