People Are Praising Nike for This Photo That Proudly Shows a Model’s Underarm Hair

Nike became the latest company to embrace the pro-body-hair movement on Wednesday, when it shared a new photo on Instagram. It's a striking image of queer Nigerian American model Annahstasia Enuke standing proudly with an arm over her head—a pose that reveals her underarm hair. The Instagram caption appropriately reads, "Big mood."

While it's the first time Nike has embraced natural body hair so publicly, they are definitely not the first company to do so. Last year body-care brand Billie launched one of the first-ever razor ads that actually showed body hair, and several other brands have taken a more body-positive approach to going shave-free. Celebrities such as Rihanna and Janelle Monáe have also broken taboos and gotten comfortable showing off some stubble both in their art and in their personal life on Instagram.

So there's definitely a precedent Nike is following. However, because pro-body-hair attitudes are still evolving, the reaction Nike has been getting has been pretty divisive. Some people have been put off by the image, going as far as calling it "disgusting."

"Like please don't get me wrong I'm delighted that this woman is brave enough to go around like that...but that's horrible," one person commented on Instagram. Another wrote, "This is not freedom, this is not a type of 'I love my body,' this is bullshit, shave that shit."

And yet many others have hailed the move by Nike as an important gesture that allows women to be themselves. "We need more freedom in this world to do what we will with our bodies without someone trying to shame," one commenter wrote, while a different person called the photo "beautiful on so many different levels."

Someone else had this important reminder: "Body hair is natural, everyone has it." As if any image of a male athlete ever got hate for armpit hair….