Panel 1
Text: Body Hair Pride – And the Return of Star the Feminist Faerie
Panel 2
Abby talking and smiling. She has short hair, visible facial hair, and is wearing a V-neck shirt.
Abby: Hi! My name is Abby, and I’m proud of every hair on my body!
Panel 3
Abby talking with her arm out.
Abby: If you shave, that’s fine! But this specific story is about why I stopped shaving, all of the microaggressions I had to put up with as a result of the other people’s prejudice and ignorance, and a little feminist faerie named Star who came to support me when things got too hard.
Panel 4
Young Abby standing with both arms out. She has longer hair and visible facial hair. She is wearing a T-shirt.
Text: I started growing body hair when I was eleven. But mine was a little more noticeable than the other kids’.
Panel 5
Young Abby crying and a girl laughing in the background.
Text: There were too many names I was called to keep track of. “Man Ugly” was the main one. Not very creative, but at the time, it hurt me a lot.
Panel 6
Abby’s mom yelling and wagging her finger.
Text: I begged my mom to shave, but she said I needed to wait until I was thirteen.
Panel 7
Abby shaving her leg.
Text: From thirteen to 21, I was constantly shaving.
Panel 8
Abby glaring at a razor she’s holding.
Text: After a while, it became a chore. A chore that wasn’t worth keeping.
Panel 9
Abby poking her facial hair.
Text: I decided to let my hair grown and see what would happen.
Panel 10
Abby looking upset at a man yelling at her.
Text: I was happy, but not very many other people were.
Man: Freak!
Panel 11
Abby looking upset at her mom yelling at her.
Text: People I didn’t expect.
Mom: You’ll never meet a man like that! Shave!
Panel 12
Abby standing with crossed arms.
Text: But something changed in me. It didn’t feel right to give in and shave. I fought back!
Panel 13
Abby yelling at man.
Abby: My body hair doesn’t make me less of a woman!
Panel 14
Abby yelling at her mom.
Abby: Mom, I’m comfortable not shaving!
Panel 15
Abby angrily shouting.
Abby: It’s okay not to shave! I shouldn’t have to justify part of who I am!
Panel 16
Abby sad as two people talk about her.
Text: But over the course of a year, every stare, every whispered comment, every laugh was more than I could take.
Panel 17
Abby crying.
Text: I wanted to be invisible.
Panel 18
Image of a shaving razor.
Text: I almost gave in…
Panel 19
Abby looking up at a silhouette.
Text: But then a mysterious figure stopped me.
Figure: Stop!
Panel 20
Star appears and talks to Abby.
Star: Hi, my name is Star! I’m a feminist faerie! I show up wherever there are microaggressions.
Panel 21
Abby talking.
Abby: But there aren’t any microaggerssions here.
Panel 22
Star talking and smiling with their arm up.
Star: I know none are happening now. But I see you’ve been through a lot of them and thought you needed someone to talk to.
Panel 23
Abby talking and holding a razor.
Abby: Thanks, I actually could use someone to talk to. I’m so tired of people staring and making rude comments. I don’t know what else to do but shave to be left alone.
Panel 24
Abby talking and tossing the razor back.
Abby: This is causing me to have a hard time liking my body. And sometimes I don’t feel safe leaving the house. Some of the ways people respond are downright scary.
Panel 25
Star talking to Abby.
Star: I’m sorry you have a lot on your plate. But I promise we’ll break things down together and come up with a solution.
Panel 26
Star talking behind a woman holding a magazine with shaved legs on it.
Star: Unfortunately, our relationship to body hair is stuck in the gender binary. Many people are adamant about the fact that women don’t grow body hair, and if they do, they should be ashamed enough to remove it. This is harmful to women with lots of body hair and oftentimes dangerous for trans women.
Article Link: 4 Affirmations for Women Learning to Love Their Transness
Panel 27
Star talking next to a man yelling at a woman.
Star: It can go beyond just marginalization. This way of thinking can create body and gender dysphoria for women and increases the risk of encountering violent misogynist and transmisogynist people. All of this puts women’s emotional and physical safety at risk.
Panel 28
Abby talking and looking up.
Abby: Wow! While I have definitely felt bullied and harassed, I haven’t thought about whether I feel safe or not. I guess I haven’t had to because of my cis privilege. I feel silly about my frustration.
Panel 29
Star talking.
Star: Nooo! This isn’t about comparing oppressions. Your pain is valid. Misogyny and the policing of women’s bodies need to stop. People should feel safe and comfortable with or without body hair.
Panel 30
Abby talking and smiling, holding her arm up.
Abby: I agree! I want all women to feel safe, and I want to fight on our behalf. But sometimes I just feel so tired of fighting. What should I do?
Panel 31
Star talking and smiling.
Star: Do what you think will be in your best interest. Make sure your choices don’t put you in harm’s way, affect your work, or impact your mental health. Honestly, it kind of sounds like you want to keep your body hair – you just don’t want society’s attitude about it.
Panel 32
Star talking and pointing up at a memory bubble above
Star: But if you choose to keep your hair, here’s a reminder of why.
Past Abby: It’s okay not to shave! I shouldn’t have to justify part of who I am.
Text: Who I am
Panel 33
Abby snapping razor in half
Abby: I love my body! I want it to look exactly the way I look right now!
Panel 34
Word bubble.
Abby: Being myself is way more important than being accepted by the misogynists in the world. Maybe keeping my hair will make the world a little safer for other women to keep their hair as well. Plus, I get to fight against the gender binary and hopefully learn to be a conscientious and active ally to trans women who aren’t always granted the same social flexibility as cis women.
Panel 35
Abby waving to Star.
Abby: Thanks, Star! This talk was exactly what I needed!
Panel 36
Star flying away.
Star: Goodbye! And remember – it’s your body. You get to choose what to do with it!
