Hello! My name is Zara Sharif and I am a 2021 Laidlaw Scholar from the University of York, where I study Education!

My research topic looks at body hair and racialized bullying of teenage girls in UK secondary schools, and how this interacts with the relationship between misogyny and racism.

I chose this research topic because I think we are seeing a cultural shift (in some ways) towards a greater acceptance of body hair, but I've found this shift often leaves out women of colour, and ignores how race and gender can intersect to form teenage girls experiences and their relationships with their body, their sense of self and how they perceive themselves. I also want to see how greater society perceive body hair on women of colour in particular and how social media can influence/shape/change these opinions.