#Januhairy: How Women All Over The World Are Going Au Naturale & Showing Off Their Body Hair

Women have been subjected to impossible beauty standards for centuries. To be a ¡®proper lady¡¯, women are expected to keep themselves groomed to the point that not even a single hair is seen 'where it's not supposed to be seen.'

As a teen I was taught to despise, nay, hate hair on my body. And from the neighbourhood aunties to the parlour lady, even the PT teacher in my school hinted enough times that I get waxed. And so I did. And since then life has been a series of waxing appointments every month.

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However, with time, women have realised how these standards of existence work to keep them bound and prove to be a hassle. Now, women around the world are ditching their razors and wax strips for the month of January to 'encourage the acceptance of body hair on women.'

The 'Januhairy' campaign was launched last year with the aim to empower women to embrace their bodies as they were, and at the same, raise money for charity. This might remind people of ¡®No-shave November,¡¯ which raises awareness about men's health.

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22-year-old Laura Jackson started this campaign after she was fed up with advertisements and media enforcing the idea of natural body hair as 'unattractive and distasteful'.

For the second year now, Januhairy is encouraging women to let their body hair grow naturally in an effort to celebrate our bodies as they were meant to be.

The official Facebook page for the campaign read, ¡®A very hairy new year to you all!! Today marks the first day of Januhairy 2020 where women all over the world come together to drop our razors for the month of January. The focus may be on women, but this movement includes all genders and identities. Let's educate one another on ALL experiences within this ¡®prickly¡¯ subject¡¯.

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The post further read, ¡®Our charity focus this year is to support Tree Sisters in protecting, restoring and funding reforestation. Even if you are not personally joining in with Januhairy this year, I encourage you to talk about it with others; if we see the same things again and again, it becomes normal. Just casually include it in everyday places like ads, magazines, movies, etc without calling attention to it. Eventually it'll just become commonplace¡¯.

This year Januhairy¡¯s campaign aims to raise ?2,500 for TreeSisters- an organisation that aims to protect and restore natural habitats in tackle climate change.