One group of women is showing us just how empowering our nakedness can be!
The University of Wyoming's “Real Women, Real Bodies” organization is delivering a powerful message through a new photo series featuring nude silhouettes of women’s bodies. The photo project, which uses no digital alterations of any kind, was created to promote a healthy body image on campus and to specifically show women that they are beautiful both inside and out.
"Real Women, Real Bodies" was founded in March 2014 by UW undergraduate Sydney Stein, the group’s president, and other fellow students. While the idea of baring all is typically associated with vulnerability and defenselessness, Stein explains that the group wanted to take a different approach.
“Our intent is to encourage everyone to be confident in their bodies,” Stein told The Huffington Post in an email. “The idea behind the name is to encourage women. Real does not imply that some bodies are fake. To us, ‘real’ is a word of empowerment.”
No editing or retouching is done to any of the group’s photos to show the stark contrast of images we see in the media. “In many magazines, photos of female bodies are altered,” a statement from the group reads. “Our brave volunteers shed it all to show that any real body type is absolutely beautiful!”
While more than 30 women were asked to pose nude for the series, only 11 were comfortable and confident enough to do it. This only amplified the need for the photo project and to show women the importance of loving their bodies.
The organization, while initially aimed at women, now hopes to do a second photo series featuring male students of all shapes and sizes to further promote their message of having a healthy body image.
The group told the Daily Mail: “We are gaining a more diverse population as our organization expands. We hope to consistently gain more diversity.”
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