The Image of Fullness

In the Fall 2009 issue of Going Natural, Michael Vais writes in his column "Respect for the Body":

But there's one basic naturist value that is perhaps under the most attack today: respect for oneself. In the spirit of the founders, nudity (the most visible aspect of naturism), allows the maximum benefit of the natural elements - water, air, sun - for bodies to thrive in good health. So why accept markings that do violence to our bodies and threaten its integrity? Piercing or jewelry hinders the flow of vital energy whose importance has been shown by acupuncture. Besides producing a self-inflicted wound, it draws attention to a body part, more than do clothes and jewelry, damaging the image of fullness that characterizes naturism. A naturist is someone who for a time lets go of most of the markers of social status and of the wish to be noticed, in favor of relaxing in nature's bosom in a condition of elemental nudity.

That phrase "image of fullness" really feels right to me. Aside from the piercing issue (which is something I have never done myself), being nude, and being with other people who are nude, feels more honest, more natural, and more fulfilling than hanging around in clothes.

It's like my own nude self portraits. Throughout my life I've hated the way I look in photos. Isn't that true for most people? But when I am nude, I look at the image and see my complete self. It's not vanity, it's not a sexual thing, it's just when I see my entire naked self, I see an image of fullness, of completeness, of totality.

I believe that respect for one's self, and respect for others, begins with the eyes.

Looking at ourselves is a lifelong activity, from observing our hands and feet in the crib, to avoiding mirrors as we age. It's a game we play with ourselves, applying makeup, experimenting with different clothes, constantly trying to look good. How do I look? Does this look good on me?

Looking at others is an extension of looking at ourselves. We constantly compare our faces, our bodies, our clothes with that of others. We judge people by what they wear, and how they wear it. You look great! That's a good look for you. Looking good!

I had a friend once who had a habit of telling people "you look like shit." I think he thought it was funny.

But all of this is game-playing, a means of avoiding the issue of how we really look. It's a grand illusion, lying to ourselves, lying to others, manipulating our bodies with clothing and accessories in order to avoid the truth about ourselves, and how we really look.

Respect for the body goes beyond avoiding piercings and tattoos. It involves eating well, getting exercise, and giving it the "water, air, sun" that it needs to thrive. But it also involves getting naked and looking at one's self with total honesty.

Lee Baxandall said, "body acceptance is the idea, nude recreation is the way."

You can stand in front of a mirror all day looking at your nude body, taking inventory of all the parts you like, and all the parts you hate, but until you are willing to share the sight of that nude body with others, you cannot achieve that "image of fullness" in your own mind. Social nudism is the great equalizer. Not only does it make a person less self-conscious, it fosters actual confidence.

When you are nude with others, the attention and obsession with body parts disappears, and is replaced by the image of a complete human being. Not a penis, or breasts, or arms and legs, but a full body from head to toe, a sense of oneness with self, others, and with nature.

Michael Vais uses the term "elemental nudity", which is another wonderful combination of words. This is nudity stripped away from all adornment, all pretense, all self-consciousness, and all shame.

There are only two times in life when human beings are purely elemental - at birth, and at death. At those moments nothing else matters except primal existence. All the time between is spent trying to come up with definitions of ourselves through the use of education, careers, influences, parenting, clothing, fraternalism, etc. There is nothing wrong with working on the things which define us in society, but today we have extended those efforts to manipulating and altering the body itself.

Vais talks about piercings, but this medical body sculpting is far more invasive and unnatural, from liposuction, to breast implants, and botox injections. People do this because not only have they lost all respect for their own bodies, they have lost sight of what a normal body even looks like.

All the therapy and medication cannot turn around this societal struggle with body image, but nudism and naturism can play a major role in helping people to not only strip away the clothing which hides their true skin, but to wash away some of the stress which accompanies modern life.

Is it too late to undo this downward spiral, or can respect for the body be restored to some sort of healthy balance?

Many people, including myself, say that social nudism is one of the best things they have ever done, and wish that they had immersed themselves in it much sooner. Until we can overcome issues with the way we look, we cannot restore the values of inner self which used to be paramount, and are now seemingly only secondary when assessing human beings. We are a society which treats people like products.

The integrity of the body is elemental in shaping the integrity of the soul. Naturism fosters respect for that image of fullness that we so desperately lack, and leads us all back to our authentic selves.

Is Nudism Hedonistic?

Naturally Nude asks the question:

Is nudism just a hedonistic mind f**k? I often ask myself this question. Am I really in nude recreation for all the high philosophical reasons that nudists are always spouting about? When you ask any nudist "why" they're a nudist, the first thing they usually say is "for the freedom." Freedom? Freedom for what, from what? Anytime I hear the word "freedom" I think of someone living under political oppression yearning to be free. Are your clothes "really" oppressing you??

It's a fair question, and a subject that needs to be addressed on a regular basis. First, let's look at the definition of "hedonism":

he·don·ism
n.
1. Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses.
2. Philosophy The ethical doctrine holding that only what is pleasant or has pleasant consequences is intrinsically good.
3. Psychology The doctrine holding that behavior is motivated by the desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain.

