Harnaam Kaur | |
|---|---|
 Kaur in 2015 | |
| Born | 29 November 1990 |
| Occupation(s) | Social media influencer, model, motivational speaker |
| Known for | Social media, fitness and motivational speaking |
Harnaam Kaur (born 29 November 1990 [2] ) is a British social media personality, postpartum coach, life coach and motivational speaker.
Kaur was born in Slough on 29 November 1990 [3] in what she describes as "a traditional Punjabi family". [2] At the age of 12, Kaur was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), [4] which is due to elevated androgens (male hormones) in females. [5] [6] One of the symptoms of PCOS is hirsutism, or the ability to grow excessive facial and body hair. Kaur is able to grow a full beard as a result of her condition. While Kaur initially attempted to remove her facial hair due to constant bullying, she has grown to embrace her unconventional appearance and has become a spokesperson for the body positivity movement. In an interview with Rock N Roll Bride, Kaur reflects on her decision to keep her beard: "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 realised 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." [7]
Kaur worked as a primary school teaching assistant at Khalsa Primary School before coming to media attention in 2014, when she started giving public interviews. After achieving fame, Kaur became a full-time public figure and freelance model and motivational speaker.
In March 2015, photographer Mr. Elbank included a photo of Kaur in his exhibit at Somerset House in London, which featured portraits of over 80 individuals with beards. [8] In June 2015, Kaur modeled for Rock N Roll Bride and was photographed by Louisa Coulthurst of Urban Bridesmaid Photography. [7] In November 2015, Kaur joined the "Eff Your Beauty Standards" campaign founded by Tess Holliday as a spokesperson and representative. [9]
In March 2016, Kaur became the first woman with a beard to walk at London Fashion Week. She opened the show for designer Marianna Harutunian. [10] She is signed to Wanted Models in Paris and continues to be featured in fashion spreads in both online and print magazines. [11] In May 2016, the conceptual artist Annelies Hofmeyr featured Kaur in her project Trophy Wife Barbie, where Hofmeyr altered a Barbie doll to Kaur's likeness. [12]
In July 2016, musician Aisha Mizra featured Kaur in the music video for her song "Fuck Me or Destroy Me". [13]
In September 2016, Kaur was included in the Guinness World Records as the youngest woman in the world to have a full beard. Her record citation read: "Now with a beard measuring as long as six inches [15 cm] in places, she overcame years of bullying to take ownership of her appearance and achieve this record title at the age of 24 years 282 days". [3]
In March 2017, Kaur was featured in the Teen Vogue article "Instagrammers Challenge Body and Facial Hair Stigma". [14]
In August 2017, Kaur collaborated with the grooming company Captain Fawcett to create and design a beard oil elixir. Kaur models in the advertisement campaign for the beard oil. [15]
In interviews and on social media, Kaur references the abuse and harassment she received as a teenager that led to her self-harm and attempted suicide. In 2017, Kaur contributed to panel discussions in the House of Parliament on topics relating to mental health, body image, cyberbullying, LGBTQIA+ and how social media, businesses, schools and the government can help with the development of positive body images. [16]
Kaur uses her profiles on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to contribute to numerous body-positive campaigns. She frequently posts content to promote awareness of body shaming, cyberbullying and mental illness. Kaur also aims to challenge gender stereotypes in media. She has said, "I don't think I believe in gender. I want to know who said a vagina is for a woman and a penis is for a man, or pink is for a girl and blue is for a boy. I am sitting here with a vagina and boobs – and a big beautiful beard." [17]
While Kaur has referenced her conversion to Sikhism at age 16 as one of the reasons she stopped removing her facial hair, she now describes herself as spiritual rather than religious. [17] Traditionally, Sikhism forbids the cutting of hair. She continues to wear her turban or other head coverings, which is a custom of the Khalsa tradition of Sikhism.
Kaur is originally from Slough, England. Her younger brother, Gurdeep Singh Cheema, created the film Happy Ending? The Dangers of Online Grooming to bring awareness to the issue of online child grooming by predators. [18]
To promote self-love and acceptance, Kaur has stated that she has named her beard Sundri, which means beauty or beautiful, and refers to her beard as "she". [14]
Polycystic ovary syndrome, or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. The syndrome is named after cysts which form on the ovaries of some people with this condition, though this is not a universal symptom, and not the underlying cause of the disorder.
Hirsutism is excessive body hair on parts of the body where hair is normally absent or minimal. The word is from early 17th century: from Latin hirsutus meaning "hairy". It usually refers to a male pattern of hair growth in a female that may be a sign of a more serious medical condition, especially if it develops well after puberty. Cultural stigma against hirsutism can cause much psychological distress and social difficulty. Discrimination based on facial hirsutism often leads to the avoidance of social situations and to symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Anovulation is when the ovaries do not release an oocyte during a menstrual cycle. Therefore, ovulation does not take place. However, a woman who does not ovulate at each menstrual cycle is not necessarily going through menopause. Chronic anovulation is a common cause of infertility.
Spironolactone, sold under the brand name Aldactone among others, is a medication that is primarily used to treat fluid build-up due to heart failure, liver scarring, or kidney disease. It is also used in the treatment of high blood pressure, low blood potassium that does not improve with supplementation, early puberty in boys, acne and excessive hair growth in women, and as a part of feminizing hormone therapy in trans women. Spironolactone is taken by mouth.
