Shola Lee
Artist and body hair activist Esther Calixte-Bea stopped shaving her chest and has said that she's never felt more confident.
The 25-year-old from Montreal, Canada, explained how having a hairy chest from a young age made her feel insecure, to the heartbreaking point where she stopped swimming.
Now, though, she's taking her power back, deciding to stop shaving altogether, and, honestly, more power to her.
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Esther, who goes by Queen Esie online, said that the decision to stop shaving came after she travelled to Haiti.
During this trip, Esther realised that beauty standards aren't fixed, they're constantly shifting depending on where you were in the world.
Upon learning this, the artist said: "I became way less self-conscious when I learned this information and I realised I could choose for myself and couldn't wait for society to validate my body and my appearance."
She told her friends and family about her plan and went on to create the incredible Lavender Project; the project was compiled of self-photography to trace her journey to self-acceptance.
Esther even shared one of the snaps, wearing a dress she's made, on Instagram and people loved it.
She said: "None of my friends knew, and most of my family members didn't know, and I was at a point where I had worked on my self-esteem.
"I felt comfortable, and I didn't want to hide anymore because it was such a huge burden.
"My friends were actually really proud of me and liked my project and thought it was really interesting. They were surprised that I'd never told them I had chest hair."
While Esther's mother, sister, and aunt knew and accepted her, her dad took a little more convincing.
She explained that: "But at first my dad was like 'oh my gosh, why are you doing this?' And my mum was really telling him 'what she's doing is right and it's her decision.'"
Now, Esther shares regular updates about her journey on social media and has even had artwork featured at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Of course, there are always people online looking to put a downer on someone's day, and Esther has faced her fair share of rude comments.
But, she doesn't let it phase her, adding: "I'm not self-conscious with it anymore. I go out with it. I wear what I want. I'm very much confident because I've made that decision to not be affected by the world."
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