Jameela Jamil Wants To Talk About Women's Arm Hair (Or Lack Of) – Here's Why It Matters

"I was bullied so much for having hairy arms at school."
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The first time I shaved my arms I was 12. As someone with naturally dark hair and pale Irish skin, it made sense my arms would be white and hairy, but after months of bullying I decided to do something about it. Today, 15 years later, I still shave them every single day. And I’m not the only one. 

Jameela Jamil has kickstarted a conversation about women’s arm hair on Twitter after posting a photo where hers is clearly visible. The 32-year-old said the hair on her arms has always been “photoshopped out”, but in a campaign image for clothing brand Aerie, this was not the case. 

“Hello arm hairs,” she tweeted. “Nice to see you again. Because you’re a normal and fine thing to have.”

And the response was huge. 

Many women said it had never even occurred to them that the hair was missing in magazines – because they’d become so accustomed to thinking being hairy was wrong. Others said they’d always wanted to remove their arm hair because of cruel comments. I know how they feel. 

The replies to Jamil’s tweet show how many women feel the same. 

Women shared their own experiences of bullying over arm hair:

And others just felt like they had to shave it:

Women thanked Jamil for normalising the hair on their arms:

Jamil said reading some of the stories made her want to cry, adding: ”How society managed to make us hate every inch of ourselves is a crime.”