A
Third Natural Problem Solved
by
Kensunwalker
Today, many people try to be something they are not –
living in hypocrisy. Unhealthy concerns
about ‘fitting in’ has become a national obsession. Clothing and style, driven by an ever changing,
money-obsessed fashion industry, creates so many problems including body shame
and self-hatred, unrealistic dieting and weight loss, eating disorders, body
modification, lowered self-esteem, and depression. And all of this seems to only worsen in
social situations as these unhappy people try to force their hypocrisy on
others. Indeed, people are so uptight
that they refuse to be human - what and who they really are. This is a major problem!
Consider this contrast:
"Clothes
make the man. Naked people have little
or no influence on society.” – Mark Twain
“I like the naked
body. It’s beautiful. I think the more we try to cover ourselves,
the more we lose an essence of ourselves.” - Rinko Kikuchi
I believe the second
quote is the more realistic view – period!
The first quote is often simply unrealistic and biased. Who doesn’t have fashionable clothes? Well, poor people, of course. And normal people who are not famous. And older people. And people from different cultures. Clothing is biased, biased, biased, biased!
My
Solution: Get real by seeing many people naked!
How can we become less judgmental? By seeing many people naked. The more we see bodies of all ages, shapes,
and sizes, the more accepting we all become of our own bodies, so our judgement
becomes more realistic. This is so
obviously true. Unrealistic
self-judgement results in poor body image which is itself a form of mental
illness. Rather, those who are unafraid
of their nakedness worry less about body image because they can be themselves.
“We can't help but believe that such repeated
messages about how the body must always be covered, even in front of parents
and siblings, helps to create a negative body self-image and, consequently,
lowered self-esteem.” - Dr. Ruth Westheimer and Dr. Louis Lieberman
“We're each a minority of one falling somewhere
along an amazingly diverse spectrum of human possibilities, and we're either
all acceptable, or none of us can be.
God's image is infinite and includes both male and female variations of
many hues, forms and ages. Any narrow
standard of beauty is absurd.” - Glyn
S.
“Not only can naked activities have great
recreational value, recent studies have found that exposure to non-idealized
naked bodies has a positive impact on body image, and, ultimately, on life
satisfaction.” - Bouke de Vries
People feel they must somehow live up to the image
portrayed in magazines and movies and by the Madison Avenue fashion experts who
tell them in pictures and words what a ‘perfect’ body is like - usually
unrealistic, confusing, and harmful messages about how the body ‘should’
look. No one really looks like that. Even the people in the
pictures don't look like that. It's all ‘air brushed’ and ‘photo-shopped’
until the images are no longer natural.
Consider the Barbie doll:
“If Barbie were a real
woman, her body would be nonfunctioning, it’s so out of proportion. . . her
feet would be a size 3, her bra size a 39FF and her measurements 39-21-33. She would stand 8 feet, 9 inches tall. Her
neck would be twice the length of a normal woman’s and would be so skinny,
she’d have to choose between an esophagus and a trachea. I know, she’s just a doll. But for most little girls, Barbie is the
first woman’s body they really get to analyze, besides their mothers’. . .
Barbie is a little girl’s first ideal - what she hopes to look like when she
grows up. . . For our daughters’ sake, parents must redefine what we consider
beautiful. Talk to them about their body
image and tell them they’re beautiful at any size.” - Heather Warlick-Moore
Being open to nudity cures these unhealthy,
unrealistic expectations with a good dose of ‘body image acceptance’.
“Body hatred has become an epidemic of
unfathomable proportions in this culture.
I believe that body hatred lies deep under a host of physical problems:
infertility, cancer, diabetes, the lot.
How can we possibly expect to be healthy if we reject our own primary
residence? . . . Many Americans suffer from this grand delusion: If I am not
thin/tall/toned/beautiful/young enough, I can't live my life fully or realize
my dreams. Rather than truly loving our
bodies, minds, and souls, we want to nip and tuck, slice and dice, starve and
purge our way to being adequate. We
think we need to change something about ourselves in order to be deserving of
love, attention, and affection." – Dr. Susan Corso
Not accepting your naked body results from how we
think about clothes. When people wear
clothes, they imagine that others still have that perfect image under
their clothes, but when nude, all can see the truth that people are equal, and
all have nothing to be ashamed of. Being
naked with others allows people a ‘reality check’.
My
Second Solution: Get naked socially!
To experience a naked reality check, people must get socially
naked with others. This is great therapy,
giving people new confidence so they can accept their bodies.
