The battle for personal freedom begins with the body. The condemnation of sex and the view of the naked body as dirty, evil or depraved are part of the social control systems that the power structures in our society use to keep people compliant and controllable.
These control systems came into early orthodox Christian theology through Augustine, who imported his views against the body and sex from his experience as a Manichean gnostic. The Manicheans believed the material world is corrupt. Only the spiritual world is divine. The physical body, as a material thing, is also corrupt, and therefore tainted with evil. Sex is evil for several reasons, one being that procreation creates more physical bodies and brings more corruption into the world. Sex is also bad because it is impossible to control except by extreme measures. Because of its unruly nature, it distracts one from contemplation of the divine. Sex, and thoughts of sex, tempt one into a life of immersion in corrupt physical pleasures and depravity. And of course, the naked body is bad because it stimulates sexual thoughts and desires.
Augustine created original sin from a mistranslation of Paul. At the time it was a minor point, but the Church soon saw in the doctrine a powerful tool for controlling people. It gave the Church sticks of guilt, shame and fear to counterbalance the carrots of righteousness, morality and the promise of salvation. And sex was a convenient "proof" of the fallen nature of humanity.
Outside of rabid religion, most ancient cultures regarded nudity as a state of physical and spiritual innocence and purity. In Roman culture nudity was thought to be a ward against evil spirits, who could not approach someone in a pure state.
In art, nudity has represented purity and innocence, as well as truth; justice; a proper relationship with nature; beauty; courage; moral, physical and spiritual power; faith; trust; bounty; victory; vulnerability; freedom; protection and security. The nude in art has also been used to explore abstract qualities, such as form; texture; relationships between light and shade; psychological boundaries; positive and negative space; introversion and extroversion.
Nudity has also been used to depict insanity; depravity; sin, seduction or temptation; and corruption. The interpretation is in the context and postures of the figures. But by far, most depictions of nudity in art have portrayed positive qualities.
This is reflected in personal experience. Most people who are not under the thrall of hyper-religious conditioning feel a sense of freedom and comfort when they are naked alone. Nudist literature is full of people's initial experiences with social nudity and the transformation of conditioned anxiety and embarrassment into comfort and liberation.
All it takes, it seems, is a little experience and de-coupling the knee-jerk association of nudity with sex for average people to overcome the social programming that tells them shared nudity is embarrassing and bad.
Equating nudity with sex is like equating cows with hamburgers. Generally speaking, sex often involves nudity and hamburgers involve cows more often than not. But people experience nudity in non-sexual situations and many cows never become hamburgers. For instance, except for a few radically shame-driven people, all of us take baths or showers naked. Certain medical procedures require nudity, and art classes all over the world employ nude models for life-drawing, painting, photography and sculpture classes.
Also, sexual impulses can be controlled. Otherwise, people would be fucking in the aisles at the grocery store. By breaking the automatic association of nudity with sex, one becomes more aware, more sensitive and more responsible as a human being. Experience with shared nudity may not be necessary to break this association, but it is the quickest and most powerful means to do so because experience codes knowledge deeper and more permanently into the mind and body than any other readily available path.
Pockets of resistance are fighting this battle by campaigning for top-free equality for women, for instance. They contend that requiring women to cover their breasts where men are allowed to go shirtless is sex discrimination. Others lobby for more nude or clothing-optional beaches, as well as designated nude-use areas at lakes, public pools and parks. Still others fight against public indecency laws on the basis that mere nudity is not indecent, only certain behaviors are indecent.
