There are a thousand things that confuse me about the subject of Nudity and its alter ego, Sexuality. When I was a youngster and thought about nudity, I imagined I was immature and oversexed. Now that I am older and still think about nudity, I imagine I am mature and oversexed.
Let me begin by talking about talking about it, just to get that out of the way and remove any hesitation you might have about reading this post. Having lived in the U. S. all my life, it is the attitudes and culture and habits in the U. S. that I am writing about and most confused about. Sex, although it is not far from the minds of most people most of the time, is, together with religion and politics, "not to be discussed at the dining room table" (because it will give you heartburn or private parts burn, I guess). Violators of this social taboo are shunned. The taboo against sex talk, in the U. S., extends to just about everywhere (except, perhaps, to when a group of horney guys (gals?) get together for a few pints down at the pub. There, the taboo is reversed. If you are not talking about sex, you're the square, the prude, the outsider. ???
And that word "horny". Tsk, tsk. High on a list of forbidden to mouth words, mostly body parts, including clitoris, vagina, cunt, penis (or any of its k-word pseudonyms: cock, dick, prick), ass (not the donkey), nipples, tits, fuck (f'in is getting acceptable, can mf'in be far behind?) All of those words are listed in the prestigious Random House Dictionary, but we are not to configure our mouth and tongue in the way that produces the sounds that comprise those words within hearing of the opposite sex. They will, heaven forbid, conjure up unspeakable images of people doing what most want to be doing! ???
In some but not all parts of the world, breastfeeding in public is fine, family or communal bathing is approved of..in some parts they are not. In the UK, toplessness in public is not illegal unless it is done with the intent to "harass, alarm or distress" others. Hard to prove and few convictions.
Those who have no problem with the myriad of variations in laws and attitudes toward nudity and sexuality claim they are a product of varying standards of modesty. True, but the problem is there is no objective natural standard. Each culture sets its own arbitrary standards...whimsically based on whatever (tradition, religion, fears). They presumably represent the predominant views of the particular culture, but to my knowledge that has never and could never be shown to be true. And even if it were, there is no legitimate basis for the mob to violate my unalienable right to freedom and to live my life as I choose.
Some would argue that God inflicted modesty upon Adam and Eve (us) as punishment for their disobedience. If that is true, so be it for believers...but that punishment may not socially be imposed on nonbelievers.
Patently, our country is inconsistently confused about nudity and sexuality. Extremely revealing low cut dresses for women are the rage, provided only that nipples are covered. Women who wear super mini skirts are ogled at and put on covers of girlie magazines that sell in the quadrillions, but Brittany Spears is condemned for not wearing underwear (is it ok to look?) and labelled a slut, a ho, an unfit Mom. And if you look at those mags, you must be some type of pervert. Michael Jackson grabs his crotch and is considered the coolest, a 10 year old boy is admonished for not having his zipper zippered...as if God knows what will fall out and the Devil knows what will happen if it does fall out. Women's breast implants are intended to attract males, but males are scolded for staring at them and socially castrated for talking about them.
In the original Greek Olympics held in 500-900 BC, the athletes, mostly male, performed nude. The reason for the nudity was the Greeks considered the Games to be a celebration of the speed, the strength, the endurance, the beauty, of the human body...and that nudity enriched that celebration for the spectators. Our ancient hominid ancestors lived nude, unless climate dictated otherwise.
Time to get back to our beginnings, don't you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment