Woman, 30, Stops Shaving Her Body Hair and Confronts Haters Who Say She 'Looks Like a Man'

A 30-year-old woman has taken body positivity to a new level, attracting the attention of both haters and admirers. Her newfound courage has helped her embrace a lifelong disorder.

Bethany Burgoyne, an artist from Essex, was born with polycystic ovary syndrome, a type of hormonal imbalance that causes one to be excessively hairy.

She grew up nursing the society-influenced idea that being hairy as a woman was unattractive. Hence, she became a slave to shaving continuously to prevent people from noticing her disorder.

At 27, the creative entrepreneur began questioning such ideals, knowing she subjected herself to continuous shaving just to fit into what society dictated.

Eventually, she embraced her hairy nature, easing into her newfound freedom first by growing out her leg and armpit hair. When she became increasingly comfortable with that, she let other areas of her body produce hair freely without removing them.

Before long, she realized how absurd the idea of shaving was. In 2020, while remaining trapped at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, Burgoyne decided to take her resolve a notch further by letting her facial hair grow out as well.

She admitted the lockdown gave her the courage to grow out her facial hair without fear of being judged by others. The decision left her with a 3cm long beard plus stubbles around her neck region.

Burgoyne was impressed with her new looks and began flaunting them in public. But the toxic society was unprepared for her revolution.

Many criticized her seemingly unkempt features, calling her a man, and telling her she needed shaving. But the woman couldn’t care less since she was proud of her looks and more at ease than she'd ever felt.

The journalist, who received her PCOS diagnosis last year, now strives to make other women comfortable in their own skin no matter how hairy they become.

The condition, which affects one in 10 women, has left many living with insecurities for years. Since sharing her story, several hairy women have tapped into her confidence, flaunting their hairiness and letting others know it is okay to be different.

The 30-year-old has since joined an online hairy fetish community that celebrates hairy women. Additionally, she established a body-positive and sex-positive workshop called “The Sassy Show.”

Through her show, she has reached out to thousands of people battling body image issues, encouraging them to discuss their insecurities.

To foster pride and confidence as a mentor, Burgoyne lets attendees at her workshop stroke her beards and other body hair. According to her, touch with consent reinforces pride and confidence in others.

Another approach she uses to build confidence is encouraging people to focus on feeling safe, secure, and beautiful in their bodies. Showering oneself with compliments regularly, rather than worrying about certain misgivings, was a sure way of achieving that.