“Natural Beauty”: 14 Photographs By Ben Hopper Questioning The Standards Of Female Beauty (New Pics)

"As a teenager, I remember trying to stuff myself into a box of what a girl should be like. It always felt uncomfortable; padded bras, shoes that hurt and shaving rash. Running, swimming and climbing have helped me to see the strength and resilience in my body and to love it for what it is. Growing my armpit hair has been a recent experiment and the longer it gets, the more I like it! I like the way it looks & feels. It has given me a new respect for myself. So I say, embrace growth & if it pleases you, let it all grow!"

– Jess (2018)

"People around me were mostly sensitive towards the hair. My close female friends showed dislike, even my father did. However, when I’d meet other women on the street; they’d show support. ‘Keep going’ and ‘I wish I had the courage to do it’ were some of the lines thrown at me. I think everyone should do whatever feels comfortable with their own body. Blindly following certain standards will never lead to true self fulfilment nor satisfaction."
 
– Netaly (2015)
 

"I was born into an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family. Throughout my childhood, I learned that my body should be hidden. I grew up under the saying 'כָּל כְּבוּדָּה בַת מֶלֶךְ פְּנִימָה' (Hebrew: 'kol kvuda bat melech pnima'); a principle mentioned in the Talmud, taken from a quote from the book of Psalms. According to which the woman's honour is that she sits inside her house, inside the kitchen behind the walls, invisible. It is not honourable for her to associate outside...
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I stopped removing hair at the age of 16. With the process of external puberty, there was a change in my worldview; some of the things I was expected to take for granted didn't feel right.
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I began to delve deeper into female history and feminism, discovering a much deeper layer of slogans and billboards selling advertisers and giant companies rolling in large sums every year under the "beauty ideal".
I discovered that there are other women who choose to grow their hair naturally and it does not detract from being beautiful and sensual.
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At first, it didn't feel uncomfortable, but I was yet to walk around freely with tank tops and sleeveless shirts.
Many women 'allow' themselves to grow 'hair buds' in winter, while we are covered, but with the summer start came the conflict. The decision to grow hair felt right, but the fear of public reaction was great.
I went the beach being careful not to raise arms so god forbid, they won't pay attention.
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The release came from a less expected place, from the place I saw as most judgmental. I entered into relationships and with them the recognition that I am beautiful with hair, that I am the same Shulamit just with greater confidence towards the femininity that's within me...
Hair is not a factor, the opinion of others does not affect the way I choose to accept myself.
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At first, people are surprised to find that body hair also exists on women, but since the day I let my hair grow naturally, I find more women nearby me, who are confident in their choices. I find them to be beautiful both inside and out."

― Shulamit Nadel, July, 2020. Israel.

"Shaving, epilating or waxing hurts. I was tired of suffering, trying to adapt to the image of a ‘beautiful young woman’ society is selling us. Everybody told me to shave. As a teenager, it’s a huge subject among girls; where do you shave? What method are you using? It takes so much time and costs so much money (the majority of hair removal products are also not recyclable). All of these reasons coming one after another motivated me to stop shaving. I would often have irritated skin after shaving and being a very sporty person, the sweat and the friction of my clothes would cause pain. The worst thing was having sex on the second day after shaving my vulva. I didn't understand why women would suffer and waste so much time on hiding who they really are.
 
It was hard to accept my new image. I am an ash blond, but have BLACK hairs on my legs, armpits and vulva. My legs were the worst; in addition to the long black hair, they’re quite muscly. It made it harder to accept my masculine look but I had a feeling that I needed to stop shaving so I could feel more like myself– accept myself as I really am. Nowadays I love my hair. It definitely makes me feel stronger and in balance with myself. I like touching it and showing it. I sometimes even like to use it to provoke. I kind of enjoy the moments in the Metro; when people seem disturbed looking at my legs. I always hope other women and men can find us, naturally hairy women, as an inspiration.
 
There are all kind of reactions– people talking behind my back, curious friends asking for the reason, others who tell me that they love it and others making fun of it, or being disapproving. When I was 17 I had the idea that if I stopped shaving I’d only meet people who really like me and don’t care about these superficial norms of society. It worked out!
 
As a performer, having armpit hair is a huge subject! Once, a manager told me to shave and I did it. It was for a commercial performance (Le Tour de France à Voile). It felt so strange and I was sad to lose my armpit hair– it was like losing a part of my personality. I realised I didn’t like what my shaved armpits looked like anymore. It felt empty. Sometimes artistic directors recommend shaving for the stage; I pass, even if they don't approve of my choice. I don't shave for the stage anymore. I’m not on stage to fit into a particular image; I’m there because of my abilities.
 
