WHO SHOULD BE ASHAMED?

I have often wondered why, when a couple’s nudes are leaked, the blame lands squarely on the woman’s shoulders. It’s like she was the only one who was captured naked, and it’s like she was the only one who was in the photos. From then comes the name calling, slut shaming, body shaming and everything in between, simply because in a moment of weakness, a woman posed for nude photos with someone she trusted and now they are circulating all over the Internet.

Why blame her though? Was she not with someone else? Isn’t there a man in the photos too? I honestly find it very hypocritical to blame the woman and let the man go scot free. The blame must be split in two, because it takes two to tango. Never mind if the nudes were taken by the woman in question, that was almost definitely at the request of a man somewhere who’s motives may or may not be sinister. The point here is it’s never just the woman’s fault. But society will go ahead and blame her and her alone. For shame!

What’s even more surprising is that once upon a time, nudity was the norm in Africa. Look at Swaziland (officially Umbuso weSwatini) during the prolific reed dance. And that’s just one of the thousands of African cultures where nudity wasn’t frowned upon. If a woman could walk topless to the well and back in full view of men and children back then, why is it a big deal now? The objectification of women and subsequent blaming for their choices is something we must fight instead of cowering behind the played out “not African culture” phrase. Surely we ought to know better.