When Lalonie Davis posted a photo of her armpit hair on Instagram, she received more than 200 negative responses within the hour.
Davis, 17, had posted the photo to spread body-positivity online, saying that everyone deserves respect and love no matter what they do with their bodies.
“Body hair is normal and so are you,” she wrote. “What I do with my body is MY choice. You don’t have to like it, but please know that misogynistic opinions that shame girls for having body hair while ignoring boys who do will never get me to change who I am.”
Her Instagram post was heavily trolled by people, but despite this she stood by her decision to not shave her underarms. And we applaud her for it.
Despite the horrendous levels of hate she received - with some even telling her she should “kill” herself - Davis remains unapologetic and insists she won’t let misogyny change who she is.
In a separate post on Instagram, she wrote: “Y’all think body hair on girls is gross, I think misogyny is grosser.
“Why can’t I do what I want to do with MY body w/o (without) being told to kill myself?”
She continued: “This just goes to show so much about our culture, why do y’all hate carefree woman so much? Posting a body positive picture means I’m seeking attention, not shaving means I hate men, I have a mental illness and I should kill myself.
“Never did I ever say that all women should shave their armpits, never did I say that I hate men, I’m simply doing what I want with my body. I’m comfortable in who I am and what I do what my body...Never would I ever let misogynistic opinions change who I am.”
Davis is just one of many women trying to break down barriers around women’s body hair.
Earlier this week, Paris Jackson - the daughter of late Michael Jackson - hit back at trolls who had reacted negatively to her armpit hair.
The 18-year-old had shared a selfie on Instagram stories proudly showing off her armpit hair, which she claimed had taken her two months to grow.
Despite being heavily criticised for her choice to grow armpit hair, she laughed it off.
Sharing another Instagram snap of her armpits, she said: “I didn’t realise that people were going to get so upset over my armpit hair. I didn’t realise that was such an issue. It is so funny.
“People are really mad. I wish I could post some of these responses. You can just tell how angry and infuriated these people are.
“I love hair, and sweat, and BO. I f****** love it, I think it’s great. Some people think that it’s like super disgusting, especially on girls, but every human body does it. It’s natural. Get over it.”