Fashion

Photographer Aims To Change The Standards Of Beauty By Shooting Women With Armpit Hair (Photos)

by Katie Gonzalez

Some may call it gross, others call it liberating. But whatever your initial opinion, this new photo series that features women with full-grown armpit hair is provocative, and makes the viewer think about what we define as our traditional standards of beauty.

As some commercials like to reinforce, men and women alike tend to observe that hairlessness for the ladies is the normal sign of beauty.

But London-based artist Ben Hopper is calling into question these ideas with his latest photo series, Natural Beauty. He asked friends, models, and other women to participate in the black-and-white pictures by growing out their armpit hair to be photographed.

"'Natural Beauty' could be classified as a type of protest. By creating a contrast between common 'fashionable' female beauty and the raw unconventional look of female armpit hair, thoughts are intrigued and a discussion is made."

Although the reactions to his photos have so far been mixed, Hopper said it's the dialogue around how women and others dictate beauty standards for the female body that he wants to encourage and maybe even change.

H/T: PolicyMic, Photos Courtesy: Ben Hopper