*NSFW: Contains nudity
First of all, I think we all need to acknowledge that we were born naked and the fact is that the shame we feel about stripping off is in our heads. I might sound like a total hippy, maaaan... but that's life. Deal with it.
However, over the years, certain laws have been put into place to stop us from whopping out our privates whenever we fancy it. Strange, that.
According to K. Bacher, who put together 'Arguments and Observations In Support of Naturism' in America: "While most of Europe is comfortable with the concept of nude recreation on beaches and in vacation resorts, here in the U.S., conservative political action groups seek to criminalise even the most innocent exposure of the human body. Often these groups gain support by purporting to defend 'family values' or 'Christian morality'."
Clearly, Bacher has never tried to get naked on Formby beach because they would understand England is slightly different to the rest of Europe in terms of accepting nudity.
The North American Guide to Nude Recreation notes that "one reason why a nude lifestyle is so refreshing
is that it delivers us temporarily from the game of clothes. It's hard to imagine how much clothing contributes to the
grip of daily tensions until we see what it's like to socialise without them. Clothing locks us into a collective
unreality that prescribes complex responses to social status, roles and expected behaviours. In shedding our daily
'uniforms,' we also shed a weighty burden of anxieties. For a while, at least, we don't have to play the endless
charade of projected images we call 'daily life'. . . . For once in your life you are part of a situation where age,
occupation and social status don't really count for much. You'll find yourself relating more on the basis of who you
really are instead of who your clothes say you are."
So, basically, clothes separate us. We judge each other's social status and expected behaviours through what they're wearing. No wonder sometimes people therefore fancy getting naked.
Take this group of students who are currently participating in 'Cambridge's Best Bum' competition. They stripped naked in public and, to be fair, probably felt quite liberated afterwards.
Credit: SWNS
Screw it. If they're having a laugh, then let them. You can vote here.
Featured image credit: SWNS
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