Why London Nude Tech is a good thing

London Nude Tech Calendar Teaser from Leapanywhere.com on Vimeo.

I've been watching a debate gather around London Nude Tech and I still can't help thinking "what's the problem?" For those of you who don't know what I'm on about, a group of people (both men and women) amongst the tech scene are getting their kit off for a calendar to raise money for charity.

But (of course) everyone is up in arms about this. Because women in tech can't take their clothes off! Women should never ever ever take their clothes off if they want to be respected ever again. And actually, I can kinda see the issue with that. I can't imagine it being very easy to have a business meeting with someone who is thinking "there's a picture of you naked on my office wall". But here's the thing: Its their choice.

And that choice has got fuck all to do with anyone else.

The people doing this calendar aren't stupid. They wouldn't do it if they thought in any way it would damage their careers. And yes, there might be a small amount of narcissism involved, but hasn't it occurred to anyone that they're looking for a novel way to raise money for charity?

We're not donating to charity as much as we used to. Those direct debits are being cancelled because we can't afford them. We're getting more irate with charity muggers. But we haven't stopped caring. Alicia Navarro has already set up Good.ly (the charitable version of Skimlinks), is it really so hard to believe that the people involved might be doing this for a good cause?

Of course it is. Because that's the easy option. Everyone embraced the Calendar Girls story because it was new. Sure, this is jumping on the bandwagon, but the end result is the same. People raising money and awareness for a cause that matter. Because until this calendar, I didn't even realise that the charity Take Heart India existed. Half of the blog posts I've read bitching about this project haven't even mentioned the charity. Missing the point.

I think the choice of charity says a lot about the project itself. Every year, male celebrities get their kit off in Cosmo for charity (prostate cancer, I think). And it's gratuitous and a bit tacky (like the rest of Cosmo) and it just doesn't ring true. This does. It makes sense. People who can raise money for something that matters to them. Yes, they could have just donated their hourly rate, but charity is much more about awareness than it is about money. It's about long-term investment. That's important. A monthly reminder that the £10 you fork out for a calender is doing something.

Do I think the women are demeaning themselves by stripping off? No, actually. Not every type of stripping is demeaning (having been a nude life model for a photographer, I can say this with some confidence). Women are lucky. A wise women once reminded me that at least we have the choice to take our clothes off if we want to. And if we can turn a stereotype on its head and do something good, then what the hell is wrong with that? Don't try and turn this into a row about women in tech. It's not about that at all. It's not like they've decided to have a "go to work in your underwear" day. This is something different. As a women, your position in the industry isn't damaged because Hermione Way takes her shirt off. Go stand on another soap box.

We have such double standards when it comes to nudity. It's OK if it's men doing it in our magazines, it's OK for a burlesque dancer to do it. It's even OK for the WI to do it. But if a professional woman does it then she's unprofessional? Why is the focus on the women? Why not the men. Some of whom I'd quite like to see naked as it happens.

Can we get some perspective here? A group of people had an idea to raise some money for a charity they believe in. Anyone who thinks they're damaging their career, or the tech industry or women in tech clearly hasn't met these entrepreneurs. And if you have, then you're seriously underestimating them.