Can We Stop Using "The Almighty" to Justify Total Bullshit Already?

That is a HUGE peeve of mine. It pisses me off on many, many levels. By "The Almighty," I'm referring to God. Maybe people use other religious figures in other faiths & countries (Allah some places, Hindu gods in others, the Flying Spaghetti Monster in other circles) but the general idea is the same. It's claiming a person can or can't do something b/c "God will be upset" based on Scripture written BY MAN in a time period where women, minorities and anyone who wasn't rich didn't have rights to speak of.

I've read about more than one model on my Facebook feed who apparently won't do swimsuit or lingerie shows b/c "GOD will not like it" or "the Bible says it's wrong." That's total bullshit & I'll tell you why. For those who haven't read prior entries or don't know about me, I grew up in an independent Baptist home in the Southern US surrounded by religious types (with a fair amount of fundie nutcases mixed in there). I went to a Baptist Christian school for part of my young years and was an ace at the Bible verse look up competition. I was going up in front of the entire school representing my grade for that and spelling bees; in other words, I know what I'm talking about.

If you don't feel comfortable doing swimwear or nudes or "sexier" fare, just say so. "I don't feel comfortable" is reasonable & fair. I'm not comfortable doing nudity, law licenses, business career and religious mother notwithstanding. I won't do Penthouse style work; I feel inauthentic at that anyway. I can wear a sexy outfit but my own aura is more fun than trashy; trashy is a vibe that I don't really have.

I can sum it up like how Cher was described by Bob Mackie wearing sexy fare on her variety show in the 70's: he said she wore the sexiest outfits like she was wearing a T-shirt & jeans, that she just felt comfortable in whatever she wore and it came out when they were doing that show. I feel if I'm going out in lingerie or swimwear, it's merely part of my space as an artist. It's me playing a role and engaging in art; I never really feel like "this is too trashy for me" in things I pick or wear since that's just not how things look on me. Maybe the best way to describe it is I'm too classy & that classiness rolls off me just like the straight rolls off me. I reek of both & people who know me or can pick up vibes well know this so they know it's not an arena that's authentic to me.

So why do I get offended when people use "God" as a justification? Well, the God I believe in isn't a slut shaming asshole giving babies to deadbeats as Puritanical Christians would have you believe. God GAVE you the figure, did he not? God GAVE you the opportunity to model; know how many girls get to do that on any level at all? A small enough number for people to be impressed when they hear you're a model, especially outside of NYC. Granted you have the fakes and the hobbyists but I know I'm no hobbyist or fake since it's just another piece of my entertainment career that I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to take on. I approach it the same way I approach all the other aspects of my career that I've been at for well over 15 years in some cases.

The patriarchy and mainstream society also love to slut shame women, telling them to cover up all the damn time and asking what they were wearing when some guy raped them. I view my own modeling career as a rebellion against the patriarchy (including my evil ex and his scummy, hating family who wouldn't be picked for modeling no matter how much THEY wanted to do it; if they'd be able to do it, they'd have never harassed me over it). My immediate family supports me in it & friends of mine support me; I'm not about to let the patriarchy or any other hating asshole dare to slut shame me when I present myself in a very particular, precise way. Not my fault you're too much of a moron to get the concept or understand my art.

Using the Almighty to say "I can't model" is just like people using the Almighty as a justification to kill gay people, have slaves, discriminate against minorities and various other shit people have used the Bible as "God's word" to get away with for how many years already. Some people need some far more supportive & less judgy family members (my family is definitely religiously devout). More people need smackdowns for trying to speak for God. Too bad there isn't a gross of anvils somewhere poised to fall from the sky and hit those people in the head; yes, I'm comical and love a good Looney Tunes scenario played out in real life.