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May 2012: Nudity is such a natural thing

May 2012: Nudity is such a natural thing

  • Posted by Maryam Namazie
  • On May 7, 2012
  • 26 Comments
  • Nude Photo Revolutionary Calendar

May 2012 is here. The photo for the Nude Photo Revolutionary Calendar is that of Sonya JF Barnett who also designed the calendar.

She joined the ‘Scream’ and Nude Photo Revolutionary Calendar because:

 I felt that women needed to stand in solidarity with Aliaa. It takes a lot of guts to do what she did, and the backlash is always expected and can quite hurtful. She needed to know that there are others like her, willing to push the envelope to express outrage. ..

For me, nudity is such a natural thing, and I find it abhorrent that in this day and age people still attach such a stigma to it. We are given certain allowances on what is acceptable, and cannot use our own bodies as a form of expression, simply because others have a shortsighted and narrow view of what should be permissible. A nude body is not a dangerous weapon, yet it’s treated like one…

We have to try and propel society forward, to fight against the ridiculous oppression of our own bodies. The calendar is one form of that expression, and if we don’t do things like this, nobody will.

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

You can download the calendar or purchase it here and join the scream on Facebook or Tweet #NudePhotoRevolutionary Calendar.

 

26 Comments

Karl
Unbelievably hot! Who is this woman?
Nudism
Excellent Blog post! I highly recommend you have a look at Enjoy Nudism so that you can Understand even more with regards to nudism as well as share your own experience.
LeftSidePositive
Are you trying to say that all women think the same, and you are their spokesperson ?
No, fool, I'm saying that you're playing the time-honored tactic of disregarding what a woman has to say by accusing her of being too sensitive (all the while utterly ignoring the substance of my argument and the very basic cultural analysis that invalidates your position).
your views are definitely NOT left,
Really? I would think that "treat women as people" is a pretty basic cornerstone of progressivism.
and you are anything but positive
Yeah, respect your fellow human beings and stand up when others are being insulted are *such* negative positions...eyeroll...
Why don’t you use your own name ?
Because it's the Internet, you fool, and I care about my privacy. Moreover, women on the Internet get quite a bit of harassment. Also, this is a blatant ad-hominem fallacy. My points should stand no matter what my avatar, and you are certainly no more noble for your name, but perhaps more self-righteous.
(PS. You wouldn’t happen to be a ‘Friend of Israel’ by any chance ?) my guess is that you are
This is just plain unhinged. I really have no particular position on Israel, except that I think we give them too much military aid without enough accountability, but otherwise I don't follow it much at all...
I think I have wasted more than enough time on the nonsense you spout
It's sad to see a mind so utterly closed off by superficiality and sexism. I pity you.
Colin Bell
"Really- you're trying to play the women-are-too-sensitive card" No dozy, I am talking to YOU, and you only. Are you trying to say that all women think the same, and you are their spokesperson ? The name you have chosen intrigues me your views are definitely NOT left, and you are anything but positive so why the name ? Why don't you use your own name ? (PS. You wouldn't happen to be a 'Friend of Israel' by any chance ?) my guess is that you are Anyway, I will let you share your poison with someone else I think I have wasted more than enough time on the nonsense you spout
LeftSidePositive
I do apologise, I didn’t mean to hurt your (very sensitive) feelings
Really--you're trying to play the women-are-too-sensitive card? Are you just some automatic-sexism generator?
by my magnanimity, superior intelligence, and general joie de vivre
Do you have any idea how stupid you look when you say shit like this?
You were already very clearly in great pain
Nope, sorry. Just pointing out a classic pattern of fat-shaming that is endemic in our society, and calling you out on your dickish behavior. I actually genuinely enjoy undercutting the social privilege of douchebags.
To be serious LSP, the human body is designed to function best within certain physiological parameters It simply isn’t healthy to be too overweight
Oh, yay! Taking a shallow obsession with looks and then trying to paper it over by claiming you're talking about health! Well, gee, I've never heard THAT before!
so being in good shape is both healthy and a boost to the old ego (at something of a low ebb in your case)
