Nudity is associated with sex, and sex is something most people share only with intimate partners. And so, a willingness to show off one's body to another is often interpreted as an invitation to intimate contact. I want to sever that connection. What's wrong with just enjoying the view?
Feminists argue (rightly) that clothing is not consent. And nudists would extend that further to include nudity. There may be a subset of the population (sexist males, for example) that would like to live in a world where if a woman shows you her body, you're entitled to have sex with her. But the corollary of that is that women would never show their bodies outside of the context of a sexual interaction.
Maybe this is somebody's vision of paradise, but to me it sounds like a nightmare. The sight of women's bodies (and - not to be sexist - many men's, too) brings color and joy to the world. I can appreciate that view without needing - or even necessarily wanting, in all cases - anything more. And if there is an element of temptation involved, well, I think my life would be poorer without it.
It's not wrong to show off your body, even to satisfy the sexual desires of others. And at the same time, doing so doesn't entitle anyone to anything more than that. Maybe most people aren't socialized this way, but I want to live in a world filled with people who can look and be seen, and enjoy the view, without any extra baggage.
Is it only because I'm a voyeur and an exhibitionist, or is there more to it than that? I enjoy the consumption of erotic stimuli, especially of a visual nature. Maybe more so than the act of sexual climax itself. I am very discerning as to who I will become sexually intimate with (and there are very few that have ever fit that bill), yet I am happy to share the erotic sight of my body with anyone and everyone, and desire others to be just as forthcoming.
Yet, I hesitate to label this as merely my version of sexual intimacy as a fetishist. Because I do still have sex. And I do still draw a line between enjoying a stranger (or acquaintance)'s sex appeal, and engaging in sexually explicit activities, including masturbation. And I believe that people who do not define themselves as either voyeurs or exhibitionists would benefit from my approach, and that, furthermore, it makes logical and civic sense not to define sight as a sexual organ.
If anything, it's a bit much for me to ask a sexual species to walk around in society, constantly exposed to sexual stimuli, without expectation of a release, but don't we do that anyway? And don't nudists do it even more? I'm a transhumanist, so I'm not content to accept the limitations of human nature as they are. I want to live in a world where people can be sexually stimulated and still be in full command of all their faculties.
Or maybe I just want to live in a world where I can be more regularly sexually stimulated. I know I can handle myself. And I'm not asking to have sex with random people. I just want to know what's wrong with people enjoying (and letting other people enjoy) the erotic delights that our eyes can serve us, independent of physical contact. Am I so alone in desiring this, above and beyond a queue of sexual partners lining up outside my bedroom door?
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