Why Nudes?

A lot of the problems that we face as a society are driven by our hang-ups about our bodies and our sexuality. We equate nudity with sex, for example, because we rarely have a readily available context to experience non-sexual nudity.

My family and I once went to a crowded beach on the Connecticut shore with a visiting German cousin in her early twenties. Needing to change, she stood up on the blanket—surrounded by Americans—took off all of her clothes, put on her bathing suit (not always necessary in Germany, but she was trying to fit in with local customs), and sat down! An American would never do that, but she was totally comfortable with the situation. Not a big deal at all!

By contrast, the huge, ongoing flap over the fleeting exposure of Janet Jackson’s breast during a Super Bowl performance says a lot about where we are as a society.

There are also many situations which demand nudity in the portrayal. If, for example, one’s goal is to educate and defuse the anxiety about one’s appearance after having a mastectomy, how can you possibly do that with a picture of a fully clothed woman who was wearing a prosthetic breast (or who had replacement surgery)? There would be no point to it at all.

Lastly, I think the fact that the written statements are as compelling as they frequently are may be directly traced to the situation which generated them: i.e., a nude photo session. Exposing yourself physically almost demands the same level of response verbally. For that matter, a lot of the emotions evident in many of the pictures would not have taken place if the subjects had been fully clothed. This is also true for women who have not been traumatized and are generally very happy and comfortable; for many, the experience was a very liberating one. That shows!

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