Paris Jackson defends her love of nudity: 'It's actually a beautiful thing'

— -- Paris Jackson doesn't mind baring it all.

The model and daughter of the late pop superstar Michael Jackson recently defended her love of nudity by posting a black and white topless photo of herself on Instagram, explaining why she's embracing her body sans clothes.

"I'll say it again for those questioning what I stand for and how I express myself," she began in a lengthy caption on Instagram. "Nudity started as a movement for ‘going back to nature,' ‘expressing freedom,' ‘being healthier’ and was even called a philosophy."

"Being naked is part of what makes us human," Jackson, 19, added. "For me it helps me feel more connected to Mama Gaia [or Mother Earth]. I'm usually naked when I garden. It's actually a beautiful thing and you don't have to make it sexual the way many Hollywood stars (and the media) do."

Jackson, who recently signed with IMG models, believes nudity is also a way she can convey her feminist ideas. She wrote that nudity is a way to "express yourself in your own way, whether it's being conservative and wearing lots of clothes or showing yourself."

"The human body is a beautiful thing and no matter what 'flaws' you have, whether it be scars, or extra weight, stretch marks, freckles, whatever, it is beautiful and you should express yourself however you feel comfortable," Jackson added.

Jackson said if it makes any of her followers upset, she understands. But she had one suggestion: "I encourage you to maybe no longer follow me, but I cannot apologize for this in any way. It is who I am and I refuse to shy away and keep my beliefs a secret."

Jackson concluded, "We don't always agree with one another and that's okay. But again, we are all human, and to appreciate the things that other people do that make us human helps us feel connected. How can that be a bad thing?"

It seems nudity is just another way that Jackson is learning to embrace herself.

In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Jackson revealed that during her adolescence years, she was constantly criticized by online trolls who mocked her appearance.

Jackson said modeling became cathartic for her.

"I've had self-esteem issues for a really, really long time," she told the magazine. "But there's a moment when I'm modeling where I forget about my self-esteem issues and focus on what the photographer's telling me -- and I feel pretty."