Sunday, July 21, 2013

Big Hairy Deal









            Something you may not know about me is that I have a ton of body hair. For most of my life, it’s been my biggest insecurity. After years of painstaking hair removal and perpetual self-consciousness, I decided enough was enough and stopped shaving last fall. I felt that the only way I’ll ever be able to reach inner peace about my body was to let it exist in its natural state and let go of the fear of being scrutinized. After almost a year, I’ve grown to genuinely love my weird hairy bod. I feel like I was meant to be hairy and my legs, arms, belly, back, butt, armpits, toes, etc, etc, don’t look right without a layer of fur.

            Now I’m trying to work on taking my internal confidence and projecting it outward. As much as I like my hair, I’m still constantly worried about what others think of my appearance. I feel very self-conscious whenever my body hair is visible in public, and I’ll admit that sometimes I get the urge to shave it all off so no one will whisper about me as I walk by. I’m afraid of being ugly in the eyes of strangers and that fear holds power over me, but every day I’m phasing the fear out a little more. I took these pictures to celebrate my cute fuzz, but also because showing close-ups of (some of) my imperfections to an audience will help me to let go of my self-consciousness even more.

            High self-esteem is freedom and we deserve nothing less than that. It takes a long time and a lot of mental work, but it will all be worth it when I can wear a swimsuit in public with hair all the way up my thighs and not give a fuck. This is my advice: fight the forces that tell you that you are unworthy if you don’t change your appearance. Fight your personal demons. Know that there is power in being ugly and being okay with it. Take beautiful, vulnerable pictures of yourself and post them on the internet. Do what you need to in order to feel content with yourself, and don’t be hard on yourself if you haven’t reached that point yet. Remember that you are amazing always.


Love,

Allison

41 comments:

  1. this post is awesome, u r awesome, ur body hair is awesome <3 ! (i also wish u the best of luck in trying not let other people get 2 u, i am lucky i guess cause my hair is quite light and not that noticeable but i still have trouble with being confident enough to be fully comfortable with my body hair in public)

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  2. that's incredible!! I'm so happy that there are people like u who can feel comfortable and not care about the scrutinizing glances from society. ur very beautiful and body hair doesn't take away from that at all!!!! u are the future of the world are awesome

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  3. You are so brave, lady!! This whole post made me smile so hard. :) :)

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  4. this resonates with me so much. i stopped shaving in the 8th grade, after only doing so twice before. i felt so out place, like i wasn't myself when i shaved all that hair off. but now, hair and all, i don't feel like i'm betraying myself anymore. i get those whispers too and the subsequent urges to shave it all off but your words have been so reassuring so thank you :)

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  5. I love this, it makes me feel like it's possible to love myself a little more and that's an amazing thing to feel.

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  6. Congratulations on coming so far with your confidence; I think for anyone, and not just over body hair insecurities, that's very admirable!

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  7. very brave photos and a really impressive post! I think you're beautiful and I can just envy you your self-confidence!

    [weirdoland - www.pigeongray.blogspot.com]

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  8. What a great post! It was really inspiring! :D

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  9. this ia an amazing post! thanks so much! I'm a little insecure about fuzz as people would say i have sideburns. But this is inspiring me to get over it

    -Aida

    http://sunshinesuperwoman.blogspot.co.uk

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  10. I dont shave my armpits or upper legs, either! Now whenever I see a shaved armpit it looks bald to me ;)
    one cool thing that happened recently: I went to a pool party with mainly people who were younger than me, like 6-13 age range. i was nervous at first, but decided to let go of my fear of judgement and swim anyway.
    here's the deal: kids don't notice. at all. i think they learn from magazines and whatnot that ladies having body hair is "wrong" later in life. it feels pretty nice, the idea that maybe those girls won't be as pressured to fit the mold because they have seen people doing their own thing.

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  11. I had seen pictures of your cute, hairy legs before on the blog ♡
    I am a fellow hairy girl and my favorite hairy body part is arms, they are SO adorbs, seriously if someone is born without arm hair I'd suggest them to invest in some fake ones. I have never had hairy armpits though purely because they make me sweat, having hairy legs when wearing tights is a bit funny too as the hair pokes out and I confuse them with threads or such and try to pick off, heh.

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  12. This photos are beautiful (as are you)! This is such an awesome and inspiring post, go you!!

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  13. I love love love this post. You look beautiful. I have a lot of thick, dark hair and I've stopped shaving for a while now. Whilst I'm comfortable with it in myself and around friends and family, it's always hard when I'm in vulnerable situations. It's hard to walk around in a bikini knowing that I have a lot of body hair showing and that people are judging me, but you're right, it will be worth it in the end! The more time goes on, the more I become attached to my fuzzy armpits. A friend once told me my body hair looked "insanely happy" and I agree! Thanks you for posting this :) xx

    www.jessthetics.wordpress.com

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  14. Wow this is such an inspiration! I feel uncomfortable with shaved legs and this makes me feel so much better about myself thank you for embracing your flaws, keep going girl! :)

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  15. I've always been self conscious of my "excessive" hairiness but I have definitely come to terms with going "natural". This post was very reassuring that body hair is nothing to be ashamed about!

