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Nike praised for ad featuring model Annahstasia Enuke with underarm hair

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By John Glenday, Reporter

April 26, 2019 | 3 min read

Sportswear brand Nike has earned praise for its decision to depict Nigerian-American model Annahstasia Enuke wearing a Nike sports bra with visible underarm hair on its Instagram account.

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Nike praised for ad featuring woman with underarm hair

The photo, captioned ‘Big mood’, has been liked over 180,000 times, earning praise from many for proudly displaying a natural body, albeit while weathering some flak from those less receptive to armpit hair.

Big mood @annahstasia.

A post shared by NikeWomen (@nikewomen) on

One user wrote ‘Nike thank you for doing this, #Bodyhairpositivity is something that needs to be normalised.”

Others were less complimentary, however, with some branding the image as ‘disgusting’, a response which drew a further wave of support in favour of the model.

Nike has made a habit of courting controversy by pushing the boundaries of what mainstream audiences find acceptable, recruiting anti-racism campaigner Colin Kaepernick to narrate and star in its ‘Dream Crazy’ film.

The brand similarly divided opinion with its sports hijab to coincide with last year’s International Women’s Day.

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