Bosom buddies: bridesmaids bare all in boudoir photo shoots

Wondering how to celebrate your next birthday, or perhaps looking for a wild and crazy hens night that screams girl power? Why not strip down to your skivvies with your favourite gal pals and have a professional boudoir photo shoot. Because nothing says I love my girlfriends like pressing your breasts into each other and flaunting some risqué lingerie.

According to the NY Post, boudoir photography parties are on the rise. Some photographers report a 50 percent increase in business over the last five years.

But they’re not just for silly hens nights. Apparently, women are using them to celebrate everything from their upcoming weddings to milestone birthday parties. “Happy 90^th birthday, Grandma! We bought you this lace teddy to wear in the picture.” “No, no, it’s not a joke. It’s a way to show the world just how much we love each other.” “Oh, no, we wouldn’t hang the portrait on the wall. We’d store it away somewhere.” “Yes, that’s right, it’s $3,300 to have pictures taken that we’ll never show anyone.” “What do you mean it doesn't make any sense?”

Supposedly this trend is designed to empower women. See, we love our body so much that we’re willing to photograph it naked with our friends. But tell me this: How does baring it all for a highly retouched photo shoot become the sign of high self-esteem?

Apparently, the trend arose when women would book boudoir shoots for themselves, as a sexy gift to their husband. Nervous, they would ask a friend to come along to give them courage. A few glasses of wine later and some cheering from the sidelines, and suddenly it made sense to include your girlfriend in the shot, too.

During the sittings, each woman gets a makeover and is shot by herself in her sexy lingerie. Then all of the women come together for a more modest and hopefully less tacky shot.

To me, it’s the incarnation of every high school boy’s fantasy of what goes on at sleepovers. Plenty of men feel fine about their bodies but you don’t see them stripping down for group beefcake images. I’m tired of the ridiculous over-sexualising of ourselves that somehow suggests we feel good about ourselves — when really we’re just trying to look more like the models in magazines who look nothing like real-life women. If anything, I think it screams less girl power and more buying into the hype of the media machine.

PHOTO CREDIT: christameola.com