THE QUIET POWER OF FEMALE NAKEDNESS
How women can find body acceptance by spending more time naked
Finding yourself naked at a party, on a walk in the woods or on stage in front of hundreds of people sounds like the topic of a recurring nightmare. To some.
But to Jenny Eells, Estelle Keeber and The Bare Project creators, these are activities that had a life-changing impact on the way they view their bodies.
Body image, especially female body image, is a topic that the media always has at least one eye on.
Whether its TikTok trends promoting largely unhealthy skinny ideals or AI being used to create unrealistic naked beauty standards, women are bombarded with images of what one person’s fantasy female looks like but are presented less often with what other “real women” actually look like.
The solution is simple. Girls, it’s time to get naked.
THE NAKED PODCAST
Jenny Eells is one half of the Yorkshire duo who created The Naked Podcast, an award-winning show in which she and co-host Kat Harbourne undressed with guests to explore their relationships with their bodies and uncover the naked truth.
Jenny said: “We wanted to encapsulate those types of conversations that you have with your best girlfriends when you are down the pub or where you're just sitting, crying with laughter and talking about each other's experiences, whether that be about bodies or not.”
While the last The Naked Podcast episode was released at the end of 2020, Kat and Jenny resumed their two besties in the buff status for a live show in June 2024 at Crossed Wires Fest in Sheffield.
Jenny said: “Being on that stage was equally terrifying and empowering at the same time. I was on stage naked, which is probably everyone's idea of their worst nightmare, AND in front of an audience AND on my period. So that was a real treat. But I did it and when I look back I'm incredibly proud we did.”
When Kat first came to her with the suggestion they do the podcast naked, Jenny – a self-proclaimed audio geek who had been interviewing people for years – was immediately keen and wanted to see if it would make people speak or share things differently.
It turned out “the naked thing” helped Jenny herself share things differently.
She said: “If you have listened to the first episode, you'll know I had a difficult relationship with my own body growing up. I had an eating disorder and it was something that I was very ashamed of.
“I actually didn't speak about it at all publicly until the podcast and that was a big thing for me: it made me completely own it and speak more openly about it.”
She said listeners would get in touch to thank her for sharing her story, making her realise what a good thing the podcast was to do.
Credit: BBC Radio Sheffield
Credit: BBC Radio Sheffield
Credit: BBC Radio Sheffield
Credit: BBC Radio Sheffield
The power of The Naked Podcast was twofold: it enabled people to reveal their emotional truths and realise the truth about their physical nakedness.
The life-changing effects of naked podcasting:
"I think since doing the podcast I have a deeper peace with myself about my nakedness and what it stands for, as well as a deeper comfortability with my body and who I am."
Kat and Jenny first started recording the podcast in 2017 and Jenny recalled what a different person she was back then compared to now.
Jenny said: “Back in the first podcast I was like: I have to shave everything within an inch of my life. Now, as I head into my forties, I'm like: absolutely not. Occasionally I might shave, but definitely not down below."
She said she has become more accepting of the fact that bodies change, weight fluctuates and you go through complete transformations when having a child; Jenny herself now has a young son.
Jenny said: “Before, I was always cool about getting my kit off, in front of friends and stuff like that. But I think since doing the podcast I have a deeper peace with myself about my nakedness and what it stands for, as well as a deeper comfortability with my body and who I am. All those hangups and issues that I had in my teens and twenties, that was part of shaping the body that I'm in today."
Many of their guests also fed back that despite being initially scared to do the show, they found it really empowering.
One of Kat and Jenny’s missions was to use the podcast to break the taboos around nakedness, including the British sensibility that “we shouldn't be naked in public” or “we shouldn't really be doing this sort of thing.”
Jenny said: “Whether we did that or not, I'm not sure. But what I would say is it definitely challenged people who were on the podcast, as well as maybe some listeners, around stereotypes that people might have thought or preconceptions that people have about being naked.”
THE NAKED ADVENTURER
Estelle Keeber is a Leicestershire-based business owner, body positivity advocate and social media expert, who went to a nudist beach for her 40th birthday and has struggled to keep her clothes on since.
