Young Woman Has Weirdly Legit Explanation For Why She Doesn’t Shave Her Body Hair
People's body hair should be their personal business, right?
Unfortunately, that isn't always the case for women, including 24-year-old Jada, who went to TikTok explaining why her body hair shouldn't matter.
Perspectives on body hair differ around the world
One factor that influences how people view body hair is where they live in the world.
For example, in many parts of Europe and China, women don't practice body hair removal because it's not the social norm.
People who ditch their razors in North America face negative judgment
Women living in North America who choose to ditch their razors and embrace their natural hair often get unwanted negative attention from strangers with opinions on their bodies.
One wouldn't think people would have such strong feelings about what's happening under a woman's arms, but they do.
A 24-year-old American woman is sharing her story
Just look at 24-year-old American Jada Mackenzie Travis.
She's living in North Carolina and sharing her life on social media, where she goes by @jadamackt on TikTok. The young woman has racked up over 100K followers on the platform!
A recent TikTok video has gone viral
Jada's content usually features her participating in trends or spending time with friends and family.
But one of her more recent videos has people talking for different reasons— and not all the feedback is positive.
The clip has been viewed over 6 million times
Jada's viral video has been viewed over 6.4 million times. It begins with her speaking to the camera while wearing a sleeveless t-shirt, and her southern accent is easily identifiable.
The caption on the clip says, "How to have armpit hair in the south."
She says people constantly talk about her armpit hair
With her arm raised above her head, Jada says, "I wanna talk about my armpit hair today."
She continues, "And I'm gonna send this video to every single person that constantly talks about it."
Jada hasn't shaved her underarms in 3 years
While showing off her underarms, Jada reveals to her followers, "I have not shaved my armpits in three years!"
She adds, "That's a long time. And I'm ready to talk about WHY!"
She breaks it down in a comical way...
"Allow me to show you the demonstration I have drawn this morning."
Jada then holds up a notebook with a hand-drawn picture in pen ink. She proceeds to explain her reasoning.
"We're on a floating rock!"
In a hilariously sarcastic tone, Jada points at the ball she has drawn inside of a circle.
She says, "This is us; we're on a floating rock. Okay? This is us on a floatin' rock. And we literally just go like this." She then draws a circle around and around the "rock."
Living in the South poses unique challenges
She explains that we continue to just "go like this with all the other rocks all year round," seemingly referencing other planets in our solar system.
Jada then shifts gears to explain, "I live in the South. So, it's a very.. interesting place."
"It's where people don't always have their teeth but really value razors"
She jokingly gets close to the camera and says, "It's where people don't always have their teeth, but they really value razors. Apparently."
Jada then details her complicated experience living with visible underarm hair in her home state.
People in the city don't pay attention to her underarms
The young woman explains that it's "crazy" how she can drive an hour into one of the state's cities and enjoy the fact that people don't pay attention to or notice her armpit hair.
But she says that's not the case closer to home.
In rural areas like "cowboy county" she faces harsh judgment
Jada says that when she goes to Love Valley, North Carolina, a place that she calls "cowboy county," she has an extremely different experience.
She talks about running a simple errand at the "Dollar General" in that rural part of North Carolina.
People are shocked and horrified by her body hair
Jada says when she raises her arm to pay for her purchase, it's as though the entire store (both customers and employees) are shocked to see body hair under her arms.
She dramatically re-enacts how people respond to her, gasping, "Oh my god!!!"
"Y'all don't even have teeth!"
She sarcastically wonders, "Y'all don't even have teeth— why are you worried about using a razor?"
After a moment's thought, she then adds, "No offense. If you don't have teeth, that's okay. But you shouldn't be [rude] about someone's armpit hair! Stupid!"
She has points to back up her decision not to shave
Jada continues, "And the next thing! The last thing on my list [about] why I have armpit hair!"
She then gets into the logical reasons why she chooses not to shave, regardless of the social implications.
The armpit is a high contact and high friction area
"Why would I want to shave a part of my body that bends like this?" Jada exclaims.
Before adding, "And then the hair's gonna grow back, like I don't know, three hours later, and it's gonna be hot and sweaty!"
Shaving creates razor rash
The worst part, as most women know, is the scratching and rashing that can happen when the short hair grows back.
According to Jada, when you shave sensitive areas, you are "creating sandpaper!"
Jada doesn't know why people feel the need to target her
The young woman then says that she doesn't understand why people feel the need to target her over her body hair.
She says that she doesn't care if other people choose to shave their armpits before reinforcing that she still doesn't want to shave hers.
She shaved every day for 10 years before ditching the razor
Jada recalls shaving her armpits "every dang day" for over ten years before deciding to ditch her razor for good.
She then resolves, "It just don't matter. We're on a floatin' rock, okay?"
"I am just a person, and I'm just out here livin'"
According to Jada, the mantra goes: "Floating rock. Nothing matters. Do what you want. Have your armpit hair. I don't care!"
She concludes, "I am just a person, and I'm just out here livin'."
Jada does shave her legs because she likes how it feels
Before the video ends, Jada complains that she gets hate from commenters because she chooses to shave her legs and not her armpits.
She admits it's simply because "I like the way it feels."
"The key to being happy is doing whatever the heck you want."
The clip then cuts to Jada standing outside her home.
She looks at the camera and leans forward before saying, "I think the key to being happy is just doing whatever the heck you want."
Her advice is to do what makes you happy
On top of doing whatever the heck you want, she says it's important not to let anyone get in the way.
Jada backs away from the camera and ends with, "Do what makes you happy. Yeah, that's it. That's how I feel."
Most comments were super supportive
Commenters had lots to say, and the video was flooded with over 19K comments from people with opinions on Jada's body hair.
The majority of the feedback was positive, but of course, it wasn't all kind.
Not everyone was kind— some people were judgmental
It's clear that some people are too stuck in their ways to realize that they're a part of the social stigma against people with body hair.
Despite Jada saying she didn't care to read their opinions, it would be hard not to.
Lots of women are embracing the no-shave lifestyle!
Overall, Jada received overwhelming support from strangers who admired her confidence, adored her charming personality, and respected her openness.
The video also had plenty of comments from people who had a similar experience with choosing not to remove their body hair.
Jada made a follow up video
In a follow-up video, Jada responds to a commenter admitting that she didn't think her video would blow up the way it did.
She joked, "I knew that I would rise to fame eventually; I just didn't think it would be over my armpit hair."
People's judgment is what makes something good or bad
Jada tells her followers that "nothing is either good or bad; it is only thinking that makes it so."
She is referencing a quote from Hamlet that has to do with people passing judgment on others, something she has certainly experienced.
She's not letting nay hate get her down
The young woman says that her whole experience has taught her that taking things personally takes away her own happiness.
She finishes her thought with, "Go out and live your life!"
