Reevaluating Feminism While Bondaged in a Photo Shoot

I met up with a professional nude photographer just to capture my smoking and this body that I love (I have another article here with some of those pictures) but at that time, the photographer was telling me about the other themes he does for photo shoots such as BDSM. I had seen it before I met up with him. Of course I did my research. Curious about it all, I asked if he could try to tie those ropes around my body like I had seen in his other photos, and he did.

Before it all began, I was contacting this man through his sort of new Facebook account as he would always get reported for his albums of nude photos of a variety of beautiful women. He values his craft so much that when I asked if he could take nude photos of me, he had this question:

"Why do you wanna be photographed naked?"
"I have always loved my body that I am very comfortable naked. To have it documented as an art the way you do in your photos would be really great."
He replied with the details of the venue and time for our meeting.

When I got in the location, we started chatting to just be comfortable around each other especially that I will be posing naked in front of his camera and her girlfriend as well. I did not need the talk, I could act casually naked--that is just how confident I am with my body. However, it was good to get to know a photographer who quit a profession in the medical field abroad to do his passion back here in his homeland for a living instead.

At that time, I had a blog which we talked about. I told him that it was a feminist blog where I wrote many articles about the rights of women. He then asked, "do you think BDSM is not feminist?" and I replied, "It is a choice. some women like being submissive, some don't. There is consent anyway, so I don't think it's wrong."

He agreed with me, and began sharing with me a story of how he had to ask me such thing. He said that once, he worked with a feminist model whom he nicely asked if she would be willing to try being bondaged for the shoot. He said the woman just erupted, "why would you even dare ask a feminist that?? You think you could just use us like that??!!!"

I laughed a little. He only asked her, and it was in a polite manner and in a context that it was for a professional nude photography session. I said to him, "That is why feminism is misinterpreted all the time. Some girls who find some things offensive although it is a matter of a case to case basis make such things be viewed us offensive in a general scale."

He was relieved that I did not go hysterical or anything about the issue that I even initiated to try being bondaged. The whole time I was posing with the ropes tied around my body, slightly hurting me and choking me, I felt absolutely the opposite of what the woman who snapped at least thought it would feel like to be in that situation. I felt powerful, in control of my own role of submission.

The whole time, I was posing with an even more leveled up confidence, moving on the bed with a slight impossibility due to the ropes but with great inner motion to go along with the moment I brought myself into--a moment of celebration of my femininity that launched women to the society as subjects of beauty and grace. I had always loved my physical appearance but I was a bit ashamed to be seen as beautiful, for my substance might be just set aside completely like the absent shadow in broad daylight or an objectified woman in the eyes of many, but at that moment I had begun to accept my essence as a woman--being able to embrace and enjoy what most would view as objectification and courageously turn it into something people would respect as my mere enjoyment and acceptance of my sensuality--something natural to my being a woman.

I delivered really nice photographs even though I was tied up like that. Many people had misinterpreted my photos saying, "so you are not a feminist now because you're a submissive here." to which I always responded with "I am starting to feel imprisoned by that label now though I remain an advocate for my rights, my individual rights, and being tied up like that does not make me less of that advocate. It makes me a woman with a choice--a choice to enjoy and explore her sensuality to her own limits."