Sunday, January 28, 2007

Fear of Nudity in Michigan

I came across these posts on a Michigan newspaper's online message board. The first is from a woman who is "disgusted" that women are nude in the hot tub at the local YMCA.
I recently became a member of the Monroe YMCA, on my last two visits I saw naked women in the hot tub in the women's locker room. I find this unsanitary and unsettling. Also, who else is going to use the hot tub with naked people splashing around in it?
It's a complete misconception that nudity is unsanitary. In fact, the opposite is true. If the hot tub itself is unsanitary, folliculitis is more likely to occur in areas that are covered by a bathing suit, such as the buttocks. In addition, wet bathing suits can cause yeast infections. As for the "unsettling" aspect of the nude people, this is a symptom of society's mass hysteria regarding nudity. There is no rationale to becoming upset at seeing naked people at the YMCA.

The second post is from a male with homophobia.
But seriously, there is nothing worse than the first time I walked into the men's locker room. Talk about a sausage factory! I was horrified!
This is proof positive that children should be exposed to social nudity at a very young age, whether it be a family outing at a nude beach or resort, natural and normal nudity in the home, or gang showers in schools or organizations. After the initial shock of seeing all those "sausages", the man adapted to the situation.
However, it did help me to get past some hangups, and it actually encouraged me to feel more comfortable about myself. Including the jokes I tell people about some of the awkward situations, it doesn't bother me anymore.
The world would be a better place if we would all get naked with each other once in a while.

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