Whether she is taking part in naked photo shoots, going naked rambling or attending naked Christmas events, Estelle keeps herself busy with naked hobbies and inspiring people every step of the way.
Estelle first stumbled across a nudist beach around seven years ago when on holiday with her two sons and knew it was something she wanted to try, one day.
She said: “I was thinking, there must be something enjoyable about it if there are so many people there doing it.”
A number of big life events happened the year before her birthday, so Estelle adopted the attitude of “life is very short” and everyone should be doing the things they really want to do, including the things they fear they will be judged for.
Estelle said: “I think we have a lot of preconceived ideas [about nudism]. You think that people are going to stare at you, that you might be uncomfortable, and you're worried about your own body and the fact you've never been naked in public before.
“Yet when you get there, because there's so many people doing it, it just feels very normal and you meet lots of different people.”
Credit: Estelle Keeber
Credit: Estelle Keeber
Credit: Estelle Keeber
Credit: Estelle Keeber
The exhilaration of getting to tick it off her bucket list as well as it being an awesome holiday with one of her friends in a hot country made this first trip to a nudist beach one of Estelle’s favourite naked adventures so far.
She said one of the downsides to being a nudist in the UK is the weather, as it puts a bit of a dampener on things and makes people less inclined to try it out.
Estelle said: "I would be naked a lot more if I lived in a warmer climate!"
But cold climates do not equate to prudish attitudes towards nudity across all countries. Estelle is planning a spa trip to Europe in the next few months, to either Germany or Holland where it is incredibly normal to be naked in spas; in fact, in a lot of places it is frowned upon to wear swimwear because it is seen as unhygienic.
Estelle said she is jealous of the European attitudes towards nudity where, compared to the UK, it is much more normalised. She attributes this to many European families being more relaxed about nudity as children grow up.
She said: “I think if the UK had more openness around [nudism] we would have a lot fewer issues with body image.
“It needs to be spoken about more so people understand that there is this space. And then, hopefully, this will filter down into the next generation, and it will become more normal for people to raise their children in a more clothes-free environment and for it to be seen as the norm.”
If more nudity became seen as the norm, then more women struggling with their preconceived idea of a “normal body” would realise there is no such thing; there are millions of different bodies and they are all equally beautiful.
Estelle said: “You become more confident in yourself as well because you are seeing all these bodies and you appreciate yourself and begin to love your body more.”
Roughly one in seven UK adults aged 16-75 describe themselves as naturists or nudists with the definition being “people who engage in activities such as sunbathing and swimming without clothes,” according to a 2022 Ipsos survey commissioned by British Naturism.
Estelle said: “People tend to think that nudists are older people and I think the reason for that is because a lot of younger people don't feel comfortable talking about it. But I've met lots of people my age and people younger than me through naturism now.
“It doesn't matter whether you call me a naturist, a nudist or clothes free. I don't really feel a need to put a label on it.”
Is there a difference between Naturism and Nudism?
Like Jenny Eells, Estelle talked about the importance of focusing on what your body has helped you to achieve and to experience in life, regardless of how you may sometimes feel about the outer of your body.
Estelle said: “I almost died. I had two children. I am utterly grateful that I am sitting here now having this conversation in the body that I'm in.
“It’s a liberating factor for you to realize that actually your body is way more than just what's on the outside and what you see.”
THE NAKED APPROACH TO BATTLING AI AND SOCIAL MEDIA'S IMPACT ON BODY IMAGE
Estelle has been working in social media for over ten years and said she is saddened by the impact of the negative changes she has seen across platforms and the kind of content she sees her two teenage boys, for instance, consume.
Michael Saul, partner at Cosmetic Surgery Solicitors (CSS), said: "The increasing use of AI-generated and heavily edited images on social media can distort perceptions of the female body, intensifying body dissatisfaction among women and girls.
"This digital landscape often showcases unattainable beauty standards, leading to increased feelings of inadequacy and mental health challenges."
Women's dissatisfaction with their bodies has escalated more rapidly than men's and non-binary's, according to CSS's recent social media and body image perception survey.