“Clothing optional people
by and large are the friendliest and most upright bunch of folks we've ever
encountered.” – Jeff & Judy
“There is something about
being naked that means you are obliged to be friendly and welcoming. When all your defenses are stripped away,
and you don’t have the identity of your clothes to hide behind, all you’re left
with is exactly the same as what everyone else has.” – Jessica H.
“Shared nudity brings an
additional psychological dimension to kindness.
Naturism is social and promotes benevolent exchanges.” – Nuetheureux
Being in a social setting with other naked people
causes people to open up in a very honest, healthy manner. Regardless of the context, around the pool,
in the hot tub, or even under a shade tree, discussions happen – about all
topics! And this happens far more frequently
and with far more ease than in a clothed environment.
“I am beautiful on the inside and
out! It took me getting naked in front
of a bunch of people sitting around a hot tub and pool eating pot-luck to
realize we all come in so many different shapes, sizes, ages, and
backgrounds. The human
body is beautiful. Shame on
religions, governments, and especially the media that tell [us] how we should
dress or not-be dressed. It was very
liberating. . . I loved every second of it.
In fact, I recommend it for anyone, especially if you have a problem
with self-esteem.” - Anshel
Without exception, men, and especially women, who
learn to feel at ease while participating in socially nude situations report
that their body image and self-esteem improve dramatically. This is because naked friends express
unconditional acceptance - no one expects people to have a ‘perfect’ body. Naked people more than any other group in
society understand and accept the diversity, the different sizes, shapes, and
ages of the human body, so negative feelings about the body disappear.
“.
. . social
nudity enhances each moment with excruciating delight. I do it because it is fun, fun, fun!” –
Chelmcdonald
So, get naked with others and you’ll soon find that
your best, most trusted friends are also naked much of the time. Then you’ll be able to truly accept your
humanness!
My
Third Solution: Be you!
“Clothes are a wall that
separate us from our true selves.” – Nude Movement
Fur sure, many people need nakedness to be real, to be
themselves.
“I think I have always
been a nudist from a very early age 5 or 6 and experimented with it off and on
throughout the years. But it hasn't been
until I reached my late 30's and early 40's that I really understood the practice
and what being a nudist is all about. It
was this understanding that led to be realize that being a nudist was a part of
whom I am.” – kaspernzl
A naked person is honest with him or herself, open to
reality, and accepting of the truth.
“Going nude is a way for
people to say ‘I’m OK with who I am.’” - Richard L.
“I really am a nudist. .
. Discovering, embracing, and accepting who I really am has given me peace of
mind and calmness. As a result, I also
have a better relationship with my family and I am more productive at work.” -
Delfin Amante
“Growing up a conservative religious person, I
never imagined I would ever become a naturist.
Yet, I had a unique need for nudity, and all my life experiences led me
to be obedient to that uniqueness.
Accepting my unique mission, I learned who I really was, so I could be
truly happy, truly free, and truly able to help others in the unique way only I
could. I now know who I am and why I’ve
felt the way I did throughout my life.
This does not mean I disregard other interests and talents, but as a naked
person I follow the truth and love being me!
When I took off my clothes, I could be
myself. Nude is who I am, who we
all are. Not realizing this is believing
and living a lie. Bottom-line, when I’m
naked, I’m me, I’m who I am, complete, an ‘image of fullness’.” - Ken
When you take off your clothes you can be
yourself. You can
dispose of the ‘image' you are trying to project with clothes. Naked, there is no
status. You can be ‘you’, without guile,
façade, mask, or costume. This humility,
coupled with chastity, results in true modesty - an honest state of being -
simply yourself. You’re not a
freak. You just need to be naked. When you reconcile yourself to living a naked
life it fixes you!
In order to be truly human, you probably need the
truth about nakedness as well. If so,
you instinctively know this. Here are a
few thoughts from others who have come to know themselves through being naked:
“Being naked is about
being one's self, not someone who one wants to be.” – Bruce H.
“. . . a naked me is the
most honest, pure, unaffected me there is, and, after a few years of
depression, anxiety and very low self-esteem I am delighted to have gained a
huge amount of belief in me - and that’s something to celebrate.” - Susannah
“Naked, I know who I
am. The moment I put anything on, it
begins to define me in some way other than what I am. . . So get naked and look
hard and love what you see. It's you! .
. . And naked, you are all you.” - Victoria P.
“When you’re naked there
is no deception – you are who you are.” – Samantha
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