Nobody or Somebody Freedom

“I am not a naturist, a nudist, a streaker, nor an exhibitionist. Labels are for clothes. My unclothed appearance is also not motivated sexually nor out of any gratuitous need to seek attention. I believe that while society continues to have a fundamentally negative relationship with the human body and appearance, we can never be a free or mature society. It’s the 21st century. Time to evolve.”

Russell Higgs


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Recently there has been an upsurge in body awareness and a drive towards body acceptance in the press, in advertising, on television and in the movies.  The trend  seems to be towards getting society to escape the shackles of the destructive and depressing negative notions associated with the appearance of our bodies.

Over the centuries societies have  developed the use of clothing as a mask to disguise the perceived imperfections of the human form and as a prop for the deficiencies of personality and character.  Clothing was originally designed to protect people from the heat and the cold, to stop themselves from getting burned or frozen.  Clothing was also used as an adornment to enhance attractiveness and for ritual and ceremonial reasons.  As the centuries passed people began to culturally depend on clothing.  Clothing has now become an outer layer which hides the perceived physical, emotional and cultural imperfections of the wearer.  People feel that by hiding behind clothing they can cover themselves and protect themselves from exposing these imperfections to the society around them.  It is usually people with low self-esteem who most feel the desperate need to hide behind this artificial outer shield.

The fashion industry along with the fashion media in their quest for financial gains, have promoted the idea that clothing is essential to the very existence of the human race.  Tragically most people think that clothing is on of the necessities of life rather than a practical auxiliary.  When people hide behind clothing they close down their body’s natural energy and nervous system along with the skin’s ability to breathe and function efficiently.  Suppressed body systems become rigid and inflexible which reflects in the rigid and inflexible attitudes in society.

Human beings are all born without clothes, covered only by skin.  Young children don’t care about clothes and are usually far happier, more comfortable and more contented without clothes.  As they grow older and begin to learn from those around them, they are taught to be ashamed of their bodies. Sadly it becomes instilled in them that their body without clothes is something to feel shame about showing in the company of others.  We are all born with natural body acceptance, then we are taught to be ashamed by those around us and especially by our very own family.  It is the parents own fears and prejudices that are taught and passed down to their children and it is that learnt behavior that the children exhibit for the rest of their lives.

As we grow older and become more exposed to the barrage of media propaganda about the necessity to cover ourselves because we are conditioned to believe that our bodies are so shameful and imperfect that they should not be visible to anyone else.  We mature into adults with such prude, distorted and prejudiced ideas about body image that we are unable to accept our own bodies for the natural wonders that they are.  Adults have grown up believing that their bodies are so sinful, offensive, repugnant and unclean that they should always be covered and hidden behind an outer shield of clothing and never be exposed to anyone else except during sexual encounters with partners.  

It is these prejudiced notions that are largely responsible for society’s inability to understand that nudity and sex are two totally separate things that at times do co-exist but are not in any way codependent.  It is quite possible to have sex without being naked similarly it is just as possible to be naked without having sex.  It has taken many centuries of erroneous teaching for society to be indoctrinated with the distorted and prejudiced ideas it has today.  It will take many more centuries to rectify the situation so that the human body can be appreciated for what it is and non-sexual nudity can be accepted as a natural dresscode choice.

Each one of us can begin our own individual revolution to open our minds so that we can recondition ourselves to appreciate the natural beauty of the human body despite its imperfections, blemishes and irregularities.  Is there truly anything immoral about showing our bodies when each of us has one and already knows what is under the clothes? What exactly is so shameful and evil about our bodies?  Many people have a mental block against the naked body stating that nudity is immoral and evil basing their argument on the fact that the majority of society has the same idea therefore it must be wrong. 
The only reason that the majority of people believe that nudity must be wrong is because that is the the way their minds were indoctrinated by their superiors and peers as they were growing up.  There is also the argument that nobody wants to see a wizened old person with no clothes on.  By the same argument are we then going to ban anyone who is perceived to be too ugly from appearing in public simply because the majority don’t want to see them?  My response to this argument is, “If you don’t like what you see then turn away and look elsewhere.  When looking at TV and you don't like what you see you turn away to a different channel, so why not do the same if you don’t want to see a naked body.”

For those who believe that nudity is bad and evil ask yourself this, “What is it exactly that is so bad about the human body that makes me believe that it should always be covered?”  Think carefully before you answer and don’t fall into the trap of blurting out the common cliches such as “immoral”, “evil”, “corrupt”, or “weird”, because that is just following the flock and not really thinking seriously about your answer.  

• Morality is defined as ‘conformity to the rules of right conduct’  The right conduct for humans is to be naturally naked because that is the way we are born.  The notion that we have to hide our bodies behind an extra outer mask stems from the way humans have been conditioned to think by religion and modern society.  Immorality lies in not respecting your own body or the bodies of others.
• Evil is defined as  ‘Profound immorality’  This is the same as immorality but carrying a greater emphasis so the explanation above applies here too.
• Corrupt is defined as  ‘Cause to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain’  Being naked is being true and natural, there is nothing dishonest about it.  In reality hiding the body under a mask of clothing is being dishonest and secretive.
• Weird is defined as  ‘fantastic; bizarre’  The human body is perfectly natural and certainly not bizarre nor is it odd or grotesque.  Humans make their bodies odd or bizarre by draping the body with foreign coverings and decorations.

For those who argue that the naked body is offensive, can they explain which parts are offensive and why or do they see the entire body as offensive?  Why are some body parts offensive yet others are not?  What is it that makes some parts offensive?  In almost all surveys where questions similar to these are raised the most common regions of the body that are reportedly offensive are the genitals and the breasts.  Both these areas of the body are made up of flesh, muscle, nerves, blood vessels and skin just the same as any other part of the body.  The only difference is the shape and colour of certain regions of these so called offensive parts, so are the shapes offensive or are is it the colours that are offensive?  No, it is our mental attitude towards the genitals and breasts. It is because we were indoctrinated from an early age into believing that sex is dirty and that these parts of the body are to be shamefully kept hidden from view.  In reality sex in its original and purest form is exquisitely beautiful and is the very mechanism that creates another human being.  Sex has become perverted and sordid because it has been misused and abused to the point where at times it has become dirty and perverted but that is not the case with the majority of good honest people.  For most people sex is pure and wholesome so the question remains, why should the sexual instruments be considered dirty and offensive?  The most common reason for this seems to be that religion has been the main instigator of the idea based on the Adam and Eve story describing the perils of partaking of the forbidden fruit.  The truth is that breasts and genitals are equally as clean and healthy as any other part of the human body therefore they should be treated with the same degree of acceptance as is afforded to any other part of the body.

People are not afraid to expose their arms, legs, face and torso they should be equally confident to expose any other part of their body because, as discussed, the entire body is composed of equally created components which are all equally clean and healthy.  It is only the conditioning we have been subjected to from birth that discriminates between the different body components.

Once we free our minds from the oppressive conditioning imposed upon us over the years we can begin to appreciate ourselves and our bodies in a whole new refreshing and enlightened way.  We can begin to enjoy life with a more enlightened outlook and enjoy body freedom as never before.  Once liberated from the perceptions of shame and guilt we begin to appreciate ourselves and our bodies as wholesome, vital entities that are free to embrace the fullness of life itself.

I leave you with this thought...

The body is meant to be seen, not all covered up.

Marilyn Monroe