Young Woman Has Weirdly Legit Explanation For Why She Doesn’t Shave Her Body Hair

People's body hair should be their personal business, right?

Unfortunately, that isn't always the case for women, including 24-year-old Jada, who went to TikTok explaining why her body hair shouldn't matter.

Perspectives on body hair differ around the world

Woman with arm raised
Sakshi Patwa / Pexels
Sakshi Patwa / Pexels

One factor that influences how people view body hair is where they live in the world.

For example, in many parts of Europe and China, women don't practice body hair removal because it's not the social norm.

ADVERTISEMENT

People who ditch their razors in North America face negative judgment

ADVERTISEMENT
Man sitting cross legged
cottonbro / Pexels
cottonbro / Pexels
ADVERTISEMENT

Women living in North America who choose to ditch their razors and embrace their natural hair often get unwanted negative attention from strangers with opinions on their bodies.

ADVERTISEMENT

One wouldn't think people would have such strong feelings about what's happening under a woman's arms, but they do.

ADVERTISEMENT

A 24-year-old American woman is sharing her story

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Woman from TikTok body hair positivity
@jadamackt / Instagram
@jadamackt / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

Just look at 24-year-old American Jada Mackenzie Travis.

ADVERTISEMENT

She's living in North Carolina and sharing her life on social media, where she goes by @jadamackt on TikTok. The young woman has racked up over 100K followers on the platform!

ADVERTISEMENT

A recent TikTok video has gone viral

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Jada with arms raised above her head woman flower crown armpit hair
@jadamackt / Instagram
@jadamackt / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

Jada's content usually features her participating in trends or spending time with friends and family.

ADVERTISEMENT

But one of her more recent videos has people talking for different reasons— and not all the feedback is positive.

ADVERTISEMENT

The clip has been viewed over 6 million times

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots of woman with armpit hair from TikTok
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

Jada's viral video has been viewed over 6.4 million times. It begins with her speaking to the camera while wearing a sleeveless t-shirt, and her southern accent is easily identifiable.

ADVERTISEMENT

The caption on the clip says, "How to have armpit hair in the south."

ADVERTISEMENT

She says people constantly talk about her armpit hair

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots from TikTok armpit hair
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

With her arm raised above her head, Jada says, "I wanna talk about my armpit hair today."

ADVERTISEMENT

She continues, "And I'm gonna send this video to every single person that constantly talks about it."

ADVERTISEMENT

Jada hasn't shaved her underarms in 3 years

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots from TikTok
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

While showing off her underarms, Jada reveals to her followers, "I have not shaved my armpits in three years!"

ADVERTISEMENT

She adds, "That's a long time. And I'm ready to talk about WHY!"

ADVERTISEMENT

She breaks it down in a comical way...

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots from TikTok
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

"Allow me to show you the demonstration I have drawn this morning."

ADVERTISEMENT

Jada then holds up a notebook with a hand-drawn picture in pen ink. She proceeds to explain her reasoning.

ADVERTISEMENT

"We're on a floating rock!"

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots from TikTok
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

In a hilariously sarcastic tone, Jada points at the ball she has drawn inside of a circle.

ADVERTISEMENT

She says, "This is us; we're on a floating rock. Okay? This is us on a floatin' rock. And we literally just go like this." She then draws a circle around and around the "rock."

ADVERTISEMENT

Living in the South poses unique challenges

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Welcome to North Carolina Sign (Alleghany Co, NC)
Bettmann/Getty Images
Bettmann/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

She explains that we continue to just "go like this with all the other rocks all year round," seemingly referencing other planets in our solar system.

ADVERTISEMENT

Jada then shifts gears to explain, "I live in the South. So, it's a very.. interesting place."

ADVERTISEMENT

"It's where people don't always have their teeth but really value razors"

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots from TikTok video armpit hair
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

She jokingly gets close to the camera and says, "It's where people don't always have their teeth, but they really value razors. Apparently."

ADVERTISEMENT

Jada then details her complicated experience living with visible underarm hair in her home state.

ADVERTISEMENT

People in the city don't pay attention to her underarms

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Woman driving car
Peter Fazekas / Pexels
Peter Fazekas / Pexels
ADVERTISEMENT

The young woman explains that it's "crazy" how she can drive an hour into one of the state's cities and enjoy the fact that people don't pay attention to or notice her armpit hair.

ADVERTISEMENT

But she says that's not the case closer to home.

ADVERTISEMENT

In rural areas like "cowboy county" she faces harsh judgment

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Cowboy riding horse at ranch
Brett Sayles / Pexels
Brett Sayles / Pexels
ADVERTISEMENT

Jada says that when she goes to Love Valley, North Carolina, a place that she calls "cowboy county," she has an extremely different experience.

ADVERTISEMENT

She talks about running a simple errand at the "Dollar General" in that rural part of North Carolina.

ADVERTISEMENT

People are shocked and horrified by her body hair

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Gasps Because I Don't Shave My Armpits
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

Jada says when she raises her arm to pay for her purchase, it's as though the entire store (both customers and employees) are shocked to see body hair under her arms.

ADVERTISEMENT

She dramatically re-enacts how people respond to her, gasping, "Oh my god!!!"

