So this Dove advert has been doing the rounds lately and it kind of niggled at us. This post from little drops articulates the issues we had with it better than we can ourselves, so give it a read!

“So this video started going around my facebook today, with about a dozen of my female friends sharing the link with comments like, and “Everyone needs to see this”, and “All girls should watch this,” and “This made me cry.” And I’m not trying to shame those girls! I definitely understand why they would do so. And I don’t want to be a killjoy. But as I clicked the link and started watching the video, I started to feel a slight sense of discomfort. I couldn’t put my finger on why that was, exactly, but it continued throughout the whole thing. After watching the video several more times, I have some thoughts…” 

via little drops — Why Dove's "Real Beauty Sketches" Video Makes Me Uncomfortable… and Kind of Makes Me Angry.(click to read the rest of the article.

Project Naked now has t-shirts available! They can be purchased here and all proceeds are going to Rape Crisis Scotland and Womankind Worldwide.

So, as well as being Valentine’s Day and the One Billion Rising day of action, today is Project Naked’s first birthday. A year ago, we decided to start this project as a way to hear the real stories of women’s relationships with their bodies, and that Project Naked is still going today is thanks to the dozens of women who’ve been generous enough to share their personal stories with us and with the world.

We wanted to give voice to how women really feel about their bodies without it being filtered through a media which – whatever “love yourself” rhetoric it uses – degrades and demeans women and tries to create a negative narrative surrounding body image. The responses we’ve had have been overwhelming and humbling, and we feel extremely privileged to have shared women’s stories of joy and of struggle. Every woman who contacts us has a different story to tell about how their life, their experiences, and the society they live in has shaped the way they feel. It still feels like an absolute honour every time a woman gets in touch with us to share her story, and we hope that reading them has inspired you; angered you; comforted you about the lives we live as women.

This past year has been amazing and we hope it will only get bigger and better in the future. Every woman and every body has a story to tell; you might think yours doesn’t matter but they all do, and we want to hear them. If you like this project, please share it with your friends, tweet about it, and consider submitting your story. Project Naked exists and is built through the words of the women who contribute, and we publish every story we receive. Check out Where do I start?! for some ideas and get in touch at projectnaked@gmail.com.

And once again the most enormous thank you to everyone who has contributed or shared the blog in the past year. We’ll leave you with this awesome map of all the countries where people have viewed Project Naked since it began.

Got a nice wee mention from Ivory Smoke who saw one of our stickers in a pub toilet.