A bold new photo series is shaking up traditional ideals of female beauty by spotlighting something often hidden or erased: natural body hair. The project urges women to ditch razors and embrace their unfiltered, authentic selves — armpit hair and all.
Long before the rise of modern grooming tools like wax strips and laser treatments, societies were already promoting hair removal. Archaeological evidence suggests that even in the Stone Age, both men and women scraped hair off their bodies using sharpened stones or seashells.
Centuries later, theories like Darwin’s idea of “evolutionary progress” began linking hairlessness with attractiveness and social advancement. This pseudo-scientific notion helped cement a perception: the less hair, the more desirable.
By the early 1900s, being hair-free became synonymous with being feminine. Body hair on women was cast as a flaw — something shameful to be removed. According to philosopher Heather Widdows, the pressure to remove body hair has long been normalized to the point where women feel they have no choice. “It’s a deeply rooted stigma,” she told CNN, though cultural attitudes are beginning to shift.
London-based photographer Ben Hopper wants to speed up that shift. His photo series, “Natural Beauty”, turns the lens on women who proudly display their unshaven armpits — challenging centuries-old ideals about cleanliness, beauty, and femininity.
“I was fascinated by how something as natural as body hair became so taboo,” Hopper said. “The aim was to contrast the glossy, filtered image of beauty with something raw and real.”
Featuring striking black-and-white portraits, the project also includes powerful personal reflections from models and artists. Many describe the experience as freeing — even transformative.
Model Kyotocat recalled feeling liberated once she stopped shaving: “It felt like I could finally breathe. Like I was reclaiming a kind of primal confidence.”
Another participant, Gabriela Eva, intentionally grew her hair for the shoot and admitted to feeling vulnerable at first. But over time, she said, “I came to see it as beautiful. Now, removing it would feel like losing a part of myself.”
While some participants view their choice as a political statement, others see it simply as personal comfort. “Not shaving isn’t always about rebellion,” said one model. “Sometimes it’s just about feeling good in your skin.”
Photographer Hopper insists that his goal isn’t to pressure women into growing body hair — but to open space for questioning rigid beauty norms. “It’s not about telling people what to do. It’s about making them think.”
