March 2013 is here.

The photo for this month’s Nude Photo Revolutionary Calendar is that of Writer and Publicist Saskia Vogel.

She says:

I joined this ‘scream’ in solidarity with Elmahdy, but not exclusively to raise awareness about Islamists and their relationship to the female body. I joined because the female body is a source of shame and female sexuality is treated as something suspect around the world, and on a personal note, most frustratingly in the US, the country of my birth. The academic David Hermann’s ‘Rumpelstiltskin Hypothesis’ goes some way to explain the power and purpose of Namazie’s calendar. He says “following the fundamental contrarian idea that if there are those ready to be offended, and whose readiness for offence curtails our individual freedom, then we should strive to offend them hard, loud, often, and wherever possible, until they burst.” By standing in solidarity with Elmahdy through this calendar, hopefully we’ll gain a critical mass of attention that will call into question the perception of the female body.

Unlike the context and presentation of a Page 3 girl, the women in this calendar are productive, independent and stand for more than our nudity. There is more to us than a naked body. Surely the modern media and tech savvy viewer (by this I mean, anyone who has grown up with audio-visual, digital and print media) is equipped with the tools to understand the difference between Page 3 and the Nude Photo Revolutionary calendar. Modern society has made us savvy to so many kinds of images and narratives, surely this and the progress of the women’s movement allows us to see this not as a project that panders to the patriarchy, but for an activist statement meant to raise awareness about an issue that is close to the hearts of the participants. Indeed, the calendar may be tantalizing to some, but it very clearly stands for so much more.

Only when we can think freely and sanely about the female body will we be able to achieve gender equality. Cultural anxieties about the female body and sexuality have pernicious ripples. Just think of the debates around women’s healthcare, access to contraception and the right to choose to have an abortion in the US at the moment. This calendar (and the feedback to the calendar) is calling attention to these unproductive attitudes.

By the way, here is her censored photo for Facebook since it doesn’t allow nudity…

You can download the calendar here and join the scream on Facebook or Tweet #NudePhotoRevolutionary Calendar. By the way, the calendar finishes April 2013.

To see extensive media coverage on the Nude Calendar, click here.

Join the Scream!