Stop sexualising nudity.
Ever stood in front of a mirror trying to get the perfect angle to make your tits look as big and as perky as possible so you could send it to a guy you like in the hope it makes him fancy you more? I did, when I was 14, when my “tits” were but specks of flesh upon my protruding ribcage (they still are). The pic went around school, it was a bit shit yada yada.
Anyway, apparently that’s what a nude is. Quite literally if you believe the Urban Dictionary definition – “what girls that are desperate for attention pass around school”.
Have our bodies become nothing more than a human version of Alexa, awoken each time we hear “send nudes”? Have we only ourselves to blame for this? Orrr could it be something do with the awful sex education for all genders, the slut shaming, the beauty standards, the over-sexualisation of women, the media, porn, societal norms, censorship, the patriarchy, body shaming and on and on and on. Nah you’re right, definitely our fault for being so sxc.
Yup, women most definitely are stunning and sexy and incredible. Nope, that doesn’t mean anyone has the right to objectify a woman’s body without permission.
No, it’s not “a compliment” when you shout at us from across the street cos our bare legs are out in 30 degree fucking heat in July. They’re just legs mate, just wait til you find out I have arms too. As a society, we need to stop sexualising women’s bodies, I’m eating this banana to get my 5 a day not so you can fantasise about getting a blowjob, go away. Yeah sure, we can be sexy and sometimes want to be but believe it or not, that doesn’t tend to be when we’re walking to the shop past a load of builders.
“Cover up then” – the misogynists cry. Fuck off. From the moment we’re born, women are told what to do. Show some skin, loosen up. Don’t show so much skin, cover up. We’re faced with an endless stream of contradictory advice for us to follow just so that other people don’t do bad things to us. It’s not our responsibility to not be sexy or to follow the rules, its other people’s responsibility to not be arseholes.
To do that we need to separate being nude from being sexy, allowing women to be themselves in their body’s, whatever that may be.
If you’re a misogynist reading this (hi, btw) and you’re not quite convinced and think women should look and act exactly according to your ideals so you can carry on shouting at them in the street, think of it like this. The more comfortable women are in their bodies, the sexier they’ll be. That means better sex for you (if you can find a consenting adult that isn’t repulsed by you). Win win.
Let’s start making this change by normalising nudity (and female pleasure, oioi), saying fuck you to everyone that tells women we have to look and/or act a certain way. Hence the zine, duh. Subverting the language and sexism that society has been built on from cavemen to now, instead celebrating femininity and nudity in its many forms. It’s time to let women do whatever we wanna do. A nude is not reserved for being sexy or for another person, say no to “Send nudes” and yes to being nude.