Rachel McAdams sparked widespread debate this week after she showed off her hairy armpits during a recent photoshoot for Bustle magazine.
But the actress, 44, is not the first woman to ditch her razor – and she won’t be the last.
Among those who have also turned their back on shaving their underarms is yoga teacher and mother-of-two Maria Margolies from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
The 42-year-old, who made the decision more than a decade ago, said she feels empowered by her choice after refusing to bow to the pressures of society.
Yoga teacher and mother-of-two Maria Margolies from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, is among those who have also turned their back on shaving their underarms
The 42-year-old, who made the decision more than a decade ago, said she feels empowered by her choice after refusing to bow to the pressures of society
Colombian native Maria, who grew up in a conservative Catholic household, first began shaving her underarms, eyebrows and legs at age 12 to fit in with societal expectation.
But, by 2013, she decided that it was time to let her armpit hair grow out.
She told the New York Post: ‘It’s my body, it’s my choice. I stopped shaving because I couldn’t come up with a good reason for why I was doing it in the first place.
‘Women are taught that it’s not okay to have body hair but I’m confident in my choice not to shave if I don’t want to. It’s empowering to stand my ground.’
Maria has been unashamedly been flaunting her natural beauty on social media and, despite it being a seemingly divisive topic, she has garnered more than 446,000 followers on TikTok alone.
She concluded: ‘I don’t need anyone’s approval. I feel sorry for anyone who feels they need to be hateful toward me based on whether I shave or not.’
And it seems that increasingly more women are proudly following suit with the hashtag ‘bodyhairisnatural’ gaining more than 199 million views on the video sharing platform.
One of the most popular videos to utilize the tag is from SaRae Nixon, from New Jersey, who has long advocated for women embracing their natural hair growth.
Colombian native Maria, who grew up in a conservative Catholic household, first began shaving her underarms, eyebrows and legs at age 12 to fit in with societal expectation
One of the most popular videos to utilize the ‘bodyhairisnatural’ hashtag is from SaRae Nixon, from New Jersey, who has long advocated for women embracing their natural hair growth
In a TikTok clip, which has been viewed more than 1.4 million times, she flashes her underarm hair before overlaying it with a soundtrack of a man exaggeratingly protesting.
She captioned the clip: ‘Men who want a “natural woman” when they see something natural on women.’
SaRae simply added: ‘Tell me I’m wrong.’
And dozens of other women rushed to the comments to share how they too are embracing the look.
One wrote: ‘Mine are the same. No I’m not shaving either.’
Another added: ‘I quit shaving a while back and I’m waiting for the day someone mentions it in public.’
And a third said: ‘We were born to have hair I don’t get people’s issue with this.’
And dozens of other women rushed to the comments to share how they too are embracing the look
The discussion around shaving reached fever pitch this week when McAdams flaunted her unshaved armpit hair in a shoot for Bustle.
The hair was visible in a selection of the images and, according to the article, minimal picture editing was done at the request of the Mean Girls star herself.
McAdams, who shares a son and daughter with her partner Jamie Linden, told the publication: ‘With this shoot, I’m wearing latex underwear. But I’ve had two children.
‘This is my body, and I think that’s so important to reflect back out to the world.’
‘It’s OK to look your best and work at it and be healthy, but that’s different for everyone,’ she added.
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