Becoming Crunchy

tushie!

Hmm…did I get  your attention with that headline?

Now that I have it, just wanted to say that most people don’t call them nudist colonies anymore – you will probably find them named as ‘naturist‘ parks or communities.

Either way, the idea is still the same - it’s a park or beach or some kinda place where everyone is in the nude.

And I would like to visit one someday – to plan a camping trip or even a day trip. I’ve mentioned it to my husband more than once and he just shakes his head, but I’m serious!

Here’s the thing:

I would LOVE to be that comfortable with my body.

It’s something I think about often – how incredibly uncomfortable we are in our skins.

Every time I am fully naked in front of my husband, I am conscious of it. Not to the point that I won’t be naked in front of him, but I do like the lights off more than I like them on. How many of us are that way?

And going beyond the bedroom…

• I have seen the opinion more than once that allowing a toddler to run around naked is somehow weird or improper.
• I’ve seen people turn away from a baby being changed – not because they didn’t want to see what was in the diaper, but because they were uncomfortable with the parts the diaper was covering.
• I’ve seen people express repulsion (or at the least, confusion) that parents would shower or bathe together with a baby.
• Don’t even get me started on the nursing in public thing – for goodness sake – Atlanta, Georgia is now saying it’s illegal to nurse a child over two in public in order to ‘control nudity throughout the entire city’.

Really?

Really?

What has happened to us that the human body has become so incredibly shameful that we would overlay our sexual perceptions onto anything that has to do with nakedness or breasts? Are we that immature?

The answer, of course, is yes. You see it every day.

Modesty, sexualization and body acceptance or rejection are all wrapped up in this crazy twist that causes craziness to pop up anywhere anyone tries to unravel it all.

I don’t claim to be perfect myself, either – in spite of being 110% in support of breastfeeding in public, I felt uncomfortable doing it myself when I was breastfeeding, and I have felt twinges of discomfort witnessing others breastfeeding – even knowing how ridiculous it is.

And don’t get me wrong – I’m all for clothes. But I would love to see us – as a society – move toward greater acceptance of our bodies. Things like breastfeeding, families bathing together, little kids running around in their birthday suits – none of this is weird.

Not being comfortable with showing your naked body to your partner is what is weird!

And that’s why I want to visit a naturalist park (or go skinny dipping!). I know that if I actually make it there one day, I will have reached an amazing state of mind - that of being totally comfortable with my body – no matter what it looks like.

And if I reach that point, I may just be able to help my daughter reach it, too – in spite of all the contrary messages she will likely encounter just by living in this world.

And that would be an incredible joy.

(This post was partially inspired by the book Naked, by David Sedaris. If you haven’t read him yet, you should. )

Would you visit a naturist park? Do you think we could stand to feel more comfortable with our bodies?

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