Dove Cameron defends her braless selfies: 'This is being a role model'

Dove Cameron is making a statement with a series of braless selfies and a message about embracing women’s bodies.

The 23-year-old Descendants actress took to her Instagram on Tuesday to share two beautiful selfies. But the former Disney star also decided to pose without a bra — her way of making a point about feminism and the suppression of women.

“Women HAVE a history that has been systematically suppressed. Our collective spirituality has largely been tainted to fit the needs of men and those in power,” Cameron’s first caption reads, quoting author Trista Hendren. “Our girls deserve better. The time to introduce feminism and woman-centered spirituality to ALL children is now.”

Her second post then included a quote about the “feminine principle” from the author of Singing Woman: Voices of the Sacred Feminine, Elizabeth Eiler.

“In such times as these, women are able to look at themselves with new concepts of value and brilliance,” the quote reads. “However you inhabit and express being Woman, embrace yourself in that way today!”

Both posts have aggregated millions of likes, in addition to tens of thousands of reactions from people — including those from critics of the star who told her to “delete this.”

“Honey, What are you posting? You're a professional actress working with Disney, not a pinup girl,” one person wrote. Another commented, “this is nudity.”

However, Cameron wasn’t shy about responding to criticism — especially from those disputing the notion that braless photos can be inspirational.

“I agree with you in the sense that it is not that deep or groundbreaking whatsoever,” Cameron responded. “But it’s only a big deal because this society is so beyond backwards that they have demonized basic anatomy and are very ! up ! in arms ! about female bodily freedom.”

Cameron went on to point out that a lot of girls “feel confused” when it comes to their bodies and what it means to be a woman. But after sharing her posts, a number of Cameron’s fans have said that she’s the reason they’ve overcome those difficult or shameful feelings.

“This is being a role model,” Cameron responded to a critic. “This is exactly being a role model.”

One of Cameron’s biggest supporters ended up being Lili Reinhart’s mom, Amy Reinhart, who seemed to best put the post into perspective.

“So Dove showed that she had nipples today. Did people think she didn’t have any?” Amy captioned the post on her private Instagram account. “Mass shootings are horrible. These are just boobs.”

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