This is my answer to a question posed on my Formspring:
What do you think about being naked?
This question is phrased oddly. I will answer it based on my interpretation.
I have no problem whatsoever with nudity. We’re all human. We either have the same body parts as those nude or have seen them before.
I have no qualms about being seen naked in front of others, nor do I mind seeing people naked. I would think nothing other than “there’s a person standing in front of me”. Some may think it’s gross, perhaps, when they realize their parents (or grandparents) have and have had sex. I just accept that my parents are human, sexual beings. If they walked up to me naked (or I were naked) this very second, I wouldn’t care that they were (or I was) naked, nor would I ogle (or hide), or be embarrassed. Same thing goes if I were to see an amazingly attractive woman on the street, or an wrinkly, seventy year-old guy blow drying his pubic hair at the gym (I might object for sanitation reasons in the latter case, though). The fact that he or she is nude does not matter to me. If they’re comfortable being naked around people, and others are comfortable around them, let the people be in the nude.
In this country, among many, sadly, there is an idea that nudity equals sex, and sex is bad; if people are nude together, they MUST be in a sexual relationship. Thus, it is verboten to be seen nary a stitch of fabric on you. But what if a person (or people) just enjoy being without clothes? There need not be stigma attached to nudity. You were born naked weren’t you? Now, of course, I’m not saying that flashers and peeping toms should be let off scot-free, because they intend to mentally harass and psychologically harm people. Conversely, those nude for reasons other than shock value, should not be arrested and charged with public indecency or public lewdness or corruption of a minor (in the cases of locker rooms or nudist families and the like). Equally, movies. Movies, movies, movies. Why is it okay to show a male chest in movies—but not a female breast or two? Why is it okay to show a person getting all his or her limbs hacked off one by one—-but not genitals in a shower scene? Why is it okay to show people dying agonizingly in graphic detail, but not a passionate sex scene between lovers? The answer: people think nudity is bad, bad, bad because people are often naked when having sex! Breasts, vaginas, and penises = “people will turn into sex maniacs!” What it shows: people are insecure.
The common attitude among males today (I can’t speak for women, as I have XY chromosomes) is if you look at another naked man, or are around them (even in, say, a locker room shower), you are “gay”. How does that make any sense? If anything, one would think that guys would be more comfortable nude around those of the same sex because 1. you’d have the same parts and 2. you could relate more in conversation (whether it be about sports, dating, your fondness of crème brûlée, or personal issues). But no, it’s “OMG A PENIS! LOOK AWAY! *NERVOUS GIGGLE*” I think to myself, “Dude, are you serious? You have a penis, too. Oh, and a scrotum. And testicles. Do you think you’re gay every time you use a urinal because you might see your penis or another’s? No. Are you afraid someone will see your shortcomings?” Immaturity shines through. Odds are that about 3,000,000,000 people on this planet have the same body parts as you do (yes, including genitals), with minor variations in color, size, or visual “appeal”, so why get all flustered when you see them? You don’t hide in a bathroom stall because people might see your arms or your fingernails, right?
The bottom line is that people shouldn’t be ashamed of their bodies. Mine’s not perfect, but I’m comfortable with it, in any state of dress or undress. Accept and ENJOY who you are, and get over this “What if they see me naked? They will all judge me!/What if I have a smaller [penis, boobs, other random body part here] than they do? They will all laugh!/But, I’m so ugly!/They’re more (beautiful, muscular, etc.) than I am!” mentality, and EMBRACE the person YOU are.
tl;dr Wake up, people! Guys have penises, and ladies have vaginas, but nudity ≠ sex, and I’m comfortable being nude and being around nude people regardless of gender.
