Normalization of Nudity is Needed

I think it's safe to say that the majority of people on this planet wear clothes, and that's fine. Clothing was invented from necessity as protection from the elements, and over time clothing became fashion. And somewhere along the way clothing became a means to cover up parts of the body that were perceived to be shameful.

So while the naked human body was once the norm, so today it is the clothed form that rules, to the point where exposing the body is illegal in most places. It's all very complicated and a bit sad. What needs to be addressed in society today is the shame factor, which is completely illogical and damaging to us as human beings. I point this out because some news stories caught my attention today that would simply not be news if not for shame regarding nudity.

One story from China concerns a man who was jailed for threatening to circulate a semi-nude video clip of a woman if not paid a blackmailer's ransom. Not a nice thing to do, by any means, but if nudity was normalized this would not be an issue. Nudists/Naturists are not shy about being photographed or seen, but there is the fear that a photo could end up in the hands of an employer or associate who might not understand the concept of naturism. There's a lot of work to do to change perceptions and attitudes.

Jennifer Aniston settled a lawsuit with a photographer who took topless photos of her "allegedly" without her consent. The settlement is sealed so we will never know all the details, but it's rather ridiculous for a movie star who poses topless for money and does sex scenes in movies for money to show this false indignation over some photos of her breasts. Chances are she really does not care about people seeing her nipples, it's been reported that she and former husband Brad Pitt were nudist-minded, but since society feels that exposing the female breast is shameful, someone can sue and make a lot of money. Normalization and de-sexualization of the body, and the female breast in particular, is needed to avoid absurdities like this.

A horrific story emerged today out of the UK where a woman was kept as a nude slave by her sister-in-law. Her clothes were burned, she was starved and beaten, and forced to do all the housework. After two years of this, it's reported that the abused woman found some men's clothes, put them on, and fled to a neighbor's house. According to the report, there seems to be no other reason the woman did not try to escape except for the fact she was naked. Was it the overwhelming power of her own shame that forced her to endure two years of terror? Was the simple idea of running out of the house nude more agonizing than being starved and beaten? The trial is continuing so perhaps we will learn more in the coming days.

But ultimately we, as a society, have a great need to remove shame from the public agenda. I don't expect people to start walking around the mall naked, I'm talking about just learning to be unafraid of nakedness. The sight of a penis or a vagina should not be a traumatic event. People just need to see each other naked, whether it's at the beach, in the home, at the gym, in a hot tub, or in a sauna, and not get all worked up about it. Being nude is natural and normal, and it should be no big deal.