ADVERTISEMENT

"Y'all don't even have teeth!"

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots from TikTok video armpit hair
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

She sarcastically wonders, "Y'all don't even have teeth— why are you worried about using a razor?"

ADVERTISEMENT

After a moment's thought, she then adds, "No offense. If you don't have teeth, that's okay. But you shouldn't be [rude] about someone's armpit hair! Stupid!"

ADVERTISEMENT

She has points to back up her decision not to shave

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots from Instagram of blonde woman with armpit hair
@jadamackt / Instagram
@jadamackt / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

Jada continues, "And the next thing! The last thing on my list [about] why I have armpit hair!"

ADVERTISEMENT

She then gets into the logical reasons why she chooses not to shave, regardless of the social implications.

ADVERTISEMENT

The armpit is a high contact and high friction area

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Woman in screenshots from TikTok video
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

"Why would I want to shave a part of my body that bends like this?" Jada exclaims.

ADVERTISEMENT

Before adding, "And then the hair's gonna grow back, like I don't know, three hours later, and it's gonna be hot and sweaty!"

ADVERTISEMENT

Shaving creates razor rash

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Woman with razor shaving legs with shaving cream
Karolina Grabowska / Pexels
Karolina Grabowska / Pexels
ADVERTISEMENT

The worst part, as most women know, is the scratching and rashing that can happen when the short hair grows back.

ADVERTISEMENT

According to Jada, when you shave sensitive areas, you are "creating sandpaper!"

ADVERTISEMENT

Jada doesn't know why people feel the need to target her

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots from TikTok
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

The young woman then says that she doesn't understand why people feel the need to target her over her body hair.

ADVERTISEMENT

She says that she doesn't care if other people choose to shave their armpits before reinforcing that she still doesn't want to shave hers.

ADVERTISEMENT

She shaved every day for 10 years before ditching the razor

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Woman shaving her armpits
BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Jada recalls shaving her armpits "every dang day" for over ten years before deciding to ditch her razor for good.

ADVERTISEMENT

She then resolves, "It just don't matter. We're on a floatin' rock, okay?"

ADVERTISEMENT

"I am just a person, and I'm just out here livin'"

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Woman in flower crown with armpit hair posing
@jadamackt / Instagram
@jadamackt / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

According to Jada, the mantra goes: "Floating rock. Nothing matters. Do what you want. Have your armpit hair. I don't care!"

ADVERTISEMENT

She concludes, "I am just a person, and I'm just out here livin'."

ADVERTISEMENT

Jada does shave her legs because she likes how it feels

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots of woman from Instagram
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

Before the video ends, Jada complains that she gets hate from commenters because she chooses to shave her legs and not her armpits.

ADVERTISEMENT

She admits it's simply because "I like the way it feels."

ADVERTISEMENT

"The key to being happy is doing whatever the heck you want."

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots from TikTok
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

The clip then cuts to Jada standing outside her home.

ADVERTISEMENT

She looks at the camera and leans forward before saying, "I think the key to being happy is just doing whatever the heck you want."

ADVERTISEMENT

Her advice is to do what makes you happy

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots of woman outside her home
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

On top of doing whatever the heck you want, she says it's important not to let anyone get in the way.

ADVERTISEMENT

Jada backs away from the camera and ends with, "Do what makes you happy. Yeah, that's it. That's how I feel."

ADVERTISEMENT

Most comments were super supportive

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

Commenters had lots to say, and the video was flooded with over 19K comments from people with opinions on Jada's body hair.

ADVERTISEMENT

The majority of the feedback was positive, but of course, it wasn't all kind.

ADVERTISEMENT

Not everyone was kind— some people were judgmental

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Comments-58915
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

It's clear that some people are too stuck in their ways to realize that they're a part of the social stigma against people with body hair.

ADVERTISEMENT

Despite Jada saying she didn't care to read their opinions, it would be hard not to.

ADVERTISEMENT

Lots of women are embracing the no-shave lifestyle!

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

Overall, Jada received overwhelming support from strangers who admired her confidence, adored her charming personality, and respected her openness.

ADVERTISEMENT

The video also had plenty of comments from people who had a similar experience with choosing not to remove their body hair.

ADVERTISEMENT

Jada made a follow up video

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots from TikTok
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

In a follow-up video, Jada responds to a commenter admitting that she didn't think her video would blow up the way it did.

ADVERTISEMENT

She joked, "I knew that I would rise to fame eventually; I just didn't think it would be over my armpit hair."

ADVERTISEMENT

People's judgment is what makes something good or bad

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Screenshots from TikTok
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
@jadamackt / TikTok / Canva
ADVERTISEMENT

Jada tells her followers that "nothing is either good or bad; it is only thinking that makes it so."

ADVERTISEMENT

She is referencing a quote from Hamlet that has to do with people passing judgment on others, something she has certainly experienced.

ADVERTISEMENT

She's not letting nay hate get her down

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Woman in flower field
@jadamackt / Instagram
@jadamackt / Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT

The young woman says that her whole experience has taught her that taking things personally takes away her own happiness.

ADVERTISEMENT

She finishes her thought with, "Go out and live your life!"