We've been longtime fans of Harnaam Kaur — a 25-year-old living with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) — since she burst onto the scene with her inspiring bridal photo shoot. The young woman, who has embraced her beard after years of shaving and waxing, has become an advocate and Instagram star, and this week she passed another major milestone: she was inducted into the Guinness World Records 2017 as the “Youngest Female with a Full Beard.” It’s a major point of pride and celebration for Kaur, who shared the news via Instagram yesterday.
But the road to world-record domination, and more importantly, self-acceptance wasn’t easy. Kaur's condition, in which the ovaries contain cystic follicles that overproduce androgens like testosterone, can spark hirsutism — the excessive growth of facial or body hair — for women. PCOS is, “the most common cause of hirsutism and may affect up to 10% of women,” according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
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Kaur says she started growing facial hair at age 11 and, sadly, bullying followed. “Kids can be nasty so I went through an immense amount of bullying in schools as well, which led me to self-harm and [thoughts of] suicide — like wanting to take my own life,” she said in an interview with UK talk show This Morning.
Kaur was able to rise above and gain new purpose as a body-confidence activist, anti-bullying activist, and life coach. She’s modeled in London Fashion Week. And she’s using her growing platform to redefine beauty and communicate messages of self-love and strength.
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I get a lot of death threats or people are like, 'You should kill yourself. You’re ugly, you're an abomination...' at the end of the day, I realize that my purpose on this earth is far more superior than any of these comments.
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“Online, I’m trolled about my weight and being plus-sized. I am trolled about my turban, the skin color I have, and my ethnic background. I’m also trolled about having a beard as a woman. I’ve actually come to terms with being a bearded lady, being plus-sized,” she said in a BBC Three interview. “I get a lot of death threats or people are like, 'You should kill yourself. You’re ugly, you're an abomination. You should never have children.' It can be quite terrifying when I’m out and about and on my own, but at the end of the day, I realize that my purpose on this earth is far more superior than any of these comments."
It's messages like hers that can help all of us be more accepting of ourselves and others, no matter our age. “There are two mottos I absolutely live by,” Kaur told BBC Three. “One of them is my body, my rules. It’s my body. I will do whatever I want with it. And the second one is, bullying doesn’t last. The horrible comments do not last. Once you love yourself and have accepted yourself for who you are and what you look like, then no one’s ignorant comments will affect you because you’re content and happy with the way that you are... You need to love yourself.”
Congratulations Kaur, and keep on doing you. We are all the better for it.