I often can't keep up with that. When it comes to topics like Cultural Appropriation (e.g. white people, who wear dreadlocks) or an exaggerated gendering (am I allowed to say that?), when a non-white person has to be called BiPoc (Black indigenous People of Color) in a politically correct way or I myself am confronted with Cancel Culture, then I am simply confused. And it makes me think.
Can I be a feminist as a man?
Feminism advocates for equality for all people, against sexism, and against discrimination against women.
I subscribe to that.
Feminism does not mean that men are emasculated. On the contrary, men are also allowed to cry and don't have to take on the role of the strong head of the family and provider.
And already with this topic it becomes difficult — the picture of the strong man. This image has been so deeply ingrained in us for generations that it's hard to let go. As a male, I feel the need to protect females. It's in my nature (is it really?). I, too, think muscles are great. Being successful also appeals to me.
Personally, I don't need symbols like a big car or a fat watch on my wrist to mark me as a strong man. But many men need this to communicate their status. And many women demand it as well.
We have different interests and I feel it is wrong to want to force one's own opinion on others. Everything always under the reservation that the own action does not harm others.
What does this have to do with nude photography?
When it comes to media representations of my work, I'm sometimes confronted with the question of whether it's still contemporary to present a naked woman with a car, for example. Or to produce a workshop calendar with lightly dressed ladies.
These are legitimate questions! Not everything that was good in the past is still good today. And not everything that was good in the past is bad today.
Some say that this objectifies women and degrades them as decorative accessories. That makes me sick. Because then I feel misunderstood. I am a great admirer of women and I celebrate female beauty. So it's really only about art. This can sometimes be objectifying in its representation, like for example also old Greek statues are, but it remains a tribute to female beauty.
My models take on a role in a shoot. I do not photograph documentary works about the personality or destiny of these women. For the most part, I don't even know them and know very little about them. The models are like actresses embodying a role.
The weaker sex is the stronger — because of the weakness of the stronger for the weaker.
Greta Gabo
Therefore, what I show is never real. Even if it is supposed to look real. I tell a story for the inner cinema. Strictly speaking, the viewer tells himself the story and it is for each of us a little different.
A man's imagination is a woman's best weapon.
Sophia Loren
If I am accused of showing a role model of a woman who only shows herself lasciviously because men demand it of her, I find this accusation crotesque. I do not persuade anyone to undress in front of my camera (And I have also photographed a calendar with naked men once).
Photo shoots happen on a voluntary basis and I demand in return that women must also have the right to present themselves erotically without being pigeonholed for it.
That, too, is feminism for me.
Don't let it get you down, be bold and wild and wonderful.
Astrid Lindgren