Where do you get this idea that I must be in some existential torment? Did it ever occur to you that I'm writing on behalf of the many young women with eating disorders who starve and kill themselves? Did it ever occur to you that I'm writing on behalf of qualified people who can't get jobs because of their weight? Did it ever occur to you I'm writing on behalf of the many women who do not feel comfortable participating in the atheist community because of the sexist attitudes of douchebags like you? Did it ever occur to that I'm writing simply because your dehumanizing language is disgusting and needs to be called out?
If I am really being such a condescending swine (oink oink !) then please tell me why all the women in the calendar are in such good shape ?
All the women in the calendar are in such good shape?! WHAT? Have you even SEEN the damn calendar?! I actually have, and there's a pretty wide variety of body types on display. So, I see your political interest is even FURTHER lacking because you haven't even bothered to look at the calendar and the statements made in it, and instead just paused to gawk at someone who met your standards.
I can’t help it if I am overwhelmed with feelings of ‘lust’ when I look at them that is ‘nature’ LSP
No, this is not "nature"--it is the result of a society that specifically and obsessively sexualizes women's bodies and then privileges men to demean us and absolves said men of all responsibility. I assure you I meet lots of very, very attractive men, and I feel no need whatsoever to be a demeaning, objectifying ass. This is a cultural construct you've absorbed.
LeftSidePositive
I cannot even begin to understand what you are talking about
Did it ever occur to you this is the result of a deficit in your knowledge?
Well, if it is ‘unstated’ (by me) why are you attributing it to me?
Because you said it ELSEWHERE, so stop being so disingenuous:
to be fit and healthy is physically attractive Shand to be unfit and overweight is not end of story
So your pathetic attempt to tie beautiful gardens into a discussion of human beauty is trying to universalize your subjective beauty standards into some kind of objective natural truth. There is literally NO REASON to bring up "beautiful gardens" if you weren't trying to make an argument about immutable standards of human beauty and why it's "just natural" that there are particular rules for being beautiful.
I simply cannot be bothered to trawl through the rest of the mind-numbing vitriolic tripe you have written.
That's too bad. If you weren't so intent on declaring my writing "mind-numbing vitriolic tripe" and so on, you might have actually learned from it. This is particularly entertaining since you insist on saying I'm the closed-minded one! But it's okay, I'm really used to guys who focus so inordinately on appearance disregard anything a woman has to say. You fit that pattern embarrassingly well. Oh, and it's not "edgy" to insult any person like your little your little "jokes" about dehumanizing overweight people, especially when such attitudes are so plainly ego-syntonic with the rest of your "contributions" to this thread. Please learn some basic human decency.
    Colin Bell
    "Did it ever occur to you that this because of a deficit in your knowledge ?" Well, no it didn't actually I am guided principally by my 'male intuition' it rarely lets me down Anyway, why are you so eager to 'put the boot into me' ? You might actually like me if we met What are you so angry about ?
      LeftSidePositive
      There is no honor in trolling. By the way, I've read "Derailing for Dummies," so it's not like any of your cheap tactics are even original.
LeftSidePositive
If you really want to look at such things in such a profound way, what about the (many) studies that show how people who suffer from depression (say) are uplifted by visiting a lovely garden?
This has nothing whatsoever to do with your unstated condition that only a certain type of human body can be considered beautiful. Moreover, comparing women to inanimate spaces is probably not the way you want to go here.
The appreciation of ‘Beauty’ is something inherent to the ‘human condition’.
I never said that it wasn't, so learn some reading comprehension. I said that it is wrong to believe that a particular type of body is inherently beautiful, or that others aren't.
Of course ‘culture’ has an impact on how one views such things, but beauty in the human form is in many ways about things like ‘symmetry’ and ‘proportion’ and such things find a natural resonance in human beings.
Great job utterly failing to address the fact that the very things YOU SAID are requisites for beauty are in fact not shared by all cultures. There is also no reason why a heavier person can't be symmetrical or well-proportioned (and the very idea of what proportions are beautiful--in people, in buildings, in art--is heavily culturally-dependent).
We appreciate them without thinking.
Yes, it is abundantly clear that you're not doing much thinking.
