Tess Holliday Posed Nude on Instagram for an Empowering Reason

Andrea Park
Updated
Tess Holliday Posed Nude on Instagram for an Empowering Reason

Over the weekend, more than one million people are estimated to have joined in the Women's Marches around the world. Nick and Tess Holliday took a stand of their own for female empowerment: The body positivity activist and her photographer husband each shared a nude photo of Tess on their Instagram accounts to advocate for respect for women, no matter what they look like or how they're dressed.

"Women deserve respect, whether they are completely naked or covered head to toe," Nick wrote on Saturday. "I'm too sick to march, so I worked on this photo we shot a few weeks ago to post today. No alterations to her body or bare face have been made. #effyourbeautystandards #nomakeup #unretouched #womensmarch." On Sunday, Tess reposted the photo and her husband's caption, adding, "Repost my hubby @nickhollidayco 💘." In the black and white photo, Tess's bare back is to the camera. She wears her long hair in a ponytail and stares off into the distance, with lush Californian hills as the photo's backdrop.

The 32-year-old plus-size model has previously shared nude photos to make other important statements. Last August, she posted a photo in which she wears nothing but sheer underwear as she gazes at the camera. The caption explains that the photo reminded Holliday of her own quote from her 2017 book, The Not So Subtle Art of Being A Fat Girl: Loving The Skin You're In. "It goes: 'Fat people have sex. A lot of it. And it's really fucking good.' That's all 💁🏻💅🏻✌🏻," the caption reads.

In 2016, while pregnant with now 19-month-old son, Bowie Juniper, Holliday posed nude for The Telegraph. "Just because we're plus-size doesn't mean we have to prove that we're healthy, just as someone who is smaller than us or average size doesn't have to prove they are healthy. We should be able to exist in our bodies. I am technically healthy but my body is no more valid than someone's who isn't," she said in the accompanying interview with The Telegraph. "I was 7 months pregnant in these photos & loved every moment," Holliday added in her May 2016 Instagram post about the Telegraph shoot.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeL0wAGDeIz/?taken-by=nickhollidayco

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeL9vVRBI0-/?hl=en&taken-by=tessholliday

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