A photographer has captured a series of stunning photos of women showing off their underarm hair to show that 'hairy is beautiful'.
Ben Hopper, the 37-year-old photographer from London, captured dozens of 'hairy' women for his project Natural Beauty.
And these striking pictures - mostly taken between 2016 and 2018 - prove that women do not need to conform to society's expectations of hair removal to be attractive.
Hopper's project champions the natural look on women and challenges the modern-day ideals of beauty by showcasing a series of gorgeous women proudly bearing armpit hair.
He said: 'I like natural beauty on a woman. I think it can be very beautiful and under the circumstances empowering and sexy. You need an attitude to be a female with hairy armpits nowadays.'
'Anyone who is willing to take c**p from a lot of people for it is to me, an attractive strong confident person. I don't find waxing or shaving that sexy most of the times.
'From the reading I've done about the subject, I learned that women's societal pressure to shave has to do with beauty brands such as Gillette who needed to extend their razors clientele and created one for women about a century ago.
'Most people now can't even stand the look of a hairy female armpit. Now that is brilliant marketing.
'I don't want to say that I want women to start growing their armpit hair, I just think that it's a possibility and people shouldn't dismiss it. I'd like people to just question the whole thing.'
Though these featured images are some of the most recent photos from the project, Hopper has been capturing women for his viral 'Natural Beauty' series since 2007.
When he began 'Natural Beauty', Hopper recruited models, actresses, designers, and friends, willing to grow out their body hair for some weeks to a matter of months and be photographed.
In recent years, however, as the series has gained huge popularity online, more and more women -that already opt not to shave their underarms - have approached Hopper directly to be featured in the project.
Hopper has taken pictures of all 45 of his subjects in 'Natural Beauty' from his studio in Hackney Wick, East London. They've been a combination of women based in Britain as well as women visiting the capital.
Hopper considers his project a form of protest against the beauty industry as he questions why armpit hair has become a statement.
Body hair on women has been stigmatized in the UK and abroad. So by creating a contrast between typical 'fashionable' female beauty and the raw unconventional look of female armpit in his photographs, Hopper aims to create a discussion.
'Natural Beauty' has attracted a huge fanbase on social media, yet Hopper says that several people are also quick to judge his work.
'A lot of people love it. A lot of people hate it. I see a lot of arguments online now. Hopefully, everyone can agree at the end, on something - but people love arguing.
'For this project specifically, I get a lot of people complaining about the models who are too skinny or have makeup or pluck their eyebrows, too young, aren't real women and so on.
'I'd like people to understand that my reasoning to choose these specific subjects was exactly because of that; this way the project is much more effective. The contrast is stronger.
'If I asked people, 'who would you expect to have armpit hair?' you would never imagine a fashion model or a very beautiful 'hygienic' looking female.
'That's the stereotype, and I'm trying to use it to intrigue a stronger reaction.'
Jess Waldman poses for photographer Ben Hopper's Natural Beauty project in October 2018
Kyotocat posed for Hopper in June 2017
Charlie Barker
Maya Felix poses for the photos in June 2014
Hopper says that he doesn't want all women to start growing their armpit hair, he just thinks that it's a possibility and people shouldn't dismiss it
Hege Eriksdatter Østefjells pictured June 2017
Charlot Conway posed for the photos series in May 2018
Pictured Laura 'MushKa Mizu' poses for Hopper in April 2018
Samantha Louise Patchett took part in the project in September 2018
JoJo Pearson in July 2017
Jessica Hargreaves in October 2018
Alex Wellburn posed in May 2017
A woman named Sienna posed for Hopper in these beautiful pictures that he took in August 2018
Anne-Florence Neveu poses for photographer Ben Hopper's Natural Beauty project, showcasing women with unshaven armpits, pictured May 2017
Reference: Daily Mail
COMMENTS