Musing on Another Summer's Beginning

 May 2022

We are almost half way thrugh another strange year, one in which our ways of life have been up-ended and in other instances slowly returning to normal...depending on what one considers "normal"...

For me personally, it means spending hours reading research books, cruising the internet for more current sources, and tracking down viable information on naturism/nudism in history, social attitudes about nudity, and the legal aspects of living life naked...and doing it while nude.

As the weather slowly warms I am enjoying the freedom that happens when school lets out and I can shed my clothing for days or even weeks at a time. This is the time to enjoy naked weekends with like-minded friends, go sailing nude on the Great Lakes, and allow my entire body to enjoy the sun and fresh air. Being nude is my "happy place", where I shed the expectations of an up-tight world and enjoy being myself for as long as possible before returning to the "real world" and its expectations. 

So what are my days like?

Like yours, except for being nude :)

I clean the litter boxes, feed the cats, cook for myself, do laundry, watch television and do my research. I try to do all my errands (which require being clothed) in one shot/one trip away from home as quickly as possible so I can get back home and strip down to bare skin again.

When I need to go to work, I dress like anyone else and strip down again as soon as I get home...winter, spring, summer, or fall, I follow that same routine. When friends come to visit they call first to warn me to get dressed though many of them will also strip down to bare skin while we socialize, play cards, or watch movies together. It is a level of acceptance that many people never achieve. My habits may be catching on as many of them confess to spending more of their time at home in the nude now.

The thing to remember is that historically, living life in the nude has been seen as an aberration and in some case as an abomination. Some groups, like the Adamites of medieval times, were hunted down after being ostracized and many burned as witches. Religion made judgements about the natural body created by God and set inhumane standards and laws that required destruction of those who would live as Adam and Eve in the Garden. They placed very strict rules on that which God did not clothe upon their creation. Those inhumane standards of "acceptable behavior" are still placed on the human body by the Religious Right and they in turn influence secular law against bodily freedoms.

I, for one, and for many of my like-minded friends would like to see Eden and its bodily freedom make a comeback...the world would be a much more peaceful place if we could be naked, live naked, wherever and whenever we wanted.

A Year of Changes 2022

 This year was definitely off-kilter due to the ongoing pandemic. I am still teaching via zoom, but doing so from my campus office...which, of course, forces the Naked Historian to be clothed :P At least by the time the Spring semester closed, we have been able to dispense with masks and are tested every month for COVID at the campus clinic. I have had my initial vaccinations as well as 2 boosters so I have been lucky so far. One of my friends caught it at work and then passed it to her husband while in quarantine, and lucked out with it being like a bad head cold and a mild cough for both of them. She went back to work this week.

I survived my semester which had one regular zoom class of 13 students, and an independent study with one student whose goal is to become a history teacher. My grade books went in last week. My next semester will require a 5 day work week with 3 regular courses ( all either zoom or zoom/classroom combo), 1 of which will be via zoom from a smart classroom linked with advance placement students in 8 area high schools. I am currently writing their course work and schedules.

I also have been taking time out for my own research into historical nudism, this time following the medical/health aspects of spending time in the nude as studied in Europe before World War 2, and how the Freikorpur Kultur (FKK) nudist groups of Germany fared during the Great Depression and while under Nazi control. It is lovely having so much research able to be done online or via inter-library loan as it only seems right to research nudism while living as much of my life as possible naked.

This summer will allow me to spend time naked with friends and take a few days off to go nude sailing on the Great Lakes. Being part of an all nude crew is just the best time on the water. It also allows me to talk with like-minded people about our lifestyle and the changes wrought by politics and pandemics. As many of us are also academics, it helps to have a safe place to vent as well.

My next posting will be more in the vein of my research as it is enlightening to see how society changed its views of nudism over time and how some groups never will. The contrasts are quite interesting.

Until then (hopefully less than 3 months wait this time!) Stay naked, stay happy, and stay healthy!