Struggled with body image for years...

by Joy
(Boca Raton, FL)

I'm 22 years old and in college. During my middle and high school years, I used to think that something was physically wrong with me. It's the fact that I'm a female with "more body hair" than the average woman. It used to frustrate me so much as to why I have hairy legs, hairy underarms, hairy forearms, and hair on and around the pubic area.

I used to ask God why he made me this way because I felt ashamed and miserable and embarrassed. Since then, the more I've matured, and the more people who I found were like me, the more I've learned to just accept it. In society, it is only right for women to maintain their hair removal habits and look as feminine as possible. Even if it meant spending thousands of dollars a year for cosmetic products. Now I do chemically remove hair from my leg and do a little trimming here and there on occasion, but I have come to accept that I have body hair. I also believe that I am as hairy as any other female out there, they just shave/wax/chemically remove hair way more than I do. They spend more money on beauty and hair removal products than I do.

I do still have a small problem that I'm trying to work on: I'm confident about my natural body when alone, but when in public, I hide a part of me no one knows about, and I'm not a very social person either. I'd be much happier if I was able to make more friends by being more true to myself and others. Please pray for me as I pray to God to give me strength and guidance in my life.


P.S. I thank God that I've found this site because I'd love to help other young women with accepting who they are inside and out one day.