Hi friends! It's August, so that means Armpits for August starts today. If you haven't heard:

"Armpits4August is a month long charity event for women and everyone with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), which started in August 2012.

Participants grow underarm hair for one month, and ask friends and family to sponsor them to raise money for Verity, the charity for people with PCOS.

PCOS affects up to 10% of women and is even more prevalent amongst trans* men, yet it’s hardly ever talked about. A common symptom of PCOS can be hirsutism (excessive hair growth), so by growing our body hair we are working towards having pride in our body hair, not shame. Armpits4August will provide a stimulus and safe space to discuss the complicated, emotional, or embarrassing experiences of body hair that women, trans* and non-binary people often have. We believe the shame a lot of people feel about their body hair is a consequence of living in a society that regulates, controls and dictates that female-assigned bodies must conform to incredibly narrow beauty standards, and which upholds a rigid gender binary that deems body hair a ‘masculine’ trait. This creates a physically, socially, and mentally damaging image of what is ‘natural’ – an image that turns out to be no more than an idea. There is no standard, universal, typical – let alone ‘normal’ – pattern of body hair for women, men, or anyone else. We think that the display of underarm hair growth every August will be one way of demonstrating this, so we are also constructing an online archive of photos to show the diversity of hair that we have: colour, shape, density, texture, speed, etc. We also provide resources and hold events to help you celebrate your body hair, including body-hair workshops, pit pride parties, discussion groups, and more!"

You can learn more (or even sign up yourself) at http://www.armpits4august.org

So! If you've seen me recently you'll notice that I ran out of damns to give about underarm hair. Not shaving is the norm for me, and since I have no shame, I'm participating to make some noise about PCOS (which a handful of my friends actually have!) to support this charity and to make some space to talk about body hair and beauty norms, which I love to talk about anyway, but am rarely given such a perfect excuse to do.

Case in point, here is a blog I wrote about the whole thing:

http://www.gender-focus.com/2013/08/19/armpits-for-august-get-your-pits-out/

Happy August!

-Jessica

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