Balpreet Kaur

London, Sept. 26 (PTI): A US-based Sikh student’s dignified response to a tasteless post making fun of her facial hair has earned her a legion of fans.

A man took a photo of Balpreet Kaur and uploaded it on to the social news website, Reddit, in the “funny” category with the tagline, “im (sic) not sure what to conclude from this”, reports the Daily Mail today.

The aspiring neurosurgeon discovered the picture — which shows her standing in a queue — and, instead of flying into a rage at the person behind the cheap dig, she posted a comment explaining why she didn’t remove her hair.

Balpreet, an Ohio State University student, said: “I’m not embarrassed or even humiliated by the attention [negative and positve] that this picture is getting because, it’s who I am. Yes, I’m a baptised Sikh woman with facial hair. Yes, I realise that my gender is often confused and I look different than most women.”

She refused to attack the person who had posted the photo, which many viewers accused of being mean and deliberately trying to draw laughs at Balpreet’s expense.

Balpreet said that if the person had wanted a picture he should have just asked and she would have smiled.

Her eloquent response to the person behind the picture drew her an army of fans, who called her an “inspiration” and “awesome”. Some wrote to her to express their concern that her body hair might be a sign of polycystic ovary syndrome, which can prompt excessive body hair in the patient.