A bearded bride is opening our eyes to a new side of stunning beauty
Harnaam Kaur first got on our radar back in early 2014, when the self-proclaimed “Bearded Dame” went viral. At 24-years-old, Kaur has been growing her beard for eight years, having embraced her facial hair at age 16 after years of trying to hide it. Now, the body positivity activist has taken her advocacy to a whole new level with an inspiring and amazing bridal photo shoot featured in the magazine Rock & Roll Bride.
Kaur’s decision to embrace her natural look came after being baptized Sikh. According to Sikh teachings, the body should be left unaltered, including body hair. For Kaur that meant allowing her beard, caused by a hormonal imbalance due to polycystic ovaries, to grow. Years of bullying made it a difficult decision, but one that saved Kaur’s life.
“At the age of 16 I hit my biggest low,” Kaur told Rock & Roll Bride. “I had been suicidal all year due to immense bullying from school and people in society . . . I remember sitting on my bed and thinking about taking my own life. But instead, as I sat there, I started to counsel myself. I told myself ‘The energy you are putting into ending your life, put all that energy into turning your life around and doing something better.’” “At that point I decided I wanted to be me. I decided to keep my beard and step forward against society’s expectations of what a woman should look like. Today I am not suicidal and I do not self harm. Today I am happy living as a young beautiful bearded woman. I have realized that this body is mine, I own it, I do not have any other body to live in so I may as well love it unconditionally.”
With this photo shoot, Kaur is showing the world just what it means to be bearded and beautiful. Although not getting married yet, Kaur’s softly lit photos seriously make me wish I could be invited to the wedding whenever she does tie the knot. The flowers, the dress, the amazing makeup — it’s all perfectly on point. And it proves that a beard can be beautiful, especially when the amazing person behind it is confident in themselves.
Meet Harnaam Kaur, the beautiful woman who has grown a beard
Just an amazing yoga teacher casually redefining beauty standards
