So apparently posting photos to Instagram of ones self in a state of undress for purposes of body positivity is “uncalled for”, “inappropriate”, “trashy”, and “flaunting one’s self all over the Internet".
Bodies are beautiful. Confidence is beautiful. Being proud of who you are is beautiful.
This post was inspired by another “body positive” poster on Instagram who went on a rant about how women can show body positivity and be confident in themselves without having to “showcase yourself for the world to see.” This is sex shaming rewrapped in body positivity, and I wont stand for it. Phrases like “this is not the place for that” and “there are places on the Internet for that kind of thing” are just backwards ways of saying “you are a whore and you belong in a brothel.” It is attacking women for taking their own sexual agency and being proud of themselves for it. (To be clear, there is nothing wrong with sex work at all, but people like this think it’s the lowest low.) Phrases like “flaunt yourself all over the internet” is just another form of “you’re the town floozy”, it’s shaming a woman for being visible.
Lets talk a bit about modesty.
Cora Harrington @lingerie_addict 2nd favorite fact: all women’s underwear used to be crotchless. Underwear with closed gussets was seen as scandalous...because they had to be pulled down if you wanted to do anything.
This changed in the 1920s with shorter skirts, fewer layers, and more diaphanous materials.
Modesty is constantly in shift. What we consider modest today was scandalous 50 years ago and arrestable 100 years ago. There was a time when visible collar bones were considered a sign of being a harlot, but I digress. Telling women to cover themselves up is misogyny, full stop. It is patriarchal suppression designed to keep women from being confident in themselves, because women who lack confidence are easier to control. Shaming women by calling them “inappropriate” and “trashy” is a tool of that oppression. Making nasty remarks about armpit hair is pushing your own ideas of what makes for feminine beauty.
Shaming others for how they present themselves is fucking ugly, and not at all body positive. Just say no, folks, policing other women’s agency is wrong.