The summer season in the northern hemisphere is done and many of us are resisting as much as possible, the descent into the darker season of winter. Days are getting shorter and the temperature is dropping. In summer, the community of those who embrace clothes-free living as much as practically possible, posted many images of themselves [myself included] to the online community. Yoga outdoors, hiking outdoors, nature scenes, gardening scenes, social scenes – you name it, we took the pictures and shared them. During the past 18 months the pandemic made the online community a vital piece of finding ways to remain sane and feeling less alone and isolated.
Like others, I created an image this morning to add to the community. Being a thick-skinned Canadian, I can tolerate cooler temperatures better than many others, so I attempt to do “normal” things outdoors as much as possible. Indoors, I live nude unless we have visitors or it is mealtime. Dressing up for a meal is de rigeur.
So what is it about images we post of ourselves while being nude? Is it exhibitionism? Is there some thought that doing so will somehow give us friends or potentially a mate? Is it a sign of a personality disorder? To be honest, there is no one right answer. There are exhibitionists, narcissists, friend-starved individuals, and those needing psychotherapy in the crowd. However, for the most part, most are just normal people who are confident enough in themselves to risk engaging with others who share similar values. Each person is unique.
For those within the community, uniqueness is honoured. No one bothers to judge others for choices made, whether BIPOC, the LGBT+ community, conservatives and liberals, religious and non-religious, or whatever metric you want to use. Images, honest images, let others get to know the face behind the words spoken in the community. There is no focus on a particular body type or even gender. All the scars of living are exposed and honoured. I guess, in a way, we could state that the community is body-positive though I am not so sure of that.
I understand this to be more of a person being self-positive and self-accepting. And at the same time, being honest with oneself that the journey to be our best selves is far from done. We acknowledge that the bodies we live in need to be nourished and taken care of to the best of our ability, an acknowledgement that doesn’t mean everyone is on a diet to lose weight or strive for a body-builder physique. After all, we are each given a body to house our thinking selves, whatever it is that allows us awareness of self.
Images are one of the things that allow us as individuals to track our own journey through time and space, a journey that includes “others” whether we want that to be the case or not. We belong in community regardless of how big or small the community might be. In reality, we belong in several communities within which we carve out separate identities or personae. In the end, we are the sum of all these identities. Whether or not there is a community of nude others is irrelevant. The persona we adopt in relation to our own naked bodies is part of the whole self.
Now, it is time for your words here. Nude images? Yay or nay? Why or why not?