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These Shocking Illustrations Challenge The Social Norm Of Women Removing Their Body Hair
These Shocking Illustrations Challenge The Social Norm Of Women Removing Their Body Hair
Showbiz Jan 23, 2016
One first-generation Pakistani-American dares to paint women with body hair in hopes of breaking the taboo.
Ayqa Khan is a 20-year-old self-taught digital illustrator and photographer living in New York. Born to Pakistani parents, she's all too familiar with the South Asian social pressure for women to look perfect — and appear hairless.
For Khan, the topic of body hair isn't taboo — hair is natural and something that almost everyone is born with. She first learned to love herself in her natural state.
Ayqa shared on Tumblr: "My mother owns a beauty salon where she has made me get waxed ever since I was about 11 because she thought that the hair that was given to my body was 'unfeminine'. What bothered me the most was not the pain of getting waxed, but the idea that she thought something natural about me was 'gross.' I felt I looked at as an object, rather than a HUMAN. People from my school would stare at my thick arm hair in disgust really. And yes, this made me feel really insecure and unworthy."
Ayqa's illustrations of women with body hair aren't meant to shock but to create "a space of acceptance" and normalcy.
"Removing body hair is a voluntary act." —Ayqa Khan
Khan is one of the few South Asian artists to depict feminism and explore topics relating to first-generation Desis. A couple of her previous collections are titled "Fresh Off The Boat" and "Generation America." Her artwork is truly unique as she draws inspiration from her life experiences and background.
Main Image Photo Credit: www.ayqakhan.com
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Naemah Abid
Author
Born in Saudi Arabia and originally from Pakistan, this Canadian immigrant is all too familiar with airport life. After taking her first pleasure trip abroad post-graduation, Naemah was hit with the travel bug. Find this frequent traveller sharing pictures and experiences, offering up advice and tra...
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