In our society, men are allowed to have as much hair as they want on their bodies, from their legs to chest to face to back. They aren’t questioned or asked to remove the hair. But body hair on a woman is considered ‘ugly’, ‘not sexy’ and oftentimes ‘repulsive’. Women are expected to shave their legs, arms, underarms, private parts and face to keep themselves ‘clean’.
However, there are innumerable women in this world who suffer from hormonal issues that cause them to have facial hair and many times, a beard. How haunting must life be for them in a society that regards them as not ‘womanly’ enough?
A 30-year-old woman named Dakota Cooke started witnessing abnormal facial hair growth when she was a teenager. According to Times Now, she was 13 at the time and as a result, suffered from anxiety for the following 10 years.
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The Daily Star quoted her saying, “I grew up in a period where women with facial hair were so stigmatised that the women at the salon were telling me how girls aren’t supposed to grow facial hair,” she revealed.
At first, Dakota noticed her chin area growing peach-coloured hair which later went on to become a darker beard. She used to shave her face twice a day and often ended up with rashes and scars. She used to hide them using makeup.
“I guess that stuck with me because for the next 10 years, I kind of just sunk into this shame spiral where I’d try and hide my face in photos and be attending waxing sessions every week,” she said.
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Dakota underwent several medical tests but doctors couldn’t figure out what exactly was the condition that led her to develop such facial hair. However, they inferred that her adrenal glands were producing elevated levels of testosterone.
It was in 2015 that a friend of Dakota’s asked her to perform at a show as a bearded lady. She loved the idea and finally tossed her razor aside. Even though she did feel uncomfortable about growing a beard, she slowly started not giving a damn about it. And today, she sports her beard proudly and inspires many other women to embrace their body hair as well.
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What an incredible woman!