OPINION: Community through nudity - Whtiworth University

[Danee]

from: http://www.whitworthian.com/opinions/opinion-community-through-nudity-1.2130978

OPINION: Community through nudity
By Jacquelyn Wheeler, Columnist


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Share this article Published: Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Updated: Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Suck it up and get naked, Whitworth. Community showers are the way of the future.

McMillan, not so arguably, has the best community of any dorm on the Whitworth campus. There are many reasons for this. It is all men, which allows for more different types of bonding -- you know what I mean. They are the oldest dorm on campus -- and more tradition tends to equal more community. But really, I firmly believe that the Mac community would not be what it is without community showers.

In general, in our culture, there has been a progression away from this sort of comfort with nakedness. It is more comfortable for some than others, I know, but it is something that anyone can get used to.

A Mac man told me this week: “If you can be comfortable around someone when you are naked, you can be comfortable any time.”

Of course there are plenty of people who are not used to the idea. The kids that shower mid-afternoon, or around three in the morning just so they get to shower by themselves; the people that won’t do anything but face the wall the whole time. Even these people, though, get all the benefits of the community that is built around them by the naked bonding time of their dorm brotherhood.

“It’s so much better if you just forget about any awkwardness and go for it. It doesn’t have to be awkward, unless you’ve got some mystery ear growing out the side of your stomach or something,” McMillan resident Sagen Eatwell said.

It has come to my attention that Arend used to have communal showers until about four years ago when they added dividers. This is a progression in the wrong direction.

If you have ever been in an Arend shower, it’s ridiculous. To get to one shower, you have to walk through other stalls. So basically, people don’t have to bother getting comfortable showering together, then when someone has to walk through it gets to be super awkward, because you are walking in on someone’s “private” shower.

Then, of course, you have to deal with the female issue. The hordes of girls that would start showering in a swimsuit or showering at theme houses or something, because being naked is gross. Then there are the ones who don’t even think it’s gross, but have to pretend because everyone else says it is.

This is sad because it denies the potential relationships that could exist between females who pretend that they don’t all have the same basic human functions. Why we don’t admit this to at least each other, if not to men as well, is beyond me.

Some of the best bonding experiences I have had are among groups of women who are forced into awkward situations. Like the time we had fifteen girls trying to share one bathroom. This is also one of the only groups of girls I have been a part of that is willing to admit it when they fart around one another.

I’m getting off track, though. Basically, a new level of comfort with one another and our bodies is important for women and men alike. It might even help us break down some of the barriers that awkwardness creates between people. Halls would have even tighter communities. Whitworth is all about community, right?

Another benefit would be that roommates who are normally uncomfortable changing around one another would have to worry less about what is appropriate in their shared space because they already have the precedent for nakedness set by the shower situation.

This idea provides a more acceptable alternative to a couple ideas presented on nudity in opinions pieces last year. Like Josh Swayne in his article Laziness is an Expression, which argued that the best way to honestly express oneself through fashion is nakedness.

Then there is columnist Carrisa Pawell, who said in her article, Streaking: Save the Legacy, “Nothing does a better job of bringing people together than public nudity.” Community showers would have the same benefits without the public aspect.

"I agree with you in theory… but it would never actually happen,”  Ballard RA Lisa Murphy said in response to my ideas.

Come on, Whitworth! Let’s prove her wrong!

Contact Jacquelyn Wheeler at jacquelyn.wheeler@whitworthian.com.

[brandon]

Excellent article! Thanks, Danee. I like the quote, “If you can be comfortable around someone when you are naked, you can be comfortable any time.”

I guess the actual configuration and amount of space available might play a role in users' comfort level with communal showers and whether people feel a need for dividers. Personally, I am comfortable with open communal showers where you are at least 6ft (2m) from the next person. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable in a small room with the showerheads close together. I don't like showering being a contact sport, with pushing, shoving and backslapping.

[Danee]

I don't like showering being a contact sport, with pushing, shoving and backslapping.

Never?   

[brandon]

Well, maybe with IYNO members.

[randomer909]

That is a fantastic article. It may not be in a naturist sense, but it definitely shares some key beliefs.  Brandon that is a great quote. With social nudity, it can break down so many social barriers and awkwardness and could help bring about a fairer society that the world seems to strive for now :) Some people just have to realise :)

[genxnaturist]

Great story.  When I was in college I lived on one of the campuses older dorms.  It also had most sense of community.  We rarely locked our doors, we did though have plenty of pranks.  Likewise we had communal showers.  We had no problems with it.  We often just go from our dorm to showers just with towel.  Granted streaking was common because for fun we remove towels.

Anycase I miss that dorm.  That story braught back fond memories.

Michael

[Ace001]

I already shower communally, and the showers are in a room that's about 5 ft by 5ft so things get really cozy, considering there are 4 shower heads. Couldn't agree with the article more.