Medical students ‘discreetly nude’ on birthday calendar for Congo

Several students from Erasmus MC posed in the nude for a new birthday calendar. The calendar has been specially published by the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations The Netherlands (IFMSA-NL) to mark International Women’s Day. The proceeds will go to a charity which supports sexually abused women in Congo.

Both male and female students were involved in the calendar, on which their modesty is discreetly preserved by arms, legs or other parts of the body. Erasmus MC student Lisa Splinter (21) was one of them. She didn’t think twice when she was invited. “It was an amazing experience.”

Unhappy boyfriend

“All the thousand members of the IFMSA in the Netherlands were approached and I immediately loved the idea”, says Lisa. “But my boyfriend wasn’t too happy at first. Eventually he understood. He said: ‘If it makes you happy, you have to do it.’”

 

The cover of the nude calendar

When she arrived at the photographer’s studio, she was a bit nervous. “But he was really nice and it was a great experience. I was with lots of people from my association, which made it less scary. The biggest problem was the fact that I was able to get into the right position for the photo at once. Then the rest had to follow suit, which took half an hour. My leg went totally numb.”

Classy

Lisa loves the result. “It looks amazing. You can see that everyone’s naked, but it’s still classy.”

 

Lisa’s whole family has already ordered the calendar. The proceeds will go to the Panzi Foundation, an organisation which helps victims of sexual violence in Congo. Lisa feels that the calendar is a project which is really relevant to this charity. “It shows the power and beauty of women, that we are free to do what we want.” ES

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