Body Pride
ROXY BOURDILLON DISCOVERS WHY QUEER WOMEN ARE USING BOUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHY TO BOOST THEIR SELF-ESTEEM AND AFFIRM THEIR IDENTITY
I’m on my way to a body-confidencebuilding photoshoot and, to put it in the most ladylike way possible, I’m bricking it.
Why did I think this was such a brilliant idea? I’m traipsing round the tube, lugging my wheelie suitcase behind me, praying the zip doesn’t burst and shower my fancy frocks and enormous knickers all over the Central line. I was up at the crack of dawn shaving my… legs. Oh, and just to push me over the edge into full-on despair, a stonking great zit resembling Mount Vesuvius has erupted on my chin. I pray this place has industrial strength concealer and inhibition-loosening booze. Me and my new facial squatter are going to need it.
I check the Facebook page for Divine Divas, the studio I’m booked in with, in search of reassurance or, at least, a vague idea of what I’ve let myself in for. As I scroll through the overwhelmingly positive reviews, my nerves are ever so slightly calmed, at least for now. The mood on the message boards is warm, supportive and morale-boosting. There’s even a secret group where women swap stories and offer advice. They were all freaking out beforehand too, but felt utterly elated after. This flippy-floppy-butterfly- doing-cartwheels-in-my-tummy feeling is clearly an integral part of the photoshoot experience.