Individual understanding of an establishment or movement is often defined by a perspective lent to us by another. Our views on politics, religion, sex and other entities are greatly our own but affected collectively by those whose minds and opinions we value. In my personal life, feminism was the one anomaly that evaded this generalism. I didn’t have a figure or role model that greatly altered my understanding of the movement, nor did I seek one. It was a concept at the periphery of my attention; I had never met an individual that challenged me to want to understand more about it or to exalt it for any reason. Ironically, I found myself diverting more attention to meninism, bemused by its satire more so than the altruisms of the feminist movement. I even started to align my views with feminism dissenters, seeing the movement for its hypocrisies rather than the virtues it otherwise advocates.

I don’t mean to say that I don’t support feminism. Its aims are nothing but good. My philosophy on gender is that sexes should be equals in social, mental, moral, and financial realms, which is the core of feminism. It was “feminism”’s interchangeability with “sexuality” and “body confidence” I was in contention with. I do not perceive advocacy for gender equality and body confidence as synonymous. I don’t condemn body confidence or overt sexuality, but I don’t agree with its correlation with feminism.

Yet after speaking with Aya Miller, that mentality was less concrete. Aya and I went to high school together. Though we were never in the same social circles or had the same classes, Aya had a don’t f**ck with me attitude that I respected. Her presentation of herself particularly on social media is unapologetic. Aya has a considerable Instagram notoriety, with over 1,000 followers. The aesthetic of her page is psychedelic and eclectic but most notably, provocative. Her photos make you think and look twice. Among her photos are Aya in her underwear, distorted and hallucinatory self-portraits, and urban and rural landscapes. They are raw, vulnerable, and erotic images.

It is compelling, and the scope of her aesthetic laudable. But in my mind, the feed was not a representation of feminism, which Aya had been outspoken about on multiple social media platforms. I didn’t see a correlation between provocative images and furthering the equality of women. So I decided to contact Aya, with the intention to write a contradictory response to her definition of feminism. This notion was dismissed after our conversation. Her response was surprisingly enlightening and profound in its effect on my understanding of women and beauty:

“In a society still to this day plagued with discreet and not so discreet hints of female oppression, modern-day feminism is the call to action many women including myself have been too eager to accept. When I take the definition of feminism into account (complete equality of all sexes), I think, "What are all the things societally frowned upon for women that men are allowed to get away with?" There are too many answers to this question for my comfort at this moment in time, but one thing that stands out strongly to me is sexuality and the expression of it. While society can enable men to outwardly sleep around with as many women as there are out there (consent given or not) women on the other hand, still lie at the opposite end of the spectrum where posing in lingerie in a photo versus posing in a swimsuit can land them in societally frowned upon hot waters...

[Oppressors of women] have created concepts such as slut shaming, they're the ones turning girls against other girls, and they do this strictly to keep us women oppressed and below them so that they can keep their control of the toxic patriarchy. In my eyes, I like to see this as A., something I can run from, B. something I can hide from, or C., the forgotten option, and the one I've chosen at the end of the day: to do something about it!

Personally, I've always loved photography. It was something I felt passionate towards since a young age. I wondered, “While doing something I love, could I make a difference at the same time?” Finally, I came to the realization that this was indeed very possible and ever since my Instagram has become just a tad bit more risque in the best way possible. I post the type of photos I post because when it comes to fighting for a cause, neutrality is the worst enemy. Neutrality means acknowledging a problem but not doing anything to fight it, it's a trap. Some may call my type of photography "radical", but I firmly believe that a healthy amount of radicalism is essential for change. If we really want true equality between the sexes, then we need to prove to the oppressors that you simply don't give a f**k about what they think.

It's about owning you own body. It's about crushing gender roles and stereotypes by owning your own mind. Most of all, it's about wiping out the corruption within the patriarchy by a unified force of love. It starts from self-love, loving your body, owning it the way you want, showing it off OR not showing it off the way you want. This leads back to my absolute favorite thing about photography, and that is making other women feel beautiful and confident through my favorite art form…. In the end, it’s all one big cycle of spreading the messages of love and confidence for me. The cycle will only get bigger from here”

After talking to Aya, I realized that our opinions on feminism were more similar than not. It was our perception of how body confidence should be exercised that differed. I believe beauty is intimate; an entity to be celebrated with few others because I believe its worth is more sacred when it is internalized versus externalized. Aya sees confidence less conservatively. She embraces her sexuality and physicality openly and to a larger audience. Aya should not be misconstrued as conceit but self-assured. She is steadfast in her confidence, and I commend her for that. Our understanding of an establishment or movement is often defined by a perspective lent to us by another. Aya lent me hers.

Aya’s Instagram: ayamiller