Things People Say to a Woman Who Enjoys Her Body
Originally posted on Instagram: Follow me @claire.nakti
"There is a veil: that veil is black. It is the veil of the modest woman; it is the veil of sorrow, & the pall of death: this is none of me. Tear down that lying spectre of the centuries: veil not your vices in virtuous words: these vices are my service; ye do well, & I will reward you here and hereafter."
-The Book of the Law, Chapter II, Verse 52
Different things that people (especially other women!) say when a woman enjoys herself, her form, and her own sexuality: ...
"Why do you need men drooling all over you for confidence?” ...
"Why are you so insecure and trying to get compliments?” ...
"Why would you ever mix sexuality or the female body with spirituality?” (implying that one is disgusting and one is pure) ...
"Why are you cheapening things by showing your body?” ...
"Why do you think your body is so special that it's worth showing? It's just like everyone else's body.” ...
It's a little mind-blowing that I have people who have followed me [on Instagram] for a long time and are still surprised about this topic and this facet of my personal approach to spirituality. This Instagram is a complete expression of myself as a person. I don't sterilize myself or my expression for anyone, especially not to try to conform to someone's hangups and controlling attitudes of what is and isn't okay for a woman to do with her own sexuality. I was extremely private with myself and my body for all of my life until recently, and it has shocked me how much hysteria it can create when you display yourself; the female body is truly a vehicle that churns a ton of (mostly negative) emotions in others... somehow, in revealing these vulnerable aspects of yourself, you also reveal vulnerabilities in others, and in this way the female form is both destructive and purifying. Observing the female body, as an immensely potent and condensed glyph and manifestation of material, earthy energy and maya/illusion, forces you to look at yourself and your own faults based on your reactions to it; here it becomes the ultimate tool for strengthening your resistance to (and control over) Earthly temptation in order to achieve true power. Each women is her own manifestation of shakti that should never be bound, except by love. Shakti/The Goddess is something that people have sought to repress and control endlessly (and still constantly do). They have sought to hide publicly and shame the parts of a woman that set her apart from men (yet ask her to remember these parts in the privacy of the bedroom). This was for the safety off those in society-- men or women-- who can't control their lust or anger or jealousy. Females have their own unique spiritual and material power and purpose, which has been repressed, neglected, and ignored-- but the seams of the lie are splitting, as you can see women everywhere displaying themselves and enjoying themselves more than perhaps ever before. So, when someone attacks you for expressing your sensuality and femininity… as you watch them scowling at the flow of shakti, scrambling to control you and your personal power rather than just controlling their own frenzied negative reactions and hysteria… then just remember that maybe in writhing in the heated and uncontrolled pain you have caused them, they will wake up to their own stagnation and impurity. I think this Marilyn Monroe quote from my recent Dhanishta video explains it well: “People had a habit of looking at me as if I were some kind of mirror instead of a person. They didn't see me, they saw their own lewd thoughts, then they white-masked themselves by calling me the lewd one.” ... Before I began to enjoy my own sexuality, I would hide myself while admiring other women (such as Instagram models), simply thinking "I can't do what they're doing" and holding a lot of negativity and jealousy towards them subconsciously. Now that I allow my expression to flow, I only feel supportive of other women. This is the freedom and liberation a woman experiences when she removes all restrictions she has placed on herself in this way, and feels that she falls in line with her own energetic power and so doesn't seek to control or repress the power of other women, but rather to celebrate it.