Facial hair due to PCOS has become a most common problem in women. It's Harnaam Kaur who broke the stereotypes and flaunted her facial hair, which took the form of a beard over the years.
PCOS, which is known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome has become a common issue among women. In India, the PCOS affected rate in women has been from 3.7% to 22.5%. PCOS is a condition that results in hormonal imbalance among women and alters the way that ovaries generally work. One of the most common issues of PCOS is extreme hair loss and facial hair in the chin area of women, which is caused by the increased level of male hormones in women triggered by PCOS. Well, it's social media influencer, Harnaam Kaur who has dealt with this issue and turned this into her identity.
Recently, the official page of People Of India shared a clip of Harnaam Kaur, wherein she could be seen flaunting her facial hair, which has taken the shape of a beard. Harnaam Kaur, in the video, shared that although she's a woman, she can proudly flaunt her facial hair. She revealed that when she was 11 years old, she had issues with her periods, and had heavy flow. Later, she was diagnosed with PCOS.
As the effect of PCOS, facial hair started to grow on Harnaam, and she started getting bullied in her class. She stated that she was even called a man, and the bullies even led her to be suicidal. She later realised that a beard is not a sin, and she started owning it rather than hiding it anymore. She added that people asked her how she would get married, but she has stopped looking at herself through society's judgemental lens. Well, it takes courage to opt for something like this, and kudos to Harnaam for accepting what happened to her was not her fault, and owning what she has.
No sooner did the video go viral, it brought traction and a whole lot of opinions. Some users started trolling Harnaam Kaur, while others lauded her. While some gave her advice to get facial treatments done, others said that she did it only to be famous. On the other hand, PCOS victims shared how tough it is to get rid of this thick chin hair even after facial treatment and thus, people should stop the trolling part as it was no one's fault.
One user penned, "Wow.. self-acceptance is more important." Another user commented, "Sympathy aur normalisation ke naam pr kya kya chal rha hai." A third user penned, "Disturbing. Even as a woman. Sorry." Another user commented, "More important is self-acceptance..if that's done.. don't really have to care for the rest."
In an interview with BBC, Harnaam Kaur talked about dealing with bullies for her facial hair. She shared that she had been bullied for a major part of her life, and she realised that it picked on her as she had a lack of self-esteem. She also added that over the years, she understood that those who spread hate actually focus on what they don't understand. In Harnaam Kaur's words:
"I can honestly say that it is a very weak game to play. I was hated in school. I endured years of bullying and ridicule. I learnt very early on that people hate what they don’t understand, and that when people have hardly built a relationship with themselves, they will absolutely try to wreck the one you have with yourself."
Watch the video here.
What do you think about Harnaam Kaur's courageous step?
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