There seems to be an emerging trend where women, predominantly in their 20s and early 30s, are posting naked selfies of themselves with a claim to empowerment. Female empowerment, with a focus on acceptance of the female form and re-claiming possession of one’s own body from the male gaze.
But as I sit here writing this, I can’t help but think that our female ancestors, who fought for gender equality, our rights as women to vote and pursue a career of one’s own, would be turning in their graves at the thought of the term ‘feminism’ being bandied about in line with posing in the nude on social media.
Last month, reality television’s Kim Kardashian broke the internet with a nude selfie on Instagram.
While there was some praise for the photo, there was also a lot of backlash and ‘slut-shaming’.
Coming to Kim’s defence was actress Emily Ratajkowski, the pair ‘collaborating’ in a joint topless selfie, accompanied by the caption:
“We are more than just our bodies, but that doesn’t mean we have to be shamed for them or our sexuality. #liberated”
I’m not denying that empowerment for the individual comes in various forms; I can see that, for someone proud of their body, taking a photo of themselves naked can be affirming. But it’s claims like Emily’s in relation to female #liberation that irk me most.
Now call me crazy, but isn’t claiming that ‘we are more than just our bodies’ as females, while making them the subject of your post, merely drawing attention to the female form yet again, rather than any other aspect of the self, such as intellect.
Nudity as a part of feminism is of course not a new phenomenon by any means, having been used as a shock tactic for decades. But what we need to keep in mind is that by focusing on the shock factor with movements such as the slut walk, which is against rape culture, that we risk the message being misinterpreted, or worse yet, being completely lost and ignored.
When one has an influential platform to the degree of both Kim and Emily, two women who are looked up to by millions of females of all ages across the globe, my question is, why risk losing and confusing the true message of the cause?
If you are more than your body as you say you are, then please, demonstrate that by showcasing something other than your bod.
This is in no way a call for women to gang up on one another, and shame the other based on their decisions, as so many have done with Kim. Her adequacy as a wife, mother and woman as a whole were all called into question – aspects which I believe are in no way affected by her decision to pose nude.
Ultimately what the argument is here is that while disrobing may be celebrated for empowering the individual, feminism and the plight of women is a collective. If as individuals we claim that our actions are for the greater good of women, then are we not responsible for assessing the possible result and impact of our decisions.
By posting nude selfies, we are deluding ourselves if we think that we are reclaiming our bodies from the male gaze; rather, we are leaving ourselves open to objectification by not just men, but women and the media. You shouldn’t have to objectify yourself to get a message across.
If this is your way of pursuing gender equality, then I’m sorry, I truly believe you’re going about it the wrong way.