Unlearning Shame

We all know –either from our own kids, from friends' and family's, or even from memories of when we were kids ourselves– that young children love to run around and play without the burden of clothes. Nakedness –or the feeling of delight and freedom that it produces– is the perfect accompaniment to children's exhilarating games. Young children are as yet unconcerned by torturous considerations of shame and embarrassment; in fact still, blissfully, don't have the faintest idea of what these concepts are. They simply immerse themselves in their recreation time with total, unfettered liberty.

As we progress past our early years we begin to learn, or to be taught, something that can take a lifetime to unlearn (if ever at all), namely that we can't be naked in company, that it's not "decent" to be naked in front of others, and that we must always exercise the utmost care not to reveal certain parts of our bodies.

Parents, teachers and other "authority" figures achieve this mindset by teaching children that the body is "secret", "dirty", or "rude"; concepts that logical argument cannot possibly support. This, and countless other behaviours, are taught to children while they are growing up in an effort to mould them into people who will fit into society; with the aim of the "standards" and expectations of that society being maintained.

As we know, it doesn't have to be this way. Believe it or not, nakedness is the natural state for adults too, and it is possible for us too to feel the joy that the freedom of nudity brings, that we once experienced many years ago as young children. All that is required is a different mindset. But achieving that mindset is not always all that easy.

Even though, if thought about logically, the arguments for adult nudity are very powerful –for its mental and physical health benefits, to eliminate body shame, for greater openness and honesty– the values and behaviours learnt in childhood run deep. But many adults yearn for the innocence and freedom from responsibility they once experienced during infancy. And yet the pressure to conform is intense. The stress of always having to tow the line takes its toll however, and many adults feel confined, constricted and claustrophobic by rules and expectations, and suffer as a result.

We are firm believers in the freedom of the individual, and body freedom is just one aspect of this freedom. If someone feels that they would feel more comfortable, more natural, more authentic by discarding their clothes and leading a naked experience, then so be it. No one else has the right to interfere with their wishes. They may not understand, or even agree, with the sentiment, but we all feel realised in different ways.

The reward for those of us, as adults, who are lucky enough to have freed ourselves of the societal pressure to conform to an expected dress code and to once more experience the joy of naked living, is to attain a state of peace and calm; a feeling that once recovered, we would never want to lose again.