“The world will always be judgmental but this body revolution isn’t about getting other people to love me, it’s about getting to know and love myself inside & out. It’s a battle worth fighting.”
Why did you participate in Women With Trees?
This was a way for me to peel back the layers, both literally and metaphorically.
This was to get past the comfort zone I had been living in for the majority of my life.
I am a woman who has always used style as armor. From hair & makeup to the clothing I wear, my style is the weapon I use everyday to face a world that is constantly striving to break me and convince me that my worth is contingent on how I measure up to the “standards of beauty”. This project for me was about peeling back the physical layers and sitting in my own discomfort, naked and raw. it’s easy to feel beautiful when style is your weapon of choice, I wanted to challenge myself to see the beauty in my authentic raw naked flesh. I wanted to free myself from the shackles of shame that I have been carrying for most of my life. This was my way of saying “Fuck You” to a patriarchal society where women are in constant battle with themselves.
Talk to me about your relationship to confidence, to your body.... your struggles, your victories. I know you do the work in terms of the emotional labor it takes to repair past trauma's and old wounds. Tell me about your journey. How did you feel in your body prior to starting the tremendous task of unpacking it all? How do you feel now?
I no longer feel that I am chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, now I remind myself to simply live in that rainbow.
I’ve always felt that I was merely existing in my body, never really celebrated my body but I’ve also never hated my body, I’ve never been self loathing. I was born resilient and i know that because as much as the world has scarred and disillutioned me, it hasn’t broken me, it hasn’t made me loose hope and belief in myself. I am self assured by birth but I used to value the opinions of others before honoring my own opinion. I was living and valuing myself from the outside in and this journey for me has been about learning to live from the inside out! I am learning to truly value myself without any guilt or shame. The world will always be judgmental but this body revolution isn’t about getting other people to love me, it’s about getting to know and love myself inside & out. It’s a battle worth fighting.
How did you feel during the shoot?
I was going through some deeply heavy shit that day and was extremely emotional and vulnerable. Spending the day in nature was a beautiful distraction. This journey of getting free has made me realize that being naked is something I authentically enjoy and having those photos taken was me letting go of how people would perceive me. It was me embracing how good it felt being naked in nature and having the wind caress my naked body. That day I felt free.
I have been many different versions of me, this version of me is by far my favorite.
Favorite Sunday morning activity?
Sex.