Look at atomic and molecular structure for example, asymmetry is usually unstable and cannot be sustained.
Are you just torturing a metaphor for the hell of it, or do you really think fat people are going to suddenly explode? Furthermore, you have provided no evidence whatsoever to support the notion that fat people are asymmetrical! That in itself is a ridiculous attempt to try to universalize your prejudices.
someone who is physically crippled may be the warmest most beautiful person you could wish to meet, but is their crippled body ‘beautiful’ ?
Wow, you really are a totally self-entitled prick. For the record, "crippled" is a very insulting and belittling term. I'll have you know there are many people with disabilities who still strive to express themselves through their bodies, who still take care to accentuate their best features, and who take pride in their appearance. And yes, many people find them physically beautiful. More people probably would if we didn't have such a stigma against disability in our society. Furthermore, 19th century China's obsession with footbinding pretty much blows the idea that being crippled can't be beautiful out of the water! I am, of course, not advocating mutilation, but I am pointing out that cultural attitudes shape how people react to all sorts of things, even though they think that reaction is the only possible way.
I think not (though I would never say such a thing to someone in that position – because I have no need or desire to)
But you'll still judge them as second-rate and belittle them behind their backs... Moreover, you are still placing an inordinate emphasis on your opinion of beauty being the standard by which people should "deserve" to feel comfortable showing their bodies, and this is a sick and self-entitled attitude.
The position you seem to be taking strikes me as being one that seeks to not see how life can be cruel and unkind.
No, it perfectly sees how life can be cruel and unkind, and then tries to FIX IT. So, when I see someone being as cruel and unkind as you are, I will directly say that such behavior is unacceptable.
I feel it is stretching it to maintain that their porky, wheezing shape is beautiful
This is so mind-bogglingly offensive I don't know where to start. So, here goes: not all fat people are enfeebled and "wheezing"--many people live very healthy lifestyles and have great physical endurance, even though their genetics and metabolism makes their weight higher. Furthermore, terms like "porky"--apart from the rather obvious fact that you're now comparing women to pigs, which is unacceptable in every possible way!--are loaded judgements and are dripping with the social biases against fat, and assume a great deal of moral culpability for fatness. Many societies have seen fat as luxurious, as healthy, and as a sign of wealth. Actually go to a museum and look at the types of bodies that different cultures and different times have considered beautiful.
Unless I have misunderstood something, Maryam was referring specifically to ‘physical’ beauty
No, she never said this. I think she is referring to both physical AND philosophical beauty. Moreover, in the context of the calendar, the point of being free to show one's body is a beautiful thing, that pride in one's body (which she specifically said everyone is entitled to regardless of its conforming to certain standards) is a beautiful thing, and that humanity (and its bodies) are worthy of respect and celebration. Of course, maybe if you weren't so easily distracted by a hot naked woman you would have actually understood that the first time.
I believe that ‘balance’ and ‘harmony’ within a human being are beautiful and ‘ideal’ states, and if someone is way out of condition that aspect of them is not balanced or harmonic
You have still not provided any reasoned justification for why your particular preference for a certain type of body must be the balanced and harmonious one. You've just thrown in some natural-sounding words and then acted like this makes your prejudices objective. Why is it that I suspect you wouldn't be so quick to rail against the lack of balance and harmony in someone who is starving themselves (clearly, neither "balanced" nor "harmonious" in any psychological or philosophical sense)...of course, you might say something about it if they get too thin for your personal taste (again, pointing out that your interest in "harmony" is really a shallow, self-serving cover for obsessing about appearance), but someone who has to avoid eating in order to fit the Western beauty ideal would probably seem perfectly harmonious to you.
(but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t a lovely person)
