Understanding Nudism

[chrisw91]

Nudity is not an extreme or modern idea for humanity. Being clothed as a requirement in day to day life is actually a fairly new concept for humankind. Historical accounts and observations of indigenous people show that clothes were used for utility and adornment, but otherwise discarded in favor of comfort. Is it really sensible to wear clothes? Getting dressed is ingrained into our culture but the act of putting on several pieces of clothing, especially in hot weather or for a long day indoors can seem silly when you really examine the action. The reason we wear clothes is because it is a cultural norm. If nudity were the norm, then everyone would go naked, and no one would feel strange about it.

Public nudity is not that uncommon, even outside of nudist or 'clothes-free' communities. The public bath house has been an establishment in many countries for years. Japan has several different kinds of public bathing facilities, although the bath house is less common now that many people have showers in their residence. In Germany, public baths are common and fashionable at health retreats. Many of these facilities are same sex, meaning women bathe with women and men bathe with men, but mixed gender public baths also exist. In addition, there are many nude beaches in Europe and on the Mediterranean.

Here in the United States, nudity is often regarded as a fetish, and is commercialized as a lewd or sexual act. This is a gross misrepresentation of the average nudist community. Most people who engage in a clothes-free lifestyle do so because it feels natural or wholesome to be naked. They raise families, engage in social activities and lead normal, peaceful lives. In fact, many clothes-free communities are actually more conservative than a lot of other societies. The requirements to join a nudist residential community can be more stringent than those of an upscale country club. Nudists and naturists are aware of how they are represented in main-stream culture, and they carefully guard against deviants and sexual predators who are attracted by the possibility of a sexual commune.

Nudism is not about sex. Critics of nudism are quick to say that being naked leads to sexual temptation and immoral activities. In fact, the opposite proves true. It is a perverse characteristic of mankind that people often want what they can't have. If you want to immediately provoke obsession and curiosity about an aspect of the anatomy, then cover it up. In some Muslim countries, women are not allowed to show their faces in public. Women who do are 'loose women' whose value and marriageability drops. In the Victorian era, a view of the scrupulously hidden ankle was considered scandalous. If, in the modern age, it were the elbow instead of the breast that stayed conscientiously hidden from view, then flaunted busts would have long ago lost their novelty and men would be engaged throughout their teenage years in a quest to catch a glimpse of the hinge joint.

No, nudism does not promote sexual deviancy, but rather a neutralizing of curiosity and temptation. When you are surrounded by naked people the strangeness begins to wear off and you begin to accept the human form the way it was created. Usually the naked and nearly naked bodies portrayed in modern media are youthful, flawless and slender. In a clothes-free community you get a much more realistic depiction of what people look like. Surgical scars, cellulite, blemishes, and varied forms; that's what a body is, for those of us not blessed with model proportions and eternal youth. Children raised in a clothes-free community actually seem to benefit from exposure to undisguised human forms. Teenagers who were brought up in naturist communities experience less curiosity and confusion regarding sex and their changing bodies. They do not mature with the sense that they have to conform to the body image being broadcast by movies and television, a standard that is nearly impossible to attain. Also, people in clothes-free communities operate with social rules and codes of conduct just like people in clothed communities. You would not grab, fondle or molest your neighbor any more in a nudist neighborhood than you would in a clothed one. Basic social regulations still stand.

Nudism is not for everyone. People who embrace this lifestyle do so because it feels natural and right. If you have spent a lifetime in clothes, it is not easy to discard the feelings of shame and vulnerability at being naked. There is certainly a perverseness to the way modern western culture views the human body. Puritanism still influences the way we think and feel about sex and the body; that they should not be talked about because they are shameful. On the other hand, the permissiveness of our culture and the bombardment of sexual images in television and magazines sends the opposite message: that we should want sex all the time and strive to appear youthful and sexually attractive. The collision of these two impulses creates a lot of shame, confusion and frustration, especially for young people. An important step in every person's life is recognizing that you are beautiful the way you were made.

An article written by Alissa King

http://www.helium.com/items/112913-understanding-nudism?page=2