This fitness blogger wanted to feel more comfortable with herself, so she stopped shaving
On fitness blogger Morgan Mikenas' Instagram account, there is everything you'd expect to see on a fitness blogger's Instagram account.
The mirror selfies.
The workout videos.
But unlike most other fitness bloggers, Mikenas has body hair that she makes no effort to hide. In a YouTube video that's gained more than 200,000 views, Mikenas is speaking out about her decision to stop shaving more than one year ago, and what it was really about.
"I'm not trying to make all of humanity stop shaving their armpits and leg hair anymore," Morgan says in the beginning of the video. "I just want to inspire others [to do] what works for you, what makes you feel the most comfortable."
At first, it was just about saving time.
"I just one day was like, 'Why am I doing this?'" Mikenas said. "It just takes so much time. So after I kind of let it do its thing and grow out, I just realized, well, hey, this is kind of nice."
Then, after not shaving for a few weeks, Mikenas realized just how much society's views had infiltrated her own views on her own body hair.
"I just think it's unfair that people think they have to be in this culture norm," Mikenas said. "You just do whatever makes you feel good."
In truth, she ended up feeling more comfortable with that body hair, than without.
"If I let my leg hair grow out in the past, I guess I would feel dirty," Mikenas says. "I would feel kind of ashamed, because I just didn't feel feminine, and so then I would feel obligated to go shave my legs, so I'd feel good and feel sexy. But not anymore. I freaking love my hair. I love my body hair. I love the hair that grows on my body. I just love being my most natural and human self."
Mikenas' video now comes at a time when more women are speaking out about their relationship to their own body hair, from women on the internet talking about their pubic hair to celebrities like Adele talking about not shaving her legs.
In the end, for Mikenas, it's about more people not feeling ashamed of their natural appearance. "I just want everybody to not feel ashamed of themselves in any way," Mikenas said. "You should feel good about yourself."
You can watch Mikenas' entire YouTube video below:
