An old post which still carries weight...

I have difficulty understanding what makes people fear or revile the naked human body, or the general need to connect nakedness only with the sexual act. Why must we hide what should be as natural as breathing? Our bodies need to be exposed regularly to the sun to replenish stores of vitamins, to help synthesize and utilize nutrients and hormones necessary to sustain a comfortable and healthy physical self. The unwritten social laws, backed by the legal system, prevent me from obtaining maximum health by forcing me to cover myself with socially-acceptable layers which impede my ability to absorb the sunlight through every inch of my skin. I risk jail and monetary fines if I choose to expose myself to the air and sunlight where others might see my naked body. 
I see one historical cause for the free-for-all attacks on body freedom…that of organized religion. This deserves research and further pondering before writing anything factual. It remains to be seen how long it will take to get to this project. 

I am realizing the effect that wearing society’s required clothing has on my health and well-being, both physically and mentally, which manifest themselves in skin inflammations and eruptions as well as in bouts of depression and reactions out of proportion with/to daily occurrences. How much is from battering against the walls of social stigmas and how much is mired in less-than-perfect self-/body-acceptance? Some may be rooted in the subtle ageism against growing older, especially as I approach turning sixty years old and reveal in my nudity a body marked well by the passage of time. I am a child of the “God/dess” only now seeing myself as socially acceptable with or without clothes, instead of through the lens of a restrictive upbringing under organized religion which deemed this body as shameful and to always be hidden. 

What has been bothering me on a different front is the law concerning nudity which infringes on my rights within my home. Recently, a young man in New York State was charged with public lewdness for standing naked in his kitchen where someone walking by on the sidewalk apparently saw his nude body and was offended by it. This young man was forced to pay an enormous fine and now has a record for something he did within the privacy of his own home. That the offended party had to step onto his property for a better look was discounted in the proceeding, as the “crime” involved a naked human body. 
My current home faces a very busy city street, and has a large picture window in the living room. I have placed mini-blinds on the side windows, which open, and keep the drapes closed over the picture window, both of which obscure the sunlight and keep me from seeing outside. However, if I wish to enjoy nudity inside my home I am forced to live in a cave-like atmosphere to satisfy the narrow-minded world’s prudishness and avoid annoying some “peeping-tom”. Where are my rights considered in this? Am I to be forced from my centrally-located home to some backwoods path to be able to enjoy my lifestyle within my own four walls? 
Such a move would suit my temperament admirably, however it would remove me from the conveniences of city living, ultimately making it impossible to exist comfortably and affordably. All because some people can’t (or won’t) keep their eyes to themselves, and respect others’ rights to self-expression. Someday, sooner than later, I hope to move myself to a better location, more conducive to having a clothes-free home where I can open the windows on every side and let the breezes blow through and the sun shine in whenever I’d like. I have no problem closing the blinds after dark, when the lamps of the evening illuminate the inside of my home to prying eyes, after all it is only polite as I do not match the modern standards of beauty or age-appropriateness of being naked in public view. I simply want my right to live as I choose, meaning clothes-free whenever humanly possible, without social interference. Apparently, it is still, under current law, too much to ask.

Possibilities and Dreams

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

This photograph came across my Facebook page and it intrigued me with the “what-if?” possibilities of such an offer. At first, I had questions like “Can I choose what season of the year to be there?” and the more practical, “Does it have indoor plumbing, heat and electric lights?” However, what struck me the most was what a wonderful location to experience the world totally naked, yet not in so primitive a fashion that it would be dangerous. To enjoy the world as we should always do so, with our bare toes connected to the heartbeat of Mother Earth, to absorb the heat and life of Father Sun with our naked bodies, and to sing to Grandmother Moon with our entire being unmuffled by smothering clothes. To bask in the warmth of a fire while I simultaneously relaxed naked in the cool evening air, listening to the birds chirp their good nights to the Sky, before curling up to rest under the light of the moon. I wondered if my voice would be rusty from disuse or whether I would find myself singing mindless tunes to entertain the birds and creatures of the forest. I could see myself creating beautiful paintings and drawings, writing poems to recite to the Gods of the Air, and bathing in the soft rain under the sky.

My answer to the question posed by the photograph had only a few caveats…I wanted to have plenty of groceries, a huge stack of books to read and artist supplies so that I might record the beauties of the nature around me…and an equally naked companion to share the Garden with.

Such is the stuff of dreams these days.