I consider myself to be a pretty sex-positive person. Coming from a family that is relatively open about sex put me in a position where talking about sex doesn’t bother me and doesn’t really strike me as a “weird” thing to talk about.
Because of this, when I started seeing boudoir shoot ideas on TikTok, I was immediately fascinated. I thought they looked so fun and so pro-woman. If you’re wondering, “what the heck is boudoir?”, let me explain. Boudoir shoots began in the 1920s, when nudity, even women in bras and underwear, was illegal in photography. The Prohibition Era produced a revolution to this idea of it being illegal, leading to women having their photos taken in lingerie. Boudoir originally focused on plus size models and promoted body positivity. Recently, it has become more popular and is considered a professional form of artwork. Its popularity among younger generations can be seen on all different social media sites.
Between you and me, I have never been super confident in my body, which is why watching these Tik Toks about boudoir shoots was something fun to watch, but never something I truly thought about doing. Finally, I decided that I wanted to do one for myself, just to see how it would make me feel.
I recruited my roommate to help me, and she ended up wanting to do a boudoir shoot as well. We bought Polaroid film to make it more fun and found some random props around our apartment. In the beginning, it was definitely awkward. Being so naked and vulnerable around even your best friends can be scary. The idea of trying to be sexy, something I never really thought about myself, in front of someone other than my mirror, was especially terrifying to me.
We eventually started taking pictures and began having as much fun with it as possible. It ended up being super fun. What started out as awkward, turned into us laughing and genuinely feeling like our most sexy selves.
After we finished, I looked back at the pictures and was blown away at how amazing I felt about myself. Not only had I don’t something completely out of my comfort zone, but I felt like I was winning a war I had been fighting about my body image since I was 13.
Boudoir was originally invented to promote body types that society tries to put down. Its goal is to make anyone, and everyone feel beautiful and sexy. I found that taking these pictures of myself that no one but me or my roommate will ever see is something that ultimately made me feel more confident in my body and my sexuality. I felt so empowered hours and even days after the shoot. I even find myself digging those pictures out of the drawer I have them hidden in whenever I need a confidence boost.
Overall, the experience was incredible. Conquering something I was so scared to do changed how I saw my body. I still have my days where I don’t love what I see in the mirror but being able to look at those pictures and see my body as beautiful has helped so much. This is why I challenge anyone who doesn’t always love their body to try this sometime. Recruit a friend you feel comfortable with and wear something that makes you feel sexy, even if it isn’t lingerie. You never know, you may have the same incredible experience I had.