Before I met Hallel Abramowitz-Silverman, I knew her as the teenager that got arrested at the Western Wall with her mother for wearing a prayer shawl. Those images I saw 10 years ago have been forever etched in my mind.

While Hallel has done a lot of work with Women of the Wall, her activism doesn’t end there. If you find yourself scrolling through Instagram and come across her profile, justhallel, you’ll see an incredibly beautiful, passionate, and articulate woman who has so much to share with the world. I was taken aback by her confidence and unapologetic nature, and her motto, “It’s cool to care,” couldn’t have felt more true.

When we started speaking, we connected on women’s issues and our love for Israel. My conversations always lead to sexuality and body image, and we began to discuss the double standards that women face, even in our modern day and age.

Hallel said, “I’ve always felt the outside pressure not to present myself as sexy. People tried to tell me that I shouldn’t feel comfortable with anything that shows cleavage, the shape of my body, or things like that. If I did do that, they told me that I wouldn’t be taken seriously.

When Rebecca reached out, I felt a huge sense of relief. Like what? What I’m feeling for so long is legitimate? I felt validated in the personal things I’ve been fighting for.”

The last decade of my boudoir photography and coaching career has given me the opportunity to explore the ways in which women have been taught to hate their bodies and how we can learn to love ourselves and show up fully in the world.

I’ve worked with thousands of women. I’ve heard so many stories. I’ve seen so many beautiful bodies. I’ve witnessed women finally being able to approach themselves with the compassion they deserve. I’ve also seen how the struggles of the patriarchy, misogyny, diet culture, and beauty standards are still very present in our everyday lives.

Don’t tell me that there’s no patriarchy when men can get away with sexual harassment, and women are still being told to cover up so they don’t tempt them.

Don’t tell me that there’s no diet culture when at least one person dies from an eating disorder every hour, in the U.S. alone, and it’s only on the rise.

Don’t tell me that beauty standards don’t affect us, and it’s only the insides that matter when it seems like all conversations just lead back to women’s bodies never being enough.

When Hallel and I spoke, we both were frustrated with the idea that we were constantly being told that we needed to choose the box that we would like to fit into.

You can either be smart or sexy. An activist or sexy. Spiritual or sexy. Funny or sexy. Sexy just wasn’t available for those who wanted to be taken seriously.

It’s not only frustrating. It’s oppressive to face serious consequences simply because we exist and are not willing to hide parts of ourselves.

Hallel shared, “People always told me I should have two Instagram accounts, one for politics and my activism, and then a personal account. At the time, I couldn’t really explain why I didn’t do it, but now I realize why. It felt like a lie to split it. It would be as if I was two separate people. I would be compartmentalizing parts of myself to make it more acceptable for other people to digest. I am so happy I understand now why I felt that way, and my gut told me not to do it. I would tell myself, “Don’t do it Hallel! You are one.”

Why are we not encouraged to show up fully? Fuck that. I’m not interested.”

There are many people who feel that any type of expressed sexuality is playing into a stereotype that has objectified and mistreated women since the beginning of time. Not surprisingly, Hallel got backlash for posting these images.

I just don’t agree. My work has always been and will always be about women reclaiming their bodies and their sexuality. It is a profound statement of taking back our autonomy and our rights. Get your opinions and your laws off my body, like for real. Whether I want to wear a burka or wear a bikini in the street, that is my choice.

Part of feminism is understanding that what is empowering for you might not be empowering for me, and celebrating the hell out of that.