As an artist, I have responsibility to show what’s possible and to set an example for others. By showing my body hair on stage, I would like to stimulate and change people’s point of view. I’d like to motivate women to make their own choices.
 
I feel sorry about one thing– when I still shaved, it was actually me who told my mother that she should shave too, as she didn’t before. Today, ironically, she continues to shave and is surprised that I do not. I am really glad and thankful to be a part of this wonderful project! I’d like to send everyone a lot of warm strong hugs full of love!"
 
- Darian Koszinski. Circus artist (2018)
 

Rakel Lindgren. Actress, model (2014)

"I stopped shaving completely when I was a teenager because of two instances. The first? I got tired of all the time wasted on maintenance and the discomfort that came with it. The second was when I went on a few multiple week-long backpacking trips; it would have been extremely inconvenient to spend hours ripping my hair out, so I let things grow. Being so close to nature let me dive deeper into and re-examine the relationship with myself and the world, acting as a mirror. In nature, there is wild; it is as beautiful as it is untamed. How could it be anything other than that?

I felt so relieved and free when I let it grow out. It felt like being able to breathe. It was incredibly comfortable too. I felt a confidence and boldness returning, like I was replenishing some kind of primal power.

People respond to it differently all the time. There are very encouraging/positive reactions—women who have messaged me to thank me for changing their mind and pushing them to challenge their motives/experiment with growing their body hair. Then there are people that start to fetishize it, which can be strange.

People revere my decision as a feminist and bold political statement, which is ironic, considering how almost everybody has some kind of body hair. It is also funny because I am lazy and keeping it is the path of least resistance.

There are people who are exceptionally rude and who speak from fear. People who say it’s dirty and that I must be a man. The more important questions to ponder are rather why and how do we live in a culture/society that has deemed it acceptable for certain people to have body hair, and unacceptable for others? Isn’t it absurd that it is socially acceptable for humans to have lots of hair on their head, but not on other parts of their same body? Isn’t it ridiculous and ironic that what grows naturally on its own is seen as unnatural? How did we get here?

I will say that a very pleasant side effect of having armpit hair is its ability to ward off rude people whom I wouldn’t care to interact or associate with anyway. Because the people that care about that sort of thing and make it a point to say how disgusted they are, are precisely the kind of people that I don’t want in my life.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference. If somebody wants to dye their hair, let them. If somebody wants to get a face tattoo, who cares? Whether a person decides to shave or not is completely up to them. It has nothing to do with you and your feelings of discomfort or your sexual desires. Everybody should have the ability to make personal choices about their bodies and not be criticized for them."

– Kyotocat (2017)

"I decided to stop shaving a while back, I realised it was unnecessary and uncomfortable. I didn't care what I looked like so why should shaving matter? If I wasn't supposed to have the hair it wouldn't grow. Personally I am happy with my decision, why wouldn't I be? It's a natural occurrence of the body; of course it's beautiful. It makes me feel strong and empowered, taking on my full form as a human being. I made a choice to do something and stuck with it.
 
I received a lot of compliments and an equal amount of negativity. People would tell me this beautiful NATURAL thing was disgusting (not that that changed anything). The oddest response I received was probably from the people telling me I was 'brave' for doing so. Why does leaving my hair make me brave? In this day and age something so normal is so obscure because we are taught to think it's wrong. It's not how people in magazines or on TV look so it's bad... They are wrong. Everyone is beautiful, with hair or without, but we need to stop teaching that difference is wrong and start teaching that it is a fantastic thing. It's 2017, wake up and look however makes you happy. You won't regret it."
 
– Charlie Roberts​. Artist (2017)
 

"It came alongside the realization that the desire to wear makeup, shave or alter myself was born out of the notion that beauty can be sold. That beauty can, and must be bought; a concept not surprisingly enforced by the ’beauty' industry that have the most to profit. That we are not innately beautiful, that beauty is a product. This is quite obviously delusional. As if people were not attracted to each other in all of human history before the first female razor blade was sold– only one hundred years ago. It was the obscure concept that I had to change myself to be beautiful. An idea enforced upon any female from childhood, that you simply would pluck, rip, cut at and mask your skin. It was the makeup I cut first, it was easier. Because you see, ditching makeup would leave people questioning your beauty, where ditching a razor would leave people questioning your womanhood. Which is clearly ironic given that growth of hair is a sign of womanhood, fertility, and maturity.
 
