“Whatever men view as beautiful, women have to live up to. Yet, no matter what a woman does, a man will never be satisfied.”
Growing up in a highly misogynistic society, succumbing to the male gaze and being who everyone wanted her to be, Kendall Bird had had enough.
After being challenged by a male, telling her to shave her legs because it “didn’t look very nice”, the 18-year-old from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, wanted to take a stand for women.
When the time came for her to complete her A level photography coursework, Kendall decided to use it as a platform to challenge ideas of femininity and to spread awareness of girl culture.
With her interests being very heavily based around feminism and scrapping gender norms, Kendall wanted to create something which would have a high impact on society.
“It’s so drilled into society’s heads that it’s not normal for women to have body hair,” Kendall says.
“So, to challenge these ideas, I decided to focus the camera on myself and showcase my raw presentation.”
After explaining to her mum what she decided to focus her project on, Kendall didn’t quite get the reaction that she hoped.
Kendall’s mum, Joanne Sumnel, explains: “When Kendall told me what the subject of her work was going to be, I was very apprehensive.
“People can be so cruel and as her mum, I just wanted to protect her and not allow anyone to upset her.”
But the tides soon turned once Kendall’s photographs were completed and submitted.
After gaining endless praise by her photography teacher, who put her work up around the college for everyone to see, it was Kendall’s mum who persuaded her to post them on social media.
Joanne, 40, says: “After seeing the images and understanding the reasons behind them, my mind completely changed.
“I was so proud of Kendall for doing something that she believes in and I wanted her to encourage others to do the same.”
Once she had finally convinced herself, Kendall nervously pressed post.
Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to gain the support that she did.
“It was terrifying,” she says.
“A part of me was so embarrassed to post them on my Instagram account, which is ironic because I was doing it to make myself and others feel more confident.
“I definitely didn’t expect people to pay as much attention to my photos as they did. But doing it has made me realise how much people actually support it.”
The main reason behind her post was to inspire girls to look how they please; Kendall did just that.
“I’ve had a lot of people messaging me saying that my photos made them realise that they don’t have to act and look a certain way.
“Although I was really nervous to post them, it’s clear that it helped a lot of people and made them more confident, which makes me so happy,” she says proudly.
Watch the video below to hear more from Kendall.
Not only is the English literature student at the University of Liverpool passionate about girl culture, but she has also raised awareness on Instagram around women’s safety.
After the disastrous events surrounding Sarah Everard, Kendall became angry at how oblivious some males on social media were acting.
READ MORE: Female safety: Five ways that women can feel safe when walking at night
She explains: “It takes a woman dying for people to raise the issue of female safety.
“People on Instagram were trying to raise awareness of what women have to go through, but some males were just ignoring it because it doesn’t affect them.
“The thing that bothers me most is that a woman could say one thing and be completely ignored, but a man could share the exact same thing and it’s idolised.”
Since starting university in September, Kendall has joined the feminist society and not only hopes to take part in protests for women, but also wants to take more visual photos for people to take in the important messages that way.
“Inspiring girls and being an advocate for women is so important to me; I want to show them that if you want to grow your armpit and leg hair, do it. If you want to do the exact opposite, that’s ok too,” she says.
“As long as you’re happy within yourself, then look how you want. Whatever you look like, you’re never going to please everybody.”
