Post #4693711 · Elektrine

@velma@sh.itjust.works

2026-09-14 20:59 UTC

The rise of hairy young women: ‘I know people who dye their armpit hair, so it stands out more’ cross-posted from: sh.itjust.works/post/66742688 “Hell yeah!” is 27-year-old PhD student Anna Busuttil’s response. “I think it’s awesome; cool and rebellious,” she says – a view that chimes with that of most of the women I speak to outside University College London’s Bloomsbury campus. Busuttil says she sees a lot more women nowadays choosing not to remove their body hair. “I know people who dye their armpit hair a certain colour as well, so it stands out even more. I feel like leg hair is more taboo for women; it feels like such a ‘masculine’ thing, and legs are supposed to be a really sexy part of a woman.” Francesca Hall, 25, agrees: she removes her leg hair, but doesn’t worry about her underarms. Yet she feels that, if anything, it’s becoming less common to go unshaven. “There’s been a general shift, culturally, towards more conservative ideas,” says the student union-worker. “It’s the same with veganism; it’s gone backwards a bit. My friendship group is quite queer, leftwing, and not everyone would remove their leg hair.” But, she says, not removing leg hair is more common “in those circles … I definitely think there’s a correlation there.” “I’ve got really hairy legs!” says student Phoebe Green, 21, hitching up her long shorts so I can get a better look. “I don’t really pay attention to the trends that are going around; having leg hair doesn’t affect my life in any way,” she says. “I’ve definitely had a few comments, a few condescending dudes being like, ‘why aren’t they shaved?’ But I get a lot of compliments from girls, there’s a lot of solidarity.”

Replies (7)

@velma@sh.itjust.works 2026-09-14 21:00

I’m hoping this is visible. I haven’t been able to see any updates in this community since there was a bot attack on my home instance a few days ago.

Open ##4693718
@ZDL@lazysoci.al 2026-09-14 22:54

They're not "hairy young women". They're "young women". Hair is a natural part of human beings, men or women. Frame this properly: the fall of unnaturally smooth women.

Open ##4695231
@LunaA@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2026-09-14 23:44

I love the positivity around it! Hair is a beautiful and natural part of our bodies.

Open ##4695542
@Malica@lemmy.zip 2026-09-14 23:45

I think I shaved my legs once this summer 😂. Lucky that my husband doesn’t care I guess.

Open ##4695544
@Bristlecone@lemmy.world 2026-09-14 23:56

Fucking love this!

Open ##4695651
@applebusch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2026-09-15 00:34

im glad women are feeling comfortable keeping their body hair. no one should feel pressured to keep their body hair a particular way to meet societal expectations. that said i did nothing about my body hair for most of my life and it became a major source of dysphoria so im gonna keep killing it till its dead for good. i just love being smooth and soft way too much to ever give that up.

Open ##4696421
@gegil@sopuli.xyz 2026-09-15 05:28

I am pretty much okay with having myself a body hair. While i dont particularly like it, i dont really hate it or care much about it to shave. The only hair that i do hate is facial hair, the bear and mousetache, but at least its quick and easy to shave.

Open ##4699601