The modern woman is made to feel as if her own body is unnatural; we're uncomfortable with our skin. I remember a dance class at the age of around 10 and I became conscious of my leg hair for the first time. I was ashamed, embarrassed. I wanted to hide away; I hated my body for it. Why should a child develop such an enveloping fear and resentment of the natural processes of their own body? …Where going through a process that causes dry skin, rashes, wrinkles, over-stimulation of glands and general discomfort is what is required to be a woman …and that’s of course unless you buy yet another product to counteract these side effects. I don't want to live in or harbour that society, where letting your body just be is a social and political act. I know fully well that I was conditioned, and learning to love oneself took a certain amount of mental hacking and de-conditioning. It was tough at first. I was an alien in my own body. The mad thing is, this entire psychological burden, this complex so many women go through, was invented and perpetuated for one thing, money. It was power over the female form, female sexuality, transforming this power in to child like vulnerability. Putting barriers between a woman and her beauty, her sexuality. You must do this, buy that, and then you'll be beautiful– as if beauty could ever be that shallow.
 
Observing the harmful nature of advertisements, choosing the quality of information that will enter and shape my mind, rather than what a company, whose intentions are unknown to me, intends me to see, is a vital step in the process. Spending time in bathhouses in traditional cultures or at open-minded festivals, one eventually gets used to the natural form of woman, a form we are so detached from in the West – all of that really helps too. This openness is healing and vital, and indeed a feature of less neurotic societies. Seeing nude women and children together, the beauty in that, and recognising hairlessness is a feature of prepubescent girls, not women. I've finally reached the stage where I'm happy with my hair, and actually, I love my hair. I find a little hair truly very beautiful and the altered form just appears somewhat absurd and uncomfortable. Now I see hair as something soft and feminine, indeed really quite pretty, the opposite of how modern media portrays female body hair. I've come to trust the natural processes of my body. It knows what's best for my health and me. Look at art history or just look around you. You see the beauty of the human mind is so temporal– it doesn't last. But the beauty of nature is timeless and unchanging. From this I take strength and I hope to inspire other men and women to do the same."
 
– Cassia Chloe​. Artist and performer (2014)
 

"I was inspired by my friend Ilana to stop shaving fully. I had always been lazy about shaving and just tried to cover up my stubble with sleeved shirts. It seemed the logical way to stop completely but it wasn't until I met her and saw how confident and carefree she was about it. Then I realise who gives a fuck! The people who judge you for it are the ones not worth your time. I'm not against shaving but personally I felt a huge sense of freedom. It was a paradigm shift into letting go and seeing myself in a natural state, realizing how beautiful it is to embrace this part of you!"
 
– Bryony (2014)
 

"I worked as a model for a brief period at university. It’s well known that models have a look, and you stick to that look. For a few months, I was unable to change my appearance. I also felt pressure to shave for photoshoots and castings. Over that time, I became frustrated at the lack of agency I had over my own body – something I am happy to admit I took for granted before. The decision to keep my natural armpit hair grew out of a newfound sense of freedom when I stopped modelling. I cut my hair off, and I let my body do its thing as a way of shedding the expectations of the fashion industry that had become such an integral part of my identity. Much to even my own surprise, I love the look, and feel a new freedom and happiness in myself. I have been pleasantly surprised by how chilled everyone else is about it too. Realising that you are not bound by anyone else’s expectation about how you should look is a beautiful thing."

– Guinevere Poncia. Political consultant (2019)

“Growing my armpit hair made me feel confident and beautiful because I made the choice solely for myself, not for anyone else. And that's what I find drawn to in other people too. People who make choices and follow their own voice in what feels more true to them. It's inspiring and hella attractive!
And because, if anything, I will strive to live like the women Janne Robinson writes so beautiful and strong about in her poem 'This Is For The Women Who Don't Give A F**k', in every aspect of my life.

The fact that it made me feel like I was making a small difference in the position women have in society strengthened the empowerment I felt. People are beautiful when left to be their true selves be it with or without armpit hair. I don't mind if other people's personal preferences are to rid of their armpit hairs, in fact, I think variety and differences are healthy, beautiful and strengthening. I still epilate my legs, I don't quite feel as comfortable letting them grow yet. Or one day I might chose to shave my armpits again, who knows (though I doubt I will), but if I do so I hope and believe it will be because I chose so for myself. Beauty is relative and changes like everything else in life. What should be withstanding is people's right to chose for themselves without being judged. Unfortunately our society is not quite there yet, but the more variety we see around us hopefully the more open and accepting we will slowly become.

