Raise your hand if your mom presented you with a drugstore razor and can of shaving cream, on top of bombarding you with the sex talk and explaining what a period is during puberty. As a woman, there's a good chance you've either been taught or told to shave your legs at some point, but how many of you can honestly say you grew up knowing body hair is beautiful, and removing it is a personal choice, not a requirement? It amazes me that in 2018, women are still subjected to this stigma, but celebrities with body hair, who aren't shy about posting their stubble on social media, or attending a red carpet event baring hairy legs and wisps under their armpits, are setting an important example for women of all ages.
Even though there's still a decent chunk of society that still isn't exactly on board with flaunting female body hair, the percentage of women ditching their razors and not feeling obligated to shave on the regular has gone up. In 2017, Telegraph UK reported according to a study performed in 2016 by analysts at Mintel, between the years 2013 and 2016, the percentage of women shaving their underarms dropped from 95 to 77 percent, while the number of women shaving their legs also dropped from 92 to 85 percent.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with shaving, waxing, threading, sugaring, or however else you may choose to remove your body hair, if that makes you feel more comfortable in your own skin. I know myself, and, personally, I don’t love the feeling of stubble on my legs or hair under my arms, and don’t normally go more than a week without shaving if I can help it. But, there's also nothing wrong with women ditching their razors and embracing their body hair because, either way, it's all beautiful.
If you're considering saying buh-bye to razor nicks and spending an extra 15 minutes in the tub to shave here, there, and everywhere to, instead, embrace your body's natural anatomy, take a look at the following celebritie's public stances on the subject. Again, body hair is natural, and nothing to be ashamed of, and these a-list celebs are here to tell you firsthand.
01Rihanna
I know myself, and I've definitely felt pressured to abide by this kind of unwritten rule that if the sun's out, your razor should be, too. Even when the last thing I wanted to do was go through the lengthy process of applying cream and scrapping at my legs, there was a little, squeaky voice in the back of my head telling me that I should, prompting me to do a quick sweep in the tub to eliminate any stubble on my legs or armpits before slipping into my bikini.
Rihanna's decision to bask in the almost-summer sun with stubbly legs might strike some people as a wild thought (see what I did there?), but she's definitely making a strong argument against this old-school belief that bare legs by the pool is sexier than stubble.
02Bella Thorne
Bella Thorne is the epitome of a body hair advocate. Just in case you somehow overlooked the headlines, the 20-year-old has been spotted shamelessly flaunting armpit hair on the red carpet, on vacation, and in 2017 she practically broke Snapchat by sending out a snap of her hairy legs.
Despite the fair share of backlash from fans, though, Thorne's attitude on the subject is easy, breezy. She doesn't shave, and she doesn't see it as a problem — because it really isn't one.
03Scout Willis
Scout Willis and her sisters are also known for baring body hair on social media. Most recently, back in March 2018, the 26-year-old uploaded a series of au naturale selfies on Instagram and Snapchat, giving followers a behind-the-scenes look at her and sister Talluah's vacay in Turks & Caicos. Of course, it didn't take long before fans overlooked the actress' adorable hot pink bottoms and peach bikini top, and set their sights on the pieces of hair nestled under Willis' left armpit.
04Paris Jackson
I, personally, don't love the feeling of armpit hair, so I shave the area every other shower. When it comes to my stems, though, those I could easily go a week or two without shaving. Paris Jackson doesn't mind flaunting her hair hair legs either, considering the late King of Pop's baby girl has been known to show a little stubble on Instagram. TBH, she looks pretty chill AF doing it, too.
05Miley Cyrus
If there's any celeb you can bank on backing movements that uplift women and encourage them to be unapologetically themselves, it's Miley Cyrus. The "Younger Now" singer has been posting body hair pics on her social pages and donning the look in public, for years now. In 2015, Cyrus even stepped onto the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) Inspiration Gala stage flaunting the fact that she'd paired armpit hair with couture. Whoever said stubble can't be stunning was sadly mistaken.
06Madonna
There's really no denying Madonna practically invented the shock factor with her choice of promiscuous clothing on and off set, paired with the raunchy dance moves seen in her videos, and of course there was that whole making out with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera on stage thing in 2003. And while it's unfortunate that women wearing, instead of shaving, their body hair still comes as such a shock to our culture, there's no denying the Queen of Pop wears au naturale well.
