3/31/2009

Christine Le

Penes, Vaginas, and Breasts, Oh My!

Personally, I find lions, tigers and bears to be scarier. But what if penes, vaginas, and breasts were exposed to us in *masses*? What if nudity was made more public, and not just through porn and *Playboy*? We'd still feel more threatened by what had freaked out Dorothy, the tin man, and the scarecrow. Yet needless to say, we'd be just a tad uncomfortable seeing people walk around naked. But it's already happeningin over 270 areas in the States.  
  
Yes, the nudist colonies. Under the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR), over 270 nudist clubs and resorts exist. More accurately, these are nudist, or naturist, communities and organizations. A colony has imperialistic goals, and that's not what nudists are about.  
  
What they are about is advocating a lifestyle that's in harmony with nature, by expressing social nudity. After all, we share a common ancestor with apes before our species deviated into what would become humans. So, being naked like apes, in a way shows respect, or at least a connection, to our natural origin.  
  
For those leaning toward the theological explanation, well, God sure didn't give Adam and Eve clothes. Those two might as well have been the very first nudist club. For creationists and evolutionists alike, nudity connects us with the naturalness of our origin. And that's what nudists push forthe naturalness of the human body.  
  
With that comes the acceptance of body image. In nudist clubs and resorts, it isn't just the physically attractive who go naked. You'll find people of all shapes and sizes in these less-superficial communities, according to Aanr.com.  
  
Then there's the promotion of equality. Without clothes, one's social rank is obscured. According to Parama.com, many who have gone the naked route have admitted to feeling more acceptedphysically, emotionally, and intellectually. There's a sense of pure humanness, with no regard to age, ethnicity, sex, and body shape. Everyone is the same, because everyone is flesh.  
  
I had never given any of this much thought until I agreed to pose nude for an artist.  
  
As an art major, my friend, Valerie's, senior project is to paint ten people, using photographs she'd take of them. She wanted some portraits nude to portray humans most naturallyno glamour, no perfection, no pretense. Just the human body as it is.  
  
I flipped through one of her art books showing nude paintings by Impressionists, Rococo and Modernist artists. I saw old men and women in all their layers of flab. I saw young people in sallow skin with scars, sprawled out with melancholy or expressionless faces. It was sometimes grotesque to look at. But it was artreal and unashamed. And that's what Valerie encouraged me to be: real and unashamed.  
  
"Besides," she said, "whatever you choose to do with your body, do it before you have kids." That was the last bit of convincing I needed.  
  
In our college's art studio, the camera flashed as I stood, sat, and lay down, in whatever positions felt comfortable. As the photo shoot progressed, I became more at ease posing in the nude. I grew to like it more, and felt completely natural.  
  
During this time, I didn't think about individuals who practice nudism. I thought about nothing. As much as I tried to think, my mind couldn't help but stay blank. Perhaps because I was trying to be expressionless, like the people in the art book. But really, I didn't have to try. When the clothes came off, I simply existednothing more, nothing less. When you're bare, you just are. It's easy to not think, and instead, to just be.  
  
And that's what nudist organizations aim to instillthe naturalness that comes with simply being. It wasn't until after the shoot that I couldn't help but wonder: Underneath it all, do we really have anything to hide? Have modernization and fashion really been for the better?  
  
Nakedness has been around for ages. Alexander the Great encountered groups of naked holy men in India, whom he later called "naked philosophers." From this, the philosophy of gymnosophy started. Around 776 B.C., the Greek Olympic Games were mostly nude events. In the 19th century, the literary movements of Naturalism and Romanticism became influenced by nudity. Writer Henry David Thoreau said:  
  
"We cannot adequately appreciate this aspect of nature if we approach it with any taint  
of human pretense. It will elude us if we allow artifacts like clothing to intervene between  
ourselves and this Other. To apprehend it, we cannot be naked enough."  
  
Many nudists believe man is no more than an animal. Besides this spiritual and religious reason, some hold an environmental stancemanufacturing less clothes decreases the carbon footprint. Others find clothes as nothing more than social barriers. For ages, the wealthier have donned more sophisticated clothing, while the poorer sport apparel not quite to the Calvin Klein extent, or whatever the equivalent would be in past times. But if no one wore clothing, how'd weat least blatantlydistinguish social rank?  
  
With over 30 nudist organizations in the world chartered by the International Naturist Federation, this political movement is expanding. Some argue that eroticism and sexuality pervade in nudism. As a result, they believe sexual crimes are more likely to occur in these places. But in a setting where everyone is sans clothes, nakedness becomes a norm, instead of a turn-on. After all, humans are fascinated by what is hidden. If everything is exposed, what are the physical taboos?  
  
A friend of mine said it takes balls to do what I did and pose nude. Figuratively speaking, of course. But if I didn't feel uncomfortable doing so, is it a sign that social nudity is gradually progressing? By 2040, instead of wearing electronic suits, we may very well be back to Adam and Eve couture, minus the leaves, even.  
  
Okay, so this probably won't happen. The point is, this nude experience has led me to think twice about the status quo of clothes, especially after having researched nudism. Only time can tell if we'll be living the naked truth.