The Sexual Health Network of Quebec (SHNQ) has come up with a very novel way to raise some funds to promote sex education in high schools and get everyone’s attention. On Thursday evening, June 26 (7 p.m.) at Galerie 203 (227 Notre-Dame Ouest) in Old Montreal they will present Stripped, a Naked Fashion Show aimed at showing the true beauty of real men and women who have bravely volunteered to appear nude as for the cause.
“We need to start a
real conversation about the importance of sex ed, which should incorporate critical topics like
consent, readiness, body image, self-esteem and other pressing issues beyond the basic fear-based
tactics of STI’s and unwanted pregnancy,” says SHNQ President and the host of CJAD’s Passion, Dr.
Laurie Betito.
The evening will include hors-d’oeuvres, an open bar, gifts
from the sponsors, an art exhibit and
show clearly unlike something anyone has ever seen. For tickets, which are $125
a person, log on to http://shnq.ca.
The SHNQ is a registered charity that is affiliated with the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health. The
SHNQ strives to advance sexual health through public education and awareness
campaigns, the development of programs and services in Quebec, and the
promotion of sexual education, with liaisons to local, regional, national and
international organizations.
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| Valerie Claveau |
I spoke with
Valerie Claveau, who by day is the
operations manager at a Montreal shipping company. She has agreed to be one of
the nude models at the request of her friend Frank Mondeose. “My first reaction was to ask myself ‘Am I really
going to do this?’ But Frank explained to me the cause, that there will be no
cameras and how it is all about the beauty of the human body,” she said. “I
asked my boyfriend. He was okay with it, so I agreed. I even convinced one of
my friends to do it to.”
Claveau said
there are no rehearsals and clearly no costume fittings needed. “We will show
up two hours in advance,” she explained. “We are to wear no makeup , no jewelry
and no nail polish. Just our smiles. I believe we need to provide more sex
education to our teens. So I think this cause is a good one. I have two young
children of my own and I am thinking of them as well.”
Mondeose
says that when the SHNQ came up with the
idea they needed to first find out if
there was anyone daring enough to stand up and walk the catwalk for the
cause. “At first it's usually met with hesitancy,” he explained. “The
fear of being naked and vulnerable in front of a room of strangers really
strikes everyone. Then i ask them to recognize that fear and ask them if
it is really acceptable to feel this way and why. Its only a naked body. We all
have one and we all think we are imperfect Then i ask them to imagine what kind
of message we send if 20 or so models all walk the catwalk together. At what
point does the naked body just become another naked body? I address their desire
to be leaders, paradigm shifters, and trend starters. With so much
commercialism and materialism being promoted all around us, how cool would it
be if together we can create a new trend: that of self acceptance and it all
starts with breaking down the taboo of the naked body needing to be covered,
adorned, or botoxed for that matter.”
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| Frank Mondeose |
Putting his money where his mouth is, Mondeose will be modelling nude
himself. “I tell them that I would love
to have them walk with me,” he says. “That usually gets them in. No one wants
to be used as a tool, but if the organizer is bold enough to come up with the
idea and walk, well then it somehow makes it more appealing to them. They see
the importance and that they don't have to be afraid to walk on their own This
is definitely a team accomplishment and its only as a unit that we can
accomplish passing the message.”
Mondeose says he hopes that the number of models continue to grow every
year “until we have 50 or more models walking one day. Then the idea of
watching another person model naked will just become another naked body. At
that point our message will not only be made, but integrated in the psyche of
the attendees. And that’s what we are trying to do. Show people that we are all
the same when we are stripped
naked!"
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