Monday, October 9, 2017

Why Nudism? (Part 8)



Nudists have a saying (usually attributed to Oscar Wilde): "if man were meant to be nude, he would have been born that way." And, of course, we were. Even textiles acknowledge this fact, evident in the phrase "naked as the day you were born", as well as the euphemistic term "birthday suit". As a justification for nudism, this doesn't quite pass logical muster (one must be wary of the naturalistic fallacy), but it does possess a certain poetry. After all, every single member of the human population - without exception - is naked underneath their clothes. It's a fundamental part of our humanity. And man is the only animal on this planet that covers its nakedness for reasons other than pragmatism. I mean, yeah, there are practical reasons to wear clothes - be it comfort, safety, or hygiene. But we don't wear them in a goal-oriented fashion, the way we put on rain boots to keep our feet dry, gloves to prevent blisters, or helmets to protect ourselves from head injuries. We wear them as a matter of course. And we're so dedicated to hiding the bodies we inhabit from birth, that a minor slip - e.g., walking from the shower to the bedroom not wrapped in a towel - is treated like a serious crime against common decency. Why? Is it because naked bodies remind us of sex? If that's the case, then more exposure to nudism is the solution.

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