Interested in where we’re at when it comes to gendered beauty standards in 2023? Welcome to a menu of Twitter reactions to Rachel McAdams’ armpit hair: “absolutely gross!”, “ew”, “nasty”, “ugh” plus a puking face emoji. However, those don’t tell the full story of the response to the 44-year-old actress’ photoshoot for American publication Bustle, in which she posed confidently with her underarm hair clearly visible (reportedly she requested that the photographs be “edited as minimally as possible”.)
Because for every “I cannot sleep. Having nightmares about Rachel McAdams’ armpit hair…” comment, there were a whole lot of “I love it!” and “Queen!” reactions, too. And while it is so refreshing to see women embracing their natural bodies, shunning Photoshop and admitting to wearing sculpting underwear (all of which McAdams did in the accompanying interview), it’s still fairly wild that having body hair – which grows in nearly all adult humans – is still seen as such a radical choice for women.
