Baring it all: Britney Spears and Hilary Duff spark debate on how we react to nudity
Taking part in a nude photo shoot has been an easy way for celebrities to go viral for years now, but the latest risque photoshoot of Lizzie Mcguire star Hilary Duff has raised some questions about how our reactions can differ depending on who the subject is.
Duff, who starred on the hit Disney show when she was just 14, recently went viral for her Women’s Health magazine cover shoot, which was accompanied by a candid interview where she discussed body positivity and acceptance, and opened up about her eating disorder and the pressure she felt to look a certain way.
“Because of my career path, I can’t help but be like, ‘I am on camera and actresses are skinny’,” she told the magazine.
“I’m proud of my body. I’m proud that it’s produced three children for me. I’ve gotten to a place of being peaceful with the changes my body has gone through.
“I also want people to know a makeup artist was there putting glow all over my body and someone put me in the most flattering position.”
The 34-year-old actress received a flood of praise for her “liberating” shoot and for being a “badass gorgeous woman”, with one person describing it as a “perfect example of how a childhood star can actually grow up to be a well-adjusted, loving, ‘normal’, strong and fantastic example of a working woman and human in entertainment and beyond”.
But the praise has come in stark contrast to the reactions other stars have received for sharing similar images, with pop icon Britney Spears being a prime example.
Spears has been posting minimally censored photos of herself on Instagram for the past few months and has previously explained she was doing so in a bid to reclaim her body after feeling constrained under her 13-year conservatorship.
However, the slew of images she’s self-shared on social media have attracted more of a negative response in comparison to Duff, with some critics calling the photos “disturbing” and “embarrassing”.
In a now-deleted Instagram caption on a post from earlier this year, Spears defended her images, writing: “Alrightyyy then folks… showing my bod in French Polynesia as a rebel and free WOMAN!!!!!”
“I WILL DO BIG LETTERS CAUSE I THINK THAT MEANS IT’S IMPORTANT AND I DON’T WANT TO BE LEFT OUT.”
Spot the difference.
You just love to criticize Britney Spears for everything she does. Jus admit it. #britneyspears #hilaryduff pic.twitter.com/U3eUsz2ti1
— Dolly Arthur (@DollyArthur_) May 10, 2022
Fans have begun questioning the difference between reactions to Spears’ and Duff’s photos, with some noting that the difference in image quality - Duff’s glamorous magazine shoot versus Spears’ low-quality photos seemingly taken with a mobile phone - may be part of the reason.
“I adore Hilary and she looks incredible, but the difference in comments on her post compared to Britney doing the same thing is astounding,” one popular tweet reads.
“People are so brainwashed by social media that they think nudity is wrong unless you’ve hired a photographer,” they added.
“Both Britney Spears and Hilary Duff look amazing. Just because one was professionally photographed shouldn’t make a difference,” someone else tweeted.
Another user shared a screenshot of their Twitter feed, showing a headline about the mixed reaction to Spears’ nudity above one from TMZ that reads: “You NEED to see these photos of Hilary Duff in the buff!”.
“Stop policing women’s bodies… except Britney Spears!” they captioned the image.
“Hilary Duff posts a nuded photoshoot and everyone praises her, Britney Spears posts her own nudes from her phone and she’s shamed. Can someone explain the difference?” another person tweeted.
“Britney Spears and Hilary Duff trending today in a ‘you painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her’ vs ‘put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting “vanity”, morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for your own pleasure’ kind of way,” a third said.
The debate around this double standard comes amid a wider debate about how female celebrities have been held to particular standards in the past, such as former Disney star Miley Cyrus who was forced to publicly apologise for a 2008 Vanity Fair photoshoot that was deemed too risque by Disney.
IM NOT SORRY
Fuck YOU #10yearsago pic.twitter.com/YTJmPHKwLX
— Miley Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) April 29, 2018
The singer and actress later retracted the apology, sharing a photo of a New York Post newspaper from 2008 with the headline “Miley’s Shame” to Twitter in 2018.
“I’M NOT SORRY. F***K YOU,” she captioned the post.
Though the praise for Duff and other celebrities - such as 78-year-old model Lauren Hutton - who engage in topless or nude photoshoots is a good thing and a sign that the times might be changing, the reactions the likes of Spears receive for similar images shows that we still have a problem with female nudity - and that there is plenty of work left to be done.
Images: @britneyspears (Instagram) / @hilaryduff (Instagram) / @harpersbazaaraus (Instagram)