Arvida Bystrom, 26, a model and photographer, took to Instagram to reveal how she’d received a torrent of abuse after the campaign was released in which she reveals her hairy calves underneath a pair of pink ankle socks.
A Swedish model has revealed how she’s been subjected to death and rape threats after posing for an Adidas ad campaign with unshaven legs.
‘Me being such an abled, white, cis body with its only nonconforming feature being a little leg hair,’ she said. ‘Literally I’ve been getting rape threats in my DM inbox.
‘I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to not posses all these privileges and try to exist in the world. Sending love and try to remember that not everybody has the same experiences being a person.
Arvida Bystrom, 26, a model and photographer from Sweden, has received a barrage of online abuse for showing off her body hair on Instagram and in a campaign for Adidas
Arvida thanked her followers who have been positive about the campaign after explaining how she’d received rape and death threats
In a video posted to YouTube Arvida tells viewers: ‘Femininty is usually created from our culture, I think everyone can do feminine things, can be feminine and I think in today’s society we’re very scared of that.’
However she was subjected to a slew of abusive comments, including being called a ‘monkey’.
Another commenter suggested that she would never get a boyfriend, while her legs were branded ‘disgusting’ by others.
Unfortunately Arvida is no stranger to online abuse, and regularly receives negative comments on Instagram where she often posts photos that reveal her armpit hair and is told she should shave.
‘That’s the most disgusting lady I’ve ever seen in my whole life,’ one commenter wrote.
However, Arvida is not short of support from followers who have praised her for challenging the impossible standards women are supposed to uphold and showing that body hair is natural
Despite the negative reaction, the model has been praised for highlighting that hair on women is completely natural and normal
Commenters told the model she looks like a ‘monkey’ and warned she’d never get a boyfriend
Arvida is known for poking fun at beauty standards with her posts on Instagram