This is so incredibly condescending. You are not fooling anyone for a minute. Seriously, your entire focus has been on appearance, and you have trivialized the political and cultural commentary of those showing their bodies in order to evaluate their appearance. You have belittled those who do not fit your standards and then acted like they are so stupid that as long as you don't say your prejudices explicitly to their faces, they couldn't possibly get the impression from you that you think of them as anything other than "lovely people." There's a reason "you have a nice personality" is widely regarded as an insult, and you are displaying that exact same condescending mindset.
(I don’t mean to sound harsh I am just swopping ideas)
No, you are not "just swopping ideas." You are engaged in lackluster pseudo-intellectualism to justify your prejudices and shame people who do not fit your preferences of appearance. "Just swopping ideas" is not an excuse when the ideas you are trying to put forth are mean-spirited, self-entitled, poorly-thought-out, prejudiced, and demeaning.
    Colin Bell
    I think you are having a conversation with yourself I cannot even begin to understand what you are talking about, it is such self-generated gibberish In the first section of your very closed minded diatribe you say "This has nothing to do with your unstated condition that only a certain type of human body can be considered beautiful" Well, if it is 'unstated' (by me) why are you attributing it to me ? The rest of your rant is in much the same vein. I simply cannot be bothered to trawl through the rest of the mind-numbing vitriolic tripe you have written. I didn't realise that a human being could be that cold and still draw breath. (I am not meaning to insult you by calling you a human being) What is my answer to people who are overweight ? I would thrash them until they got into shape, and then thrash them some more simply for the enjoyment it would give me. (plus good exercise for one's arm !) Although, having said that they do have their uses, they can be quite comfy to sit on for example especially when you have been out in the cold and they are nice and warm or one could use them to warm the bed before one retires in the evening (much more effective than a hot water bottle !!) on second thoughts, perhaps they are not ALL bad
    Colin Bell
    I do apologise, I didn't mean to hurt your (very sensitive) feelings by my magnanimity, superior intelligence, and general joie de vivre You were already very clearly in great pain when quite by accident (and unwittingly) I rubbed a grain or two of salt in your wounds (metaphorically speaking) What on earth can I do to make amends ? (I really must stop looking in the mirror when I am writing, but if you could see what I am seeing you would appreciate why it is sooo difficult !) To be serious LSP, the human body is designed to function best within certain physiological parameters It simply isn't healthy to be too overweight so being in good shape is both healthy and a boost to the old ego (at something of a low ebb in your case) If I am really being such a condescending swine (oink oink !) then please tell me why all the women in the calendar are in such good shape ? Perhaps those responsible for the calendar are also 'condescending swines' ? I can't help it if I am overwhelmed with feelings of 'lust' when I look at them that is 'nature' LSP and I am part of nature.
Colin Bell
I prefer the uncensored version !! Yum ! I think that a lot of the stigma and oppression Sonya Barnett talks about is very linked to 'power' Different people will always have different definitions of what they mean by terms like 'decency', and I accept that, however the principle motivation behind the 'women must stay covered up or they are asking for it' brigade (in all it's many guises) is surely to do with 'control issues' and control issues are directly linked to power. When I travelled through the Middle East for instance, such control was ever present (though not everyone subscribed to it and I met many lovely people) however, the one country that seemed infinitely more relaxed with regards to the treatment of women, and where the women seemed (in the main) to be very confident was Syria - for instance, in Damascus it was not unusual for a couple of young women to come up and talk to you to find out where you were from etc They were not frightened to do such things. It was a nice surprise. I have very positive feelings about the Syrians, and I really hope that things settle down over there asap. They don't deserve what is happening to them.
    LeftSidePositive
    You were presented with a picture of someone celebrating her right to her own body, and to stand in solidarity with those who are threatened for asserting ownership of their own bodies. For you to trivialize that with "Yum!" is a totally douchebag thing to do. People like you make many women feel that no matter what they do, they cannot be empowered to express themselves with nudity, because entitled douchebags keep insisting on recasting the self-expression of the individual as a performance for the benefit of the observer.
