A writer in Australia ponders the appeal of skinny-dipping, calling it "a pastime with an ancient and proud history". While wondering about exactly what compels people to swim in the nude, from reasons such as it being a "rite-of-passage" or an "act of liberation", the author misses the obvious: skinny-dipping is the only way for people or any other living creature to swim. Is the swimsuit really a product of a higher intelligence, or is it something concocted out a society so out of touch with it's own humanity that it actually devises ways to become less human?
The swimsuit does not keep one dry, nor does it provide any warmth or protection. The only function of swimwear is to satisfy societal and individual desires for modestly, and here it fails miserably. Have you ever seen a person in a swimsuit that actually succeeded in concealing any perceived body flaws? If anything, the wet, clingy fabrics actually only serve to accentuate the irregularities of the flesh. People look better naked, they really do, any nudist will tell you that.
The swimsuit does not keep one dry, nor does it provide any warmth or protection. The only function of swimwear is to satisfy societal and individual desires for modestly, and here it fails miserably. Have you ever seen a person in a swimsuit that actually succeeded in concealing any perceived body flaws? If anything, the wet, clingy fabrics actually only serve to accentuate the irregularities of the flesh. People look better naked, they really do, any nudist will tell you that.
So why do we do it? Dr Stephen Juan, a Sydney University anthropologist, says it's partly about a basic desire to rebel in a restrictive society but also about a feeling of liberation: "There's that little bit of larceny that's in all of us. Whatever the rules are, just to go against them, just because it's an assertion of your freedom.
"And of course, being able to swim in the nude without having the restriction of even a small swimming costume is liberating. So, again, the soul is allowed to be free; the mind, the spirit and the body. That's probably where it really comes from. It's deep in our culture, the idea to be different, to rebel, to be healthy."
These are all good things, but I like to think of this in reverse, that skinny-dipping is the norm for human beings, and the wearing of costumes to get into the water is the larcenous act, robbing people of a simple pleasure that should be as natural as breathing. Putting on a bathing suit should be the act that is against the rules. One should not have to be considered a "rebel" for wanting to be natural and healthy.
A Roper Poll from 2006 suggests that 55 million Americans have either been skinny-dipping or sunbathed nude in mixed company, yet such a large percentage of the population would not consider themselves nudists. Certainly they would not consider such behavior as being deviant in any way, or that they were sex-offenders, yet technically most of these people have broken the law, which prohibits public nudity virtually everywhere.
52 year-old mother and Australian politician Cate Molloy has been outspoken in her support for skinny-dipping, based on her own experiences.
A Roper Poll from 2006 suggests that 55 million Americans have either been skinny-dipping or sunbathed nude in mixed company, yet such a large percentage of the population would not consider themselves nudists. Certainly they would not consider such behavior as being deviant in any way, or that they were sex-offenders, yet technically most of these people have broken the law, which prohibits public nudity virtually everywhere.
52 year-old mother and Australian politician Cate Molloy has been outspoken in her support for skinny-dipping, based on her own experiences.
"My husband Ivan and I got started on it when we were young travelling around Australia and have enjoyed the fun of it ever since. I really can't imagine life without its simple pleasures. For me it's about the liberation and oneness of nature. And don't people look funny with their bits of string pretending to be covered up when they are letting it all hang out in bikinis and budgie smugglers?
"It's such a jolly topic and so harmless. But you cannot imagine the feeding frenzy it causes in Queensland. People get so knotted up about bare bodies. There are undesirables everywhere who behave inappropriately towards one another - and they are generally not found skinny-dipping."
I like the phrase "people get so knotted up about bare bodies". It's so sadly true. In America, anyone who wants to experience skinny-dipping either has to have access to a private pool, a nude beach, or visit a nudist resort. The days of stripping down at the old swimming hole, or swimming naked at the YMCA, seem to be so long gone. Or, it could be that this is merely the era of the bathing suit, which is coming to an end, given the steadily decreasing sizes of the costumes, which in some instances are down to strings and small patches of fabric. People are wearing less and less at the beach, so the next logical step is to dispense with the suits altogether. Let's hope so.
Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked
Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked
2 comments:
I agree that skinny-dipping should be the norm and wearing any article of clothing for swimming should be considered strange and unnatural. I'm relatively new to the practice of skinny-dipping, having only done it at nudist venues in the last seven months. Having done it, I can't imagine being bound by wet, clammy, clinging swimming trunks again. I'm embarrassed to say that I never went skinny-dipping when I was young. I missed out on a rite of passage and a wonderful experience.
I agree as well. Had commented a few months back in response to the post on nude swimming at the YMCA's etc. I was of the generation who had skinny-dipping introduced in Jr. High gym class when swimming was the assiged exercise. On those days, instead of being required to change into gym uniforms, we were required to leave all our clothes in the lockers and go to class in the nude. I was pleased to learn and experience the joys of nude swimming, and still enjoy ot to this day.
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