I work as an aerial circus artist and mostly perform sleeveless. Since I let my armpit hairs grow I have only had one child commenting on my hairy pits. He pointed at them and told his mother "look, she has hair". Amazing, I thought, perhaps it is his first time seeing a woman with her natural pit hair.

I also teach circus a couple of days a week in Sweden where my students are aged 12-17. Some of the older teenagers always stare a lot at my pits; so much it is hard to keep eye contact at times. And it makes me happy. Scandinavia is generally very body-hair free, and so I'm happy they get to see an alternative, particularly at that time in their life when they are extra self conscious, in the midst of their own body changes and dealing with an ever growing body image and pressure from all corners around them. They might not choose to grow their hair, but at least they are exposed to an alternative. Body hair is generally not normalized yet, just like a whole lot of other things, and so being part of forming a richer image of body image, beauty and choices makes me feel pretty darn proud when I reflect on it."

– Hege Eriksdatter Østefjells​. Circus artist (2017)

"I came at a point in my life where I changed my lifestyle completely. I realised how much of what I did day after day was due to the mechanic of routine and not from my own choice. I wanted to cut the shit form my life and focus on what made me happy and what fascinated me. It was a tricky process, how do I know whether I give a shit or not about something I did everyday for my entire life? Do I need two different shampoos and an after shampoo and a deodorant and a razor and all the other stuff that is around me? At first, I was really unsure whether shaving was something I cared about. So I decided to give it a try and see how that felt. I remember monitoring the growth by pulling on the hair and looking at it closely every now and again. It seemed like something completely alien growing out of my body. It’s been about two years since I stopped shaving so I guess the answer is that I clearly don’t care. When I stopped shaving, it opened an unexpected new relationship with my body. I struggled with anorexia and bulimia for years. After being at war with my body, it has become my battleground for self-expression and empowerment. Having hair everywhere - not just in the 'acceptable' spots - created a new space for the enjoyment of sensations that I couldn’t feel when I was busy plucking my body and trying to make it fit in uncomfortable clothes I could barely move in. It was like learning to enjoy my body as a whole, without separating it between the parts that I thought were ok and the ones I wanted to change. I was sunbathing one time and the wind went through my armpit hair, which tickled my chin. I burst out of laughter; it was so odd and enjoyable at the same time.

I got some mixed response. My mother told me: “You will shave that.” It was an order not a question. All my younger sisters were adamantly defending my choice though. I hope they keep in mind that they too have the choice when they start their puberty. My closest friends are hairy human beings too; it creates this kind of microcosm where hair crops up on bodies without problems."

– Anne-Florence Neveu (2017)

"For an understanding of why a person won't shave I believe it's important to understand what compels them to do so in the first place.
 
I became aesthetically aware of my body at a much earlier age than many expect one to. Having begun puberty aged at around 8 or 9, I found myself painfully conscious of the myriad changes to my body; most notably the weight gain, menstruation and of course, hair. What ensued were many humiliating (and sometimes aborted) school visits to the pool and haunting horrorshow P.E. changing room experiences in my teens. Bullying occurs inwardly as well as outwardly, and the cruelty from others accompanies that which we inflict upon ourselves. Much of this derives from enforced expectations from/of others and of the self, both of which can skew our ability to see either kindly or rightly. Within the spheres of sexual, societal and educational pressures and tensions that imbue adolescence (and our adult lives), there are multitudinous opportunities to doubt oneself. These are bred and fed by external expectations of who you are meant to be; this is manifested, manipulated and milked through imposed ideas of what you are meant to look like.
 
