Social Nudity in a Modern Society

How does sunbathing without tan lines sound? How about social equality, high self worth, and a comfortable lifestyle? Then consider nudism! Thousands of people are doing it and feeling great about it. There’s no shame in it; it’s just natural! Nudism, also know as naturism, is a lifestyle about being one with the elements, characterized by social nudity. This lifestyle is more natural and comfortable, it raises self-esteem, and it promotes equality.

Nudism has been a way of life for millions upon millions of years. It starts for each individual the moment they are born, free and unclothed. Think about it, if people were supposed to wear clothes, wouldn’t they have been born with them? The Greek idolized the human body, they thought it was beautiful. They also did recreational activities in the nude. In fact, the word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos, which means naked. Nudism didn’t really become a term until clothes were made. People who wear clothes are named "Textiles" by nudist. A number of communities in non-industrial areas still don’t wear clothing unless conditions call for it. In the United States, laws such as Indecent Exposure, Public Lewdness, Public Indecency, and Sexual Misconduct condemn nudity. In Pennsylvania specifically, “A person commits indecent exposure if that person exposes his or her genitals in any public place or in any place where there are present other persons under circumstances in which he or she knows or should know that this conduct is likely to offend, affront or alarm,” (Martin). Today, there are more than 50,000 members in the American Association of Nude Recreation or the AANR.

Just as there are arguments that are for nudism, there are arguments that are against nudism. One point against nudism is that it promotes sex. They think that nudity equals sex, which is not true. Nudists engage in non-sexual activities like volleyball, swimming, and other sports. Clothing also tends to emphasize the body rather than draw attention away from it more so than full frontal nudity (Bacher 6). Also, research shows that countries with fewer laws about nudity also have low teen pregnancy rates and abortion rates (Bacher 11). Another point of view is that nudity is unhygienic. Many nudists use towels for sitting on in public or home situations. Also, if people are getting into a pool, they are required to shower first, like in any other public pool.

One of the reasons to become a nudist is for self-esteem purposes. Studies show that children that come from nudist homes have higher self-esteems due to the fact that they are more familiar with the human body than children from non-nudist homes. Children from non-nudist homes are brought up with the images they see in the media, and that is how they think the human body really is when in reality no one has flawless skin and a perfect body. Nudist children are brought up knowing that the human body is a natural part of life and that it is not dirty or immoral. They also have less natural curiosity about the body. All in all, they feel more comfortable about their bodies and their sexuality (Gruber). The same goes for everyone in the nudist community.

Another reason to become a nudist is because it’s comfortable and natural. Imagine the feeling of the wind gently blowing by, or the warmth of the gracious sun run free and unrestricted baring all to the world. Centuries ago, this was the way of life. Thinking about bathing suits, they serve no real purpose. They slow down swimmers, they retain water and make people feel heavier, and they trap sand. Until the Victoria Age, bathing suits were unheard of because everyone swam around in the nude (Bacher 24). Truthfully, clothing restricts movement, chafes, and defeats the purpose of having skin. K. Bacher says, “Tight clothes may cause health problems by restricting the natural flow of blood and lymphatic fluid.”( Also that women who wear bras more than 12 hours a day are more likely to develop breast cancer than women who do not. She also says that clothes accommodate disease-causing bacteria, mainly from sports clothing and undergarments. Nudist do wear clothing when it’s appropriate, blizzards for example. The motto of a nudist is, “Nude when possible, clothes when necessary.” (Warner).

Lastly, a reason to become a nudist is because it promotes equality. Ever notice how a man is allowed to walk around topless but a woman cannot? This results in an unhealthy fetish with breast being sexual objects. Because of this, the public frown upon breast-feeding and women are also encouraged by the media to get breast augmentations. Also, if everyone is nude, how can they tell the millionaires from the regular Joe’s? The answer is, they can’t, unless they ask of course. Clothing plays a big part today’s society, it whispers, “You are what you wear.” Mostly everybody wants the finest clothes they can buy; Armani suits, leather jackets, designer dresses. Underneath our clothes, we’re all the same. People get to know each other not by what they wear, but who they are. Some psychologists speculate that man created clothing to set himself apart from animals. "Man's major goal is superiority . . . and one way that he strives for it is through clothing. Not only do clothes protect and decorate, but they also give status to the wearer, not just with respect to peers but, more importantly, in relation to man's place in nature. Clothes make a human being appear less like an animal and more like a god by concealing his sexual organs." (Bacher 14).

Conclusively, nudists are happier wearing their birthday suits than an Armani suit. Actually, many nudists begin to feel uncomfortable in clothing and shed them immediately in the privacy of their home. Becoming a nudist means being equal in the eyes of others, being comfortable in your own skin, and having a general easygoing lifestyle. Who doesn’t want that?

Works Cited

Bacher, K. “205 Arguments and Observations In Support of Naturism.” 1996. The Naturist Society. 27 November 2008. <http://www.naturistsociety.com/resources/PDF/205ARGUE.pdf>

Gruber, Tom. “Is Nudism Healthy For Children?.” 7 November 2007.
Blogger. 17 November 2007. <http://isnudismhealthyforchildren.blogspot.com/ >

Martin, Thomas. “INDECENT EXPOSURE”. 2000.
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statues. 27 November 2008.
< http://members.aol.com/StatutesP8/18PA3127.html >

Warner, Erin. “'Nude when possible, clothes when necessary'.” 13 July 2006. The canada.com Network. 17 November 2007.
< http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=9991ebd1-6ed3-48e8-97db-c1466ad99cd0 >