42 Comments
User's avatar
User's avatar
Comment deleted
Oct 15
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
Alan R Paine's avatar

Where can you go to jail if your child sees you naked?

Expand full comment
Maleko Wine's avatar

Context is important, however, I believe in general media nudity is helping normalize a normal practice. We are always going to have people who follow or espouse obsolete beliefs based upon their religious affiliation. Until society in general wakes up to a mind set that allows for people to live their best lives without the structured control that organized religion imposes upon people, we are all going to suffer.

Expand full comment
Jimjay's avatar

my primary viewpoint is the more naked the better. however, media and our broken society values oftens use nudity to exploit negative points that are harmful to our naturist lifestyles. we have to be careful here. again, the more naked the better, but like everything there are always things to consider.

Expand full comment
Joseph Metzler's avatar

I believe with the film industry, they are not showing the real nudist, it always is about sex nothing relating to the true nudist at home, or with family’s even the older generation, if the real perception were really known there wouldn’t be any problems with nudity. Non believers make comments on something they haven’t been educated on.

Just my opinion.

Expand full comment
John Rasmussen's avatar

Depends on how it's done. Historically, nudity has only been shown in the context of sex or violence. More recently it's sometimes been used as the, er, butt of jokes. Yet there are exceptions, and I suspect there always have been.

One notable exception in recent years is the "Birth of Dragons" episode in Game of Thrones. Daenerys's nudity there is perfectly in context (her clothes got burned off!) and at once vulnerable and triumphant. This is a fine example of good nudity in media.

Expand full comment
Bob Pantoja's avatar

Only showing sexualized nudity in the media is harming the perception of body freedom where as non sexualized nudity is a fact of life for everyone in everyday life. Take the expectation of sex out of the nudity and it will ease most peoples reaction. There will always be people that hate nudity in any form. There is literally thousands of years of nudity in art, but living that way is somehow bad?

Expand full comment
Josh's avatar

The big problem with nudity in America media is that it's always done to represent sexuality. To grab it in the viewers atttention. In plenty of European and South America films and TV shows nudity is used when necessary. For example a bathing scene. It may surprise many, probably not so much do nudist, but it is even common to see children nude in film and TV shows from around the world when the scene calls for it; locker room, bathing, skinny dippy scene. More common in the last centry, but even movies and TV shows made within the last 5 to 10 years. This helps normalize it for children, in the same way the view it on to the beach.

Expand full comment
Alan R Paine's avatar

I remember seeing a film, Australian I think, in which a woman and a young girl, maybe 8 or 9 are showering together and having an animated conversation. It was full frontal with no attempt to conceal their bodies. If you see nude people on TV or film using cameras angles to hide some parts of the body then it still sends a message that nudity is somehow wrong.

Expand full comment
Josh's avatar

Exactly. A lot of people in Europe don't receive that message (especially in Eastern Europe and the Nordic countries). They see it in America media, and find it odd. And if you go to Italy there are naked statues all over the place. Hell, last year I was in Vienna and in front of the capital there is a fountain with nude people - that would never happen in the US.

Also, as far as movies go the 1987 Oscar winning film for best foreign language film Pelle The Conqueror, from Sweden 12yo Pelle is nude in several scenes in the movie in bathing and scenes where he gets whipped.

Expand full comment
Manu's avatar

The media too often equates sex with nudity because nude scenes usually involve physical intimacy. So if nudity always equals sex then the wrong message is being sent. What the media really needs are more movies and shows focusing on naturist storylines, although there probably wouldn't be that many viewers at least they would educate people.

Expand full comment
Brian Curragh's avatar

That’s a tricky one - I almost went for ‘it helps’ but the context has to be taken into account. Normal, casual nudity has to help but when the context is humiliation, degradation, shame or other forms of debasement, that is going to associate nudity with those negative connotations.

Expand full comment
Optiskeptic's avatar

As always I took a contrarian view. In most media that is aimed at a Western, aka American, audience I think you have to see it in the context of the majority viewers' value system - which is largely nudity=sinful titillation. You actually give an example with the image subtitled The New Pope (?) showing a slim long-legged female in stilettos holding her hair up and gazing towards something out of shot. I can think of no contextual justification for that which is anything but sexual. Therefore, I argue, the image reinforces a message that nudity is, at the very least, a precursor to a possible sexual invitation... Surely not the message we want attached to Naturism?

Expand full comment
Paul's avatar

Unfortunately, nudity is in the eye of the beholder. So, nudity in the media can be very positive for people inclined that way and can be very negative for people who aren't. Invincible ideas won't change no matter how much they are shown different ideas.

Expand full comment
William's avatar

Nudity in the media is normaly portrayed as sexual, whereas nudity in it self is just a naked body. The media need to make programs where there is just nudity like when someone is taking a shower or bath instead of blocking some of the body it should be on full view even if the viewers don't like it.

Expand full comment
James's avatar

I love seeing casual, non-sexual nudity randomly show up. The more we do to destigmatize it, the better.

Expand full comment
Matthew N's avatar

Context is so important, the American ministry of naked propaganda sells the 'flasher' mentality as it sells the 'naked glimpse' or 'tease' of nudity with yhe naked person who is 'caught' being a subject of shame and derision. This is counter the narrative of body positivity and body freedom

Expand full comment
Josh's avatar

I think this is the only American film where it is not the case (00:40 mark) https://youtu.be/2EnF7MFiw8s?si=ilEUD_uE4b-yrLr9

Expand full comment
Matthew N's avatar

The American body shame culture is exactly that, a CULT sold on the kool aid of makeup, beauty products, plastic surgery and fashion.

The American people need to stop the mass consumerism and wake up and smell the BS that they have been sold. #naturalfreedom

Expand full comment
David DiTommaso's avatar

Context. Yes, context. As long as the nudity depicted is supported by images or dialogue of sincere support for the nudity depicted - words or actions that tend to show respect for the choice to be nude - then over time, with enough of this type of reinforcement, the public might come to accept the nude state as a viable and wholesome alternative lifestyle. What we would like to avoid are the scenes that show the creepy uncle, completely naked, lurking about his female neighbor's open window at night, while he anxiously massages his privates. Trust me, the prevailing Ameican view on public nudity is precisely the sordid image as described above, and, as such, it is the stigma that virtually every American male nudist, above the age of 40, must overcome before being accepted, let alone, welcomed, in his nude state by the general public, espcially those under the age of 30.

Expand full comment
Mirotvor Schwartz's avatar

Normalizes. Especially if it’s nonsexual and casual.

Expand full comment