Just five years ago, Miley Cyrus and Madonna would have been condemned for growing hair under their armpits. In 1985, when Playboy and Penthouse published nude pictures of Madonna she took six years earlier with hairy armpits, she was ridiculed. Society has definitely changed.
This week, several articles appeared online praising women such as Miley and Madonna for displaying armpit hair. Salon wrote an article titled “Shaving is the pits: Take up arms with Lena Dunham, Madonna and Miley in the fight against body hair oppression.”
Mashable has also joined in the armpit praise, noting an armpit hair contest that is currently going on in China.
“A women’s rights advocate is currently hosting a contest in China that asks women to post photos of their unshaven armpits. She, along with celebrities like Jemima Kirke, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, and Lena Dunham have been challenging the universal belief that women’s beauty should include completely shaven armpit hair.”
Miley Cyrus recently caused an uproar by displaying long armpit hair in a bikini. As ET noted, it wasn’t the first time Miley ignored the razor .
“This wouldn’t be the first time Cyrus has showed off her armpits. Just last month, the 22-year-old former Disney star dyed her underarm hair pink, and proudly posted the hashtag ‘dirtyhippie’ with a pic of her pink pits.”
Last year, Madonna posted a throwback picture of herself on Instagram
“Long hair…Dont care!!!” the singer wrote after the post.
The picture went viral and had many people decrying Madonna for being desperate and criticized her armpit hair for being inappropriate. However, as Madonna’s fans noted, the underarm hair wasn’t real; it was Photoshopped on. The picture appeared to be a throwback to her “Like a Virgin” days, especially during the Summer of 1985 when the nude armpit scandal happened.
Both Madonna and Miley Cyrus share a lot in common. During the peak of her career, Madonna challenged female sexual stereotypes as well as promoted gay rights at a time when the AIDS crisis made the community a target for extreme hate, especially from conservatives.
Some may consider Miley Cyrus desperate, but others consider her doing the same thing Madonna did. In fact, the Guardian just wrote an article about Miley being this generation’s Madonna .
“She looks like she’s having a party. She’s taking the 90s Madonna approach to public sexuality: it’s deliberately provocative, and crucially, it is not being served up for male consumption.”
Miley Cyrus is going to appear in Madonna’s upcoming video “ Bi*ch I’m Madonna .” What do you think of Miley’s armpit hair — groundbreaking or attention seeking? Let us know in the comments section.
[Photo Credit: ET and New York Daily News ]
