Is Baring All Female Empowerment? 

Where there's kontroversy, there's always a Kardashian. Either they're they’re embroiled in one, have caused one or mistakenly stumbled into one. We love to hate them, and they seem to thrive on that hate and the drama that ensues. But they get people talking. About a week ago, the newest kontroversy engulfed the Internet when Kim posted a nude selfie (with her privates and breasts blacked out) on Instagram. As the likes for the picture increased, so did criticism. People accused her of exhibitionism, claiming she was stooping to new lows for more likes. Countless men made lascivious comments. A few fans praised her for having gotten back in shape after the birth of her son. But what was interesting was that the comment section also included statements that basically said “it's female empowerment when you take your kit off”. 

While Kim is certainly not the first to bare all - whether on social media or for a fashion spread in a magazine - she certainly seems to draw the most attention doing so. So it's easy to have missed the countless celebs who have bared all - most often than not under the guise of female empowerment; their photo captions ironically full of mostly empty rhetoric. But while we seem to be selectively doling out free passes to some, the others seem to receive a torrential downpour of hate. This seems to open up more questions than it provides answers. How exactly does nudity equal female empowerment? Or not? Is nudity more tilted towards exhibitionism? We asked a few people what they thought and here's what they had to say. 

Sakhitha 

Female empowerment is not in exposing oneself. That is just advertising and for publicity. Empowerment is confidence. Going naked is just empowering one's sexuality. But it's not empowerment for the female gender worldwide. True empowerment in my opinion is being confident in your abilities and not to do with your body. Being naked is just confidence in your own physical appearance which may suit the media and celebrities but it's not for everyone. Being naked is confidence for celebrities because that is their business. Beauty, glamour and fame. But it is not something for many that come from different backgrounds and work in different fields and is not something to be imitated by everyone. The Google definition for empower is "make (someone) stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights". 

Kaushal 

Well I think a woman or man being comfortable in their own skin is a mark of empowerment within themselves, especially in a world that bashes women and men with unrealistic standards of what beauty is. At the same time it's important to look at it in a different perspective, the perspective of the whole world vs you. In that sense a woman being nude most likely is going to make men objectify them. A woman is a beautiful creature and she offers much more than just her beauty. 

Thilini 

An empowered female is independent, strong, and is a go getter. She stands up against culturally set up barriers and restrictions against women in a misogynistic society. Naked/scantily clad women are sought and objectified by the modern man, and the number of scantily clad women alongside them on social media is used and recognized as a symbol of their masculinity. On the other hand, these women are stereotyped as gold diggers, bubble heads, uneducated and the list goes on. Therefore, in my opinion, nudity is the last factor that could contribute towards female empowerment. Female empowerment comes from many other important factors with education being #1. But if nudity empowers you, yes go ahead and be empowered in such for all means! 

Gayathri 

NOPE. Female empowerment is a totally different thing. Empowerment makes a woman an authority of something. You can be proud of your body but getting nude for a magazine is nothing close to female empowerment and it's just a disgrace to females. 

Katelyn 

I think empowerment depends on the individual. Some people may feel empowered by getting naked while others would feel that they are using their body for attention. It's very easy to criticize a woman exposing herself, but I don't think it really matters. If she feels empowered by doing that, then good for her, if not, it's her decision to make. Everybody is different, I don't think you can put your standards on someone else's idea of empowerment. 

By Rihaab Mowlana