The degrees of activism for these causes wax and wane with the political climate, but these struggles have never been completely abandoned. And there have been successes. Canada's laws against public nudity were struck down some years ago, and women have technical top-freedom everywhere in the country,1 though is appears not many take advantage of it. The same holds true in the state of New York.2 Some states have, for lack of a better term, nude-is-not-lewd laws, wherein simple nudity has been decriminalized.3
One of the most spectacular successes for nudity in public parks is the famous English Gardens in Munich, Germany. In 1979, local students began sunbathing and picnicking nude in the park and skinny-dipping in its waters. Protests by German Catholics backfired, and the publicity helped turn nude use of the park into a tourist attraction.4
The crowning glory for public nudity has to be Cap d'Agde, which was built as a naturist city by the French government as part of a project to develop the coastline near Montpellier. Here, residents and tourists can live, shop, bank, camp and enjoy the sensational beaches without wearing a stitch. There are restaurants, bars, theaters, markets, health centers and a post office where complete nudity is the norm.
Studies of social nudism5 show that active nudists are, on average, healthier than the general population. In the absence of psychological problems or physical maladies, nudists on the whole have lower blood-pressure, less obesity and a healthier diet. They tend to be optimistic and more accepting of themselves and others. It is interesting that nudists are typically sexually conservative, with some regrets that they had not engaged in more liberal sexual activities.
Children raised in a nudist environment tend to be positive and open to others. They are more educated about sex and less prone to teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Perhaps because their natural curiosity about bodies is satisfied, they are less likely to act out in sexually risky ways.
People who experience nudity outdoors report a sense of freedom and connection with nature. They are more aware of their environment and more in tune with their inner responses to it. Often, there is an instinctive sense that all things are connected. They feel more alive, less isolated and more positive. They feel like participants in life and with life rather than like observers passing through it.
When nudity is part of spiritual practice—mostly in native and contemporary pagan settings—people report all of the above, and also mystical or semi-mystical experiences such as knowing or experiencing the connectedness of all things; enhanced psychic abilities and the flow of esoteric or subtle energies.
Non-solitary spiritual or magical work requires more trust than ordinary experience does because the heightened psychic environment makes everyone present more vulnerable. Nudity encourages and reinforces trust among working partners, boosting confidence and helping to set the conditions for successful work.
Casual nudity among friends deepens the bonds they share and encourages more relaxed relationships while at the same time it makes communication easier and discussion of important issues smoother. There is less need to "beat around the bush" when a sensitive topic requires airing out. All of this adds up to increased communication skills that improve the quality of all of one's relationships.
The deeper personal bonds that arise from casual nudity promote a greater sense of connection and ease feelings of isolation. People who endure mild to moderate depression gain some relief and a stronger sense of self, and thus, self-acceptance. The acquired sense of freedom is empowering, and the increased intimacy is life-affirming and enriching.
Psychotherapists and leaders in the human potential movement, experimenting with nudity in the 1960's and 1970's, reported that it lowered clients' psychological defenses and raised self-esteem and self-awareness. It made them more accessible to work on difficult issues and increased their level of trust. Breakthroughs often occurred. Nudity in groups increased cohesion, spontaneity, communication and trust and encouraged group members to support each other. Group dynamics were more fluid and member participation in discussions and group processes increased. Rather than stimulating lust and overt sexual behavior, as some feared, the nudity in these groups served as a check on such actions.6
Naturally, in some circumstances it would be easy to encourage overt sexual activity in a group. This happened at Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's ashram in Poona, India in the 1970's, where participants were encouraged to masturbate and engage in sex with each other in the group. Western therapists who attended these groups were initially shocked by the open sexual activity, but eventually found therapeutic value in it. It seems a great deal depends upon context and, of course, conditioning.
The theory behind this permissive approach at the Poona ashram comes from a minority tantric principle that says if people are given total freedom to express their sexual desires and urges they will go through a phase of acting out, but they will eventually find a healthy balance. It seemed to work at Poona.
It would take quite a bit of research to know if such practices—or variations on them—might work in a Western therapeutic milieu. Given our sexually schizoid culture, that research is not likely to be done. In the meantime, we are stuck with enforced ignorance and presumptive restrictions that are driven by the cultural inheritance of religious hostility to the body and sex.
