“I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best.

The subject I want to know better.”

― Frida Kahlo

Words are multi faceted and can easily have different meanings. So, before we dive in, let’s take a look at the definition of the following words: Porn. Eros Art. Muse.

Porn: At a base level, porn is the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures, videos or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement.

Eros Art: Simply put, eros art is artistic expression that inspires erotic love or desire.

Muse: As a noun, a muse means a person — especially a woman — who is a source of artistic inspiration.

As an empowered woman who deeply craves independence and strives to achieve true autonomy in life, Frida’s quote: “I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best. The subject I want to know better.” is truly inspirational to me. Generally speaking, when we think of the word muse, we likely imagine a woman sensually inspiring a man to create his art. One example of a muse that comes to mind is: Kiki de Montparnasse

Kiki de Montparnasse was a cabaret singer, memoirist, and painter, but is best known for being the model and muse to many famous artists of Surrealism from the 1920’s. Man Ray in particular was immensely inspired by her, and they were lovers and companions for most of the ‘20s, during which period he created countless works inspired by and featuring Kiki. His most famous works of her are Le Violin d’Ingres and Noire et Blanche.

When I did a Google search for the terms porn and muse together, the results were disturbing. The majority of the images that came up depicted young women with cum on their faces. The question on my mind is how the f*ck did we end up here? The women’s liberation movement, sought equal rights and opportunities and greater personal freedom for women. So much was accomplished through that very movement, but there’s still so much work to be done! Liberating both men and women from sexual exploitation is one of my passions in life.

What exactly is sexual exploitation?

Sexual exploitation: an act or acts committed through non-consensual abuse or exploitation of another person’s sexuality for the purpose of sexual gratification, financial gain, personal benefit or advantage.

Some people think that, just because a woman freely shares images of her naked body; just because a woman openly shares her sensuality. Just because a woman is unapologetically sexually empowered, that she is sexually exploiting herself. I strongly disagree. 

My Twitter interactions with Cindy Gallop, the founder of Make Love Not Porn have inspired me to consider a career as an erotic videographer. Bringing empowered female perspectives to the porn industry may just be the answer to true sexual liberation as a society.

As for the feminist movement in relation to porn, Erika Lust, a filmmaker explains why porn can be feminist in this phenomenal TED Talk, Erika produces porn videos—made largely by female directors—that show all of the passion, “intimacy, love, and lust in sex,” where “the feminine viewpoint is vital, the aesthetic is a pleasure to all of the senses, and eroticism and innovation are celebrated.”

Some of my photos elicit sexual feelings in the viewer. Although I used to shy away from sharing my sensual side in my self portraits, I have grown to accept that my unique form of expression may sometimes be viewed as erotic art.This brings me back to the nudist movement. From my personal perception, there is nothing inherently sexual about nudity. You can be highly sexual while fully dressed. You can also be totally non-sexual while fully naked. I agree that, to truly normalize nudism, it is important to keep erotic content and nudist posts separate. That is why it’s important to me that people understand that I do not self identify as a nudist.

Many people see me as a nudist, so once again, let’s examine the most basic definition of a nudist:

Nudist: a person who engages in the practice of going naked wherever possible.

I enjoy being naked in nature. It is the foundation of my personal healing and transformation. I engage in social nudity, but I don’t necessarily seek it out. I am an advocate for top freedom and I believe in personal choice. I fully support the nudist movement, but I also fiercely defend my right to express myself without limitation. If I were forced to choose a label for myself I would have to say that I aspire to be a muse in the truest sense of the word. However, like Frida, and my lovely Twitter friend Rachael Padilla I aspire to be a muse for myself.

When I write, I write for me. I write to express what’s swelling in my mind. When I dance, I dance for me. To express what’s swelling in my body. When I capture a self portrait, I am a mirror for myself. To express what is swelling in my soul. At the same time, some of the beautifully expressed sentiments I receive from people across the globe are humbling and inspire me to keep creating. I am after all, a true Creatrix. My creativity seems to be over flowing at the moment, so I’d love to hear your ideas for future blog posts…after all, there’s nothing wrong with accepting a ‘lil external inspiration now and again…

I hope your day is filled with pure unadulterated bliss! From my heart to yours, Joy

PS: I hope you’ll continue this journey with me…