PART OF THE SCENERY - SECOND THOUGHTS

I am very aware I'm a bit of an outlier when it comes to my attitudes about nudity, sexuality and my aging body. I am conscious of the societal limitations on behavior and I don't transgress. I'm occasionally and uninhibitedly nude around my wife, my best friend, my physical therapist and a few medical types, but don't "flash" anyone else.

I point that out because in the course of reading the variety of online forums relating to nudity, masculinity, and exhibitionism, there are a small minority of participants who promote a more aggressive approach bordering on and sometimes deliberately encouraging outright assault. Not rape, but flashing people who not only aren't prepared for it but are offended by it. In many cases men are deliberately getting erections. That's assault, guys.

Don't mind me, I'm just the scenery
A few months ago I posted a piece based on a comment made by a friend to the effect that women don't see nudity in the same framework as men. That a wife seeing her husband nude wasn't anything, in and of itself, terribly erotic or remarkable.(Everyone is different, and this doesn't apply to every woman, just as my attitudes don't apply to every man.) 

My friend mentioned that I am nude frequently enough that my wife was probably just accepting it as "part of the scenery." At the time, I took light offense.

(Quick note: I don't hang around, pardon the expression, naked most of the time. I undress for showering, swimming, exercising, and tanning. On vacations I tend to hang around in the hotel naked when possible, particularly in warmer climates. At the moment I'm at home wearing a robe.)

But as I've been considering it, and as I've read a few of the posts on one particular forum, I've come to realize that my nudity as "just part of the scenery" is a good thing. 

Going back to my friend's original comment, I was actually a bit hypocritical given my oft-stated position when it comes to being naked around other people. I've openly admitted that I enjoy being nude with other people when it's not an issue, when it's not a point of discussion. I once put it: unremarked and unremarkable. Casual.

That is, being part of the scenery.

So, here are my second thoughts on casual nudity and being part of the scenery: it's a good thing. Consensual nudity around others is a form of trust, a way of bonding. It's not sexual unless you want it to be. If it's not consensual, it's assault. If you're erect, it's sexualization. 

But simple nudity can be intimate and bonding without being sexual. And it can be lightly erotic without being assault. But most importantly it is a way to demonstrate trust in others and that you, in turn, trust them.

"Yeah, this is my inmost self..."
an analogy to this can be found in the otherwise not very good sequel to Planet of the Apes. Humans have mutated due to generations of radiation exposure, and keep their faces covered by masks to maintain their appearance as "normal" beings. In their most intimate rituals they peel off the masks with the phrase "I reveal my inmost self."

Context, is everything.




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