Amen! Exactly! Well stated.

Nice article. It is sad that our society sees nudity or partial nudity as perverse. Where I live, adult males are criticized for failing to put on a shirt for a trip to the shower. The toddlers attired only in diapers might be offended!

I wholeheartedly agree. The Human form, both Female & Male, are absolutely BEAUTUFUL. It also glorifies God Almighty. After all, who but God could create such exquisite beauty?!! I personally, very much enjoy going naked & seeing others do the same, in which there is no shame.

Sorry about the typo, I Mean BEAUTIFUL. Also, I’ve often wondered WHY there are no clothing optional Public Pools? (I’d open one myself if I had the financial means).

“Clothing, by nature practical, can be used unnaturally as a perpetual sexual covering for the body, thereby creating unrealistic ideas and immoral imaginations about nakedness, but God still lets a frank, nonsexual sight of the real thing cleanse the mind and restore sanity.” (DLH, pastordavidrn.com)

It is such a shame that nudity equals sexuality in our society. While many things sexual are enjoyed nude, so are many non-sexual things. If we could appreciate nudity for what it is (and how we entered the world), so many problems like self-image issues might be lessened.

The concept of the perfect body is a myth. We believe that the stress caused by the unrealistic expectations of society is very damaging. Naturists practice body acceptance. When you visit a naturist environment you’ll find all types of bodies in all shapes, sizes, ages and colours — many of them with the signs of a full life.

If you find nudity offensive for its own sake ask yourself WHY. Those of us who happen to enjoy being clothes free accept that others prefer to be clothed. In the UK you are expected to wear a swimsuit in the Sauna or Steamroom, a ridiculous idea to many other Europeans. The Scandinavians have been open minded and civilised for years; why not us.(Naturistmingle.com)

This article is complete nonsense. There is no general intolerance of bare skin, just the exposure, in public, of those parts of it that are most strongly involved or associated with either sex or excreting bodily waste. The taboo against exposing these is organs is culturally based and deeply ingrained. I like my nudity-free public environment and I’m prepared to fight to keep it that way.

And don’t tell me what happens in Scandinavia. I live in Sweden and I have lived in Denmark and I can assure you that the notion that Scandinavians are accepting of nudity is a stupid myth!

Ae’Jay’s meditation makes sense to me. Wear Ice Wizard jackets in winter, and nothing in summer. It’s all good. It really doesn’t matter to me what folks obsessed about in the 1900s or even what Scandinavians think today. At Wake Forest in 2010, it simply would be a whole lot more sensible and pleasant not to worry. Frankly, it doesn’t bother me if you see me without clothes. It’s the same me as covered. It’s not sexual. Sex signals and behavior are pretty obvious with or without clothes. Anyway, it sounds like an excellent time to make a Wake Forest pact, as Ae’Jay suggests, to give each other more space to enjoy nature and be natural around each other. Sunny days at Davis field sound like as good a place to start as any. So is something official needed from the Campus Life or Judiciary committees? It seems like the Honor Code, standards of conduct, etc already cover basic interpersonal behavior things.

Clothing actually covers everything beautiful and leaves the unattractive to show. That must be why so much attention is spent on hair, face, hands, to the exclusion of the remainder of the body from any care and attention. How much better would many people feel if the money spent on cosmetic surgery was devoted to personal trainers and time was spent on sweat and exercise?

As a nudist myself, I find it appalling that so many people find nudity to be offensive. Just why…more importantly, HOW can nudity be offensive? It’s just the human body. To people who find nudity offensive…and they know who they are…get over it and grow up, already. Nudists should not be shunned away in private, secluded resorts while clothed people are free to roam about everywhere. Rather, it should be the opposite. Let nudists roam free and build fenced in areas for prudes to stare out and object all they want to. Maybe that would wake them up.

Of all the excuses people make up about why they find nudity offensive, the worst (and most pathetic) one I’ve heard is when people say it will scar children if they are exposed to it. First of all, if they’ve been breastfed as babies, then they’ve ALREADY seen nudity. Secondly, if siblings have taken baths when they were young, they’ve ALREADY seen nudity. Finally, who teaches them to react so negatively when they come across nudity? It’s not Nature, I’ll tell you that. No. Parents have to teach kids to think of nudity as shameful or bad and they’ll use any kind of scare-tactic on kids to force them to always remain clothed. Which brings me to this question…how come naked babies and very young toddlers are cute, but when they get older, nakedness becomes obscene or immoral? How could something be cute one minute and immoral the next? That makes no sense!

I am well aware that some nudists are unhappy that they are confined to designated nudist areas and they want to exhibit themselves to the rest of us. What sort of people would insist on doing that? No thanks. We “textiles” comprise the vast majority and don’t want to have to share our public environment with nudists.

Nakedness is not obscene or indecent in its own right, but it becomes so when others who find it offensive are forced to encounter it. I promise to stay away from nudist places and I expect nudists to return the favour. If they don’t, then law enforcement should deal with them accordingly.

Nudists do not want to “exhibit themselves”. They just want the freedom to wear or not wear what they want. And even though we “textiles” (those that do not consider ourselves nudists) comprise the vast majority, most of us would not have a problem at all encountering NON-SEXUAL nudity. In fact, in surveys I’ve seen, that number is over 80%. I consider that a vast majority.

Did Stu in Sweden not read the very first sentence of this excellent article? Bravo AJ !

I, along with all of my Male & Female Cousins have been skinny-dipping together in a back yard pool this summer. We all enjoy it very much. I challenge anyone to prove that this is wrong in any way.