Has posting nudes on social media become the latest body positivity trend?

Artist Era Tangar had always had a problem with how her body looked Until recently that is If you follow Tanger on Instagram blindlyfloating you will be wowed by her sketches but also her recent posts on body confidence In one of her posts she shows off her bare back in another she stands in front of a mirror with bare legs in yet another she faces the camera wearing a jacket with nothing underneath her breasts camouflaged by a few illustrations It took a lot out of me to put these pictures out there but I had never been this body confident before Then I decided why notEra Tangar was shocked by how many women said her picture inspired themTangar a UP girl who is now based out of New Delhi put the pictures out and has been flooded with both kinds of messages lewd ones from men and congratulatory ones from women who are inspired Theres a picture in which I face the camera its one I didnt even like It showed me in a way I had never seen myself before The look in my eyes and my body language were all alien to me But there was this energy in the picture and so I put it up I realised that the positive messages mattered to me more than the bad ones So I really dont think I care about what people think This ones for meA picture from her HateLoss seriesTangar is just one of the many uninhibited people on Indian social media sites or dating apps who are not shy about sharing their nude or seminude pictures No wonder sendnudes is a popular meme topic and an often asked question in the beginning of a relationship or a onenight stand Instagram users in India would have also seen a steady rise in ordinary and by that we mean noncelebrities people putting up more revealing pictures of themselves for a multitude of reasons some of which are freedom of expression and body positivity Its become the order of the daySamiya Shakir wants people to see what a real body looks likeA New Delhibased writer 28 tells us that sometimes people have even refused to take forward a conversation with her on a dating app if she refused to send a nude Its okay as long as you dont show your face You are anyway planning to get naked with this person so its okay to give them a sneak peakA 27yearold pilot who flies between Dubai and Mumbai often sends d pictures to women he meets on dating apps but only after he has gotten to know them a little better Its all good he says in the world that we live in now My d pictures also have parts of my upper body because if one has a good body why not flaunt itI just dont do it too often on Instagram or Tinder because you never know who is the person what if there is a 65yearold man keeping my pictures for his personal use he explains He assures us he is not judgmental of girls who send him nudes right away as long he is the only one she is sending them to Why wouldnt you want to see a chick nude right he saysSending nudes on dating apps may be purely sexual in nature but putting up a nudie on your social media account often becomes about more serious issues For 30yearold brand manager Samiya Shakir putting revealing pictures on her Instagram account samshark is all about letting people know what real bodies look likeI have flab and stretch marks and no thigh gap It takes courage to do this but this is what real bodies look like says Shakir And though she has been getting sexually explicit messages from men the messages from women have kept her going I believe in being bold and brazen as I have one life And women look at me and think If she can do it so can I For men its sexual for women its invigoratingShakir points us out to another interesting Instagram handle called misslingerista This New Delhibased writer who runs a lingerie blog is all about trying to make Indian women realise that their bodies are beautiful I am obsessed with lingerie and so I decided to start this especially because there are no such initiatives for women in India At first it felt weird but then I decided if I was going to do this I had to do it wholeheartedlyIt then became very empowering I feel most confident in my lingerie The 25yearold also started a campaign called HateLoss last year that invited women to share pictures of themselves in lingerie Its a pun on weight loss but its about losing hate for your body I have put up almost 33 pictures for this series and more come in every day I have got many responses from the LGBTQ community as wellShe also addresses the most blatant assumption that she knows people have when they look at anyone sharing nudes are they just doing it to get attention Let me tell you this story I met a boy on Instagram who after he met me said I thought were doing this for followers but now that I have met you I can see your creativity and positivity shine through Its about a person being who they are Thats itCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all 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