YES, this is my female body. NO I am not ashamed

Previous this week my photos from the album I had created on Facebook and called:

“Celebration of the beautiful – natural, naked – woman body”
got reported to Facebook security.

The next time I tried to lock into my account I could not.

Instead I was a given a warning from Facebook.

“Remove any violating photos” It said.

Either you delete all photos containing any nudity, or we will delete your Facebook account.

Not surprisingly.

I knew it was a matter of time before my photos would be reported.
(Photos to be found at the end of this blog post)

I know Facebooks guidelines concerning nudity. I know many artists whom in the past have been trying to share their work (photos, videos etc) of the naked human body with their network on Facebook – but with same result as my attempt had.

A couple of years ago the Danish writer Peter Øvig Knudsen tried to share his photos from his book: “Hippie 1 – Tre år og 74 dage der forandrede Danmark” (three years and 74 days that changed Denmark)

Øvig is in his book describing and telling the story about the Thy camp in Denmark in the 1970th (https://oevig.net/hippie-1-three-years-and-74-days-that-changed-denmark/) – and the hippie days in Denmark during that time.

His book contains a fiew photos. Humans from the Thy camp and their every day life. Human with – and without – clothes on.

But Facebook said no. And so did apple, for that sake.
Apple denied to sell Øvigs book.

Any photos containing nudity is against the policy.

“We restrict the display of nudity because some audiences within our global community may be sensitive to this type of content – particularly because of their cultural background or age,” the policy states.

(http://gadgets.ndtv.com/social-networking/features/what-facebooks-policy-on-nudity-means-in-practice-802417)

Cultural background – That makes sense.

Respect for different cultures and religion. I am aware that nudity in many regions is restricted to only happen when being intimate with a husband.

But if start talking about respect for different cultural backgrounds and content that Facebook audience might be sensitive to:

How come are these photos allowed then?

How come does it take me 10 seconds on Facebook to find millions of Facebook pages containing hardcore nudity (if “nudity” even is the right world to use here) just where no nipple is being showed? No vagina?

Is it not very interesting that Facebook is stating that they restrict nudity due to sensitivity concerning ages? I am guessing they here are referring to minors.

So it is way better for children and teenagers – any ages – to be approached to pornography, than to our natural naked body?

Something is very messed up.

It almost feels at time that Facebook and apple – and other big companies – are making this gap in their policy on purpose – supporting the big million dollars industries like: the porn industry, the fashion industry.
Scaring.

Lets leave these questions here.

I do not wish to go further into this debate now.
There is nothing I can do to change Facebooks policy anyway.

BUT what I do think we can do, and what I try to help encourage others to do:
I think we together “can take back our body” – back from porn, back from the body as being insulting (what?), back from us being ashamed of our skin.

Especially I would like to see us win the female body back

To those whom do not know already, the woman in the photos I had chosen to share photos of on Facebook was of myself.

It started out as being my own experiment.

Non of my photos contained anything I myself will consider as being pornographic. ( you can decide yourself) Non of the photos were edited in any way, (except maybe the temperature of the colours) no professionals had been used for my “project”, I was not making any money on any of it.

My photos are nothing special. But I have a message to share.

I wish to share my photos of my own naked body on medias – especially now on Facebook, and here is why:

 

Why do I like to take photos of naked women?

Why do I like to post photos of myself naked?

Why am I so interested in the female body in general?

Society has been teaching us women to be scared of our own body.

I remember a family member (a child) telling me half a year ago that she never showered after gym in school. When I asked her why, she said:

“Naja, no one else does that. I don’t like it.. I change when I come home”

—

When I posted my first video of myself dancing half a year ago where I happened to be without a bra on – a bigger group of people than I thought in the first place seemed to be choked by it. And somehow angry at me as well.

“How can you?”

“That is so inappropriate”

“You shouldn’t posts photos of yourself like that”

 

But why?

Why should I be ashamed of my own body?

Why is my natural body – any female body – “inappropriate” – pornographic – never something kids should be approached to? (I believe we teach our kids to fear their bodies by constantly hiding up our own)

Why is the female body never something to show to anyone else than to a partner and to close friends?

Through advertisements and the fashion industry have we been told that there is more or less one way the female body should look like.

You should always wish something was different. Always.

And by that, I believe we have started seeing our own body as an object, something outside of us. Something that has to fit an ideal – and not something very subjective.

I believe we have stopped seeing our body as this beautiful part of who we are.

I grew up with teenage girls having eating disorders – constantly thinking their bodies needed to be change.

I use to cut myself and work out like a maniac in the gym.

It took me a long time to change the way I view my  own body ( in my previous blog posts I am writing more about this)

Later in my early adult life and throughout the years I have met very few women whom truly are 100% comfortable with their naked natural body – whom know they are so beautiful, because beauty comes from within( !?) – whom know they are so beautiful because we all are gifted this amazing body, that is perfect because only one sample of this particular body exists.

That our body exactly is beautiful for its small marks, scars, the extra kilos on the side – or not – the beautiful big breasts – or small breasts – for however we were born to have it to look like – and to embrace it.
That our body becomes beautiful when we are caring it with proudness?

 

I am sick of feeling that a naked woman body is equal with pornography.

My natural body is not porn! The female body is not porn!!

And no one own us more, we are not less – for showing of our bodies, if we want to!

Are you listening world??