So, if it is such a powerful and effective aid in therapy, why don't therapists use nudity in practice today? In a word, politics. There were, inevitably, a few cases of abuse and exploitation. The usual self-appointed arbiters of "values," caring more about appearances and their brand of superficial morality than about the help most clients were getting, protested the use of nudity in therapeutic settings. In part, they argued that clients seeking help were too vulnerable, too easily exploited.
Of course, this is always true. It is also true that the potential for healing often derives from the degree of vulnerability of the person in need. The more vulnerable a person is, the more potential there is for healing. Abuses occur in every business, including the helping professions. There are thousands of ways to take advantage of clients, especially in an uneven relationship.
The abuse of a client through exploitation of nudity is—or would be—no different than exploiting hypnotism, gestalt processes or any other method that puts clients in a vulnerable position and risks stimulating a crisis. The issues are exactly the same; mutual trust and the proper use of power for the benefit of the client. But rather than defend what was so obviously working and finding ways to minimize the risks and hold abusers accountable, the governing bodies of psychotherapy and psychiatry allowed themselves to be exploited. They capitulated to fears of having their images tainted by controversy and took a powerful tool away from everybody.
Nudity continues to reap benefits for those who experience it in some personal growth processes and alternative spiritual pathways. It still has a strong positive therapeutic effect, but nudity in traditional therapeutic settings is rare or non-existent.
Is casual or ritual nudity the cure for all social ills, then? Hardly. Human beings are vastly complex creatures, with unfathomable psyches. People will always display inconsistencies and personal quirks that will baffle the most experienced and educated "experts" on human behavior. Nudity does not prevent anyone from feeling anger or any other emotion. Nor does it transform scoundrels into saints. It will not turn a wife-beater into an understanding, supportive spouse or a warmonger into a peacenik. It is no more likely to change anyone's religious convictions than an exceptional casserole at a Methodist pot-luck dinner. Naked conclaves at the UN will not create world peace or feed the hungry. Sensible nude sunbathing is an excellent treatment for eczema, but it will not cure cancer or eradicate dandruff.
Nudity in a safe environment makes it easier for people to access more of their Self, and to actualize more of their potential. It awakens the physical senses, bringing heightened awareness of the environment and its dynamic relationship with the body. The unfettered body is more sensitive to small air currents and temperature variations. Hearing is often enhanced, bringing to attention the calls of birds, the rustling of small animals in the brush and the quiet gurgling of modest streams. The nose draws in the aromas of wildflowers, fresh grass, water and food simmering over a campfire. Some people report that colors appear brighter, deeper and richer, and they become aware of finer details, like the patterns of veins in a leaf or animal behaviors they never noticed before. The heightened physical senses, and the innate senses of freedom; liberation; connection and engagement with life amplify personal experience and enrich the appreciation of life.
For those who share casual nudity with friends, depression and free-floating anxiety are at least partially mitigated, feelings of isolation are reduced or eliminated, self-esteem rises and a sense of personal empowerment often blossoms. Stronger personal bonds and deeper intimacy lower unnecessary barriers, elevate communication and improve the quality of friendships. Physical and psychological relaxation and openness improve health and make people more accepting of others. Differences are tolerated and diversity is appreciated.
The benefits of nudity far outweigh the liabilities. Simple solitary nudity improves comfort and health by putting people in touch with their bodies—encouraging them to take better care of themselves with healthier diets and exercise—and stimulating greater awareness of how things affect them. Those who have a more developed sense of body awareness tend to adopt looser clothing, often made of natural fibers that allow freer movement and breathing. They have a better sense of self, and are less threatened by people who are different from themselves. Instead, they are able to appreciate diversity and tolerate views that clash with their own, and they value the richness and textures of a dynamic, diverse culture and its varied lifestyles, ethnic customs and modes of personal expression.
