There’s no reason to be bashful about nudity, a piece from Canada

[Danee]

From: http://news.guelphmercury.com/Opinions/Editorials/article/604828

This article is touching and wonderful.  If anyone wishes to drop her an email to thank her for it, I am sure it would be appreciated. 


 March 04, 2010

Let’s get naked!

Gotcha. Didn’t I? Did you find my opening sentence titillating? Did you think you might find this article “rude, crude or lewd” as my mother would say? Or, were you thinking it would be a healthy discussion on being naked?

Come on. Be honest.

I was asked to give a presentation about Africa to my son’s Grade 2 and 3 class several years ago. I have been fortunate to volunteer in Africa many times over the years. The experience continues to stand out in my mind, and has to do with our more prudish North American ways.

During the presentation to the students, we talked about the animals, how people lived in the more rural areas versus the cities, the different types of food, languages and so on. As you can imagine, I have hundreds of photographs from a simple sunset, to elephants to mud huts and chose several that I thought they would like to see. I had just finished my talk and the kids were looking at the masks, skins and photos that I put up in the library when I felt this tug on my skirt. I turned around and there was one of my son’s friends and he looked rather concerned.

He crooked his finger for me to follow him over to the wall. I followed, knelt down, and he whispered ever so quietly in my ear: “Mrs. Young Evans, you have dirty pictures up here on the library wall,” and very discreetly pointed out one of the photos.

It was a picture of an elderly man, his daughter and her son – they were Bushman, or San people. Typically, this tribe only wears loincloths, and young children are naked, among other traditional things they do to their bodies. I smiled at him and said “No, this isn’t a dirty picture, these are the clothes that these people wear every day in their village in Namibia, just like you are wearing shorts, and a t-shirt.” He looked at me as if I were from another planet and moved on to some other items on display. That got me thinking as to how we have raised our own son.

Back in the early’90s, when I first came to Guelph, I did several productions with the Royal City Musical Productions, going on to do dinner theatre for many years with John Snowdon and The Theatre Downstairs. During one of the dress rehearsals for The Sound of Music, which had some quick costume changes, I remember having a discussion with one of the fathers, a doctor in town, about nudity in their home and how they raised their kids. He said that all of them, a number of sons and daughters and his wife, had no issue walking naked in the house, no matter what the age, chatting to each other while getting dressed or undressed, in the bathroom, wherever, and felt that it helped to demystify and desexualize the whole notion of the naked body.

I remembered that discussion, and after many years of theatre and going through childbirth having everyone see everything of mine several times, I thought that perhaps this family’s philosophy made some sense and that’s what we proceeded to do in our home. As our son started to grow up and become aware of the opposite sex, we have heard fewer comments on “boobs” and other such things that his friends would be likely to make.

Now, teenage hormones are raging and it’s not so simple anymore. However, he has a healthier attitude about the naked body. Seeing a woman’s breasts or man’s penis is not dirty or naughty and maybe, just maybe, if we were more open about these kinds of issues we would have fewer problems with the sexualization of both genders. Why don’t we give it try?

Speaking of situations that shouldn’t be embarrassing, such as nudity, pap smears and prostate exams, I had my first colonoscopy last week. While I endured the jokes and made some myself, I reflected on a long-time friend of mine who passed away too early in her life’s journey from colon cancer – this is for you Jude. Don’t be bashful folks – it’s your life and you only get one shot at it, so take care of it!

Joanne Young Evans is a member of the Guelph Mercury’s community editorial board.

[closetnudist]

Living in a too conservative culture and country, I wonder how can I raise my future children to de-sexualize the naked body.. (I'm not if I use the right word, English is my secondary language.)

[ToneBender]

Beautiful story Danee!

Sounds like there's a handful of kids in Guelph that lucked out and won't have to grapple with body shame issues.

As for me: I haven't had my prostate checked yet but it's coming up (in the next few years).

[steve]

Love that article. What a great way of highlighting a simple truth that is missed by so many. Nude is not lewd, it's how we were meant to be!

[AElf]

Well good for Ms Young Evans and good for Guelph.  Remember that Guelph is the place where Gwen Jacobs stood up for topfreedom rights and that led to the favourable ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

[Dario Western]

Living in a too conservative culture and country, I wonder how can I raise my future children to de-sexualize the naked body.. (I'm not if I use the right word, English is my secondary language.)

The only way of de-sexualising the human body is to cut off the sex organs.  What is needed is to teach children when there are situations when it's okay to behave in a sexual manner when naked, and when not to.  That's all it comes down to.  :)

[nudetrail]

thanks for sharing Danee.