https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elDe_kHYTb8
Challenging social norms, no matter how benign they may seem, is not easy. This was confirmed by Swedish photographer and digital artist Arvida Byström, who posed as a model for Adidas’ Originals’ Superstar campaign featuring ‘hairy’ legs. The photographs from this promotional package sparked waves of outrage on social media and earned her ‘a heap of nasty threats’, reports the Guardian. Following numerous threats and ugly comments on her Instagram profile, Byström posted a message alongside a photo from the controversial video, expressing sympathy for all those who are not ‘perfect’ as their experience of life in this world is surely quite sad.
“I am a healthy white woman, of the same gender and gender identity (cis body) whose only unconventionality is a little leg hair. Literally, I have received rape threats in my inbox because of this. I can’t even imagine what it’s like when you don’t have all these privileges and are trying to exist in this world. Sending love and reminding you that not everyone has the same experiences of ‘being a person’.”
Despite the flood of negative criticism, many supported her in challenging deeply rooted perceptions of how women should look. The Swede is known for often questioning the cult of femininity and gender standards in her photographic work, using what is known as ‘girly’ aesthetics, which translates to using a lot of pink. Posing with unshaved legs was no exception for the advertisement. The 26-year-old Byström regularly poses with hair in the foreground and is not shy about showing cellulite.
“I believe that femininity is usually created based on our culture so that we can all do feminine things and be feminine. I think that in today’s world we are very afraid of that,” the Swede stated in the Adidas video.
