Interesting nudity phenomenon

[burgee]

It is interesting how, if you grew up and were accustomed to always being clothed (even when sleeping), and only undressed for a doctor or to bathe, that being nude under other circumstances seems disturbing.
Then, when you "cross the line" and get comfortable being naked, it becomes unnatural and kind of disturbing to have to be clothed when you don't want to be.

Of course, naturists realize how natural and comfortable it is to be naked, but isn't it a shame that the custom of being clothed nearly all the time makes nudity a social taboo, and deprives the rest of us from being comfortable in society?
Naturist parks and resorts are great, but isn't it a tragedy that merely being comfortable in your own skin and minding your own business can get you arrested and punished nearly everywhere?
How frustrating it is that a person's natural state is necessarily considered by the majority to be "offensive", "lewd" or "disgusting".

As I'm sure it has been pondered countless times, if only people would shed their taboos they would not be compelled to fear them.

Is there any hope for tolerance and general sanity in the future?

[burgee]

It is interesting how, if you grew up and were accustomed to always being clothed (even when sleeping), and only undressed for a doctor or to bathe, that being nude under other circumstances seems disturbing.
Then, when you "cross the line" and get comfortable being naked, it becomes unnatural and kind of disturbing to have to be clothed when you don't want to be.

Of course, naturists realize how natural and comfortable it is to be naked, but isn't it a shame that the custom of being clothed nearly all the time makes nudity a social taboo, and deprives the rest of us from being comfortable in society?
Naturist parks and resorts are great, but isn't it a tragedy that merely being comfortable in your own skin and minding your own business can get you arrested and punished nearly everywhere?
How frustrating it is that a person's natural state is necessarily considered by the majority to be "offensive", "lewd" or "disgusting".

As I'm sure it has been pondered countless times, if only people would shed their taboos they would not be compelled to fear them.

Is there any hope for tolerance and general sanity in the future?

[OZJames]

Yes it certainly is a pity that society feels that way about nudity.

I notice somebody's comment on another topic that public nudity in Spain is legal. Why then is it not legal in the USA or Australia etc.

Has it something to do with religion ? I know that going back thousands of years nudity was totally acceptable in public. Missionaries in te past forced clothes onto our Australian Aboriginals.

It is the influence of modern religion that has caused our present society attitude

JAMES

[burgee]

quote:

Originally posted by OZJames:
Yes it certainly is a pity that society feels that way about nudity.

I notice somebody's comment on another topic that public nudity in Spain is legal. Why then is it not legal in the USA or Australia etc.

Has it something to do with religion ? I know that going back thousands of years nudity was totally acceptable in public. Missionaries in te past forced clothes onto our Australian Aboriginals.

It is the influence of modern religion that has caused our present society attitude

JAMES

Great points.

I suppose religious customs have alot to do with it, except for a few Eastern religions, and some sects of Christianity that seem to be okay with it in Naturist communities.

It seems most weird to me that people are not allowed to be undressed even when they are on their own private property, if that property can be viewed from a public street or other private property.

Speaking from my own experience, I have to admit that when I was growing up in the covered-up society, I personally thought that nudity was weird.
Then, as I matured and got comfortable with being comfortably undressed, only then did I realize how unnatural and truly weird it is to think that being undressed is somehow wrong.
Men seem to have less of a problem with being undressed than women, most likely because in clothed society women are so pressured to conform to a certain (unrealistic) body image.

The need for clothing is more obsolete than ever, with our modern systems of climate control, sunscreens and shelter.
Primitive peoples had more need of coverings due to insect bites, getting scratched by thorns, and dealing with temperature extremes. By comparison modern societies don't "need" much clothing at all.

While puritan attitudes and religious traditions play a role, I think the lack of acceptance of peoples' true body image, and preoccupations with phonying up and hiding behind cloaks is primarily a sad phenomenon of our modern culture.

[David77]

quote:

Has it something to do with religion ?

I am not Catholic, but to be fair, one must point out that France and Spain ( for example) are Catholic countrries and both tolerate a certain amount of nudity in art and on beaches, etc.

It is mostly the Islamic countries that are vehemently, fiercely against nudity.

Asian countries, on whole, are very conservative about nudity, but I suspect that for the Asians, this attitude is not a product of their religions (if they are not Islamic), but simply of social mores of custom.

[John P]

quote:

Men seem to have less of a problem with being undressed than women, most likely because in clothed society women are so pressured to conform to a certain (unrealistic) body image.

I'm sure that happens, but let's not forget that female nudity is often viewed sexually by men, and the idea makes women feel extremely vulnerable. Essentially every man has been a consumer of pornography in some form or other, and that's entirely known to women. So I'd be surprised if women didn't think of themselves being nude as "the same thing as Playboy magazine only it's all live". And I'd expect them to feel very uncomfortable with the idea--which seems to be exactly what happens.

We can try to keep naturism squeaky-clean, but there may well be reminders in naturist contexts that there are plenty of people who see it all as being sexual. By which I mean voyeurs, masturbators, swingers looking for recruits and of course, lots more pictures of naked women.

[herooftime8]

Just today (5.29.06) I found out my roommate (who I've only lived with since May 2006) is uncomfortable when I'm wearing a robe and underwear. (She is a Catholic, BTW, but hasn't practiced for over a year.) She has commented on "proper pajamas" (which she believes consists of pants and a shirt) in the past and is uncomfortable with me going around shirtless. (She only commented on pajamas because I had been sleeping downstairs, but I'm now sleeping clothes-free upstairs.)

Sometimes it can be frustrating to try and understand non-nudist attitudes. For now, I just grin and bare it later.

[nakedjohn]

Sorry but being catholic has nothing to do with wearing pj's!!