(NOTE: NSFW, this post does contain some nudity)

A few years back when the show Naked And Afraid started appearing on television, my prurient interest was piqued. Of course, the show blurs out any show of genitals, but naked butts are not off -imits. That’s an interesting fact of modern life. Just fifteen years ago it was illegal to show ass cheeks in public spaces. Now, ass cheeks are an integral part of modern life. That’s a good thing. Ass cheeks are just muscles covered with skin. Sometimes the skin is tan. Other times it’s white skin visible. In any case, ass is ass. Deal with it.

What I found initially interesting about Naked and Afraid was whether it was driving social perceptions or reflecting them? It seems to be a little bit of both.

One of the contestants on Naked and Afraid was asked if he minded being seen naked. His reply was enlightening. Gassaway: “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I have a really nice butt. (Laughs) Nah, nudity doesn’t bother me. That’s how we were born, that’s what we were given. I couldn’t care less who sees me naked. I’m more worried about how I’ll be portrayed. Will I come across as a good guy? I want the perception of me to be good.”

The female contestant looked at the prospect of being totally naked from a social standpoint as much as a physical one. Jones: Honestly, it wasn’t hard for me at all. You’re talking to the girl who got expelled from school in junior high for skinny dipping! The part that was strange was meeting this stranger — this man — and he was completely naked.”

Outside of the societal demand for modesty, the reason most people wear clothes is for protection against the elements including such annoyances as bugs, scrapes, possible infections, and a myriad of other unfriendly outcomes for exposed skin, including sunburn.

That means the romance of being naked outside in many circumstances isn’t that joyful. Unless you’re hanging out by an ocean or other body of water with a towel, showers and the chance to retreat if things get uncomfortable, being naked is typically a case of necessary circumstantial management.

Here in the United States, outright nudity such as exposing nipples on the breasts or showing genitalia is specifically banned in most places. For people that like being nude, it is nudist colonies erase those barriers But the US is still a pretty uptight country compared to many places around the world.

Many people in the world like the feeling of being naked. Skinny dipping is a darn fine way to feel a sense of freedom. Diving into the water totally naked is a liberating sensation. Given the styling of many women’s swimsuits, they’re pretty much skinny-dipping anyway. The world is getting used to the idea that women shouldn’t have to hide their bodies anywhere.

For men, it’s a bit different, and for a variety of reasons. As Elaine on Seinfeld once stated, “The female body is a work of art. The male body is utilitarian. It’s for gettin’ around. It’s like a Jeep.”

It’s still true that unexpectedly encountering a naked man is considered a shock. There are enough addled individuals out there that the sight of a naked man in public situations is still a bit disconcerting. At times it’s even perceived as a threat. That makes it extra important for people in the United States to be judicious with their choice of time or place for nudity.

But sometimes the shock wears off when the nudity is no longer a surprise. The college guy that insisted on being naked a whole semester proved that point.

Limitations

While swimming naked is generally kind of fun, it’s not that fun to be naked while running or cycling. There are body proportions and comfort issues to be considered from breast size in women to flapping genitalia in men. Those of us that have engaged in the lark of running naked know that the act can get old (or cold) quickly. Our college cross-country team was fond of stripping down once a season and running naked back through town. Running a mile or two with your dick slapping around down there isn’t that fun. I can’t imagine it’s fun for women dealing with flopping breasts either.

Naked bike rides are a bit more practical and in many places really popular. The number of people that love getting naked in public is nearly unlimited. The same goes for the Burning Man Festival, an event that my son has attended many times. He’s an unabashed guy and always had a love for the theatrical, hence Burning Man is a soul-satisfying venture. I wouldn’t mind attending that festival because it’s good for the head to throw off the constraints of society now and then. It seems like everyone’s welcome as long as you’re willing to make some sort of artistic contribution to the event. I’m thinking a tee shirt made from this irreverent pastel celebrating the freedom of sexuality that I produced would be just about perfect given the open-minded attitudes about nudity at Burning Man.

Perhaps you’re getting the picture by now that much of the world could care less if people are naked or not. In my own backwoods travels I’ve skinny-dipped with bald eagles diving over my head so close that I could feel the rush of wings from the big feathers. On another occasion, a mother otter brought her four kits (or whatever they’re called) to swim nearby. I climbed out quickly for fear of being perceived as a threat.

I don’t want to be anyone’s threat. Nor do most of us want to offend or frighten anyone else by being naked when we shouldn’t. But when summer calls, it isn’t a bad thing to find a remote corner of the world and feel the sun on your skin. What you choose to run or ride or swim while doing so is up to you. My son is attending the Burning Man festival again this year. There’s quite a bit of willing nakedness out there in the desert. That’s a good way to thumb your nose, or whatever else one might choose, at social mores and reality conventions. The world needs far more Burning Man and far less Ron DeSantis and his repressive, bigoted, control-seeking authoritarianism. Same goes for the bloated orange thing they call Trump. Seriously, who takes these idiots seriously? They are nakedly stupid individuals.

And for the NSFW folks among you, the photo below is one that I took of a bird called a Dickcissel. It’s a bird that openly and honestly sings its own name, “Dick ciss ciss ciss.” It seems to be proud of its own dick, you might say, and that’s the naked truth in the bird world.

Apparently, beyond the world of healthy nudity, there’s a brave new world of “dick pics,”that seems to be a convention on the rise, here’s an interesting post from a blog I follow called The Dihedral.

Get naked, but be civil about it. That’s the moral here.