Feminism and nudes — telling women (and men) NOT to post nudes or not to behave a certain way is not feminist and it is problematic.
There are so many reasons that this is not a feminist thing to do — this blog will explain why.
In an ideal world, the world would be a feminist one — both men and women getting equal pay, men are not violent against women — and women are not violent against men — , people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, ages, religions, class, people with disabilities and more are respected and are not attacked for it, on or offline. Women also wouldn’t be putting each other down for anything, including their looks, the number of romantic partners they have had in the past, or posting nudes or sexual poses online. I, myself am a feminist — an intersectional one and am proud to be one.
But sadly, feminism has it’s flaws too. There’s no escaping it — you have the TERFS and SWERFS, who exclude transgender people and sex workers, you have the white, selective feminists, who exclude black people, Jewish people (Antisemitism also) or Muslims and are sometimes even racist against them. You also have a small number of feminists engaging in misandry — hatred against men.
And then you have these kinds of “feminists” — feminists who dictate how women should behave, while claiming to be ANTIFA, the resistance, social justice activists, or identify as a left wing person on the political spectrum. Feminists who say that women should NOT drink alcohol or work in bars — those conservative, pro temperance activists, women and “feminists” who say that a true feminist never wears revealing clothing or pose naked. Feminists who also discourage women from going to music festivals and/or nightclubs. Feminists who want porn sites banned. Feminists who don’t want women to use dating sites. Feminists who say that a parent who allows a child or a teen to under go surgery to change or alter their physical appearance to identify or align with the gender they identify with is “child abuse” (Feminists who say this or hold this kind of view are TERFS). Feminists who victim blame women for being raped for engaging in sex work, or posting nude images, going to nightclubs or drinking alcohol. Sometimes, feminists also blame Muslim women for being raped due to their religion.
This is the very kind of conservative, white, radical, victim blaming, hateful and exclusionary feminism that is problematic. This is the feminism we do NOT want.
Now, lets go to this tweet, below in the image, implying that women “don’t have respect for themselves” when they post nudes and that when women do so, they are “attention seeking”. This is NOT the definition of intersectional feminism at all, and it is also problematic additionally. First of all, the tweet itself dictates how other girls and women should behave, especially for “self respect”. Even the term “self respect” is problematic itself, as it teaches girls and women about body image in a negative way — it implies that their self worthiness and how they are respected is based on what they wear or their body size. Then you also have the part that involves victim blaming. A person posting their own consented nudes on their social media timeline does NOT call for unwanted comments, unsolicited pictures of genitals or online sexual harassment or sexual bullying. The tweet also implies that it’s a person’s fault if they get raped, sexually harassed or bullied or sexually assaulted because they post nudes online. It is more problematic when the word “feminist” is dragged into it, because intersectional feminists do not drag or rip apart other women, they instead lift up and empower other women. Combine all of this, and you have another straightforward problem: It is NOT a feminist tweet, nor is it a feminist statement or a fact. It is downright misogyny, especially internalized misogyny, given that the account user is a woman.
The irony of the tweet above is that she used the phrase “attention seeking” — when she got a lot of attention for what she has tweeted, and rightly so as the tweet come across as attention seeking, crass and tasteless at best, and offensive, sexist and directly misogynistic, especially and including internalized misogyny at worst.
Also, note that she claims to be democratic — but has similar views to Trump, republicans and Trump/republican supporters with conservative views of women in terms of women on social media posting nudes. Pretty much ironic is the phrase that sums this up. Note the other irony of the tweet — she states that she is a feminist — but at the same time posted a misogynistic tweet.
Also, saying “I’m a feminist but_________” is also along the similar line tag of saying “I’m not racist (or anti semitic/Islamophobic) but__________” with an exception that the feminist line implies that the speaker or the sender of the post doesn’t agree with some parts of women’s rights or respecting women and/or men. In other words, the poster isn’t an intersectional feminist but rather, a white selected one.
Also, please be aware that if you are a feminist, and behave in the ways above that are hateful such as the examples above as well as the tweet (like, for example being exclusionary or belittling women on their behavior, or victim blaming women after getting raped or sexually assaulted or harassed online), please don’t identify yourself as anti fascist or ANTIFA. Not only will it make the rest of us who are anti fascists look bad, you are making yourself look like a fool, as anti fascists will distance themselves from you. Additionally, any “feminists” with exclusionary or belittling views, or those who engage in victim blaming are actually harming the modern day feminist movement. People have taken modern day (3rd-4th wave) feminism, unfortunately, less seriously because of women and “feminists” like the Twitter user above.
Personally, I think feminists like this, as well as exclusionary feminists should be termed as fake feminists. They are the typical white, selective kind of feminism which is what modern day feminism should not be about. Modern day feminism should be intersectional.
To all feminists, there is NO right or wrong way to dress as a feminist. And you can also drink alcohol while preaching your social justice activism — look at the feminists throughout history who drank alcohol, smoked or used drugs. You can go to nightclubs or festivals. You can belong to any religion you want. Feminism is NOT about hating men, or against using alcohol or drugs. And feminism is most certainly NOT about shaming girls and women for posting nudes online. Feminism is about the liberation of ALL women, including transwomen and non binary people, and is inclusive of all women from all walks of life and backgrounds. Feminism is about the rights for women to vote, drive, hold down jobs, equal pay and other forms of equality, including health, financial, reproductive and social equality. Feminism is also about empowering other women. Feminism also means that women have a right to drink in a bar, exercise alone or in a gym, go to a night club or a festival, feeling safe and not being at risk of sexually assaulted or having drinks spiked. Feminism also means that women can feel safe using dating apps, travelling alone without getting murdered. And most importantly, feminism must never be hateful or exclusionary.
My word of advice on how to be a good feminist: Don’t be that Karen. Don’t claim to be a feminist and judge women for drinking alcohol, especially spirits, or judge women for posting their bodies online or for having abortions or the religion they belong to. Don’t belittle other women at all, in fact. Fight for all women, otherwise don’t bother. NEVER victim blame. And remember, feminism includes people from all backgrounds of life, no matter who you are. There is NOTHING right with telling a women not to drink or post nudes if the woman wants to or has done so — it is NOT feminist and it is problematic.
Last thing, finally: The only cause of being raped and sexual assault is the rapist him or herself, same for sexual harassment offline — it is the harasser’s own fault as harassment is never acceptable no matter what it is. Same for sexual harassment online — the only cause for unwanted sexual comments and unconsented genital pictures is the harasser him or herself. No one else but the perpetrator is at fault when things like this happen.