Michael said this suggests that societal pressures and the constant exposure to perfection on social media disproportionately affect women and that more exposure to a variety of natural bodies could help to counteract the unrealistic images prevalent online.
Being fully aware of what goes on with social media algorithms and the kind of content platforms intentionally put in front of people is part of the reason why Estelle is so open about sharing the nudist side of her life.
The importance of seeing real bodies:
Estelle said: "Part of why I've accepted myself and my body so much is because I'm in a society and a group of people where I am seeing what is normal all the time."
Society needs to prioritise taking away the shame around bodies and the non-sexualisation of nudity said Estelle, as without these actions, in the face of AI and increased social media takeovers, body dissatisfaction will continue to increase.
Estelle works with an artist who paints women’s bodies but her work is constantly being taken down from social media.
She said: "Now this is art. Are we going to go into museums and start taking down paintings that are hundreds of years old because they're of women with nipples?”
Meta’s community standards group adult nudity and sexual activity into one category.
There are exceptions for sharing nudity as a form of protest, to raise awareness about a cause or for educational or medical reasons.
But when it comes to art, they only “allow real-world art that depicts nudity such as photographs of paintings, sculptures etc. (sometimes labelled with a sensitive warning screen and age-based restrictions).”
Estelle said: "It's a confusing message that we put out there that bodies are either to be sexualized or shamed and there's no in between?"
The hypocrisy of Meta's nudity restrictions:
Meta were reached out to for comment.
THE BARE PROJECT
The Bare Project is a photography project that promotes body positivity and acceptance by showcasing natural bodies in nature, anonymously run by a married couple.
The project was born out of a love of photography and the desire to increase body confidence. Ben*, who has always been interested in photography, was on the hunt for a personal project and at the same time, unbeknownst to him, his wife Marianne* was going through a body confidence crisis.
*Ben and Marianne are pseudonyms used to maintain the couple's anonymity.
Now in her 40s, Marianne said she was starting to notice every wrinkle, every grey hair, every pound that she was putting on and was feeling fed up with the bombardment of “picture perfect people” on social media.
Ben said: “Yes, she was 19 when we first met, and yes, she looks different now, but she's had two children since then and in my eyes she still looks amazing.”
In the last bank holiday weekend of May 2024, the couple got up at 6am and went to one of their favourite locations - a picturesque wooded area in a small village - to take their clothes off and snap photos of each other undisturbed in the beauty of nature.
When they got home, instead of just having a laugh about the photos they had taken, they realised how beautiful the pictures were and how good it made them feel about their naked bodies.
They immediately decided they would have a zero body editing policy.
Ben said: “We wanted to give other people the feeling that we got, where you accept how you look and embrace who you are. If we made everybody look fantastic in Photoshop, it would defeat the purpose.”
Since starting the project, although they don’t claim to be naturists, the couple have got quite involved with the naturist community.
They said the UK naturist demographic does still appear older and more male than other countries like Spain, where their trips to nudist beaches have been full of a complete mix of ages and genders.
Ben said: “The big issue that younger females who are promoting naturism and getting their clothes off in public spaces face is getting targeted and sexualised by men.”
On The Bare Project instagram, they are getting close to 4000 followers, but with that number there is at least another 1000 people blocked for being there for the wrong reasons.
The Bare Project aims to separate the narrative that the naked body is only a sexual vessel, from how it can be used to promote confidence, self-acceptance and induce feelings of liberation.
When they carry out the photo shoots, Marianne is always there to help create a more confidence-boosting environment; they have found having a female presence makes people feel safer.
They photograph everyday women (and men), not models, so they are not always used to taking off their clothes in front of people, but Marianne said the difference in confidence from the first few photos to later on in the shoot is massive.
Photo credit: The Bare Project
THE NAKED DIARIES
Four women and the quiet power of their day-to-day nakedness
#1 Rachel, 36
Rachel said: "I adore being naked, it feels really natural to me. It feels like that’s my natural state and then putting on clothes feels like the aberration – which I suppose it is!"
But Rachel said she didn't always feel this way. Insecurities during puberty around weight gain plagued her until University when she started to spend as much time naked as possible.
