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Le « Januhairy Challenge »: le challenge qui lutte contre les standards de beauté, les femmes se laissent pousser les poils en janvier

Les poils, même s'ils sont naturels, dégoûtent beaucoup de personnes (Crédit: Instagram)

Objectif : ne pas se raser les poils pendant un mois. But : lutter contre les standards de beauté et promouvoir l’acceptation de soi. Résultats : des centaines de photos de femmes poilues sur Instagram.

Après le « Dry January » et la « Tournée minérale » de février, qui propose de ne pas boire d’alcool pendant un mois (ou deux, si on veut faire les deux challenges), un autre défi vient de voir le jour. Le « Januhairy Challenge » n’est cependant pas accessible à tous, puisqu’il faut être une femme pour pouvoir l’accomplir.

Proposé par Laura Jackson, une étudiante britannique de 21 ans, ce challenge propose aux femmes d’arrêter de se raser pendant le mois de janvier. Son nom vient de la contraction de January (« janvier » en anglais ») et Hairy (« poilu »).

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Hi I’m Laura, the gal behind Januhairy! I thought I would write a little about my experiences and how Januhairy came about… I grew out my body hair for a performance as part of my drama degree in May 2018. There had been some parts that were challenging for me, and others that really opened my eyes to the taboo of body hair on a woman. After a few weeks of getting used to it, I started to like my natural hair. I also started to like the lack of uncomfortable episodes of shaving. Though I felt liberated and more confident in myself, some people around me didn’t understand why I didn’t shave/didn’t agree with it. I realised 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 . . . I have had a lot of support from my friends and family! Even though I had to explain why I was doing it to a lot of them which was surprising, and again, the reason why this is important to do! When I first started growing my body hair my mum asked me “Is it you just being lazy or are you trying to prove a point?” . . . why should we be called lazy if we don’t want to shave? And why do we have to be proving a point? After talking to her about it and helping her understand, she saw how weird it was that she asked those questions. If we do something/see the same things, over and over again it becomes normal. She is now going to join in with Januhairy and grow out her own body hair which is a big challenge for her as well as many women who are getting involved. Of course a good challenge! 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. This picture was taken a few months ago. Now I am joining in with Januhairy, starting the growing process again along with the other wonderful women who have signed up! Progress pictures/descriptions from our gals will be posted throughout the month. Lets get hairy 🌵 #januhairy #bodygossip #bodyhairmovement #happyandhairy #loveyourbody #thenaturalrevolution #natural #hairywomen #womanpowe

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Se sentir plus libre

« Au départ, j’ai laissé pousser les poils dans le cadre d’une performance pour mon diplôme de théâtre en mai 2018 », explique la jeune femme sur Instagram. « Après quelques semaines, je me suis habituée. J’ai commencé à aimer mes poils et à apprécier de ne pas avoir à les enlever régulièrement. Je me suis sentie plus libre. » Depuis, Laura publie des photos d’elle sur Instagram, où elle expose fièrement ses poils.

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The beautiful Brittnai from Michigan shares her story… ❤️ “I picked up shame around having body hair in middle school. I’d get made fun of so I started shaving all of it, including my lower back. I remember seeing my mom shave when I was really young & it was like okay so, no hair on the body. Body hair is not good. As I started getting more into yoga about 3 years ago I was surrounded by more people who kept their bodies natural and that led to me questioning myself more. Who was I shaving for? Why? Where had I picked up this idea that my body in it’s most natural form was gross? The more I questioned the more I realized it wasn’t my own truth, but instead something I absorbed over the years. And of course always to each their own- some people dig shaving and that’s also fine! The point is you can choose. And either way, keeping your hair, shaving it – neither of those choices is more ideal than the other. As for me I’m part Latina I’m hairy everywhere and It feels freeing to say that & drop the shame around it. I feel for me it’s a way to take care of myself and to love myself. This is my natural body, I think if I don’t start here with acceptance of myself — how can I go out into the world and accept others? It’s a lot of compassion for myself as I set down the voice of the inner critic when it arises, and for others when they have comments or glares or whatever triggered people do. It’s a setting down of old programming. And a bonus perk is it helps with weeding out potential lovers because if someone’s not “into body hair” aka my natural self — I know I’m not into them ♥️” 👏💪 Support the Januhairy movement by donating to Body Gossip’s Performance Project: a great charity and Januhairy is almost at it's fundraising target! Click here for more info and to dig into your pockets and donate as little or as much as you can… https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bodygossip #januhairy #bodygossip #bodyhairmovement #happyandhairy #loveyourbody #thenaturalrevolution #natural #hairywomen #womanpower #selflove #feminine

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Derrière cette initiative, qui dégoûte certains internautes, Laura a un autre message à faire passer, celui de l’acceptation de soi. « Certaines personnes autour de moi n’ont pas compris ou n’étaient pas d’accord avec le fait que je ne me rasais pas. J’ai alors réalisé qu’il nous restait beaucoup à faire pour que l’on s’accepte pleinement et véritablement, les uns les autres », poursuit-elle.

Depuis, d’autres femmes ont pris la même initiative et le compte Instagram de Laura déborde d’image de femmes poilues.

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@jamiesquire_ ~ “Today I’m sharing this pic of my hairy bod and donating in support of @januhairy who are raising money for @treesisters_official to aid in protecting and restoring vital tree plantations and funding reforestation to help fight the climate crisis. 🌳🌳🌳 . Please consider joining in with Januhairy! Share a pic of your bod hair if you feel comfortable to and include a link to the fundraising page. Spread the word and if you can afford to donate to TreeSisters please do! . You can read more and donate to the cause here: treesisters.org/fundraisers/grow-out-your-hair-to-clear-out-the-air or follow the link in @januhairy’s bio. . Also, I want to acknowledge here that, although it’s a subject I’ve been loud about in the past, my relationship to my body hair and talking about it online has changed since my old comics. The longer I leave my body hair alone the more I recognise the mundanity of my decision. That doesn’t mean there is no value in talking about body hair online, only that I’ve come to realise that sharing images of my bod has little to no consequence for me as a white cisgender person. I like talking about body hair but I’m not radical nor am I pushing things forward by sharing images like this one. I’m working on some writing/maybe a comic to try to expand on this and make these thoughts more coherent, with some information on ways to help move things forward. I’m still learning and always open to criticism. Thanks for reading pals. 🦔 NOW GO DONATE TO TREESISTERS AND THIS IMPORTANT CAUSE! 🌍” ❤️🌱

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