Something we all have. Unfortunately, if you are a female, nipples are often overly sexualized. Since the dawn of time, women have been sexualized for simply existing. "Men act, and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. - John Berger. An amazing quote and something that rains very true in my opinion. We, as women, are constantly thinking about how others are perceiving us. We see ourselves being looked at. The other day I was a part of a photoshoot for this amazing jewelry brand. (check it out on Instagram ;@vibrafono ).. I ended up going topless for the shoot and felt extremely empowered... The female body is art and should be looked at as so. I got the photos back that day and I immediately wanted to share them as I thought they were lovely and encapsulated the beauty of femininity. I was with my friend Rosa as I was hitting post on Instagram, and I started to get major anxiety, which is rare for me when it comes to social media. I don't usually think about how I am being perceived or I simply just don't care. I have always posted my life on social media since I was a little girl and never really thought twice about it.. Although when I hit post and it started to upload, a wave of nervousness hit me about the response I was going to endure, whether it was from my family/friends or people from my high school. Despite that, the response I received was of upmost positive, as most people recognized the artistic style of the images. Unfortunately, when I posted these, I also got a response that made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Guys from my high school that I haven't talked to in ages were re- following me, liking photos that I haven't engaged with in years, and commenting on it, saying things like "nice". It immediately made me feel icky. The photos were not meant for them and not meant to be looked at in such light. I got over 100 sends on the image and it had me wondering what people were saying and how i was being perceived. Have yall never seen boobs before?! I ended up blocking many men and people I thought were perceiving me in a way I didn't want to be looked at. It just shows that our society doesn't look at the nude body as art but as something that is to be hypersexualized. Men can post shirtless without problem, but once a woman does it... All hell breaks loose. We all have nipples you know. If your a male reading this , I hope you know it is not a good feeling to be sexualized especially when in no means was there an open invitation to. Boobs are just sacks of fat that are used to provide nutrients to babies. The media and the hypersexualization of women have caused this issue surrounding the nipple and breasts in general. It has been engraved in our minds as women to stay covered up, or else we are looked at as "slutty" for simply just existing in our natural form. I hope men can mature and look at things like that as art instead of something to jack off to. Moving on to a lighter subject, I had a pretty calm weekend spending most of it in bed. I happen to have the worst periods ever and I have to put myself on bedrest if I am gonna make it through.. I have been trying to balance my hormones in a natural way so I have been doing acupuncture a lot and I have to say it works !magic! . . I hightly suggest it if you are having hormonal issues. Last night I happened to have a little Friendsgiving get-together. It was very wholesome. Everyone brought home-cooked meals and we all went around in a circle saying what we were grateful for, big or small. I made mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and baked apples (my favorite) I suggest everyone make them. Here is the recipe: Whole Fuji apples, Spiced apple cider, Brown Sugar, Butter, Nutmeg, and cinnamon, + sugared pecans. First, You cut the apple's core out and put it in a pan and then fill the pan with apple cider, fill it with the rest of the ingredients, and bake it in the oven. Best dessert ever and super easy. I am also going home this week for thanksgiving to see my family/friends. I am excited to have a break from New York and get to relax a little. Maybe hug a tree or two. I am also looking forward to starting to create again when I get back aswell, My friend Rosa and I are making a little short film (More info will be shared in my next blog post) Coming soon..... Also in honor of thanksgiving I am going to share 10 things I am grateful for.
1. Friends (New and old) 2. My cat Miko 3. My family 4. The changing of seasons 5. Laughter 6. The kindness of strangers 7. Thrift shopping 8. My camera 9. Dried Mango 10. Weed...
I could go on and on listing things I am grateful for but we would be here all day.
In conclusion, free the nipple as much as possible and write down 10 things you are grateful for today. I will see you guys next time. I love ya.. Thanks for reading.
- Xoxo
Syd Syd Sydney
Here are some photos from the shoot....
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