When a Twitter user shared two images of astrologer and DJ Marissa Malik last week alongside the caption: “I really like body hair on women and people of you that don’t are WEAK,” the post, as you possibly can imagine, garnered plenty of attention. 60k likes and almost 900 comments to be exact. 

It seems crazy to say it since there may be just about nothing more natural, but women’s body hair still stays probably the most polarising subjects on the web. From promoting campaigns to celebrities sporting a little bit of underarm fuzz, even a mere hint of hair on a girl’s body can elicit plenty of strong reactions and feelings of concern from each men and girls alike. Last 12 months, for instance, a Nike campaign featuring Annahstasia Enuke was deemed “disgusting” by many on social media for its display of armpit hair.

With representation of a more diverse range of bodies increasing within the media and the success of body positivity movements, nevertheless, mainstream narratives around women’s body hair are changing and increasingly women are embracing their au natural selves.

Twitter user @k_illua’s post tapped into these wider conversations we’re having as a society around body positivity, around women reclaiming their bodies and the narratives that surround their bodies, and around who gets to come to a decision what a desirable body looks like. But while these are broad, macro ideas, there was also one woman on the centre of it who suddenly found her body being discussed and dissected on a microscopic level. To search out out what that appears like we spoke to the London-based Malik in regards to the tweet, her stomach hair, and her message to those individuals who have an issue with it.

How does it make you are feeling to see the tweet go viral?

Marissa Malik: The most important emotions I feel are: gratitude, excitement, happiness, and anxiety. I had this concept in my head that me being hairy is old news, and that ‘body positivity’ movements have pushed us farther into this dialogue. I realise now that it is a product of me being very immersed in the unconventional political lefty bubble I live in. Going viral has made me come up for air and see the bulk view on body hair.

Especially on this moment of quarantine when there isn’t really access to external beauty services for hair removal, people still must see themselves/their natural bodies reflected in positive ways within the media. Stomachs with ‘completely satisfied trails’ and public hair is one which’s largely missing from the narrative, and I’m excited to be someone pioneering this.

You’ve posted images of your body hair before, why do you think that this particular one got such an enormous response?

Marissa Malik: I’ve been posting photos of me with hairy legs on my Instagram since 2016. I believe these images went viral because stomach hair is just not often included within the narrative of promoting body autonomy and normalising body hair as much as vaginal pubic hair, leg hair, and armpit hair. That is partially resulting from the incontrovertible fact that less people have it to the extent that I do, so it’s a slight rarity, but not a lot of a rarity that it’s ‘abnormal’. It’s also value noting that resulting from online censorship and policing of AFAB bodies, we see less images of pubic hair usually.

It’s 2020 and rattling – we’ve still not #freedthenipple. I wish this wasn’t the case because my nipples are hairy and I’d love to assist embrace that, too!

Was the response different to what you often get?

Marissa Malik: Yes. Since the reach of my photos was larger, the range of reactions varied rather a lot. There have been lots more (presumably) cisgender heterosexual straight men feeling it was their place to weigh in on my decisions this time around than the reach my platforms often provide. Plenty of memes about me being a ‘quarantine’ mood. Plenty of ‘Would you fuck? Y/N’ captions on shitposting platforms – all of which I discovered very amusing!

I also received plenty of messages from queer people of color and girls revealing their body hair journeys to me, and explaining that I’ve helped them to like and accept themself. Their words have lifted me up a lot and really encouraged me to maintain doing my thing.

Body hair is so natural, why do you think that people have such a powerful response to it?

Marissa Malik: The societal norms and mass media don’t show us hair on women/nonbinary people/femmes in relation to being or feeling sexy, and we live in a really sex-driven world. After we see people going against norms, there’ll all the time be a powerful response.

Also there’s plenty of capitalist revune in telling women/nonbinary people/femmes that they should remove their body hair to be sexy. Waxes aren’t low-cost. Razors aren’t low-cost. The ‘Pink Tax’ is real! That is further propped up by encouraging people (a overwhelming majority who’re non-white) to suit into a regular of whiteness, which is less hairy.

What would your message be to individuals who view body hair on women negatively?

Marissa Malik: I might say this: Ask yourself why you are feeling negatively a few woman being empowered to do whatever she wants together with her body. If you happen to don’t find it sexy, ask yourself why. Really give it some thought! Interrogate your perspective, babes.