ALL NUDES MATTER

When Wonder Woman premiered in June, the film inspired plenty of hot takes – but one in particular stood out for its unseemly thirst. Vulture writer David Edelstein’s review read like a phone sex transcript with references to star Gal Gadot as “the perfect blend of super-babe-in-the-woods innocence and mouthiness,” and “her raspy accented voice.” ” It was more than a little gross. It was also hard to tell what the critic actually thought about the movie. The only thing for certain was that he loved Gadot’s body.

A comparable reaction occurred earlier this week when Vogue Instagrammed a nude shot of Celine Dion between costume changes of her live show. Dion is 49 years old, which for many is considered “too old” to take a nude photo, as evidenced by the reaction on social media, which included totally constructive critical reactions such as: “WHY?”, “Noooooo!”, “She isn’t even attractive,” and “I don’t need to see that.” The intimation of these differing reactions being that the representation of a woman’s body – whether brought to us through moving images or a single photo – is to be judged solely on its ability to arouse.

The suggestion that a woman is inherently sexual is rooted in a long history of objectification. As such, we’re conditioned to consider female nudity as something meant to be sexually provocative. However, it is possible to expose yourself without the intent to seduce. It can be a personal declaration that is as simple as “I feel hot/ confident/powerful today.”

But then there’s the other side of the paradigm: amongst the pool of disparaging comments criticizing Dion’s nearly nude photo were several claiming the image to be “gorgeous ,” “stunning ,” “beautiful ,” letting the Canadian singer know that “if you’ve still got it, flaunt it.” But what if Dion didn’t still have “it”? Would it still be okay for her to “show it off”? The same principle applies: if this body isn’t attractive to you in some way, is it still okay for that person to show it off?

A woman’s body is not a walking invitation for arousal. It exists and is capable of being whatever she wants it to be whether it makes you feel something or not.