What ensues for many are torrid years of obsessive attempts to alter one's body and situation, in some ways wholly destructive and others which are apparently insignificant. For many and myself this was led by a desire for appeal and belonging; the inward necessity for these feelings being supplanted by an obsessive outward focus. Whilst healing and growth ultimately come from within, body shaming is an ever-rife phenomenon which impairs our ability to do so. Ideals of image are vitriolically and violently imposed to such a variant of degrees that the gravity of many instances are often overlooked. The expectations from our culture regarding body hair seemingly determines the body’s beauty on being almost or even entirely hairless. Whereas I support that for some this may be their own enjoyed preference for many others removing their hair occurs from conformity to expectation and from fears of rejection. Whilst I wrote this I was reminded of pressures in my high school which insisted that girls should shave their arms; not just the armpits but every hair from every inch of our arms. Many times, myself and others were ridiculed for not doing so. For reasons relating to depression and anorexia, I didn’t last long in my high school and because of those reasons there are many years where I have little recollection of my attitude towards body hair. Shaving didn’t often occur as a matter of importance, lest for the seldom visits to the world outside my house where I would shave if my underarms or legs were to be on show. Ultimately there were few occasions which necessitated the need in my mind to shave at all. However, shaving was always required if in company of others, romantically or platonically, if I were to avoid feeling akin to the Mexican wolf boys or Victorian Freak show attractions. Older and somewhat less riddled by issues of eating I began to let my underarm grow, partly due to the opinion of a partner at the time who preferred it. Realising the falsity in the prevailing message that everyone is repulsed by body hair, I began to take delight in not shaving. When I did shave again, generally for modelling jobs, I was irate at the discomfort it caused me. I also began to think about it more, realising that if hair is growing there that there is more than likely a bloody good reason for it. The underarm is a sensitive place and a vital area for the release of toxins. The axillary lymph nodes can become irritated and even infected from frequent shaving and use of harsh deodorising products. On a more superficial level, I would sometimes get rashes and pimples from shaving and regrowth which looked to me a lot worse than some hair. I’m sure some of you will recall the Veet adverts which came out not so long ago. These represent women with hair under their arms or on their legs as being wholly repulsive, deterring as well as shameful to themselves and others. More so than this, they are represented as inherently male attributes as shown by the morphing of the woman into an apologetic and shamefaced man.
 
I wholeheartedly feel that the only people who ought to feel ashamed or embarrassed are those that brandish cruel ridicule and admonish women like myself who choose not to shave. I feel those who fall into this category need to stop, take a moment and honestly ask themselves; why? Why do you feel so affronted? Why do you care SO much that you feel like you are justified in making your hateful comments? Why do you believe you have the right to dictate what another person chooses to do with their body? Why let it concern you so deeply? Why bother?
 
Ben is a dear friend of mine and I am so proud of him and all the spectacularly beautiful women that make up this series of photographs. Braving the ignorance of others and choosing to be yourself despite the bullying you may face is one of the most admirable qualities to uphold. Sharing the idea of being confident in who you are and how you are -even when it does not conform to what you are told is the ‘right’ way to be- is an idea which must continue to be perpetuated. Those who seek to harm others are ultimately only serving themselves a disfavor. Be yourself and be the beauty you wish to see in others. Remember that your skin is just the carrier for the true beauty which lies within."
 
– Emily Cripps (2014)
 

"I started shaving at a young age but didn’t understand that I was disempowering myself by doing so. Times have long gone by where the colour of your skin denoted your position in society. Is body hair, something that is natural with biological purpose really any different to the skin? I think most of us would answer no. I don’t believe it’s anyone’s fault the way that this societies preconceived ideology of beauty has become. I just think that seeing a woman with bodily hair in public has become such a rare occurrence these days that it’s a shock, and lot of the time we instantly take dislike to what we aren’t used to. So by showing my underarms in their natural form, I hope to lessen the impact of shock and judgment on other women who decide to give themselves this freedom. The more people start to see what a natural woman looks like, the less of a deal it will be until hopefully someday it will be not important at all. I also just really want to be able to be myself, without the pressure of having to change myself for other people’s sake.

It’s part of a much bigger picture and this isn’t about me wanting all women to be hairy, it’s simply a wish for women to be able to express themselves in the way that they want without unjust judgment and expectation from others. Empowering women yes, but also empowering men to feel and think the way they want to, instead of just following societies ideologies of beauty standards. It is a really important role of the man to empower his woman, by accepting her and encouraging her to express herself and be herself.

As a Yoga teacher and Massage therapist, it can be hard sometimes as I fear that clients might mistake my choice of freedom for uncleanliness, or think it must be some sort of radical act of spiritualism that scares them from my classes! But this fear also pushes me forwards; women with underarm hair shouldn’t be so shocking! Who said women should start removing their hair to be accepted or look feminine? When I woke up to the idea that I looked like a little girl when I shaved my female areas, I started to question the people (my first boyfriend included) who encouraged this. Why did they want me to look like I hadn’t reached puberty yet? So from then on, my outlook had changed and I grew my hair. From time to time I do tidy my hair, but this is for myself and because I like to feel good in my body.

Now, I can’t think of anything more feminine and sexy than a woman who proudly shows her body in its natural form. Hair is a symbol of maturity."

– Imogen Rose. Yoga teacher (2015)