My three 20 something children often lament "mum... you are so naive with social media! Mum you need to clean up your social media footprint..." Isn't it marvelous when we have role reversals in family dynamics and they are the wise ones and we need to be taught.
And in fact I did need to be taught. As it turns out that very thing we warn young people about - be very very careful in what you put by words and image on the world wide web for it could jeopardize your relationships, your future employment chances etc. That very thing came back and bit me on the bum.
This blog and her images were the reason I didn't get a job.
And this is why. Because put "tits, bums and vicar" together and you have a salacious Daily Mail media frenzy that brings our institution into disrepute. Or perhaps simply the idea of 'tits, bums and vicar' creates too many risk assessment scenarios so lets cut our losses, she may have been great for the job but she has tits. And we all know that religious people don't have tits or bums or other unspeakable bits.
We know that for the Christian community for a couple of 1,000 years woman and her bits have been the downfall of man and she has to cover up and shut up. In my life as a Christian and Anglican I can't think of anything positive that has been said in the public domain about the human body and sexuality from my tribe. The story we project is either negative or we are passive and not part of the public conversation.
There is delicious irony in a near naked Jesus, and in fact a naked Jesus in some art forms - that is to whom our eyes turn in adoration for his sacrifice on the cross, for us. He was stripped and stripped back naked on that cross and this is the centre point of our faith.
Churches and art galleries world wide are hung with Marys' and baby Jesus. All sorts of breasts we see feeding the baby Jesus, as he would go on to feed us with his 'body' and 'blood'.
I was head of R.E. in an Anglican girls school in Melbourne, Australia. Our corridors were curated with fantastic art and lots of nudes, naked women - all wonderfully shaped and sized, pregnant bellies. That was normal and inspiring and was not an issue and every day I walked down those corridors I felt good about being a woman.
But apparently the naked body IS an issue in other schools, where I didn't get the job. Again there is a delicious irony in that. One of my first life modelling jobs was with Nottingham Boys High School. Year 9 - 11 guys and girls from the neighbouring girls school gathered on Wednesday afternoons (complete with cookies I brought along) to draw and paint the human form for their port folios. To be able to draw the human figure is the litmus test for any artist.
Apart from the technique of learning to draw this was a really important teaching time as here they were, seeing a female body perhaps the age of their mothers in it's God given state. Not air brushed, digitally enhanced or youthised. And those young people were mature, matter of fact, simply normal and had no issues with drawing a 48 year old woman - vicar type person.
And maybe I might not get other jobs now either for writing this. For how dangerous is the 'pencil' and how dangerous is the female body?
(This article is a post from my blog 'The Nipple is not a bullseye!')
http://thenippleisnotabullseye.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/what-is-issue.html
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