A bearded lady is a woman with a naturally occurring beard normally due to the condition known as hirsutism or hypertrichosis. Hypertrichosis causes people of either sex to develop excess hair over their entire body, while hirsutism is restricted to females and only causes excessive hair growth in the nine body areas mentioned by Ferriman and Gallwey.
Hyperandrogenism is a medical condition characterized by high levels of androgens. It is more common in women than men. Symptoms of hyperandrogenism may include acne, seborrhea, hair loss on the scalp, increased body or facial hair, and infrequent or absent menstruation. Complications may include high blood cholesterol and diabetes. It occurs in approximately 5% of women of reproductive age.
Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), also known as Müllerian-inhibiting hormone (MIH), is a glycoprotein hormone structurally related to inhibin and activin from the transforming growth factor beta superfamily, whose key roles are in growth differentiation and folliculogenesis. In humans, it is encoded by the AMH gene, on chromosome 19p13.3, while its receptor is encoded by the AMHR2 gene on chromosome 12.
Achard–Thiers syndrome is a rare disorder mainly occurring in postmenopausal women. It is characterized by type II diabetes mellitus and signs related to the overproduction of androgens.
Francia Raisa Almendárez is an American actress. Raisa is known for her roles in Bring It On: All or Nothing, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Grown-ish, and How I Met Your Father.
Ovarian diseases refer to diseases or disorders of the ovary.
Helena Antonia was a bearded female court dwarf of Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress and was a favorite of Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, and also a lady-in-waiting for Constance of Austria, Queen of Poland.
Facial hair is hair grown on the face, usually on the chin, cheeks, and upper lip region. It is typically a secondary sex characteristic of human males. Men typically start developing facial hair in the later stages of puberty or adolescence, around fifteen years of age, and most do not finish developing a full adult beard until around eighteen or later. However, large variations can occur; boys as young as eleven have also been known to develop facial hair, and some men do not produce much facial hair at all.
Hyperthecosis, or ovarian hyperthecosis, is hyperplasia of the theca interna of the ovary. Hyperthecosis occurs when an area of luteinization occurs along with stromal hyperplasia. The luteinized cells produce androgens, which may lead to hirsutism and virilization in affected women.
Infertility in polycystic ovary disease (PCOS) is a hormonal imbalance in women that is thought to be one of the leading causes of female infertility. Polycystic ovary syndrome causes more than 75% of cases of anovulatory infertility.
Helen Mason is a British endocrinologist who specialises in reproductive endocrinology and is deputy head of Biomedical Sciences at St. Georges. She graduated from Aston University and Imperial College London, and is now a director of PCOS UK, which provides support for health-care professionals dealing with polycystic ovary syndrome. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. Mason also specialized in reproductive functions of patients with eating disorder and has published several papers and contributed to a number of books on the subject.
Obesity is defined as an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight. This is often described as a body mass index (BMI) over 30. However, BMI does not account for whether the excess weight is fat or muscle, and is not a measure of body composition. For most people, however, BMI is an indication used worldwide to estimate nutritional status. Obesity is usually the result of consuming more calories than the body needs and not expending that energy by doing exercise. There are genetic causes and hormonal disorders that cause people to gain significant amounts of weight but this is rare. People in the obese category are much more likely to suffer from fertility problems than people of normal healthy weight.
The HAIR-AN syndrome is a rare subtype of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) characterized by hyperandrogenism (HA), insulin resistance (IR) and acanthosis nigricans (AN). The symptoms of the HAIR-AN syndrome are largely due to severe insulin resistance, which can be secondary to blocking antibodies against the insulin receptor or genetically absent/reduced insulin receptor number/function. Insulin resistance leads to hyperinsulinemia which, in turn, leads to an excess production of androgen hormones by the ovaries. High levels of androgen hormones (hyperandrogenism) in females causes excessive hair growth, acne and irregular menstruation. Patients with both underlying mechanisms of insulin resistance may have more severe hyperandrogenism. Insulin resistance is also associated with diabetes, heart disease and excessive darkening of the skin
Ethinylestradiol/cyproterone acetate (EE/CPA), also known as co-cyprindiol and sold under the brand names Diane and Diane-35 among others, is a combination of ethinylestradiol (EE), an estrogen, and cyproterone acetate (CPA), a progestin and antiandrogen, which is used as a birth control pill to prevent pregnancy in women. It is also used to treat androgen-dependent conditions in women such as acne, seborrhea, excessive facial/body hair growth, scalp hair loss, and high androgen levels associated with ovaries with cysts. The medication is taken by mouth once daily for 21 days, followed by a 7-day free interval.
Lara Briden is a naturopath, women’s health speaker, and author of the books Period Repair Manual and Hormone Repair Manual, published by Pan Macmillan. She has consulting rooms in Christchurch, New Zealand, and travels widely to speak on women’s health.
Jason Fung is a Canadian nephrologist and functional medicine advocate who promotes a low-carbohydrate high-fat diet and intermittent fasting. Fung disputes the current saturated fat guidelines.