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  16. I simply don't understand how people don't love body hair. I have quite an attachment to mine and I think it's wonderful.

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  17. the fact that body hair on women is viewed as a "flaw" or something to be ashamed of (which it definitely isn't) just goes on to show how messed up the society & the media are. i absolutely love this post, thank you for sharing

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  18. You know what this is one of the best posts I've seen on this site to date because it screams that the author is self-assured and has a voice. I just love these qualities in people and I am SO PROUD OF YOU, SISTER. As Hanna said, for such little things to be considered as "flaws" (and not just in women, in men too) is preposterous! Love your blog, and more importantly, you. Keep it up!

    http://wastelandsofwisdom.blogspot.co.nz/

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  20. Such an inspiring post, I'm happy you've found confidence! x

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  21. I love body hair on a girl! I'm a boy! Hairy legs, arms, belly, back, butt, face and everywher.. i think is very sexy <3

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    1. Okay but I didn't take these photos to be sexy. This post is for me to celebrate the fact that I'm finally starting to love my body and to help others feel more comfortable with their own bodies. I don't give a shit if you or anyone else thinks it's sexy. Please unfollow me on all platforms if you're only here for pics of my body hair, because it makes me uncomfortable that you're fetishizing my body acceptance.

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    2. Wow Allison Why are you getting upset about being sexy? I understand about you accepting your body and support you 100%, but also think it is somewhat sexy and do not think that is a bad thing! Sorry, just want you to be comfortable and have a happy life, why would it be a bad thing to be seen as sexy to others also?

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  22. Cutie Patootie as we say here in TN.

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  23. This is probably the best post I've read on blogspot. It's so honest and real. I wish I had such confidence, but I don't unfortunately. I think I might be getting there though; I don't feel so pressured any more to care what other people think.

    colainscoral.blogspot.com

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  24. really, really a good work.

    LiLLy - GialloDiNylon

    giallodinylon.blogspot.it

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  25. Thank you for showing these photos -- these are awesome, you are awesome! I let my hair grow wildly as well but it's fairly blonde and unnoticable unless on my lower legs and my pits of course and my bikini line, the latter is superfluous and wild wild wild!! I love it and my friends love it but it does still often concern me when going out swimming, after years of non-shaving i have started to love and adore the contrast of my wild hair with my feminine bikini though (likewise I adore leg hair with super feminine heels -- so hot) and considering waxing or whichever makes me bleed or get a rash because my skin is so sensitive it's enough to keep having the courage to walk around hairy and hot. May you find your own gorgeous body hair hot and wild in time too.

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  26. This post gave me a boost of confidence. I have a lot of hair as well. Thick hair and sometimes shaving my legs or my arm pits drags so I've learned to embrace it much to my families dismay. Thank you.

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  27. You are one of the bravest souls I've encountered. Some might argue against that statement, but what you're doing is true courage. Insecurity is one of humanity's greatest weaknesses: we are born wishing for what we haven't, especially in appearance. You are AWESOME. I admire you, completely.

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  28. YOU ARE AMAZING !! YOU GET IT, be yourself, feel confident, and be proud of who you are, are the proofs that you are mature !! sorry if my english is bad, but i want to say you are a true inspiration !
    Take care babe


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  29. You look amazing!! Thanks for sharing these gorgeous photos of your and your lovely hair!!
    Your confidence is astounding!! Remarkable!!
    I saw this video that was posted a few weeks ago (9 Sept 13) I hope you like it!!
    <3

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  30. BTW LOVE the Stevie Nicks album on the wall...she's so amazing!! Love Stevie!! You Raawk!!! \m/
    Okay byeee Allison!!

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  31. You are NOT ugly. Quite the contrary. YOU are beautiful and a beautiful woman. I know you don't need to hear that from me. BUT I wanted to tell you. Your astounding in your natural beauty!

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  32. You are amazing. I know how difficult is this and being enough brave to do it shows how strong you are. <3

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  33. Seriously. You are one brave soul and i bow down to you. It takes courage to do this, im surprised its so shocking to me. Its just hair! But for some reason we woman have been brainwashed into thinking that we are NOT supposed to have hair anywhere on our body. Its bullshit. So yea, right on sista.

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  34. Your confidence in your body gives me much strength to be confident in mine. I have been increasingly terrified of my stretch marks and have found myself contemplating drastic action to "fix" them. Thank you for being an influence that lowers my irrational panic about my appearance.

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  35. I think it is fine. If others cannot accept it, they can just move on..You are handling it well I think and I support you!!!

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  36. Well done! I admire you. Wish I could have the guts not to care so much about what people think. I am as hairy as you, if not slightly worse. I hate hair removal. It takes SO much time, money, makes my head hurt, and leaves me with lots of sore ingrown hairs, spots etc.....and I don't feel feminine...but finding there is another girl who's hairy like me is comforting, and the fact you embrace it is inspiring!! Thank you, and thank you for sharing.

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