Meet the female student who refuses to shave her body hair

Liverpool: A female university student has revealed a secret that's set to divide opinion - she doesn't shave her body hair.

Yasmin Gasimova bared all her hair in a blog post, and even showed off her downy black belly hair in a series of pictures.

The 19-year-old from Reading says the only hair grooming she undertakes is on her face - and she removes her natural beard only when she can be bothered.

The first year student at Liverpool University is studying computer science and philosophy. She says she's spent the last eight years not caring about her body hair - and only shaving her legs when she wants a one night stand.

Writing for student newspaper The Tab, Yasmin said: "Being hairy isn't scary. In a society where women are expected to shave, I'm not ashamed to admit I don't.

"I might trim my pubes if I'm going on holiday, but catch me on a normal day when my armpits are bushy and my legs furry, and you might be surprised."

Brunette Yasmin recalls being bullied at school when moustache hairs started to sprout on her upper lip when she was just 10-years-old.

"I was trying to shave my noticeably hairy stomach," she continued. "I was never not self-conscious of my hair, but now I embrace it.

"I stopped caring when I was 11, as having naturally thick, fast-growing hair meant I'd need to waste an hour just to get prickly dots on my legs, which would grow back in a week.

"It's a huge inconvenience for me, as it never made me feel comfortable, gave me loads of ingrown hairs, and my hairless legs wouldn't match the rest of my hairy body."

She reckons that after stopping shaving, she feels much more liberated - but still regularly tames her bushy eyebrows.

Yasmin is so happy with her hirsute look, she reckons she only shaves when she's going on holiday or trying to find a man.

She added: "If I do shave, which is very, very rare, it's for absolute necessity.

"If I'm going on a beach holiday, having swimming lessons, or if I'm trying to pull a one night stand, I'll shave.

"I still unfortunately prefer the inconvenience of shaving to the inevitable dirty looks and rejection."

Following her outspoken post, Yasmin wants other women to embrace their own hairiness, because men are judged by their 'manliness' on their ability to grow beards.

She added: "Although women have just as much body hair, albeit generally thinner and lighter, as a society we have decided they have to be completely hairless in order to be seen as truly feminine.

"But nothing about a woman's natural body should make her feel like less of a woman."

"There is also nothing dirty or unclean about body hair," she continued.

"Besides, we shouldn't hold women to a higher standard of cleanliness than men.

"This is the reality of a woman's body, and it shouldn't be hidden away."