      Colin Bell
      a totally 'douchebag' thing to do ? Gosh, what a nasty, spiteful thing to say However you attempt to dress it up with your (false) intellectualism, your nastiness shines through. The whole emphasis (in words) of what you have written poo poos the very idea of 'judging' whilst simultaneously you are being incredibly judgemental (in a very nasty way) about me. Keep wearing the badges leftsidepositive because what is behind them isn't actually very convincing.
        LeftSidePositive
        You are judging *appearance* which is a totally different thing than judging poor behavior (which is what you are actually engaged in). Judging appearance is shallow, objectifying, and patriarchal (ESPECIALLY when the person in question has explicitly stated that they have other motivations than seeking approval for their appearance). Judging behavior and insisting on respect for our fellow human beings who are doing nothing wrong and deserve to be considered intelligent multi-faceted characters is a necessary part of establishing pro-social standards that weeds out douchebags and gives non-douchebags space to fully participate in their society.
          Colin Bell
          • May 12 2012
          The bottom line is that you became verbally abusive and incredibly insulting because 'you' misunderstood what someone else was saying. Where on earth is the 'respect' in that ? You seem to me to have a very narrow, very small view of things and anyone who doesn't subscribe to your extremely limited take on the world lays themselves wide open to all sorts of quite unnecessary aggression from you perhaps you should think a little bit more before you start laying in to people (the word 'insecurity' comes to mind as does the word 'fascism')
          LeftSidePositive
          • May 12 2012
          "Don't be a douchebag" is not "abusive," so stop playing the victim card. It is merely an exhortation not to be a douchebag. Note that I specifically stated "respect our fellow human beings who are doing nothing wrong." You are doing something wrong--you are being a sexist, self-entitled, shallow douchebag. My general respect for human rights IN NO WAY means that I have to stay silent when someone is being a douchebag. Yeah--"treat women like human beings with motivations and goals" is suuuuch a limited take on the world, likewise "perspectives on beauty and worth are heavily influenced by cultural biases," whereas "what I like must be universal and inherent" is soooo broad-minded. And what did I "misunderstand"--you have not even TRIED to claim I got anything wrong about what you said. So, in conclusion, you were being a pompous, shallow douchebag and you got called out for it. Deal with it.
shand
Yeah...I support what you are doing but at the same time I dont feel an attractive fit female is the best image to make nudity more acceptable. I mean it may be effective but if we are really talking about being proud and nude then why should I be impressed with someone who gets proffessional photography and looks if not like a model then modelish proportions. Really all I am saying is lets get some men and women that dont look like potential modeals in their as well, then I would be more behind this. Seeing a naked beautiful women...wow, shock, horror, doesnt really inspire me much
    Colin Bell
    to be fit and healthy is physically attractive Shand to be unfit and overweight is not end of story Just like looking at a nice garden or park is more uplifting than looking at a section of the Westway
      Maryam Namazie
      The point of the calendar is that our bodies are beautiful even if they don't fall within the very narrow view of what is considered so. One misses the point by looking it in this way.
        Colin Bell
        I am afraid I disagree. They may be 'wonders of life' and the world in which we live, that we are all a part of, but beautiful ? I think you are placing ideology above reality, I also don't think you are being entirely honest. Here is a dictionary definition of 'beautiful' beautiful |ˈbyo͞otəfəl| adjective pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically: beautiful poetry | a beautiful young woman | the mountains were calm and beautiful. • of a very high standard; excellent: the house had been left in beautiful order | she spoke in beautiful English. PHRASES the beautiful people 1 fashionable, glamorous, and privileged people. 2 (in the 1960s) hippies. the body beautiful an ideal of physical beauty. DERIVATIVES beautifully |-f(ə)lē|adverb [ as adj. ] : the rules are beautifully simple ALL bodies may be 'natural' but 'beautiful' ? really ? I don't think so (potentially beautiful perhaps but as with everything else, one needs to 'make an effort') Hence, if one is a couch potato, never goes to the gym, simply doesn't bother I don't think 'beautiful' is an appropriate description