Do not try to turn our beautiful female body into porn!!  Do not try to make us ashamed of showing our body – because:
“its too much”, “You are sending the wrong impressions”
Do not try to make my strength and value as a woman lower because I choose to embrace my body and show photos of it.

You can try with me as much as you want, but it will not work.

I know my own worth. I know my own boundaries. I do not get naked in front of everybody.
(what I do on media is something I consider as being art. I do not walk around naked every day.)

I can never be “less” or loose value for showing my body on medias if I want to – or to whom I want to.

And so can nobody else’s loose value  – only gain – by us embracing ourselves.

Now – I will fight on the behalf of women in this world – to bring our bodies back!

Back from porn! Back from insecurities and from me being ashamed of myself!

I like to provoke.
I like everything that can shake our boxes and feelings of right and wrong up.

Because why is something wrong?
How come do we think something is appropriate and something is not?
Why are we viewing the female body the way we are?

The more I think about these questions, the more I feel like – well:

“Because we were taught to”

“Because society tells us so”

“Because these viewpoints has become a part of who we are.
We have stopped questioning them and are continuously considering them as being right and the only truth”

If we start to think more critical about these opinions we have upon nudity, I think we will come far. Fx – a very common attitude to nudity (and especially female nudity):

A naked body showed off – outside a bedroom .. – is insulting. Especially to kids.

Insulting??
Since when did we let our world put this crazy idea into our head –  viewing one of the most natural things in our lifes – our bodies – as being insulting?

We need to provoke each other a bit more.

Wake up!!!

Do we want to keep agreeing to this?

 

On the side of buses in Denmark where there for a while hanging posters of a woman.

Or.. Well… We could not see her face – or any other body parts or smile for that sake – but we knew it had to be a woman, because the only thing shown in the photo was: her breasts.

A giant advertisement with the words underneath it ( on most of the posters):

“Get new breasts and make Juttland ( a part of Denmark ) beautiful”

An advertisement for a plastic surgery clinic.

WHAT?

So this is okay!

It is okay to have photos of naked women whom have change their bodies through surgeries hanging up in public?
It is totally okay to allow big companies to encourage women to change their bodies?
It is totally okay to spam the Internet and magazines with photos of big porn stars and top models whom have had their photos manipulated with, their body changed through strict diets or extreme workouts?

BUT:

It is not okay to have women breastfeeding in public?

It is not okay for a woman to take off her top on the beach – or in any other situation where a man would do?

It is not okay to just have:

A normal natural naked woman body?

Recently Mathilde Grafstroems ( a Danish artist) “exhibition combating negative self-image in a square in Copenhagen” got closed down by the police.

( Grafstroems website: http://www.mathildegrafstrom.com/#!female-beauty/mainPage)

“I take my photos to show young women that they are more beautiful than they think. I show the woman that she is beautiful, and that way I can help her to accept herself,” she told Denmark’s TV2.

“Police have denied permission for her photos to be displayed in Copenhagen’s Nytorv square, with Grafström filing a complaint against them and condemning their view of the female body as “offensive”.

(http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/police-shut-down-photo-exhibition-of-naked-natural-women-because-they-re-indecent-a6778916.html)

Talking about powerful institution like facebook: here is an example of how the government allow one thing but does not allow the other.

Photos of breasts from a plactic surgery: Yep!

Photos of a natural naked woman: No thank you.

I know a lot of feminists disagree with me trying to fight for more “power for  women” as I call it (I hate this feminist world) – for trying to bring strength back to women and to encourage to embrace herself,  through nudity.

But every time I think about this I keep returning to the voices in my head saying:

“But why should we not celebrate our beautiful female body?”

“Is it not by time that we rise up and tell the world that we are proud of our amazing bodies – that we think they are gorgeous?

BECAUSE they are natural, because of that our body has not been changed?

Is it not by time that we concur our own natural body back from the porn industry – that we show the world who owns our bodies ( and not industires!), that out body can be so sensual – if we want to! And we feel free to let it be so! – but that it is not just equal with pornography – something there is put into this world to please almost? “

 

I like to use nudity in my fighting to change the way women view themselves and their bodies.

Nudity to me is powerful. “In your face”. No way out.

Humans – and womens – whom are proud of their own body and are not ashamed of any part of themselves have always been empowering to me. I find these woman strong and beautiful, no matter how their bodies look like – where there is this special strength shining out from their eyes.

 

Different things will be encouraging for different people.

To me – being a woman – female nudity is empowering. I love taking photos of naked woman, and I love taking photos of my own body.

For others it want be. And so is that. We are different.

I think we need a 1000 ways of fighting these matters – not just one.

 

I like dancing a lot and sometimes to dance naked in the wild, in the forest. That’s what I sometimes take photos of.

I feel very deeply dancing in nature that my body is not being owned by anyone else than me. That I am one with nature and so is my body – that my body is flowing and becoming one with nature – gaining is naturalness back – through dancing.

I hear the wind blowing in the trees, the rivers, the snow falling.

By taking photos of my body surrendering ,I hope to be able to help turn the female body back to nature – to the natural – to the raw and wild.

 

LETS support each other as women! Lets stop fighting each other! Lets encourage each other and show the world how proud we are of us self, of our beautiful body.

 

Is our female body really that frightening? That wrong? That pornographic?

 

Come on…

It is a body.

That is all it is. A female body. Half of us have one.

AND it is a BEAUTIFUL body that WE OWN

See my photos for this post here →