Queen Esie is not afraid to be her most authentic self — but it wasn’t always that way.
The 28-year-old content creator and activist has built a platform on embracing her body hair, encouraging followers to “redefine beauty for yourself,” per her Instagram bio.
Queen Esie, whose real name is Esther Calixte-Bea, used to go to great lengths to remove the body hair from her legs, armpits and chest, implementing both a shaving routine and “painful” electrolysis treatments. Eventually, though, she realized that she was “getting more body hair the more I shaved.”
“I started to wonder why I was doing this and for who,” the Montreal-based creator explains. “That’s when I came to the conclusion that societal beauty standards were forever changing and completely made up and that there was, in fac,t nothing wrong with me, I was just ‘hairy.'”
She adds, “I later found out that my hairiness comes from my Ivorian tribe Wè, that the women in my family are very hairy, and it was once seen as beautiful in my great-grandmother’s time.”
Queen Esie began inviting others to join her on her self-acceptance journey. In 2019, she created the Lavender Project, a self-photography project shared to Instagram “meant to start a conversation about female body hair and femininity.”
“I had sewn a double-sided lavender-colored dress; one side that showed my chest hair and the other side that covered it to question why in society as a woman I was taught to remove my body hair and hide it,” she says. “The project was accompanied by a motto I created, ‘Power: We wear our body hair with class,’ to show people that body hair can be beautiful on a woman and it’s completely natural.”
The activist began embracing her chest hair with the Lavender Project, and in 2020, she stopped shaving her legs and armpits as well.
“I didn’t want to keep my chest hair a secret anymore, and as a visual artist, I thought I could create a project that would not only start an important conversation but also, I would be freeing myself from this burden,” she recalls of the decision. “Everyone would know I was hairy and I wouldn’t have to hide it anymore.”
In addition to freeing herself from the “burden” of shaving, Queen Esie also sought to challenge societal expectations of femininity.
“I wanted people to question why body hair on a man was okay and not on a woman,” she says. “Why is it seen as disgusting, unhygienic and ugly on our bodies? Why must we remove it when it grows naturally and has a function?”
Since the Lavender Project, she’s continued sharing her message on social media, with her content ranging from tips for embracing body hair and inspirational messages to beauty and fashion videos.
As with any corner of the internet, critics sometimes make themselves known, but Queen Esie chooses to focus on the positive.
“I believe people have the right to their opinions; most are ignorant or simply don’t want change,” she explains. “I choose to ignore the negative criticisms and focus on the impact my body hair content has on people and how I can help them feel more confident with their body hair.”
She adds, “No amount of negative comments will make me go back to the life of constantly worrying about what others think about my body and constantly feeling insecure.”
The positive impact of Queen Esie’s content far outweighs any hate she may receive. Over the years, women all over the world have shared their journeys of embracing body hair thanks to her activism.
This journey can take time, though, and Queen Esie says it’s important to be patient.
“Directing kind words to your body will help you undo what society has done and feel much more comfortable embracing it,” she says. ” … We are all hairy and it is nothing to be ashamed of. Body hair is part of diversity, some are hairier depending on where they are from and it’s beautiful.”
She continues, “In the end, it is a personal choice that you can make when you are tired of conformity and are ready to exist as you are unapologetically.”
