"I never really thought much about my body or my lifestyle. When I transitioned from a career in the arts to one in healthcare, I had in some ways, self selected schools and training programs that had a general philosophy of 'work hard, live hard.' In essence it was felt if you did your job at work well, what you did when not at work was one's own business.
When I moved into academics, was a very unspoken shift of power away from autonomy and self-determination. There is an implicit control, prescribing the 'acceptable' or 'unacceptable' behavior of adults via threats of losing their job/career. You can't drink in public, or have a nude photo taken, you can't look 'slutty,' be kinky or non-monogomous. It is disguised under terms of'unprofessional behavior,' when in truth, it has *nothing* to do with one's professionalism.
I started to resent this and made a conscious decision to now allow institutions that I work in to have control over my personal life. I chose to regain the autonomy and power over my own body and my own life. I chose to not live parts of my life 'in secret' or to allow others to define my professionalism by my private life. Professional behavior is about one's ability to do your job well. It is not defined by how one chooses to live their life when *not* at work. I exercise my autonomy and power by not being shamed by my nudity or my sexuality. The only person who has control over my body, how I put it out into the world, is me."
