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It?s a tired old debate, the one about ?nude? vs. ?naked? or ?nudism? vs. ?naturism,? so I hesitate to bring up anything even remotely similar. But I will, anyway ? with a new (at least to me) option.
Whenever I try to tell anyone about my predilection for my birthday suit (which is rarely, I must admit), I find myself facing a hurdle. ?I like to be nude,? or ?I like to be naked,? usually elicits one of two responses. At best, people think it?s strange, at worst, they assume I?ve become caught up in some kind of sexual deviance. We?ve all been there. ?Now, don?t get me wrong. This isn?t about sex. I?m talking about nonsexual, modest nakedness.? Yeah, right.
Nakedness, nudity, nudism ? they all carry so much baggage, most of it negative to society at large. People don?t identify with the terms. There?s nothing there that plugs into their existing value system. As for ?naturism?? Well, that usually needs an explanation, one which employs the words ?nude? or ?naked? in some way or another. We gain little here.
So I?ve opted for a new term ? one that avoids negative associations and replaces them with positive ones, something that reminds folks of the restrictive nature of clothes (who can not identify with that?) and the invasive imposition of fashion (again: doesn?t everyone grow tired of that?) while at the same time, tapping a very high value, especially among Americans.
Thanks to our favorite website, I?ve decided to replace such statements as ?I like to be naked? or ?I enjoy nudism? with ?Whenever possible, I like to be clothes-free,? and ?I enjoy my clothes-freedom.?
Perhaps for some, that?s not enough. There are those, I?m sure, who want to say more ? maybe something of a broad-based, social, cultural or even lifestyle agenda. And that?s OK. But for me, this seems to fit. And it opens to door to acceptance among those who are immediately turned off by references to ?nude? or ?naked.? Most importantly, it builds a bridge between my values and theirs. We all appreciate freedom. I figure that, once people can begin to identify with ?clothes-freedom,? maybe they will be more ready to talk about the broader implications.
Clothes-free. Clothes-freedom. It has a nice ring to it. But what does that make me? A clothes-freeist? Hmm ? sounds a bit awkward. Maybe we need to work on this some more.
But then again, maybe I don?t really need another label. I have enough already. I?m a man, a husband, a dad, a pastor, a Christian ? . Maybe I don?t really need to be an anything-ist. Maybe I can just be a man, a husband, a dad, a pastor, a Christian, who likes to be clothes-free.
Whenever I try to tell anyone about my predilection for my birthday suit (which is rarely, I must admit), I find myself facing a hurdle. ?I like to be nude,? or ?I like to be naked,? usually elicits one of two responses. At best, people think it?s strange, at worst, they assume I?ve become caught up in some kind of sexual deviance. We?ve all been there. ?Now, don?t get me wrong. This isn?t about sex. I?m talking about nonsexual, modest nakedness.? Yeah, right.
Nakedness, nudity, nudism ? they all carry so much baggage, most of it negative to society at large. People don?t identify with the terms. There?s nothing there that plugs into their existing value system. As for ?naturism?? Well, that usually needs an explanation, one which employs the words ?nude? or ?naked? in some way or another. We gain little here.
So I?ve opted for a new term ? one that avoids negative associations and replaces them with positive ones, something that reminds folks of the restrictive nature of clothes (who can not identify with that?) and the invasive imposition of fashion (again: doesn?t everyone grow tired of that?) while at the same time, tapping a very high value, especially among Americans.
Thanks to our favorite website, I?ve decided to replace such statements as ?I like to be naked? or ?I enjoy nudism? with ?Whenever possible, I like to be clothes-free,? and ?I enjoy my clothes-freedom.?
Perhaps for some, that?s not enough. There are those, I?m sure, who want to say more ? maybe something of a broad-based, social, cultural or even lifestyle agenda. And that?s OK. But for me, this seems to fit. And it opens to door to acceptance among those who are immediately turned off by references to ?nude? or ?naked.? Most importantly, it builds a bridge between my values and theirs. We all appreciate freedom. I figure that, once people can begin to identify with ?clothes-freedom,? maybe they will be more ready to talk about the broader implications.
Clothes-free. Clothes-freedom. It has a nice ring to it. But what does that make me? A clothes-freeist? Hmm ? sounds a bit awkward. Maybe we need to work on this some more.
But then again, maybe I don?t really need another label. I have enough already. I?m a man, a husband, a dad, a pastor, a Christian ? . Maybe I don?t really need to be an anything-ist. Maybe I can just be a man, a husband, a dad, a pastor, a Christian, who likes to be clothes-free.
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