“I feel more Confident now than I have ever felt with my Beard”—Woman finally accepts her True Self

It may sound strange but yes, a biologically born woman can actually grow a beard just as men do, and even look cute in it by a stretch. This is the tale of one of such woman, in the person of Gennevieve Vaillancourt from Ontario Canada.

Vaillancourt had spent years feeling a freak of nature as a result of her facial beard, noting her struggles to come to terms with her condition as she had desperately tried to hide the facial hair from the world and escape ridicule. “I was so ashamed of my beard” she said as she recounted how the bullies came at her in jest of her condition.

Gennevieve, in her teens was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary syndrome, a condition which resulted in the excessive growth of her facial hair when she had turned 16. The hair, she said, had started growing from her chin then her upper lip before becoming visible to eye sight.

When it did get visible, she then had to shave every day, but the more she shaved, the faster the facial hair grew. “I was bullied through school because of it and kids would tell me to shave or asked if I knew how to.” Gennevieve says.

Although she had initially felt relieved once she discovered her diagnosis, a sense of despair evaded her mind knowing the idea of eventually being a mum later on could become a problem as the condition comes with infertility in women. “PCOS made me want to hide and I felt robbed of my femininity.” Gennevieve says. But her fears were ultimately quelled after the birth of her son, Duncan.

The birth of her son brought to her a sort of confidence that eventually led to her embracing her condition and learning to leave the facial hair to grow rather than taking it off.

“I wanted to lead by example,” Gennevieve recounts. “I couldn’t teach him to love every part of himself if I wasn’t doing the same.”

Having spent her years hiding herself from the world, Gennevieve now sees pleasure in sharing photos of her beard to the world “Showing off my beard has been liberating.” Gennevieve prides.