I think the reverse is true: We are waking up to repression as we become less so. The repressed, feeling threatened, become energized and make a lot of racket, but if we put society on the tabooerometer, we'd see the needle moving counter-clockwise.
Yes, definitely. I'm not saying that we have arrived at the place where we need to be, or that progress's curve hasn't risen and fallen, certainly not that there aren't a lot of wrong-headed and unfriendly people, but that we have made progress, and that I think that a naturistic approach to the body and what it does will prevail. Why? Because it is the correct approach. And because I have witnessed pretty big changes since I started noticing stuff surrounding nudity, sex, etc. (I could say the same thing about violence, rapprochement between whites and blacks, religious liberty, and general quality of life.) For instance, as a young man, I thought of myself as tolerant of gays, but merely tolerant. Now one of my best pals is a lesbian, and another trans. I think my path is one I share with a lot of folks,
Swimming in the creek, when I was a kid, and the excuse it gave me for being naked, made me overlook the acrid odor of agricultural chemicals and the bugs from the feedlots that I knew lurked in the water. A college friend said that he wouldn't swim in chlorinated pools, overlooking the nastier stuff in the mighty Spoon. You quoted a passage from Huck Finn. I think Sam Clemens must have been a nudist. In Roughing It, he says he sat on the clothing of Hawaiian bathers to protect it. Hank Morgan, Connecticut Yankee's protagonist, meets a naked girl upon being transported in time to medieval England, and there's an insightful skinny dipping passage in Tom Sawyer: "Finally it occurred to them that their naked skin represented flesh-colored 'tights' very fairly; so they drew a ring in the sand and had a circus—with three clowns in it, for none would yield this proudest post to his neighbor."
Evan - a cogent and insightful commentary on a nudist experience in which almost everyone has participated at one time or another. The key element, of your analysis I think, is that for most people, shame is not part of skinny dipping! And while there is some fear of discovery, particular in adolescence, it is more about 'getting caught' doing something naughty than it is about embarrassment.
Evan, I really enjoy your articles. An FYI on the three images attributed to Norman Rockwell, the SEP cover dated Aug. 19, 1911 is titled Skinny dipping Boys by J.C. Leyendecker and the one dated May 22, 1915 is titled The Old Swimming Hole and is also by J.C. Leyendecker. The one titled No Swimming is by Norman Rockwell. Rockwell credited Leyendecker in his biography as his mentor. Rockwell even moved closer to Leyendecker so he could follow Leyendecker around. Many of the Americana iconic images were first created by Leyendecker and Rockwell admired him and followed in his footsteps. Both contributed to the Saturday Evening Post but I believe Rockwell's first cover came in 1916. Rockwell had 321 SEP covers and Leyendecker had 322. Both are iconic American illustrators, even though Leyendecker was born in Germany.
Horror movies are often morality fables at their core. They demonstrate how immoral actions invite divine retribution. So when skinny dippers become victims in horror films, we are being taught that they "deserve" their fate because of their "immoral" actions.
Modern culture logic goes this way: nudity is inherently sexual. Sexuality is inherently immoral. Therefore skinny dipping must be evidence of immorality. Otherwise those people wouldn't have been killed.
The horror films aren't making the statement though. They are reflecting society's moral judgements back at it.
Nice! There's no misunderstanding the contrast of delight and repression.
And in the opening scene of the 1960 Disney Polyanna.
https://youtu.be/DwkBbnDVIck
Video has been removed for policy violations.😥
When and why has everything become taboo. That's what I'd like to know
I think the reverse is true: We are waking up to repression as we become less so. The repressed, feeling threatened, become energized and make a lot of racket, but if we put society on the tabooerometer, we'd see the needle moving counter-clockwise.
So you think that there seems to be less and less taboos that there is less repression and our efforts are paying off?!
Yes, definitely. I'm not saying that we have arrived at the place where we need to be, or that progress's curve hasn't risen and fallen, certainly not that there aren't a lot of wrong-headed and unfriendly people, but that we have made progress, and that I think that a naturistic approach to the body and what it does will prevail. Why? Because it is the correct approach. And because I have witnessed pretty big changes since I started noticing stuff surrounding nudity, sex, etc. (I could say the same thing about violence, rapprochement between whites and blacks, religious liberty, and general quality of life.) For instance, as a young man, I thought of myself as tolerant of gays, but merely tolerant. Now one of my best pals is a lesbian, and another trans. I think my path is one I share with a lot of folks,
Swimming in the creek, when I was a kid, and the excuse it gave me for being naked, made me overlook the acrid odor of agricultural chemicals and the bugs from the feedlots that I knew lurked in the water. A college friend said that he wouldn't swim in chlorinated pools, overlooking the nastier stuff in the mighty Spoon. You quoted a passage from Huck Finn. I think Sam Clemens must have been a nudist. In Roughing It, he says he sat on the clothing of Hawaiian bathers to protect it. Hank Morgan, Connecticut Yankee's protagonist, meets a naked girl upon being transported in time to medieval England, and there's an insightful skinny dipping passage in Tom Sawyer: "Finally it occurred to them that their naked skin represented flesh-colored 'tights' very fairly; so they drew a ring in the sand and had a circus—with three clowns in it, for none would yield this proudest post to his neighbor."
Evan - a cogent and insightful commentary on a nudist experience in which almost everyone has participated at one time or another. The key element, of your analysis I think, is that for most people, shame is not part of skinny dipping! And while there is some fear of discovery, particular in adolescence, it is more about 'getting caught' doing something naughty than it is about embarrassment.
Yes! Nudists can influence society toward the good. What if we were comfortable with our bodies and the things they do?
Evan, I really enjoy your articles. An FYI on the three images attributed to Norman Rockwell, the SEP cover dated Aug. 19, 1911 is titled Skinny dipping Boys by J.C. Leyendecker and the one dated May 22, 1915 is titled The Old Swimming Hole and is also by J.C. Leyendecker. The one titled No Swimming is by Norman Rockwell. Rockwell credited Leyendecker in his biography as his mentor. Rockwell even moved closer to Leyendecker so he could follow Leyendecker around. Many of the Americana iconic images were first created by Leyendecker and Rockwell admired him and followed in his footsteps. Both contributed to the Saturday Evening Post but I believe Rockwell's first cover came in 1916. Rockwell had 321 SEP covers and Leyendecker had 322. Both are iconic American illustrators, even though Leyendecker was born in Germany.
Thank you for this correction! Very interesting. I will have to look more into Leyendecker's work.
Horror movies are often morality fables at their core. They demonstrate how immoral actions invite divine retribution. So when skinny dippers become victims in horror films, we are being taught that they "deserve" their fate because of their "immoral" actions.
Modern culture logic goes this way: nudity is inherently sexual. Sexuality is inherently immoral. Therefore skinny dipping must be evidence of immorality. Otherwise those people wouldn't have been killed.
The horror films aren't making the statement though. They are reflecting society's moral judgements back at it.