A striking photo series is challenging traditional beauty norms by encouraging women to embrace natural armpit hair. Long before modern grooming tools, hair removal was practiced even in the Stone Age. Later, Darwin’s theory of sexual selection helped equate hairlessness with attractiveness and progress.
By the 1900s, being hairless became a societal expectation for women, with body hair seen as shameful. Author Heather Widdows notes most women still feel pressured to shave, though attitudes are shifting.
Photographer Ben Hopper’s series Natural Beauty confronts this stigma, showcasing women with unshaven armpits in raw, black-and-white portraits. Hopper explores why female body hair remains taboo and how beauty standards are shaped by culture and media.
Models share their stories of liberation, confidence, and empowerment through rejecting shaving norms. Some view it as a political act; others simply feel more natural and comfortable.
While Hopper doesn’t aim to start a trend, he hopes his work encourages people to question narrow beauty ideals. As more embrace body diversity, ideas of beauty continue to evolve.