Welcome to another installment of “people need to leave women alone!!”
A recent profile in Bustle features a gorgeous photo of Rachel McAdams—who is currently promoting her new movie Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret—draped across a chaise lounge, with her armpit hair visible. Bustle revealed in a tweet that McAdams specifically asked for the most minimal edits to be done to her photos so she could showcase the real her. “[During] this shoot, I’m wearing latex underwear. But I’ve had two children. This is my body, and I think that’s so important to reflect back out to the world,” McAdams told the magazine, “It’s OK to look your best and work at it and be healthy, but that’s different for everyone.”
And that’s super cool of McAdams to do! Everyone has body hair and we shouldn’t be ashamed to show it off. It’s completely natural and normal—who could ever be mad at that, right?
Right?!
People are mad about McAdams’ armpit hair because they’re awful
Because we live in the worst timeline imaginable, people quickly took to social media and their respective publications to police a woman’s choice to show off her BODY HAIR! An article from the Daily Mail (that I will not be linking because they’re horrible) said that armpit hair isn’t “attractive on women.” One Twitter user posted a message underneath McAdams’ photoshoot that read, “I’d vomit if my wife had armpit hair like this” while another dubbed McAdams as being “nasty.” Truly a chill and normal response to a woman’s natural bodily function. This entire debate (and I’m using that word loosely because it’s incredibly stupid) is hilariously ironic because of what McAdams’ photoshoot was used to promote.
For those who don’t know, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is an adaptation of Judy Blume’s 1970 novel of the same name. The story follows Margaret Simon, a sixth grader who is dealing with typical early-adolescent issues for young girls such as getting your period for the first time, buying your first bra, and having your first kiss. The book, and by extension the movie, is a beautiful depiction of what it’s like to grow up as a young woman and gives a realistic look at the problems we face as we try to be ourselves while also trying to fit in.
McAdams plays Margaret’s mother, Barb, a former art teacher who doesn’t subscribe to a traditional lifestyle. McAdams explained in her Bustle interview that she and the movie’s screenwriter, Kelly Fermon Craig, had extensive conversations about how much of Barb’s sexuality they should portray. Blume herself said she saw Barb as a “very sexy mom,” but Craig saw her as being a bit dorky. They ended up meeting somewhere in the middle as Craig explained that it’s “lovably unaware of the way McAdams carries herself—striding into scenes in distractingly quirky shoes—that allows Barb’s sensuality to shine through.”
To have McAdams star in a movie where the message is to be comfortable in yourself and not let others dictate your actions is incredibly funny (in the most depressing way) when people in the real world are trying to do just that with her armpit hair.
(featured image: Lionsgate Films)
