On Being Naked

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Photo by Yulila Kaveshnikova - Getty Images

Woman in the bath

Remember naked? That's what we are during those brief, fleeting interludes between long periods of being clothed. For many, it’s confined to the time between the shower and one’s towel.

Culturally, it’s not a popular look. As Mark Twain quipped, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” As far back as the Roman Empire, there have been laws prohibiting going raw in public.

Anyway, a bit of research and some unscientific polling of my friends and clients has revealed the following about the behavioral psychology of being naked:

• Even while asleep, nakedness is the exception. Surveys show only about a third of us sleep in the buff. The remainder drape themselves in pajamas or some other version of sleepwear. Perhaps the majority feel it's best to be prepared in case friends drop by and yank off your covers.
• Surveys show about a third of us don't get naked even to make love. There’s nothing wrong with making woopy while in some form of attire but doing so out of modesty implies discomfort or shame about showing the full monty. 
• You'll be reassured to know the vast majority of people shower or bathe naked. Only one person I know wears a swimsuit in the shower. Of course, he calls it a bathing suit. 
• The vast majority of us feel abjectly uncomfortable being unclothed around others, not to mention that public nudity is illegal in most locations. Granted, there are nudist camps and beaches, and streaking is a still practiced if dying oddity, but most of us loathe the idea of being publicly exposed even while laid out for the undertaker, let alone the general populace.
• In fact, a few of those I polled sheepishly admitted they are not entirely at ease being naked in front of their spouse or lover and insist on keeping the lights low during amorous activity or, when in their company, wearing a towel when emerging from the shower.
• Surveys indicate over half of us report being uncomfortable or displeased seeing our naked bodies in the mirror, younger people more so than older ones. Given our oppressive cultural standards around female beauty, it’s not surprising that over 60% of women feel this way, while only about 40% of men follow suit. Guys either have lower standards or need glasses.

Shoot the Moon?

The exposed human frame continues to elicit a shock-like reaction in many, which is a tad curious. Flashers use this reactive tendency to leave their audiences aghast, as do those who seek to shock by “shooting the moon” from a passing car or dorm window. But a number of variables play a major role in this regard.

For instance, very young children have the most admirable attitude toward nakedness. To them, a body is a body, clothed or otherwise. In turn, adults usually consider a toddler cavorting in the nude “cute.”

But before long, most youngsters learn to be modest, to fear exposure of their “privates,” as we call them, and eventually view nudity as a no-no. As any anthropologist knows, feelings of shame associated with nakedness are taught to children by their culture. If you don't believe me, flip through your old National Geographic magazines.

The fact that men and women in America pay to watch someone bump and grind their naked torso on stage is ample evidence of our contorted perception of how one should respond to an unadorned body. Our reactions are wildly inconsistent. A naked baby is “adorable,” a flasher with an open raincoat is “gross,” a stripper is “hot,” a streaker is “outrageous,” and a nude model in an art class is "aesthetic." 

While it's clear many are fond of implied nakedness (skimpy swimwear, revealing lingerie, tight exercise clothes), it's also obvious the real explicit thing, the unadorned, uncensored human physique, is something most feel is best kept under wraps. In part, this is because our culture sexualizes nakedness. If we’re ever suddenly exposed while naked, the first thing we do is cover the goods.

Truth is, underneath all those clothes, we are naked animals. The kind of animal, it seems, that works hard at not being seen in its own skin.

As RuPaul said, “We all come into the world naked. The rest is all drag.”

Philip Chard is a psychotherapist and author with a focus on lasting behavior change, emotional healing and adaptation to health challenges. For more, visit philipchard.com.