An advertisement for razors that actually depicts women shaving their body hair has been hailed with cries of “finally” and “it was about damn time”.
Billie, which calls itself “a female-first shave and body brand”, says its ad is the first in decades of advertising to show women actually shaving their body hair.
Ads for men’s razors frequently show men trimming and grooming their beards. Products marketed at women typically show them shaving legs or armpits already rendered completely hairless.
As well as showing women shaving their legs, the Billie ad shows women combing and blow-drying underarm hair and addresses the prickly subject – via images of a cactus – of shaving pubic hair.
On its website, the company, which launched in 2017, says: “Shaving companies have always been created for men which may explain why we’re still overpaying for women’s razors and referred to as goddesses for shaving.”
The campaign for the subscription razor service, which is currently only available in the US, has drawn positive reactions on social media.
“Finally! Thank you for making a spot like this”, “Refreshing” and, “It was about damn time” were just some of the comments left under a company Instagram posting.
The idea that shaving was a choice also earned plaudits. “Shave, don’t shave, but bottom line is we all have hair” one commenter said, noting that at the conclusion of the ad not all of the models have shaved their underarm hair.
For more than 100 years, women’s razor brands haven’t shown women’s body hair... until now. Introducing Project Body Hair. A celebration of body hair, wherever it is or isn’t. See more: https://t.co/UdKKQApFoF. pic.twitter.com/Aj4CNTtdHQ
— Billie (@billiebody) June 26, 2018
Billie co-founder Georgina Gooley said: “Only showing smooth, hairless legs seemed like an archaic way of representing women. We have always said shaving is a choice. It’s your hair and no one should tell you what to do with it. We’re excited to launch a campaign that will help normalise body hair and change the one-dimensional way in which women are portrayed.”
Billie has made pictures available on the Unsplash stock photography site, in an attempt to improve the number of pictures available to the media showing female body hair. The company says it donates 1% of all revenue to women’s causes around the world. It is currently supporting Every Mother Counts, a campaign for safer pregnancy and childbirth.
Ashley Armitage, who took the photographs for the campaign, told website As/Is: “How can you know that a razor is even doing its job if all it’s doing is swiping off some shaving cream? And more importantly, why is showing female body hair so taboo?”
