Dozens of women removed their clothes and posed naked in the main street of a Western Australian country town on Sunday, demanding autonomy over their bodies after centuries of sexualisation and abuse of their gender.
Women from all over WA travelled to Albany, 420 kilometres south-east of Perth, to take part in a form of political art expression.
It involved them being photographed without their clothes in the town hall and on the main street.
The initiative was part of the region's 10-day Pride Festival and coincided with International Women's Day celebrations.
Nerves turn to confidence
Albany mother-of-three Julie-Ann Johnston said she was feeling "super, super nervous" before the shoot.
"I almost pulled out because I didn't think I could do it," Ms Johnston said.
The 46-year-old said women had to face judgement for the way they looked.
"We're too fat, too thin, too tall, too short," she said.
"We worry about the cellulite and all the squishy bits on our body, and we need to learn to celebrate it and love who we are."
Ms Johnston said she had felt terrible after being pregnant.
"I felt fat and I felt that my body was just being used as a baby factory. So my boys are a little bit more grown up now and I'm embracing my body."
Ms Johnston said she first wanted to do the shoot after a conversation at her burlesque class.
All the women were asked to name things they liked and disliked about their bodies.
"Everybody could make a list of everything they hated about their body, but when they had to answer what they liked about it some people just couldn't come up with anything," Ms Johnston said.
"And I thought that was really sad, that women hate their bodies so much.
"We need to change that, and we need to try and find out how to make ourselves feel beautiful."
Ms Johnston said the scariest part of the day was the initial undress, but she soon felt at ease with the camaraderie of the sisterhood.
"Everybody was super friendly and confident and body positive," she said.
"Come and embrace your body and feel amazing about it.
"You're given one body in this life and we need to celebrate it and feel beautiful because we all are."
Women reclaim their bodies
Photographer Lauren Crooke said the sexual assault of women was a main driver for why she asked women to strip off in front of the camera.
Ms Crooke said many cancer survivors, mothers, and those who had survived sexual assault and harassment had opted to take part in the photo shoots to gain back control of their bodies following the trauma.
"Sexual assault is so much more prevalent than anybody realises and it's the driver behind everything I'm doing — to draw attention to women's body autonomy," she said.
The 37-year-old from Perth said some men got angry seeing her artwork.
"This is about the experience of women and I want women to know that they have rights over their body, they have choices, they can say 'no', they can speak up," she said.
Ms Crooke said women who were comfortable also posed naked outside.
"We realise the importance in the difference in allowing ourselves to be seen rather than not hiding, but doing it in closed doors," she said.
"It's therapeutic and transformative."
