Gen Z women ditching the razor and embracing their natural body hair

Young women are sharing photos and videos of themselves embracing something that has been considered taboo in the past. Photo / Getty Images

Gen Z is embracing a new trend that was once deemed “taboo” in the past - and is now taking social media by storm.

Women are opting out of shaving and waxing and, instead, are embracing their natural body hair.

The trend has gone viral on TikTok, with heaps of users proudly showing off their underarm and leg hair, reports news.com.au.

The movement comes as a complete 360 to the hairless Brazilian beauty standards that women have been faced with over recent years.

While Millennials were told to don smooth legs and battle nasty ingrown hairs, Gen Zers are taking a different route, embracing the latest hairy and happy lifestyle.

The fad has become so firmly cemented in youth culture that some women are using social media as a platform to brag about how long its been since their last hair removal.

TikToker Calita Fire shared a clip showing off her underarm hair with pride, revealing it has been three years since she had shaved any part of her body, dubbing it a “flex”.

In similar fashion, creator Indigo Mischa is championing body hair, advocating for it to be normalised amongst women. Mischa regularly posts videos of herself in a bathing suit while proudly displaying her underarm hair to remove the stigma.

She also commonly refers to herself as a “hair baby” and makes no apology for not getting rid of body hair.

There’s a mixed bag of reactions when it comes to social media users’ take on the trend.

While some are big fans of the movement, calling it “inspiring” and “beautiful”, others have slammed the trend, dubbing the display of body hair as “unfeminine”.

The negative feedback has inspired a new trend where women on social media platforms are posting close-up views of their body hair along with DoJa Cat’s lyrics, “define feminine, I’m feminine” in the background.

Social media users showing off their body hair. Photos / TikTok

The movement hopes to prove that women can still be attractive, beautiful, and yes, feminine even if they choose not to shave or wax.

Psychologist Carly Dober has commented on the trend, saying it is divisive online because of the history behind body hair.

“Body hair has been associated with masculinity, and therefore any women who show body hair that is not socially sanctioned, they are going outside the traditionally slim ideas of what women can be,” she revealed.

Dober admitted that seeing Gen Zs reclaim their body hair on TikTok and other social platforms was “powerful,” because it went against traditional beauty standards. She hoped that by challenging these norms, it would “expand people’s minds”.

Personal preference is fine, but we need to consider who benefits from the ongoing policing of women’s bodies. Photo / Getty Images

“Personal preference is fine, but we need to consider who benefits from the ongoing policing of women’s bodies and their adherence to traditional beauty standards,” she said.

The trend has become such a cite of conversation online that creator Marlie posted a clip on TikTok mocking the fact that hairy men are opposing women being hairy, and it racked up five million views.

The witty clip saw the TikToker pose as a man while lecturing a woman that she should shave her armpits.

The woman asked, “You don’t like armpit hair?”

Dober said seeing women reclaim body hair on social media was “powerful". Photo / Getty Images

The man responded, “No.”

“Then shave your armpits,” she hit back.

People flooded the comments with praise for the creator’s point of view.

“For all the guys saying it’s their preference, well, I don’t like guys who have armpit hair, so shave, it’s my preference,” someone wrote.

“It’s called natural hair,” another cheered.

Of course, there were a few haters in the comments section.

“I personally don’t have a problem with women having any body hair. It is just that it looks weird,” someone shared.