The Naked Truth: Ayesha Curry has an image consistency problem. And here's how to fix that.
By Ericka B. // Issues // Faith + Culture
In 2015, outspoken Christian entrepreneur and chef, Ayesha Curry, tweeted, “Everyone's into barely wearing clothes these days huh? Not my style. I like to keep the good stuff covered up for the one who matters.”
Fast forward to 2021, and she is now posing naked for a magazine shoot and clapping back at critics of her immodesty while denying that she ever told women to cover up in the first place.
Despite Curry’s strategic posing to obscure certain body parts and pointing out that only her “shins and shoulders” are visible in the naked shot for ‘Sweet July’ Magazine’s body issue, many would argue that too much of the “good stuff” is being revealed.
When Curry first shared that her body was exclusively for her husband’s viewing pleasure more than five years ago, she was heavily criticized by the more liberal sect and fiercely defended by conservative advocates. Her perspective sparked debate and inspired think pieces on respectability politics and a woman’s liberty to choose how to present herself to the world. Christian women that championed biblical modesty praised her loudly and publicly and presumed that she shared their views, making her public nudity totally confusing.
Sweet July Spring 2021 Issue (Credit: Emman Montalvan)
“Is this the same person that was telling women to cover up a few years ago?” a commenter wrote. Another said, “I thought you and your husband are a Christian couple.”
The cookbook author and restaurateur hit back in one of her critic’s comment sections and revealed that in her 2015 tweet, she was “talking about a person wearing nipple pasties leaving a Starbucks and thought it was hilarious,” adding that the public didn’t know the context of the tweet because “no one bothered to ask.”
But Curry never bothered to tell anyone, either. Think about it. If a half-naked Starbucks patron was the inspiration for that viral post all along, why didn’t she say anything before now? Why allow others to misrepresent her views for so long? Why didn’t Curry, who clearly has no issue standing up for herself and going toe-to-toe with online foes, clarify her intentions years ago? That would have swiftly shut down unnecessary and misguided debates, and she would have avoided confusing supporters.
Millions of women are open-minded and able to respect another woman’s position on various issues. Also, Christian women who reject legalism, which is the idea that someone must follow a set of rules to earn God’s love, don’t believe Curry’s attire or lack thereof has anything to do with her relationship with God. But even those that do view issues of modesty and general morality through a legalistic lens, albeit the wrong view, would be less inclined to attack Curry had she made her own views on modesty clear from the onset.
Waiting until now to explain, at a time when she is being accused of hypocrisy for sending out mixed messages, makes her clarification seem more like an attempt at justification and deflection.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, this powerful woman of faith set a precedent. She sent out a message that baring skin as a married woman is a no-no—at least for her — in effect making her the poster child for modesty. By breaking with a precedent she set, Curry has left legions of conservative Christian followers puzzled and created an image consistency problem in the process.
Ayesha Curry is married to Wardell Stephen "Steph" Curry II, an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors (Credit: Getty)
That’s unfortunate, since her wholesome, fun-loving and thriving brand celebrates faith, family, food, fashion, entertainment and all things positive. Howbeit, that brand is forever linked to that 2015 tweet—and pushing back against accusations of hypocrisy won’t change or erase that.
Of course, Curry is a grown woman and has every right to present herself however she chooses. That’s between her, God and her husband, Wardell Stephen Curry (who she said picked out the naked photo for publication, by the way), and we should not judge.
However, at some point, for the sake of her audience, it would be beneficial for her to make her position on modesty unequivocally clear, and do it at a time when she isn’t on the defensive.
Whatever Curry’s views on modesty actually are and however she chooses to present herself to the world — fully clothed or scantily clad — we would all do well to remember the lesson of 1 Samuel 16:7: “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
