It's a sad fact that nudity can make people sit up and take notice faster than anything else. Whether it's through disgust, shock, or even lust, the sight of a naked body is an immediate wake-up call, and if harnessed properly, the power of exhibitionism can be exploited for the sake of laudable goals. As a form of political protest, or as a way of raising awareness. Recently, Russian women have been using their bodies to open up a dialogue about the way they are objectified and commodified by men, and how violence against women isn't talked about enough.
Earlier this year, 19-year-old Tatiana Strakhova was murdered by her partner Artyom Iskhakov, who subsequently violated her corpse twice before committing suicide. In a misogynistic diatribe, posted on social media just before he took his own life, Iskhakov stated that he was motivated to kill Strakhova because "I got mad because of thinking of f**king her so much."
Disturbingly, when details of the incident were made public, many people began victim-blaming Strakhova, claiming that her history of posting provocative selfies on social media is what led to her death at her lover's hands. As a protest against this, a number of Russian ladies have taken to Instagram to post revealing photos of themselves online under the hashtag “It’s not a reason to kill.” Scroll down to check out a few of their pictures for yourself.
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7. 8. 9. 10.This isn't the first time that we've seen nude pictures used to promote important topics. Recently plus-sized model Tess Holiday posted a scandalous nude photo of herself in order to raise awareness of gender inequality.