Beth Whaanga, revealing the changes to her body caused by cancer, in a series of photos aptly titled, “Under the Red Dress.” Photograph: Nadia Masot

Reblogged from The Guardian:

How radical and provocative is an honest image of a woman’s body? Beth Whaanga, a mother of four from Brisbane, Australia, is finding out after posting images on Facebook of her body following surgery for breast cancer late last year. Taken by Nadia Masot, the pictures are brilliantly direct, documenting Whaanga’s ongoing hair loss, total bilateral mastectomy, navel reconstruction and hysterectomy scar. Whaanga lost more than 100 friends on Facebook after posting the pictures – and then they went viral.

Read Kira Cochrane’s article about about how the power of images may force us to reconsider what the “perfect” female figure holds, The Imperfect But Honest Image of a Woman’s Body.