Nudity: Shameful or Innocent?
Let me get this straight, right off the bat–I’m not a nudist. In fact, I’m a little too shy of my body and other’s. But I support the right of people to do it if they want to, just like I’m personally against sex before marriage and abortions but support the rights of others to do so.
I can’t help but wonder why in our society it is considered immoral to let children see nakedness? Is there truly anything immoral about showing our bodies–when each of us has one and already knows what is under the clothes? What exactly is so shameful and evil about our bodies?
I’ve yet to hear any argument against nudity and the like that doesn’t simply label nudists and nudity as “evil”, “immoral”, “corrupt”, or “weird”. Why do we have such mental blocks against nudity–some might claim this is the reason nudity is immoral, because our minds are so opposed to the idea. But how many of us ran around naked as children, completely unabashed? How many of us took baths with our parents, nude? Maybe not all (if your parents really were prude), but many. Children, get this, are not shocked or afraid of nudity. They find it natural. And I’m talking very young children, ones who have not been indoctrinated with the idea that their bodies are sinful.
So, the argument that nudity and showing bits of the human body is corrupting children is completely false. If anything, society is corrupting children by telling them their bodies are shameful and have to be covered up. Even the Bible, surprisingly, ‘supports’ the idea that there is nothing immoral about nudity–Adam and Eve were written to be naked and shameless before being kicked out, after which they wore clothes in their “shameful” lives. Are Christians and society really implying that their little Adam and Eve were evil and sinful and corrupt when naked?
There’s also the argument that while nudity itself may be okay, no one wants to see an ugly or an old person naked. I can understand why that may seem to be a problem–but are we going to ban someone from appearing in public because they’re so ugly we don’t want to see it? I’m not saying everyone has to be nude under OMG NEW WORLD ORDER OF NUDITY! I’m saying, let’s not arrest people who are walking around nude. We seriously have worse things to worry about. Like, I dunno, poverty, healthcare, economy, etc? Infringing on personal freedom is the last thing we need to worry about.
Anyways, there’s some food for thought.
EDIT: I forgot to add this in. Regardless of personal opinion towards nudity, the right to personal liberty outweighs the “right” to not be offended. For example, years ago the majority of our society would have been shocked and horrified at an interracial kiss in the park. Does that mean those two should have done it in the privacy of their homes just because most people are offended by it? No. Sorry, but it is not your right to not be offended.
The ideas that nudity and sexuality are immoral are Judeo-Christian in origin. The old testament is rife with proclamations against such things. The major swing in what’s considered acceptable in western society came in the fourth century or so when the Roman Empire official adopted Christianity as the state religion. Prior to that nudity, homosexuality, massive orgies, pedophilia, prostitution, and a whole array of sexual practices we now consider unacceptable were fairly common.
Our modern prohibitions are rooted deep in the foundations of our society, so they are very hard to go against, but they seem to be just a very old tradition, rather than the human condition.
It’s my belief that deep down inside people don’t like to admit that they’re just animals. Christianity makes it clear that animals are “lesser creatures” placed on the earth solely for mankind’s exploitation. Having anything in common with animals – be it a sexual nature, or needing to crap in the woods – reminds us that we ourselves are animals, which is not something believers like to contemplate.
There are three reactions I typically have with nudity: “For the sake of all we hold dear, cover yourself up!”, “Beautiful …”, “It’s getting hot in here …”
The first is like garish clothes: I don’t like it, but I tell myself to deal with it. The second, I find the human body beautiful, and as long as the person is not in an explicitly sexual position, I don’t tend to associate the naked body with sex. The third, do I need to say anything?
