Although I do think it’s remarkable that naked photo leaks and thefts have seemingly done little to deter this impulse; clearly, taking naked photos is an important part of many people’s sexuality.
We’ve taken, and allowed other people to take, naked photos of ourselves since long before the age of the smartphone. For as long as photography has existed, so too have nude photographs.
But why?
In part, it can feel like a truer way of seeing yourself, says Madeleine Castellanos, a psychiatrist specializing in sexuality. “There is a universal curiosity to be able to see ourselves as other people see us,” she says. “By taking a picture, we can get a more objective and removed view that, at least in our mind, might come closer to what another person sees when they look at us.”
She adds, “In the same spirit of seeing ourselves as other people do, taking pictures of yourself also helps feed this urge to constantly compare yourself to others to see if you are as attractive or sexy.” With the explosion of online porn, there is just so much more to compare yourself to.
The cultural critic John Berger once wrote, “To be naked is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself.” Ian Kerner, a New York sex therapist, says of this line, “He was speaking of societal objectification of the body, but when we take a nude photo of ourselves and share it with a lover we are recognized for oneself sexually and that’s extremely powerful and arousing. The power of exhibitionism lies in being seen and being appreciated and to experience this recognition at a sexual level is intensely stimulating.
There’s also an element of submission in sharing a naked selfie, he says. “To be able to share a sexy photo with a partner can be an expression of the safety and security in a relationship, which makes them all the more arousing,”
