DarkDruid

Most of the reasons against seem to be along the lines of "I don't like it!"

Of course, most of that is determined by how you were brought up. Personally, I don't get aroused whenever I see a naked woman unless there is sufficient reason for me too. Also... as far as ugly people go, that's just the way they are, and its not neccissarily bad. If you're not looking at them in a sexual way to begin with, then there should be no problem.

I guess nudity combined with America's obsession with physical perfection would be disasterous. Both our shallowness and our inhibitions depend on eachother.

Friar Bellows

Let's go all the way, then, and cover our entire bodies, like the women in Taliban Afganistan did/do. The idea that the body needs to be covered in order to retain its sexual power seems ludicrous to me. I find that the erotic nature of the nude female body is strongly dependent on context. But why don't we ask the nudists themselves? Are there any nudists here? Probably among our fellow continental European infidels, not that there's many of them here, unfortunately.

Amen-Moses

1) Ignore them.
2) Same as a clothed woman.
3) Ignore them.

I am not a rampant naturist and I've probably only ever been to 3 organised naturist events but I've never even seen an erection at one!

Amen-Moses

abe smith

Anyone who dislikes nudity can practise "custody of the eyes" = look the other way. Apart from that, what's so deplorable about nakedness? It was COVERING bodily parts (apart from to keep them warm, or from frying w/ sunburn) that MADE the hidden parts "interesting/ nasty". Chrx missionaries made "pagan" non-Chrx women "dirty" ....Too bad humankind haven't something interesting to occupy their minds/senses.

RogerLeeCooke

I've never gone nude in public, but from what I hear nudists are NOT in harmony with nature. Sex for them is as forbidden as it was for the Victorians (and you may recall that a Victorian woman existed somewhat like a head of cabbage---that's all you were allowed to see of her). Any man who gets an erection at a nudist camp will be SHUNNED.


Or so I've heard. I don't know from experience, but this is what was reported by one of Terri Gross' guests on Fresh Air. Anyway, to me this shows the absurdity of nudism. If the appearance of the body is to be accepted, why is the natural phenomenon of an erection to be censored? Like the Victorians, the nudists want to pick and choose which parts of nature are to be public. I say fine, but I draw the line further back. I don't want to watch people urinating and defecating (not that nudists do either), so let's have a social convention requiring a certain restraint, except in emergencies.

But we should get over the horror of bare female breasts. To anybody who has ever milked a cow by hand, it's no big deal, and babies have to be fed.

Amen-Moses

Originally posted by RogerLeeCooke:
I've never gone nude in public, but from what I hear nudists are NOT in harmony with nature. Sex for them is as forbidden as it was for the Victorians (and you may recall that a Victorian woman existed somewhat like a head of cabbage---that's all you were allowed to see of her). Any man who gets an erection at a nudist camp will be SHUNNED.

Well I've never come across this (excuse the pun), it seems to be accepted that males, especially adolescent males, will at some point get uncontrolled erections and these are indeed prety much ignored (although as I said I've never seen one at a naturist site). It woud be a bit hypocritical to object to the odd erect penis yet be OK with erect nipples on females wouldn't it?

Or so I've heard. I don't know from experience, but this is what was reported by one of Terri Gross' guests on Fresh Air.

Terri who? Is this another Americanism?

But we should get over the horror of bare female breasts. To anybody who has ever milked a cow by hand, it's no big deal, and babies have to be fed.

Well some old stick-in-the-muds object to women breast feeding in public!

Personally I remember being titillated (another pun!) by National Geographic photos of bare chested native women when I was about 13 but now I watch NG almost every day and they have no effect, whether that is due to my naturist experiences or a normal part of "growing up" I can't tell.

Amen-Moses

Primal

I don't think its a good idea to have public nudity basically because I don't like the idea. And that's good enough for me and most others. It's not like the norm of having to wear clothes is really hurting anyone anways, and there are some benefits to it. The menstruation one for example and erection one. You like to keep that info to yourself sometimes. Also, clothing may prevent infections in areas you don't want infected.

In any case, there's a lot of psychologial/cultural inertia behind the clothing norm, reversing it would be difficult(and why would it even be desired that we reverse it?) and the norm doesn't really harm anyone, so I see no reason to get rid of it.

[ September 16, 2002: Message edited by: Primal ]</p>

Amen-Moses

The true origin of all morals!

Amen-Moses

Jane Bovary

There's nothing "wrong" with nudity, just as there's nothing wrong with anything which is human, in the bodily sense....
There's nothing wrong with a bowel evacuation, but I'm not sure I'd want to be confonted with it perpetually.

Apart from the obvious practical purpose of clothes, they are also a means of expression, colour, drama and unless we have great bodies, generally make us look more attractive.

And I think the clothed body concept does increase eroticism. But then, you know what a romantic I am Amen...

One of the last sane

I like clothes because mosquitoes like me.