She said: "After that it was like a light switched in my head, I was naked more and more and, over time, started to be really happy with how I looked."
Sleeping naked is something Rachel said she has always done and is naked most of the time when at home, whether eating dinner or doing chores. Cooking is the exception.
She said: "I was splattered with bacon fat on the boob one too many times. But even then I won’t actually get dressed, I’ll just put an apron on so my arse is still hanging out!
"I think the more I see my body move and be natural, the more I’m reminded that nothing is perfect, and the way my body moves/folds/wrinkles/bulges is just part of life and something I should be really grateful for."
Going to adult play parties and seeing so many naked women of all shapes and sizes, celebrating themselves, their bodies and their sexuality has been "really game changing" Rachel said.
#2 Amber, 28
Amber said: "For the longest time being naked made me uncomfortable. I avoided the sight of myself at all costs simply because I didn't know how to comprehend it in anything other than a critical light."
Like far too many girls, thanks to magazines, Tumblr, movies and the promotion of thigh gaps, bones and long limbs, Amber said growing up she had such a narrow idea of what the correct way to look naked was.
She said she felt her body type was the opposite and didn’t fit the aesthetic required of a leading lady or love interest, but rather was that of a mother, best friend or the punchline.
Amber said: “Of course, the latter aren't bad things, but being very young and wanting to go out and explore the world and experience love, I felt I had failed before I even started.”
She said she still has a long way to go but is now at the point where the time and space she takes to be nude by herself helps her acknowledge it as “simply a body.”
Amber said: “I am a leading lady, I do experience love, and I am the best friend and because of this, my body is the correct body simply because it is mine.”
As a woman living alone, Amber said she enjoys being nude in her own company to help her feel neutralised and reset.
She said: “Being at home in my own space and releasing my body from all the constriction of fitted clothing and wired bras is such a relief; I can tune back into how I feel.”
The select people Amber said she is comfortable being nude around are safe people who don’t look at her through a sexual lens.
She said: “I can simply be, as they can with me. I find this immensely calming and essential in my journey to desexualising my own perception of my body.”
An essential part of Amber’s journey has been life drawing classes, where she said nudity is so matter-of-fact.
Amber said: “When drawing nude models of all body types, you're under time pressure to capture as much of a pose as possible and your eye begins to perceive the body as shapes and textures.
"Seeing other naked women of all types is essential to breaking free and reclaiming love for your body."
#3 Phil, 32 (she/they)
Phil said she is in two minds about being naked, but has generally learned to be either body neutral or aim for a radical acceptance of it.
Phil said: “Being around others who have all different types of wonderful bodies is so much more fulfilling than constantly believing that what you see in porn, especially straight porn, is the thing to aim for.”
She said she is naked all the time at home or when with a closer group of friends, but in kink and play settings prefers being in some gear while still as close to naked as possible.
Phil said: “Being part of the queer community and exploring polyamory and kink has done bloody wonders for my confidence and relationship towards myself and how I feel naked.”
#4 Amanda, 33
Amanda said she is definitely more confident now than ever before in her naked body, even if the thought of it still makes her a little nervous.
She said: “When I actually am naked I don't find it takes me long to feel very comfortable. It’s very freeing and I do not think there has ever been a time when I have been naked and I have not felt good.”
Getting older and realising that it does not matter what other people think has really helped grow her confidence Amanda said, as well as meeting better guys and people to have more positive experiences with.
Amanda also said attending adult play parties has had an impact on her body confidence.
She said: “People will compliment you on things you did not even notice about yourself or things that you had hangups about other people will see and enjoy about you.”
Amanda said she has had conversations with other women where they complimented her on her “neat vagina.”
She said: “I had always thought my vagina was not particularly neat because my lips are uneven.
“Being naked around other women helps you realise that the negative thoughts you have about yourself or the things that maybe you do not quite love as much are ridiculous and unrealistic.”
Trying a nudist beach is something Amanda said she would love to try, as she has enjoyed topless sunbathing before where the nervousness came less from being partially naked and more from the fear of burning her nipples.
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