I am a little bit tired of certain public figures consistently using quasi or total nudity and overly sexualized pictures on Instagram, whilst also claiming the feminist trademark because “their body, their choice”.
Beyond the fact that the nature of this argument is shortsighted and twisted, beyond the fact that it reeks of foul, basic marketing, and beyond the question concerning women’s persons always being reduced to the physical dimension which is rife with socio-cultural standards of beauty, I would actually just like to shift the debate a bit.
I am a little bit tired that my dear teen (well, ok, she is 21 now BUT her little sister is next since she is 7) has to build her femininity in this world, which is oversaturated with non-transcending images of femininity. I am a little tired because my 10-year-old son asks me why there are “so many nearly naked and not very classy women kind of everywhere” (I quote).
The point is not even nudity, although I have already expressed that for me, nudity is a matter that involves a very restricted number of people, namely two, if I include myself.
In my opinion, presenting oneself excessively regularly in one’s birthday suit on social media often equates with a subconscious desire to present oneself as an object of sexual consumption looking to be validated by the maximum number of likes.
You can be “sexy” – a word I strongly dislike – or desirable – a preferred word – in a thousand ways, be it totally naked, partially naked or even totally dressed. Desire is very personal and in my case, I always prefer what is suggested to what is revealed.
I am a little bit tired because the nudity we are exposed to is often incredibly vulgar.
And here it is. The real point is not really nudity but vulgarity and this often has to do with one’s mental posture, which impacts one’s physical posture.
Presenting yourself as a passive, inactive, tantalizing doll can only objectify women and reduce them to their physical dimension. Presenting yourself as an active, seductive and in control subject unveils the thousands of other dimensions women can have, which go well beyond the physical dimension.
When Dita Von Teese comes onto stage quasi naked, she is erotic and sensual, never brutally sexual or passively tempting. She may well be in naught but her own skin or near but she is nonetheless dignified, strong, charismatic. But I know my standards are high because Dita Von Teese summons thousands of universes when she dances, she’s incredibly talented and it’s not given to everyone, is it? Oh well… moving on.
It’s not that I want to take a snobbish posture on the question but I am truly convinced that most of us need beauty and elegance, which are but forms of transcendence. Basic stimulus and vulgarity are rarely transcending.
So here you have it. I am participating in the exercise of glamour on the Internet – it doesn’t happen often, so I have drawn on Dita Von Teese’s burlesque universe and on Satine from Moulin Rouge, just to prove that desirability is not synonymous with vulgarity.
It may not resonate with most but let’s say that I leave it here 😉
February 5, 2021
Triumph leotard – Dim tights – Sergio Rossi heels – Vintage gloves
