Republicans, Democrats and all other political parties were welcome to take part reflecting their anger through art against the hateful repressive rhetoric of many in the Republican Party towards women and minorities. Trump and Pence are giving many in America the belief that is OK to hate. Over women signed up for the spaces to bare all in this heightened arena of politics and protest and this number alone is a testament to their bravery and desire for change. They did not know where they were going to pose when they signed up to be part of this art action, it could have been in the epicenter of the security zone, but they still wanted to participate. Our concept was for women to pose with mirrors. Our location was secret to keep the women safe and would only allow for a small number of participants.

I had some scenarios in my head that I wanted to illustrate. I really need to se something in order to draw it. So for the pieces, I had some ideas of nude women posing with different props. I asked five of my friends to get nude and pose together so I could photograph them and use the photos as reference for my drawings. But amazingly, they were all such good sports about it. For many of them, it was a personal experience they wanted to go through to step outside of their comfort zones and connect more with their bodies. So I really felt like it was bigger than just my artwork.

In it, a diverse group of people pose nude and talk about their relationships with their bodies, all in the spirit of body positivity. For the issue, eight people bared all — emotionally and physically — in the name of self-love. It was such a redefinition of beauty, and I wanted to pay that forward. Now any chance I have to share that awareness of what bodies look like and what people of value look like — which, spoiler alert, is everyone — I jump at the chance. When I stopped shaving my legs, there were two days of anxiety, and on the third, I realized nobody cares.

Often, those scenes are sexualized. Frequently, the bare body parts belong to women. Overwhelmingly, audiences accept flashes of breast or bottom without much protest.