You know, when it comes to hygiene and grooming, men really have a much easier job. Seriously, the male gender is able to get away with murder when it comes to their appearance, whereas women get judged much more harshly, unfairly expected to look pristine, slim, young and happy all the time, or else suffer a barrage of criticism.
Think about shaving for example. Men are never expected to shave their legs, whereas women are expected to keep their smooth and shiny at all times. As for facial hair? Forget it! Men can have beards, that's all well and good, but a woman with facial hair (and it's not as rare as you might think, just a question of hormones) are still treated like sideshow attractions. It's simply not fair.
However, one person who's determined not to let beards be a purely male feature is massage therapist Jessica Moore, who has spent years trying to tame her own facial hair, before finally deciding to embrace it wholeheartedly. Jessica has developed a condition known as polycystic ovary syndrome; meaning that her body produces excess levels of male hormones which make her hairier. The condition has also affected her fertility, meaning that it is impossible for her to have children. However, with the support of her husband Francis, Jessica has decided to ditch her razors and embrace her facial hair wholeheartedly.
Commenting on her beard, Jessica stated: "I was shaving in my car in the parking lot and cut my skin. It really hurt, and in that moment, I thought to myself, ‘Why do I keep doing this?' [Francis had] been telling me for ages to stop shaving, but it took a while for me to listen to him. He has started growing his beard out too, to support me. We even share products like beard oil and wash. It means a lot to have him there."
"There were times when I was caught out and would have to make an emergency dash to get razors and shave before appointments and so on. Nobody ever said anything negative, but I could tell people – especially guys – would give me strange looks when they passed me in the street. It made me very self-conscious, and almost embarrassed."
"I remember watching a video about a woman named Rose Geil, who decided to stop shaving her facial hair. Seeing how confident and happy she has really empowered me – I wanted to feel that way too. That played on my mind for a few weeks and I wondered if I should stop shaving altogether, then the incident in the parking lot happened and that just cemented things for me."
"To any other women out there wondering whether to stop shaving, I’d say just try stepping out of your comfort zone. The idea of it is far scarier than actually doing it. I’ve had the odd negative reaction since stopping shaving, with family members handing me razors or asking when I’m going to start again, but I really don’t plan to. I feel much more confident now, and barely think about my beard. I am no longer hiding."
So maybe Jessica's beard does take some getting used to, but at the end of the day, as long as she's cool with it, that's all that matters, right?
