Boudoir by Rae Taryn

The thing about photographing underwater is that it’s kinda a metaphor for life….

You’re under the surface, you’re looking up at the top and all of your survival instincts kick into high gear. You’re down there without air, holding your breath… it’s second nature to panic a bit… to start kicking wildly as your body and mind try to “save you” from this danger you’re in.

But, as in life itself, if you stop for a moment, look inward and find that little piece of peace… all of a sudden none of it seems so scary anymore because you know everything is gonna be ok and you’re gonna make it thru this like you’ve made it thru everything else❤️

I really wish that big celebrities and influencers can help us “little folx” to spread the message that bo***ir photography is not necessarily a bad thing when it empowers women to shed years and years of body trauma brought about by decades of unrealistic beauty standards that have been shoved down our throats.

Taylor Swift said in her documentary that she has to constantly fight off negative thoughts about her own body, quoting "Because if you’re thin enough, then you don’t have that ass that everybody wants, but if you have enough weight on you to have an ass, then your stomach isn’t flat enough. It’s all just fu***ng impossible.”

What we, as bo***ir photographers, do is give women a little bit of themselves back by allowing them to see themselves for the incredibly beautiful humans they are. We show them that they can be their own definition of beautiful.

Some of my images show less skin than most bathing suit pics that are posted throughout the summer. But I am constantly haunted by “policy violations” for adult content. I am constantly fighting deactivated accounts because there is just too much skin… but influencers can go live next to naked. Celebrities can perform next to naked. Victoria’s Secret, Honey Birdette, Savage X Fenty and so many more lingerie brands also exist in the wide open- my images, if published to sell lingerie, would be totally acceptable by the public…. But my images posted socially to give women a much needed boost in self-esteem and ownership of their own sensuality are banned.

Make it make sense.