It’s now being acceptable after decades of women being advised to cover their natural body hair. This trend has been pushed to the forefront by an independent razor company, Billie, in addition to celebrities and women throughout the country embracing their body hair. Other than the conventional razor commercials, which show women shaving sections of their bodies that are already silky smooth and hairless, Billie’s ‘Project body hair’ was the first-ever razor hair to truly reveal female body hair.
The commercial emphasises the importance of body hair being ‘real,’ even if the rest of the world believes it isn’t and turns a blind eye towards it. The campaign’s creators believe that ignoring body hair is a form of body shaming because women are expected to maintain specific grooming standards.
The advertisement normalises body hair, especially pubic hair, which is frequently considered taboo since it is just that- normal. Body hair develops on all genders, and it is not unsanitary when it is on a woman. The advertisement highlights that the decision to shave one’s body hair is a personal one, not one made by society. The ad strategy appears to be working. According to Gooley, the ad’s creator, the company experienced a rush of support on social media following the video. The brand’s razors were sold out in the week after the video. This confirms what the company already knew: honest representation in advertising is in high demand among women.
When women were asked how they felt about the commercial, the majority stated it was freeing, and that viewing the truthful ad video about the beauty of body hair as a 12-year-old would have been liberating. Maybe it took this long for hair-removal industries to accept body hair since the majority of razor companies are controlled by enormous organisations that are dominated by males. The commercial was directed by a woman, and Billie was formed by women.
From a key theoretical standpoint, this commercial is built on the themes of empowerment and confidence development. This commercial is connected to neoliberalism because it encourages women to challenge societal conventions by allowing them to grow their body hair if they wish to and focusing on only removing it IF they choose to do so; an individual choice. Of course, the advertisement is tailored to adhere to feminist beliefs, but it does so without being obnoxious. Rather, it creates a natural setting in which women will feel liberated.
“If you ever want to shave..”
Project body hair
As Sarah Banet Weiser points out, firms are developing advertisements that appear to empower women while still trying to sell things, this is using popular feminism and visibility economies for commercial gain. The ad’s theme harmonised with neoliberalism’s idea of maintaining personal freedom. Another point Sarah said that grabbed my attention was that when it comes to body positivity in advertisements, we have to look at all sides—the good and the bad. In this case, misogynists and some women were critical of Billie’s commercial for two reasons: first, they objected to the actual and raw video of body hair being shown on mainstream media, and second, they complained about the way the ad depicted women of various ethnicities and body types.
In contrast, there is a point to be made: all ‘Femvertising‘ is not valid support for women’s empowerment activities, and some have been criticized for using it only as a marketing tool.
Billie’s commercial has generated a lot of buzz in the beauty and grooming industry. It has provided a chance to reflect on the information that is truly required to promote things without relying on specific beliefs as a selling factor. The advertisement strikes a healthy balance between reality and the ideas of feminism.