On the other hand, aversion to nudity might be more fundamental than just cultural mores. We might actually have a biological drive to frown upon nudity under normal circumstances. It would have driven humans to wear clothes more often than not, which could have conferred an advantage to survival and reproduction. (Enough idle speculation …)
I don’t think it’s a religious phenomenon as you imply (“… who have not been indoctrinated with the idea that their bodies are sinful.”). I think it’s just a cultural phenomenon. The foremost reason we wear clothing is to stay warm. I think historically it has just become strange to see somebody not wear clothing, and it has been associated with the sexual. Children simply aren’t aware of their sexual potential until they hit puberty. Then it simply becomes strange to wear nothing.
However, I do agree that if people want to walk around naked, that’s their thing.
Nudity is problematic because we have sexualized the body.
Yes I agree with you. There shouldn’t be any laws against nudity. I am not a nudist either, but people should have the option. Laws against it are… retarded, for lack of a better word. I find a lot of the silly things the human race has preoccupied ourselves with quite retarded. It’s time to get over ourselves.
I DO think it has a religious roots. It’s morphed into the culture, but that’s no different than anything else. Of course we wear clothing in cold and temperate climes to keep warm. But when the weather allows it, it should be just as natural to shed that clothing. I don’t consider my self a practitioner nudist, but I do have a nudist attitude, and when I have the opportunity (nude beaches, back yard, etc. ) I strip. There is nothing more liberating (physically and emotionally) than walking on a beach, swimming in the ocean, are just sunbathing naked. Of course there are drawbacks, such as skin cancer, but non-nudists probably suffer from that more than nudists. Nudists know the hazards of the sun, and take necessary precautions.
Laws against nudity are just another example of the majority imposing their (prudish) morality on the minority. If children were raised thinking nudity was no big deal, as they are in many other cultures, the sexualization of the body would not be as problematic as it now is. Look at the huge controversy raised whenever a mother tries to nurse her baby in public. That negative response is abnormal.
I’ve seen bodies that I wouldn’t want to admit look like mine, and while they don’t look like they stepped out of GQ or Playboy, these people are proud of their appearance, are unashamed by the exposure, and are admirable examples of a healthy attitude about body acceptance. All of the girls and boys who suffer from anorexia and bulimia because they don’t look like the models in magazines or TV ads is a consequence of our misplaced and misguided attitude towards nudity.
Thank you, Spanish Inquisitor. I can’t understand why or even how nudity in non-sexual settings could be anything but innocent. And, there’s something else I can’t understand. Why is it cute when a baby or very young toddler is naked…yet an older child naked is indecent and/or possibly suspected of being abused by an adult? This is for non-nudists, of course, since nudists know the difference between good nudity and bad nudity.
I really enjoyed reading this article. I thought it was very well thought out. Nice to see somebody being a bit rational. Nudity is, after all, how we were born, and covering up and being ashamed of our nakedness is just a construct of society. Thanks again.
My two sisters and I bathed naked till we were about 10, and my cousins ran around the house naked or half-naked till they were about the same age. Kids don’t see anything wrong with nudity, it’s only when society tells us its wrong that we become ashamed.
I think it is unjust to punish a person if they are seen in a wooded park,naked at a great distance,and they did not intentionally expose them selves to anyone. Some states equate nudism as a sexual offense , and will give one to five years jail time,or up to 3000.00 fine.
Now I could agree with these conclusions and punishment if the nudist was deliberately exposing them selves to make sexual advances,or jesters that are offensive to others.
Isn’t Ironic that HollyWood fills are heads with nudity and sex through movie and television shows,yet are society condemns none sexual nudism.
As the write above pointed out, God created the first human to live naked just like the rest of the creature that live on this planet. When Adam and eve disobeyed God’s command, they hid from God,and tried to cover themselves.
When God call to Adam, it was Adam who told God he was naked and was hiding. God wasn’t shocked at this information,and tell Adam and Eve you better put some close on before to come to me. He ask Adam who told you ,you were naked? Did you eat from the tree I commanded you not to eat from.
Final thought, it not what you wear or not wear that is sin, it’s your thought ,words,and actions toward God and you fellow human being that determine if you deviant.