A LITTLE ABOUT PROJECT WWHA:
THE WHY
There is a stigma of masculinity surrounding bodyhair perpetuated by an ancient understanding of gender as a binary. The results of which are numerous and damaging to young people who have or notice bodyhair on themselves and cause feelings of ugliness, unworthiness and shame.
Our project develops media in order to subtly normalize the appearance of bodyhair on women in a landscape of diversity and healthy bodies while creating feelings of self-acceptance, satisfaction, confidence, and value in those who can relate.
Our vision is a world where gender based social expectations on the negative appearance of body hair no longer exist.
THE WHAT
Project WWHA is an artistic body image empowerment project designed normalize the appearance of body hair on women in traditionally feminine archetypes.
In all our work and the discussion around bodyhair that we create, forearm hair is the basic metaphor for all bodyhair, where it communicates a subtle visual subtext such that it can represent an entry point for both individuals and traditional media outlets that may be otherwise timid to embrace bodyhair-positive content.
THE HOW
Project WWHA creates media by producing, directing and funding photoshoots directly with everyday participants and professional models who have noticeable forearm hair.
The majority of the media seen on our website and social channels is curated and photographed in-house with photographers exclusive to the project. We make the media we create available to the models and participants involved at no cost to them both digitally and in print by providing them with a copy of our annual printed book, the Project WWHA Empowerment Guide.
People from every corner of the earth have supported the project financially since 2003. Supporters receive access to all of our work including our archive of media dating back to the start of our journey.
participate with us
If you have forearm hair, you probably relate to the others that you see on this site in some way shape or form.
And maybe for the first time ever, you have noticed that arm hair does not confine itself to ethnic boundaries.
Nor does the experience of feeling shunned, humiliated or made to feel less than because of your arm hair.
Participating with Project WWHA means that you are giving one more face to someone looking for belonging and searching for representation that they cannot find anywhere.
Lending your image to Project WWHA provides a lifeline for someone coming across the page in a time of need.
We ask our participants to answer some tough questions. Questions that we know resonate, hard, for others with arm hair, which is why we’re getting passionate about asking them, and posting them.
We also ask our participants to lend us their image. We would post a simple few photos if you can, or if you are more ambitious, we’ll curate and produce a full photoshoot.
If this is sounding like your kind of place to be, we’d love feature you, so below are your questions to answer & drop us a line on our contact page or our IG channel once you’re ready.
Preguntas de la entrevista en español