OtherPress. Room 1020-700 Royal Ave. Douglas College New Westminster, BC V3L 5B2 TELEPHONE: 604.525.3542 WEBSITE: theotherpress.ca EMAIL: editor@theotherpress.ca STAFF LIST Natalie Serafini Editor-in-Chief Meditor@theotherpress.ca Eric Wilkins Assistant Editor Massistant@theotherpress.ca Angela Ho Business Manager Chandler Walter Distribution Manager Mike LeMieux Layout Manager Joel McCarthy Graphics Manager Cara Seccafien Production Assistant Ed Appleby IHustrator Jony Roy Social Media Coordinator Angela Espinoza News Editor Minews@theotherpress.ca Michael Sopow Sports Reporter Cheryl Minns Arts Editor Marts@theotherpress.ca Chitwan Khosla Features Editor Mfeatures@theotherpress.ca Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor Mlifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca Elliot Chan Opinions Editor Mopinions@theotherpress.ca Sharon Miki Humour Editor Mhumour@theotherpress.ca Staff Writers Alex Stanton Cazzy Lewchuk Mercedes Deutscher Senior Columnists Steven Cayer Adam Tatelman Allie Davison Columnists Kirsten Scott-Wuori Contributors Taylor Pitt Sarah Walker Nudity and bravery Ne is, paradoxically, both emblematic of strength and of vulnerability. Daenerys Targaryen, (spoilers!) emerging from the ashes of her husband’s ritual cremation with dragon a sense of confidence and self- assuredness, you feel no shame at displaying your body in all its want to emphasize someone's vulnerability, a quick way to accomplish that is to remove their protective armour of clothing—better yet, put them in contrast with someone who's fully clothed. Simply put, nudity is manipulated to suit the needs of the story. But what’s tremendously frustrating is the tendency to state that a woman is “brave” if she dares to go bare, the slim-and-trim archetype of dainty femininity. Lena Dunham is “brave” because she doesn’t cover bits in her Girls sex scenes; a model is “brave” because her belly doesn’t collapse into a concave stomach that defies © Getloknowus! © The Other Press has been Douglas College’s student newspaper since 1976. Since 1978 we have been an autonomous publication, independent of the student union. We area registered society under the Society Act of British Columbia, governed by an eight-person board of directors appointed by our staff. Our head office is located in the New Westminster campus. © The Other Press is published weekly during the fall and winter semesters, and monthly during the summer. We receive our funding from a student levy collected through tutition fees every semester at registration, and from local and national advertising revenue. The Other Press is a member ofthe Canadian University Press (CUP), asyndicate of student newspapers that includes : belief, and is applauded for her : courage in showing what real : women’s bodies look like. : meaning of being brave—or : rather, we’ve become confused to : triplets, represents strength; with : : of reality as courageous. Of : course it takes a certain amount : of spunk to take it all off, disrobed glory. Conversely, if you : : life. But we’re taking “brave”—a : word associated with wars and : political struggle, with asserting : your rights, with countless other : acts that risk life, limb, and : security—and lumping it in with : showing off your lady lumps. : I'd say that shows a decided : misunderstanding of bravery. : complicated with the : politicization of nudity, where : Femen protesters go topless, particularly if her body doesn’t fit : : be associated with removing : ties that bind. Nudity in those : instances can serve a purpose, : and speak toa larger bravery. The : : fact of removing their clothes : : takes guts; the fact of protesting : and asserting their rights I think we’re confusing the the point of perceiving displays whether for cameras or in real My argument gets and the removal of clothing can papers from all across Canada. : requires bravery. The two aren't : mutually exclusive, but they : aren't the same either. The thing is, I’m technically : arguing over a technicality, a difference in synonym where : bravery and guts are likely linked : in the thesaurus. We've devalued women’s : bodies which don’t the fit the : traditional image of beauty, : to the point where it requires : gallantry to remove one’s : clothing, or bravery to wear a : bikini to the beach. Saying that : a woman is brave for showing : off her body suggests that she : should be afraid, or ashamed. : She has pluck for accepting : her body as it is, when really, it : should bea total normality to do : so. At the very least, saying that : a woman is brave perpetuates : that idea that the natural state is : somehow unnatural. Women’s worth is forced into holding hands with her : physical appearance. We talk about women in relation to : their appearances like that’s : the single layer that we can : judge them on. Emphasizing Screenshot of ‘Girls’ : this further by suggesting that : a woman’s bravery is associated : with showing off her body, or : choosing to forego makeup, : or wearing horizontal stripes, : not only demeans women and : the definition of bravery, it : also belittles female bravery to : physical appearance. When she’s : brave for wearing stripes, is she : simply brave for standing up for : herself? “Brave” becomes an all- : encompassing word that : consequently encompasses : nothing at all. You aren't : courageous when you show off : your body. You're a person, with : a body that is worth showing : off if you want to; if you feel : comfortable showing off inches : of skin, all the more power to : you. It says nothing about your : bravery whether you choose to : bare it all or not at all. Hello gorgeous, Natali Serafini Editor-in-Chief @ theotherpress.ca © The OtherPressreservestheright to choose what we will publish, and we will not publish material that is hateful, obscene, or condones or promotes illegal activities. Submissions may be edited for clarity and brevity if necessary. All images used are copyright to their respective owners. | +f facebook.com/DouglasOtherPress | twitter.com/theotherpress