Although the anthem “Hair” by the Cowsills was widely popular in 1969, no one saw this coming: A new and trendy social experiment taking root in the United Kingdom. It’s called Januhairy – a 31-day liberation of sorts from shaving, waxing, and plucking. Women are invited to join in on the throes of a freeing phase this January, and some say this campaign may effectively end the necessity of an ongoing #MeToo movement.
A drama student at the University of Exeter, Laura Jackson, is the brains behind the follicle freeing crusade and credits the emancipation of her body locks to prepping for an acting role for a grade in May 2018. After the grade was earned, the hair stayed. She grew to love her pelt, and went to Instagram to entice others – but was met with mixed reviews – and the lightbulb went off.
“I realized that there is still so much more for us to do to be able to accept one another fully and truly. Then I thought of Januhairy and thought I would try it out. It’s a start at least.”
People calls it a new “craze.”
I’m hairy Noon and Night
Jackson is getting her fuzzy feet wet in social movements. She has opened a Crowdfunding page to raise money for her pet cause, Body Gossip, who boast it “combines Arts and Education to empower every body to be the best version of themselves and rock their own brand of gorgeous.”
The organization believes “only a narrow cross section of bodies are deemed worthy of attention” and they have set out to change the minds of a world obsessed with thin, symmetrical, gorgeous people.
But it appears Jackson may be gaining traction – so far in January, 2,796 Instagram posts with the hashtag #januhairy have been published complete with photos of swarthy women. Her crowdfunding goal of 1,000 pounds is 80% achieved, so far.
Shining, Gleaming, Streaming, Flaxen, Waxen
As recent feminist causes go, #januhairy is relatively mild and promoting a positive self-image, which is a breath of fresh air in the current protesting climate across Europe and in the United States. Jackson doesn’t appear to be a man-hating, Trump-hating, conservative-hating young woman at all – just a pioneer in accepting a hairy body as normal.
And one Instagram user agreed:
“This is not a campaign to say, ‘oh women should be hairy’ but a movement in solidarity to discuss the importance of young women taking back ownership of how their body should look, whether that means being hairless or not, it’s up to individuals to decide.”
Who can’t get behind that?
Well, her mom for one – at the onset of follicle freedom. But apparently she has come around, and is giving it a twirl herself.
Let it Fly in the Breeze
Of course, this social craze isn’t for everyone, but detractors may want to keep their opinions to themselves and allow the locks to blow in the breeze. As Jackson states, “This isn’t an angry campaign for people who don’t see how normal body hair is, but more an empowering project for everyone to understand more about their views on themselves and others.”
And while I love the idea of free and peaceful expressions, please do not post your #januhairy photos in comments below.
