This week Marie Claire UK pointed out just how freaked people are about the fact that Whoopi Goldberg has no eyebrows. In an interview with VH1, Goldberg reportedly revealed that she does not like to have facial hair and chose to shave off her eyebrows. They later grew back and were itchy, so she decided to continue shaving them every time they grew in. Marie Claire reported that people are taking to twitter to post about the shock and confusion they are experiencing, and mentioned that the story has evoked nearly as much talk and uproar as Whoopi’s announcement of starting a medical marijuana business.
When it comes to facial hair and body hair, it seems that, now more than ever, women are choosing to do what they want instead of what society wants. Some women are making the statement of growing out and even dying their armpit hair. Traditionally, women have been expected to have little to no body hair, and to only have facial hair in the form of eyebrows and eyelashes.
Recently, eyebrow trends have been changing, with thicker but very specifically shaped and made up brows being trendy. Women spend a great deal of time and money tweezing, threading, waxing, and filling in their eyebrows. Like those who grow and color their armpit hair, Whoopi Goldberg is going against the hair trends that most women are currently conforming to.
So why is everyone freaking out? We are living in a time when women are rebelling against oppression by doing what we want with our bodies. Why shouldn’t this also be the case when it comes to body hair and facial hair? Whoopi is beautiful with our without eyebrows.
