These 30 women posed nude in a photoshoot to protest against Facebook's nudity rules

It took a lot of courage for photographer Trina Cary to share a naked self-portrait to social media. Flooded with likes and positive comments, her body confidence quickly soared. But within 10 minutes of posting the image, she got notification from Facebook that the picture had been removed and her account temporarily shut down for sharing inappropriate content.

And it wasn’t the first time it had happened either. Despite taking the time to censor each image so it didn’t violate Facebook’s community standards, every time she posted a nude self-portrait, it was reported.

The most recent image was a shot of her covering her breasts with her hands, naked but with a patch of thorns covering up her genital area.

“I darkened my lower half so that you couldn’t see anything at all even if you zoomed in on your phone,” said Trina.

“I loved this photo. I felt like me in it. I felt strong and beautiful. I was so delighted to have gotten one good image from my self portrait session and was so excited to share it with all of my followers.”

So when it was removed, something inside snapped. Fed up of seeing sexual and suggestive images shared on social media without any issue while her artistic shots were removed, Trina decided she was going to make a stand.

After posting a callout on Facebook inviting women to join her for a nude photoshoot, she was overwhelmed when 30 brave women responded. The participants got together to strip naked apart from ‘censored’ tape covering their breasts and nether regions. And boy are the results amazing.

Though the shoot made a perfectly executed point about the, often unfair, censorship of social media, Trina also hoped it would empower women to love their bodies, imperfections and all.

“This session may look like it is just a protest again Facebook but it is way more than that,” Trina told Yahoo Style. “It is a protest against society’s view that all women have to be a media prescribed size and shape. That our bodies are only a sex tool and are not our own to love and show. That if society says we are imperfect we need to wrap our selves in bulky clothes and be ashamed. That diet, anorexia are the best solutions to get a perfect body.”

Sharing the story of the shoot to her website, Trina explained that her and the other women who took part found the experience empowering and liberating.

“This weekend I got to be part of a pretty incredible project,” one of the participants said. “We as women are so frequently told our bodies are dirty, or need to be hidden, or that there is something wrong if we don’t meet certain standards. This is about owning and loving ourselves. And about not being complacent when people want to censor us.”

Another explained that overcoming her nerves to pose naked had really boosted her body confidence.

“I wasn’t looking around judging others, for once I felt like we were all just equal,” she said “It was the most freeing feeling I’ve ever felt. This shoot reminded me to love my body, to love myself and every bit of it. It brought back my confidence.”

For Trina the message of the photoshoot is two pronged. Not only does it call out Facebook and the people who have been reporting her images, but it also encourages women to conquer their insecurities and be proud of their bodies.

“Ultimately I am fighting the fact that Facebook shouldn’t be censoring self love,” she said. “I am following their guidelines, I am not posting nipples or genetalia. I am just posting skin and that should not be offensive.”

“My passion in life is to help people grow and love themselves, I want to see a world where people build each other up not tear each other down.”

To see the whole photoshoot visit Trina’s Facebook page or her website

What do you think of the shoot? Let us know @YahooStyleUK

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