14 DAY TRIAL // As more and more women are rebelling against “standard” ideals of beauty that imply the removal of all bodily hair, mostly by posting photos of themselves with hairy armpits and legs, one lady leads the pack. Her name is Harnaam Kaur, she is 25, and she has a beard, and lots of black hair on her chest, arms and legs.
Harnaam has Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which causes severe hormonal imbalances. Her hair started to grow when she was 11 and she struggled until she was 16 to fit in by having it removed through a variety of more or less painful methods.
Today, she’s embracing it. She has found beauty inside herself and she hopes others will see it too.
“I love my beard, my stretch marks and my scars”
This isn’t the first time Harnaam is making headlines, but it’s definitely a first that she’s a bridal model. She recently took part in a bridal shoot, with photos she released on social media going viral immediately.
In a context in which different is no longer something to be ashamed of, her confidence and strength are making her into a role model for all those who feel as if they don’t belong, even if they don’t share her unique appearance.
Harnaam is also a vocal anti-bullying campaigner, having experienced the negative effects of bullying herself. As a teen, she used to self-harm and even attempted suicide.
Today, her scars, along with her “lady beard” and bodily hair, represent what she might call battle scars: the signs that she’s a survivor, that she’s strong and overcame this obstacle that life threw her way.
“I have now fallen in love with the elements on my body that people may call ‘flaws’,” she says. “I love my beard, my stretch marks, and my scars. These elements make me who I am, they make me whole, they make me complete.”
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
There’s an old saying about how “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” which means that one may be beautiful to one person might be ugly to another.
For Harnaam, beauty comes from inside and is independent of what the beholder thinks of her. She has had years of experiencing mostly abuse from said beholder to know that it does not define her worth as a woman, and not even her beauty.
It seems that others believe so too, since she was asked to model bridal gowns and has many supporters who find her story an inspiring one.
To them, she is beautiful. To them, she’s already redefined what “beauty” means.
Here is a sneeky behind the scenes shot for you to see for when I had a Bridal photoshoot. It was soooooo much fun, and everyone i worked with was amazing. I shall put up some professional shots when I get them x Model: Harnaam Kaur Make up artist: Kampreet Wedding Dress: Cutting Edge Brides http://www.cuttingedgebrides.com Cakes: Milk Street Kitchen (Ellie) http://milkstreetkitchen.co.uk/ Flowers, Floral Turban Crowns and Bouquet and Flower Beard: @wild_coco_ (Lucy) http://www.wild-coco.com/ Tablescape Design: Blessed Union Events (Jacqueline) https://instagram.com/blessedunionevents/ Photographer: Urban Bridesmaid (Louisa) http://www.urbanbridesmaid.com 2nd photographer(behind the scenes): Cassandra http://www.cwatsonphotography.co.uk/ #harnaamkaur #beardedlady #beardedwoman #effyourbeautystandards #effyourbodystandards #bridalphotoshoot #urbanbridesmaids #queenbeard #queenofhearts #feminist #genderbender #androgynouswoman #diversemodels #androgynyqueen #sorrynotsorry #ladybeard #thebeardeddame #thedame #bride #beardedbrides A photo posted by the official harnaam kaur page (@harnaamkaur) on Jun 11, 2015 at 3:35am PDT
I am pretty πππ Of course I am, and I tell myself everyday. Why? Well because I am and I can π We get labelled with the most horrid names known to man every single day. So why can't we label ourselves with the most amazing and perfect labels. Of course we should. When we hear the same negative words said about us continuously by different people we tend to start believing in them. So why can't we say lovely positive words about ourselves. I tend to sometimes stand infront of my mirror, look deep into my eyes and say great things to myself. I imbed good words into my heart and and let them stick. We should learn to love ourselves unconditionally first 100% that way when society labels you with horrid words, it won't matter to you as you know those words aren't true. Imbed positive words into your heart and soul...Negativity won't touch you. Stay blessed πππππππ Picture by the beautiful @stephenb3ard who i dearly love and miss #harnaamkaur #beardedlady #beardedwoman #effyourbeautystandards #genderqueer #bodyconfident #bodyconfidence #bodyconfidenceactivist #thedame #thebeardeddame #queenbeard #queenofhearts #beardqueen #feminist #androgynouswoman #androgynous #diversemodels #ladybeard A photo posted by the official harnaam kaur page (@harnaamkaur) on Jun 2, 2015 at 11:11am PDT
I have decided to live my life happily, and this picture captures perfectly how i feel about the woman that i am today. We all go through tough times, and forever we get told that life is like a roller coaster with many ups and downs. We may feel like the heavy burdens of the world have settled themselves down on our shoulders. Always remember that yes, hard times will arrive, but they will also let themselves go. Everything on this earth has a time limit; our friendships, our relationships, happiness and sadness, how we feel about ourselves, even the food we eat, and most of all our emotions. There is a beginning and and end for everything. You may hear that darkness has to be present for the real stars to shine. Be that spark in the darkness around you, be that beacon of light that guides you to greatness. I promise you that you will be just fine x Love your life, love your body, love your soul, spirit, aura and personality because they are the only ones that you have. ππππ Picture: @heathershuker Makeup: @phantasykeely @maccosmetics Magazine: @thingsandink @morewhitequeen Jewellery: @gypsyeastjewels You can read my article in the Things and Ink magazine, link below. http://articles.readbug.com/?a=the-bearded-lady #harnaamkaur #beardedlady #beardedwoman #effyourbeautystandards #androgyny #androgynous #bodyconfident #bodyconfidence #bodyconfidenceactivist #antibullyingactivist #thedame #thebeardeddame #beardqueen #thingsandink #queenofhearts #androgynyqueen #genderqueer #feminist #diversemodels A photo posted by the official harnaam kaur page (@harnaamkaur) on May 12, 2015 at 9:27am PDT