The essay suggests that how we deal with or engage nudity is very much a factor of our lived experience and social conditioning.
As human being we often generalize and project our experiences unto others as can be seen in this thread.
I think the telling statement is found in the notion that manhood is tied to being naked around other men not sure what to make of that supposition.
homeclothesfree wrote:I think the telling statement is found in the notion that manhood is tied to being naked around other men not sure what to make of that supposition.
I agree. The only thing I could come up with is the realization that there is no need to compare your body or your "endowments" with those of other men, and that we are basically all the same. We are simply all variations on a theme. When that concern is gone, we are free to embrace our masculinity in its true form. We are as masculine as the next man, in our own way.
I'm not a woman, but I would imagine that the same dynamic happens when women are with other naked women.
And, as I said before, the next step is to be in a mixed-sex milieu, where we can come to embrace our humanity in its true form.
there is no need to compare your body or your "endowments" with those of other men, and that we are basically all the same. We are simply all variations on a theme. When that concern is gone, we are free to embrace our masculinity in its true form. We are as masculine as the next man, in our own way. And, as I said before, the next step is to be in a mixed-sex milieu, where we can come to embrace our humanity in its true form.
Comparing bodies is more an individual act best for screens. There is a brotherhood on the other hand when men are naked together that I think is a strong primal connection which goes beyond any pronouned sexuality. (The word "homosexual is a modern concept first appearing in the 1860s).
Whereas some are likely to project their experiences and values on others en masse, there's also truth to the idea that that which is the most individual and vulnerable is also the most universal.
I've been in mixed-sex saunas in Germany. In my own experience it felt more like clinical naked social experience rather than a primal siblinghood. The most powerful naked spiritual experience I've had was a native American sweatlodge ceremony in a primitive outdoor wigwam using large hot rocks. The ceremony was led by an Anglo who had been trained and sanctioned by a Lakota elder.
Comparing bodies is more an individual act best for screens. There is a brotherhood on the other hand when men are naked together that I think is a strong primal connection which goes beyond any pronouned sexuality. (The word "homosexual is a modern concept first appearing in the 1860s)..
A small correction. The word homosexual was first coined around 1860. The concept of homosexuality is millennia old and is probably older than homo sapien
When I spend time with a group of naked men its almost always chatting at the poolside bar.
The only difference between those conversation and at a normal bar, is that we are all nude, and that topic rarely gets discussed.
I have always found it easy to bond with other males, starting from pre school. I dont think its more likely, more important or more enabling bonding with nude men, thats not why Im a naturist.
A small correction. The word homosexual was first coined around 1860. The concept of homosexuality is millennia old and is probably older than homo sapien
Words matter. Men may have had sex with other men as long as men have had sex, but their identities weren't defined by it.
That might be true in your experience but not necessarily for everyone else.
Thats very true and is also why I used the word, I, in my post
I might be easier for me as I am only looking to have an interesting conversation with other men. I have no intention of seeking or give off the vibe that I am looking to start a bromance.
I imagine people who are have different experiences.
In the past social nudity among men was directly related to institutions like schools, community centers, churches, Boy Scout troops, etc. In other words, the nudity was among peers in a community, ]and it served as a powerful visual and emotional "binding agent," a glue, that reenforced their common identity.
True. The hippie-era 'we're all brothers and sisters" co-sexual nudity, and that of the nudist community, have their own importance. But the same-sex nudity structured by group activity is / was far more widespread, and I'd agree it's meaningful in its own way. It's far easier to conceive of it as a shedding of difference, for example:- the whole team is in this together. I'd contrast that with another shedding-of-difference gesture, the shaved head of Asian monks and nuns, where gender difference is emphatically de-emphasized, rather than put forward as something one is then expected to look past.
Some nudists are gay men (and gay men aren't constantly looking for sex - we are just as normal as straight men), a minuscule number of nudist men might be creeps - for these creeps all males suffer wrong conditioning about the beauty of nudity.
That sums it up quite well. It's the social conditioning that screws things up.
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