Long before Britney Spears caused outrage by ripping off her clothes to reveal an even sexier outfit, the levels of what we deem appropriate, have been edited and criticised.
It was only recently that Amber Rose went onto Instagram and uploaded a semi-naked photo, revealing an area that’s more used to being displayed in porn. Shocking? In this day-and-age, it’s now somewhat normalised and many people simply scrolled past.
Originally, sex and skin became a feminist movement. No longer tied to being forced to behave and look a certain way, stars like Marilyn Monroe, gave women the permission to embrace their bodies and not be afraid of being sexual. Nowadays however, taking your clothes off is either a way to sell a product, or a way to promote your brand.
When I did this shoot – which depending on your views, is either classy or too much, I cannot pretend that it was ever about female empowerment. It’s neither a confidence booster or a way to declare myself proud of my body. It was the first shoot I did with a professional photographer, and it was an outfit I didn’t even discuss with him, prior to shooting.
This jumper had sat in my room for a long time and I finally thought, this could work in a photo. As I briefed him on my idea, he came up with the concept of simply lying on the floor and looking up. The floor was cold and painful; my neck was reaching like a giraffe’s as I tried to avoid the double-chin effect and my stomach couldn’t have breathed in any further.
I certainly did not feel sexy, but I was living out a childish fantasy, of being this glamorous woman who I had seen all too often, in magazines and in digital media. It’s not a secret that exhibiting your body, is the simplest form of being sexy. And being sexy, is what we are taught to want to be.
I don’t have an issue with this; what is wrong with being sexy? My queries lie, in the fact that the term used to have connotations such as mysterious, which have now been replaced with obvious images and no second guessing. Yet as I type this, I sense a feeling of hypocrisy; I have freely uploaded photos that other women would declare inappropriate and potentially vulgar.
My wish, is for more honesty. Being able to say yes – I am proud of my body and I happily indulge in showing it. Being honest that sometimes it might be about feminism or empowerment, but mostly, it’s not. And knowing that whilst skin will forever have a place in sex appeal, it is by no means the only route that you have to take.
What are your views? How much skin are you ok with showing and do you think today’s ideals of sex appeal, is a good or bad thing?
Thank you! I’m never really comfortable on shoots lol. I’m usually in awkward poses that somehow look good on camera. But I have fun working with photographers and trying to create something.
I’m not someone that wants to be an exhibitionist and take naked photos all the time, but I think women should have the option of doing something more revealing and not being judged.
Thank you so much for the nomination! Because I have done a blog award recently, I will probably accept next week – I will definitely about it though. xxx
I agree with what you are saying. I do post quotes and try to promote body image though, sometimes on images that others would consider revealing. But I think people can take it too far and create this ‘innocent’ effect, where they pretend they have no idea that there image is ‘sexy’.
People shouldn’t have to justify. I think you either want to do it or you don’t. There doesn’t always need to be an excuse right. x
Your photos are so lovely and tasty!!! I love how it has become a trend to show little more skin, because in my opinion there is nothing wrong with that as long as you feel comfortable. I would definitely show more of my skin if I was confident with my body but for now it’s too much. I adore people like you who have the confidence to do such things!! Everyone is allowed to do whatever they want with their body and show what they want from it! Loved this post so much ❤️
Thank you!! I’m glad I explored this topic because it’s one that has so many different perspectives. But like you said, it ultimately comes down to how comfortable you feel. I hope you feel confident soon and I still have plenty of body insecurities but I try to hide them on shoots. x
Your photos are beautiful and tasteful, which is how these types of photos should be. I’m all for showing skin and promoting body confidence. The problem are the people that don’t know how to show skin in a responsible way and the teens who are trying to show skin too early without understanding the consequences.
Thank you Heidi! I agree; I remember being a teenager and trying to show skin without much thought. Unfortunately, there seems to be more pressure like with sending ‘sexy’ photos. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.
Hi, you are beautiful… Ur photo was good. But I am not comfortable with skin show.. Coming from India, we are not brought up being comfortable with skin show in public. Also it wouldn’t be safe too. A woman who shows skin here, public sees and some of them attack a fully clothed innocent helpless woman… So I don’t advise skin show on the roads to women in india. In private that’s up to individual people how comfortable they are in their skin..
Hi Shalini,
Thank you for commenting and apologies for the late reply. I have just seen your comment! I understand what you mean and I agree about what you said in private. It is about how comfortable people are.
True that
Your pictures look lovely Laura! Even if you do look a tad uncomfortable (which is to be expected really in that position haha). I think it’s everybody to themselves on the topic to be honest with you. Yes it will always be related to sex appeal in some way, but if you feel comfortable showing more skin then you should go for it. You look beautiful in these images and women that say they are vulgar will just be jealous they don’t have the figure that you do! Keep at it beautiful 🙂
P.s. I’ve nominated you for an award, but honestly don’t worry about it if you’re too busy with photoshoots etc.!
Thank you so much for the nomination! I will get round to writing about it today. And you’re right, it’s everybody to themselves. 🙂 x
You’re very welcome! You deserve it after how popular you’re becoming lately haha 🙂 I can’t wait! xx
Thank you and I have uploaded it! I will catch up on your answers you out tomorrow. xx
No problem, thank you for accepting! and Ooh okay I’ll go and have a look now 🙂 xx
I do think it is good to be comfortable of your body and proud to show it off as you are comfortable. However I think it should be done with class and the thought that young eyes will be seeing it since let’s face it… kids have access to EVERYTHING on the internet these days and it is extremely influential to them. I saw the GIF of Amber Rose bouncing her boobs around this morning and did not find it tasteful or something I would want my kids to see. I however think your photos are beautiful and done very well, and in reality the skin you are showing off is the same or less than someone wearing a bikini. I guess the last part of my opinion would be if you don’t agree with something you see online it still isn’t right to jump on and shame that person, I think there is a huge problem with internet bullying and don’t agree with that approach either. So there is my long-winded response, but in short, you look great! 🙂
It’s crazy nowadays, how much access kids actually do have. When I was younger, I only went on the computer to play games. I understand what you mean and personally, some stuff that Amber does, I wouldn’t want to do myself. Having said that though, I don’t believe she shouldn’t do it because she is free to make her own choices. I agree about internet bullying, it’s so easy to be mean over keyboards but very damaging to the person who reads. I appreciate you taking the time to write such a response and to read through. 🙂
I think it’s about confidence, and I love how people are confident enough to look “sexy” and be proud to show off their bodies, if they are happy and comfortable. It really annoys me when people shame or put forward their judgemental, critical thoughts, simply because they wouldn’t be able to do so themselves.
I agree about this; people can immediately judge or criticise because they wouldn’t do it. I think if I could criticise something, it’s people that pretend that they are showing their bodies, purely for empowerment, when really it’s for a attention or a reaction. But as you said, if it makes people happy and comfortable, that’s what’s important. Each to their own! 🙂