What's so wrong with just being naked? Society seems to want us to be ashamed of our bodies and cover them up with anyone other than ourselves and our (one and only) partner. I just don't see the reason why. Our bodies are just the casings that stop our blood and guts from falling out. Yes, they're different shapes and sizes depending on how much they need to fit inside. Some of them have different bits attached to them to hold different things. And they're wonderfully clever, well-engineered things which have taken thousands of years of evolution to produce - so why do we have to hide them?
I think being naked can help people to become more
comfortable with their own bodies - covering them up only helps to add
to the idea that our bodies are dirty, shameful secrets that no one
should see. The way the media eroticises nudity only helps to add to the idea that being naked is either naughty or erotic and no one except you and your partner
should ever see it. Which is damaging - there are so many people with issues about body confidence because people are taught to be ashamed of their bodies, especially the 'naughty bits'. Even the terminology is damaging. For someone to learn that some parts of themselves are ok and some are not creates a weird, unhealthy relationship with parts of their bodies. Certain parts are seen as always erotic, no matter what the context. There've been cases of people being taken to court for owning pictures of their spouses breastfeeding their child - because obviously a breast in the picture makes it erotic and therefore child porn! I mean, what the hell?!
Happily, I got to the point over the last year where I'm now in a really happy, comfortable relationship with my body and how I view myself. I've no idea how much I weigh (I never really got the idea of using weight as a measure of health) and I don't care. If I'm happy with my body and feel healthy, then that's what matters.
I'm really pretty happy with my body. Not in a 'I'm so proud of it, it's amazing, I want to show it off' sort of way, but in a 'it's just a body, what's the big deal?' kind of way. I'm don't have that many feelings one way or the other about it. It's just the casing that keeps by blood and guts from spilling everywhere, and well... it looks like a body. I've become a lot more happy being naked - when I'm at Azariah's house I don't bother putting on clothes at night if I get up to go to the toilet. If his mum or dad see me naked, well, they see me naked. It's just a naked body! They've got them, they have children so have presumably seen other people naked before, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't care or make a big deal about it.
If I see a person getting changed, I don't get automatically turned on. If I fancy them - find them amusing, intelligent
and intriguing - then that might change my response. I can appreciate
body forms that I find aesthetically pleasing, but without the mental
interaction it's not sexy, just 'oh, that's pretty!' The more attracted
to someone I am mentally, the more attractive I find them physically.
The mental side plays a huuuuge part in attraction for me.
There've been lots of times recently where I've been hot and sweaty, and Azariah has taken his top off. I went to do the same, and then realised that I might get reported for doing exactly the same as him. Because obviously my chest is inherently sexual, whereas his isn't. Well y'know what? I'm fed up of it. I want to be naked if it's too hot, and it not be seen as some sort of act of rebellion or anarchy. It's just skin, and sometimes it's too hot to wear clothes. Or I can't be bothered to get dressed. But I'm not trying to be 'sexy' or 'erotic', or prove some kind of point about feminism not having reached its goals yet (there's a lot that could be said about that, but I'll leave it for another post), I just want people to start viewing bodies as just that - bodies. No body part is inherently sexy or erotic, eroticism depends on the context, the relationship between the people involved, the way they feel about themselves and the chemistry between those involved.
So, from now on, I'm going to care a bit less. If I'm round at someone's house and feel hot I'll ask if they'd mind me taking a layer off. I'm not going out of my way to make others uncomfortable, but I don't want to feel uncomfortable either. I won't be wandering the streets naked anytime soon, but I do wish that that were an option if I wanted it to be.
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