      LeftSidePositive
      It may interest you to know that standards of beauty have a hell of a lot more to do with cultural biases and values than with something "inherent." Women who today are shamed as "fat" would have been painted in oils in the Renaissance, and women that you think of as obviously beautiful now would have been dismissed as hopelessly sickly. Moreover, this is a post about empowerment and ownership of ONE'S OWN body, so your trying to undermine that with projecting YOUR evaluation of attractiveness or the necessity of attractiveness is disrespectful and dense as hell.
        Colin Bell
        I am sorry LeftSidePositive I don't agree with you. If you really want to look at such things in such a profound way, what about the (many) studies that show how people who suffer from depression (say) are uplifted by visiting a lovely garden ? The appreciation of 'Beauty' is something inherent to the 'human condition'. I am not sure that a trip to the old gasworks would have the same effect. Of course 'culture' has an impact on how one views such things, but beauty in the human form is in many ways about things like 'symmetry' and 'proportion' and such things find a natural resonance in human beings. We appreciate them without thinking. Look at atomic and molecular structure for example, asymmetry is usually unstable and cannot be sustained. A person is made up of all sorts of elements (physiological, psychological, spiritual [hee hee]) so someone who is physically crippled may be the warmest most beautiful person you could wish to meet, but is their crippled body 'beautiful' ? I think not (though I would never say such a thing to someone in that position - because I have no need or desire to) The position you seem to be taking strikes me as being one that seeks to not see how life can be cruel and unkind. Beauty can arise from the most adverse circumstances as if nature always seeks a balance. Someone who is terminally ill may radiate kindness and generosity of spirit as though their 'humanity' will simply not be held down, it shines through, but that doesn't mean that their sick body is beautiful. Of course the reason someone is say, overweight can reflect all sorts of things about that person (maybe they over eat because they feel lonely and fed-up, or they don't feel loved, or they might just be lazy ?) but nonetheless I feel it is stretching it to maintain that their porky, wheezing shape is beautiful (though the person may be) Unless I have misunderstood something, Maryam was referring specifically to 'physical' beauty I believe that 'balance' and 'harmony' within a human being are beautiful and 'ideal' states, and if someone is way out of condition that aspect of them is not balanced or harmonic (but that doesn't mean that they aren't a lovely person) I apply the same rules to myself. (I don't mean to sound harsh I am just swopping ideas)
Bert
You say that NOW, then you're in the checkout line with folks in the 'altogether', and suddenly wishing that people would 'put it on'. Plus, there's business and work considerations, people have a hard enough time(no pun intended) keeping their minds on the job without the constant distraction of quivering, uncovered flesh in close proximity. Especially if it's your boss, and he/she is like, fat, and maybe a couple days past a shower, that kind of thing, and then you get into industrial safety-stuff, welders especially take note, here...
    Caliguy7281
    Bert, people are only distracted by "quivering, uncovered flesh in close proximity" simply because we're not accustomed to it. Nudists have no problem concentrating on their work, because nudity is normal to them. As for a fat or unwashed boss, there are ways to deal with anyone who's hygiene is bad enough to warrant a complaint. Nudity doesn't change that. And for protective clothing like a welders apron, it should be obvious that PPE(personal protective equipment) overrides ones rights to dress as one chooses. Just like it does currently, in mandatory hardhat/steel toed shoes areas in the construction field(for example).
    LeftSidePositive
    Bert, that's your problem because you insist on seeing naked/partially exposed bodies as there to please YOU, not to be the expression of that individual. Furthermore, your shaming of people for being fat is most certainly NOT empowering--if only some people are "allowed" to show themselves, then it becomes just another form of privilege performance, and that is mean-spirited and shallow. Keep in mind: you have no idea why someone is fat: you have no idea what their genetics, health issues, socioeconomic circumstances, or personal life is like. For you to compare someone simply having a body that is not what you prefer to actually being unclean, is pretty damn disgusting.

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