By Miles Johnson
My freshman year roommate liked to traipse about our Turner House residence hall room without any pants on. While averting my eyes, I would explain to him that he was free to go without trousers when alone, but in the company of others he should really cover up.
This is a generally accepted idea. Our society expects people to be fully dressed most of the time. A lot of students in Professor Falls’ anthropology class choose to shed their outer garments for their “breaking a cultural norm” assignment, as this is an easy way to make others uncomfortable. However, what we are supposed to wear when we’re alone is less obvious. At this point, it becomes a matter of personal choice.
I don’t like to be naked beyond the shower. I dry off, step out and immediately throw some shorts on. I would never think to bypass clothing and continue nude to the bedroom or living room. Logically, there must be reasons for these feelings. To find the answer, I asked a lot of friends what their stance on personal nudity was.
It turned out that the reasons for and against were often two sides of the same coin.
People’s initial responses involved physical comfort. Clothes feel good. It’s nice to get out of the shower and slip on some soft cotton.
For others, though, it can be better to go without.
A boss that I had hates the feel of most fabrics. She would rather do away with the hassle and be naked. A friend of mine also likes being unclothed, but her rationale is quite the opposite. She enjoys the sensation of furniture on her skin. However, she is quick to point out that she would only sit on a chair in her birthday suit if she’d just showered. So, feeling clean is a prerequisite to going nude.
As my other friend pointed out, “It’s a courtesy thing. I’m not going to sit on furniture naked that others are going to sit on.”
Touch and cleanliness, then, are two things that affect people’s feelings on milling about unclothed. Heat is a third factor. Several of my friends prefer to wear nothing when it’s warm in the house. To put anything on would add to their discomfort.
For others, myself included, being nude when it’s hot seems dirty.
“You don’t want to end up sweaty and naked, that’s gross,” said a pro-clothes friend of mine.
After considering these answers, I still wasn’t satisfied. There had to be something else that motivated people to be or not to be naked.
Look up the word in the thesaurus and you’ll find some revealing synonyms. A naked flame, for example, could also be called unprotected, unguarded or exposed. Without clothes we are more vulnerable. We lose a layer of separation between our soft bodies and the hard outside world. This world could be one of physical objects, but it could also refer to the harsh opinions of others.
My friend that likes to sit on furniture in the raw does this because she’s feeling confident enough to go without clothing. To be in this state is the ultimate assurance that she is alone.
“When you go naked, there’s the freedom of knowing that no one is going to come and judge you,” She told me.
When it comes to feeling good nude, then, freedom and vulnerability are inseparably intertwined. If you think about it though, this relationship exists in a lot of realms. There is always an inherent risk to completely letting go. Putting yourself fully into something, no matter what it is, means feeling ok with feeling vulnerable. By singing karaoke, or presenting a revealing piece of artwork, or choosing to meander the living room naked, you have accepted the possibility of ridicule. It is when you can bare it all (literally and figuratively) then you can be truly free.
I think I’m getting to this point. My life has been a progression of holding less and less back. I’ve gotten used to speaking, singing, dancing, and most recently rapping in public. So, how much longer can this personal reservation against nudity last? It’s not like anyone else is watching. Really, it’s only natural that someday soon I’ll become comfortable with wandering the house naked. But when that time comes I’ll remember not to sit on the furniture. That will always be gross.
