If at first glance, the title of this post may raise questions, it wants to do so above all to trivialize nudity. Indeed, in our societies, nudity is sexualized to the extreme, through advertising and now social networks, starting with Instagram. Being neither an anthropologist nor a sociologist, but a simple naturist enjoying everyday social nudity, I can only wonder. We know, medically, that the shame of the body generates all kinds of psychological and physical syndromes. We know our skin needs to breathe, to be exposed to the sun. So why make nudity a taboo, a dirty and perverse state that we should hide and be ashamed of?
When it is accepted for what it is, that is, a normal, natural and comfortable state, nudity disappears and is no longer noticeable. It goes back to what it always should be. It is no longer remarkable!
Nudity and sexuality
“Come and get dressed, you’re not going to stay naked, though, that’s not good!” This is the injunction we often hear from mothers and fathers with young children at the beach. Nudity is not good! Repeat this in the form of injunctions for several years, the message then takes hold: nudity is a state to be avoided. Add to it during infancy and adolescence, a more or less pronounced zest of Photoshop perfection and Pornhub, then you have the perfect cocktail to complete the nudity-sexuality association.
For religious circles, we can substitute decorum, clothing injunctions and the taboo of sexuality to, after all, achieve the same result. In the minds of most people, nudity is taboo because it is imprinted with sexuality, which should be kept in the privacy of the bedroom. We could then conclude: the die is cast! But no, let’s go back to it.
Let’s leave our child run around naked on the beach. Let’s undress his parents too. They are naked at the beach. Back home, they stroll naked between the bathroom, the kitchen and the living room. Without being naturists, they don’t see the body as something dirty. They explain it to their child and at each phase of his or her development, spend time to explain the body, the sensations, what is private and above all let him or her discover his or her body without shame or false modesty, by explaining the limit between sexual and non-sexual feelings and behavior. This is not a figment of the imagination. Many parents do this, which allows children to grow up without body shame and without striving for top-notch perfection.
Simple nudity is nothing sexual. Just because I’m naked, my so-called private parts for all to see, doesn’t mean I’m going to jump on anything that moves to have sex. The opposite is true for a naturist. There is nothing sexual about nudity in itself. Sexual desire is decoupled from the sight of the naked body. Anti naturists take this argument to fight nudity. For them, desire can be expressed in the bedroom due to the discovery of nudity. It is the trigger for sex. They are also the same ones that explain that the true beauty is not visible, it is that of the heart. Go figure!
Perversion and balance
For those who are repelled by nudity, who want to confine themselves to the privacy of the bedroom because of its association with sexuality, getting naked in a social and uninhibited fashion is a perversion. Naturists are polymorphic perverts. Without a doubt, you have to be to undress and “show off” penises, vulva or breasts, those parts of the body that are described as evil. Because in fact, the real problem is there. The so-called private parts are sexual organs. On the one hand, they quickly forget their other functions, on the other hand, giving them an importance that they probably don’t have, no more than hands, nose or knees.
I don’t want to talk about sexuality here. Being neither a sexologist nor a sociologist, I do not feel competent to judge the relationship that everyone has with their sexuality. However, I think the more you try to hide something, the more you increase the temptation and create an aura of mystery. Not that it should be made public, it remains, in my opinion, a private domain. But it is important to recognize that sexuality is an integral part of life that there is nothing dirty or perverse in itself, as long as it is practiced by consenting adults. It’s the consent that makes all the difference.
Let’s do the intellectual exercise of dissociating nudity and sexuality. Imagine being able to be naked without feeling sexual desire. It is true that for some this is impossible, so strong is the association. If this seems difficult to you, I advise you to see a movie like Educating Julie. You will see naturists living there normally, practicing everyday activities, in total nudity. This film does not show dangerous psychics or sexual perverts, but normal people, living normally, simply naked.
So, there are questions that arise when we do this exercise of separating nudity and sexuality. For example, if we admit that naturists are normal people, do we deny the existence of exhibitionists and voyeurs? Not at all. If I am not qualified to say whether exhibitionism and voyeurism are perversions, I think they are sexual practices which should only occur between consenting adults. While some derive sexual pleasure from seeing other people naked, they have the choice to go to swingers’ clubs to indulge their pleasures. The same goes for exhibitionists. These sexual practices have no place in naturist settings. Full stop.
Being naked in society is first and foremost to accept yourself as you are and to accept others as they are. It is showing a psychological balance that allows you not to give importance to appearance. It is well known that naturists look at each other in the eyes. They do not stare at each other or seek to show their social status through their branded clothes. Social nudity is therefore absolutely not a perversion, but a proof, if it was, of mental, emotional and psychological maturity. By accepting simple nudity and de-correlating it from sexuality, the body is only the envelope of our soul, of our ego, of our being, of our life.
Simplicity and comfort
Being naked is comfortable. This assertion makes sense when there is no ulterior motive in this nudity. Naked, the skin breathes, no clothes rub or constrain. To accept one’s nudity is to welcome comfort not only physically, but also psychologically. The latter eliminates the shame of the body and that of its imperfections. For all those who feel it, it is an incredible happiness.
Nudity is also often associated with simplicity and minimalism. Naked, I get rid of what is useless. I find a form of simplicity in life, in human relationships and those with my environment. Why combine nudity and simplicity? It is an association that came to me while I was reading Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
In this book, the author explains how to simplify our home, starting with our wardrobe. Appreciating the stripped-down interiors, I began to get rid of many items and clothes, only to keep those that made me really happy. Being especially happy when I’m naked, the association came naturally to me. I was literally stripping down my interior and my closet. Simplicity and minimalism then appeared to me as forms of blissful sophistication. The fruits of the search for both physical and psychological balance.
While the comfort of nudity is a common point for a majority of naturists and nudists, simplicity is not always sought after. Yet it is there. What could be easier than not wearing any clothes? I recently read an article which explained why some leaders like Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs always wore the same clothes: to decrease their mental load. Not having to choose clothes in the morning allows them to focus on what matters to them. I feel the same with nudity. I’m not wondering what shirt, shorts or swimsuit to wear. And if I have to ask myself, reducing my wardrobe to only the clothes that make me really happy contributes to the simplification of my life, of which nudity is an integral part.
So, yes, being naked is comfortable and easy to live with, including everyday life. In doing so, being naked becomes a state that you no longer notice. Nudity is desexualized, normalized I should say, returned to what it should always be, a natural, simple and comfortable state that can be enjoyed whenever clothes are not needed.
Get Naked, Stay Naked, Live Naked and share the Naked Love.
Photo from PxHere, CC0 Public Domain
Very well written. Agree 100%.
Thank you.