Shared casual nudity breaks the bonds of tyrannical cultural programming that instills toxic shame and guilt in people by labeling the bodies they live in as dirty, corrupt and evil. How can people live healthy lives when they are taught from an early age that their own bodies are enemies? Social nudity also fosters healthier attitudes towards sex, bodies, and acceptance of themselves and others.
Reading and talking can enlighten you and inform you to some extent, but this is one of those things that must be experienced to really learn for yourself.
Shared nudity is an act of radical honor and affirmation of yourself, and of those you share it with. It is an act of trust and a declaration of independence from pernicious cultural programming and social control systems that tell you that bodies in their natural state are bad and dirty. These control systems infuse people with fear, anxiety and shame, with false moral judgment and robotic peer pressure to keep them compliant and controllable.
If the manipulators convince you that your own body is an enemy—to be feared, shunned, hidden, embarrassed about and ashamed of—and that other's bodies are, too, then you lose before you begin. Your very identity and experience of yourself have been kidnapped and held prisoner with shackles that seem strong, but are really made of paper. That is, so long as the struggle for body acceptance is a personal one, or is waged at local community levels.
At the end of Therapy, Nudity and Joy, author Aileen Goodson cites several reports from psychologists and psychiatrists that demonstrate a clear link between the measure of body acceptance and the degree of violence in a culture. The more body acceptance is suppressed, the more violent the culture becomes. When a nation launches a "moral" campaign against nudity, in private, in the arts or anywhere else that seems convenient to target, and begins to close—or raid—nude beaches, naturist clubs and the like; when it imposes strict controls on private sexual conduct; when it begins to equate conformity to extreme "conservative values" with morality and patriotism, that nation is well down the road to totalitarianism. Oppressive policies and laws against other areas of private life are sure to follow, if they have not already begun. Freedom is stripped away and replaced by obedience as the highest ideal of good citizens.
Widespread body acceptance in society would go a long way towards establishing a safer community for everybody. There would no longer be the sick attitude that women who dress "a certain way" are asking to be sexually assaulted. The sight of a mother breast-feeding her baby in public would not incite people to irrational fits of outrage. A topless woman in a club, on the street or at the park will not be labeled as a slut (an arbitrary derogative) or a prostitute (who, in any case, does not deserve to be assaulted.). Once these ideas gain a foothold in mainstream consciousness, there will be much less danger that women, men and children will be raped or assaulted merely because of their appearance.
Nothing comes for free. So, what is the cost of gaining your personal independence, claiming your freedom and harvesting the benefits we have talked about? Financially, the cost can be zero. If you wish to, you can go to places that will charge you for admission to the premises and the freedom to take you clothes off and mingle with like-minded people. You can find places where you can live clothes-free. You could spend quite a bit. But you don't have to. It costs nothing to remove you clothes at home, or at a friend's home, and it is easy to do at a private or primitive campsite.
But you may pay in other ways. If you have no experience with shared nudity outside of locker rooms in high school or college, you will have to overcome some internal resistance. You will have to confront the anxiety that stems from defying the social control systems that have conditioned you. You may have to endure temporary embarrassment and discomfort until you adjust to the harmless state of your natural condition. You may be surprised by how quickly your resistance dissipates if you can summon the courage to challenge it. In truth, there is no risk if you are with trusted friends. Your anxiety and fears are phantoms, mere shadows in your mind, with no substance besides what you grant them.
The question is; are you willing to pay the price to start claiming your freedom?
1. Look up the year and cases.
2. Year?
3. Look up states
4. Aileen Goodson: Therapy, Nudity and Joy, Elysium Growth Press, 1991. p. 217
This book is a cross-cultural look at the functions and uses of nudity in history, with emphasis on its therapeutic benefits.
5. Hartman, Fithian and Johnson: Nudist Society, Crown Publishers, Inc., 1970)
The most comprehensive study of social nudity to date. There are dozens of smaller studies that focus on specific aspects of nudism, but it is telling that no comprehensive follow-up studies have been done in more than forty years.
6. Goodson, op. cit.