Sinead

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I’m lucky to have a nice connection with my body, both in terms of how I feel about it and around how I choose to move it. 

I’ve dipped in and out of a varying intensity of yoga practice for almost 15 years and have developed a serious love affair with both cycling and kickboxing during the 10 years I’ve been living in London.

I’m grateful that my body mostly does what I want it to and I enjoy moving.

I’m sure, like everyone, I’ve been through teenage angst and longing to look a certain way or for things to be different, but I’ve been really fortunate.

Experiences, friends and family have led me to where I am now which is a place of mad acceptance, silliness and wonder at the human body.

I think it’s hugely important to see body diversity in all forms, to desexualise nudity and to strive for body neutrality over body positivity, as I think it’s more realistic.  

The majority of the time I’m quite confident in my body and although that confidence stems partly from my relationship with movement, my family and upbringing definitely helped form this mindset.

Growing up I don’t remember any comments around how mine or my siblings’ bodies should look, and being naked wasn’t anything other than just being. There was no shame or embarrassment around it.

I am eternally grateful for this as it’s definitely influenced how I feel about mine and other people’s bodies.

Like everyone, I’m sure, I have good days and bad days, days where I wish I looked differently or that my body would be better at the things that I want it to do.

But as I’m at the start of a career in healthcare I know how to check myself and my language. 

My body is capable, my body functions (mostly) as it is meant to and it looks the way it looks because of all the moments that have led me to now.

I am thankful that I can do the things that bring me joy and move in ways that make me happy.

A few years ago I actually started my own personal project of collecting pictures of friends’ bums that are proudly displayed on my wall in my bedroom.

This has been a source of great joy and freedom for me and I think for them as well, much like this project, inspiring people to get their bum out for a friend. 

I think there’s something really beautiful about that. And it’s part of why I am so happy to be taking part in this project.

The hat that’s in my pictures is one my mom made for me – an ode to the openness I was gifted growing up.

I met Sinead on the Brighton Naked Bike Ride a couple of years ago and she told me about her butt photos, photos of hers and some other’s butts in various wonderful places. I asked her to share her favourite, which is spectacular, and another gorgeous one about which she said “I like the green one as well as me mam took it.”

Join in by contacting me via my contacts page.