Female body hair should be normalized, and Billie is helping us get there
Women’s-focused body brand, Billie, just launched their newest campaign yesterday, called “Project Body Hair,” with a groundbreaking short film.
It’s really odd that in most razor commercials for women, hair seems to be missing. Like, before they use the razor. Are women hairless sea lions? I think not.
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That was the motivator behind Billie’s Project Body Hair. The brand was pretty sick of seeing hairless women in commercials about body hair. That’s why the brand’s mission is to make the world “a little fuzzier” – something that most female shaving brands try to shy away from. Recognizing that female body hair is natural and present is an idea that’s, let’s be honest, still so hard for most people to grasp.
That’s why, for their most recent campaign, they wanted to highlight the reality of female body hair – because, no duh, it exists. Check out the video HERE, it’s phenomenal.
The photos and video were directed and shot by Ashley Armitage, who is well-known for curating projects that feature real women through the female gaze. The music in the video is from talented rapper and known activist, Princess Nokia (we love).
On top of the vide, Billie is also donating photography of women with body hair to the popular stock photo site, Unsplash, for free and public use. This means that there will now be an even more diverse selection of stock images for publications, websites, and more, to use when representing women in a more normal and real way.
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Billie is also (yes, there’s more) crowdsourcing images that positively represent women with body hair through an upload feature on its own website for the campaign – projectbodyhair.com. You can also participate by using the hashtag #projectbodyhair on social media.
Body hair is basically having a moment right now. Celebrities and brand alike are banning together to normalize female body hair, and it’s pretty magical. But, there’s still obviously a long way to go. I still hear girls telling their friends they have to shave before hanging out with a guy or before wearing a bathing suit.
The Project Body Hair campaign reflects Billie’s ethos that women should not be expected or talked into into shaving – especially not simply because society’s standards. Women should only shave when, or if, they want to.
And let’s not forget about the damn pink tax. Women have been paying more than men for beauty products, including razors, for forever. Paying more for a razor because it’s pink, or because it looks cute, is ridiculous (something I hope we all can agree on). Billie gets it. They have reasonable prices, and convey great messages that help us as a society move forward.
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We should not be ashamed to have body hair, we should not be ashamed by our decision to shave or to not, and we should not have to pay extra to do so.
End of story.
Let’s all try and start spreading some of that body positivity we all preach, and stop pressuring women into thinking that body hair is abnormal. Body hair is truly one of the most normal things in the world. Remember that the next time you’re thinking about telling your bestie to shave her armpits before wearing a tank! Because guess what? She doesn’t have to!
You can find more information on the campaign here. Don’t forget to participate yourself!
Photos and video by Ashley Armitage