While not purely hedonistic, nudism is, in part, about the pursuit of pleasure. To be nude in nature, on a hiking trail or in the ocean, is a feast for the senses. No question about it. And nudists believe that such pleasure is "intrinsically good".

As for clothing "oppressing" people, it all depends upon a person's particular point of view. For me, I've always been uncomfortable in clothes. Throughout high school our dress code was jacket and tie in classrooms with no air conditioning. After swimming in the nude at the YMCA as a young boy, I hated wearing bathing suits, and the trunks often came off when swimming with friends in local ponds. For years my "uniform" was a t-shirt and comfortable jeans during the day, which is all I could stand wearing, and as far back as I can remember I slept only in briefs, and they usually came off during the night. I never shop for my own clothes - my wife does all the shopping for me, not because I'm lazy, it's just that I despise the process of trying on clothes in those little cubicles.

So for me, clothing is oppressive, and being nude is liberating. Only when completely naked do I feel like my true self. When clothed, I am inhibited.

I would say that for most people, the opposite is true. Clothing plays a major role in people expressing identity, from early childhood to old age, in expressing sexuality, professionalism, fraternalism, militarism, and more. It's nearly impossible to conceive of our society functioning without clothes because of the importance people place on textiles, from the beach to the board room.

Naturally Nude goes on to question nudist motivations, if the removal of clothes in social situations is merely a precept to swinging or other sexual activity, or are those who engage in nudism merely voyeurs or exhibitionists. Again, more fair questions.

I have no doubt that some people get into nudism in order to achieve a sexual thrill. If so, they will be quickly disappointed when they discover the mundane, matter-of-fact, laid-back and non-sexual atmosphere of a nudist venue. These folks need to go to Caliente or Hedonism, or a number of other adult lifestyle clubs in order to satiate their desires.

An exhibitionist or voyeur will be quickly spotted and removed from a nudist resort.

Any honest nudist will tell you that people do indeed look, and are looked at. That is normal. People check each other out when they're all wearing clothes, too. Ultimately, once the initial glances are finished, there's more eye-to-eye contact between nudists than in just about any other social situation, with everyone going out of their way not to stare.

A mere fifty years ago it was more socially acceptable for men to be nude with each other, at the YMCA, at the swimming hole, in the locker room, etc. The women's movement in the late 60s and early 70s put an end to nude swimming at the Y, and a rise in homophobia and Christianist influence outlawed skinny-dipping, and nude gang showers in the schools are rare, if non-existent.

So, my answer to Naturally Nude is no, nudism is not a hedonistic mind fuck, but society and culture are. We are taught from an early age to be modest, to be ashamed of our bodies, to sexualize body parts such as women's breasts to the point of making their exposure criminal, and we prosecute children for taking photos of their own bodies. It's the media marketing sexuality, coupled with the irrational response of the "moral" right and the therapeutic teachings of the left, which are causing this unhealthy and schizophrenic American obsession with sexuality. We are a country in crisis when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy, yet we are too embarrassed to even talk to our children about sex, deferring that responsibility to the government and schools, who push abstinence only education. It's all quite insane.

Nudism and naturism are a means in which to counterract all this nonsense that society heaps upon us. So while the shedding of clothes can be somewhat hedonistic, it's also authentic to its naturist philosophies. As the Naturist Society states: "body acceptance is the idea, nude recreation is the way". Perhaps not the only way, but getting rid of the clothes helps the mind to better formulate the true nature of humanity, stripped of textile identity and media manipulated imagery.

Life and Loss

One movie line which has always resonated with me was from the 1994 movie "Wyatt Earp", where Wyatt's dad tells him "That's what life is all about: loss."

If you live long enough, you lose everything, and everyone.

That's something they don't teach you in school. If they did, it would put a damper on youthful enthusiasm.

If you are above the age of 40, you have developed some sense of mortality. The years begin running out very quickly.

I remember once when an elementary school friend's father died. None of us had the maturity to approach him and talk about what happened. I remember seeing him walking alone home from school, with a noticeable limp from some unknown injury.

Little did I know that a year later, my own father would die when I was only 9. I remember feeling very alone as all the adults gathered and spoke in hushed tones with muffled sobs. I remember my mother breaking down as she picked out a suit for him to wear to his grave.

It was the beginning of a long string of losses. Three of my grandparents were dead before I was born, and my remaining grandfather died when I was about 14. He only really spoke Polish so I never really got to know him. Several aunts and uncles also passed when I was young.

In 1994 my wife's parents were killed in a car wreck, a couple of months following the death of my mother.

And yesterday, we learned that my wife's brother-in-law has stage 3 colon cancer.

I'm not telling you this to elicit pity. On the contrary, I feel very lucky that I have made it to my 55th year without a single broken bone, a wound requiring stitches, or any serious illness. I'm a survivor in a world of loss.

So if you take one lesson from all the sadness found in the average human life, it's to enjoy it while you can. If you always wanted to try nude recreation, do it. Maybe you wanted to take up painting, or catch up on some reading, or take that vacation you've been talking about for so long.

What are you waiting for?

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked