ASK AN ACADEMIC: IN THE BUFF

My wife found this website today which has a blurb about a book written by an Academic on being naked hence the book being titled; Nakedness.

'Nakedness' - New Yorker

"Nudity is our most basic state, yet there are few things that cause the same extreme mixture of titillation and horror. Still, if one looks closely, it’s everywhere. Mass nude weddings with as many as sixty couples take place every year at the Hedonism resort in Jamaica. There’s nude sky diving and nude boxing (so-called “bouncy boxing”) in Australia, nude skiers in Austria (brr), nude synchronized swimming in Spain, strip poker, naked flights (no hot drinks are served, to prevent scalding), organized nudism, anarchic streaking, Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl. Why does donning the birthday suit get us in such a tizzy? I recently wrote to Philip Carr-Gomm, a psychotherapist, writer, and author of “A Brief History of Nakedness,” to ask his opinion."

This book continues by relating to the history of being naked such the Druids who are one of hundreds of cultures who have being unclothed as part of ritual of some kind;


"In Wicca, and to a lesser extent in Druidism, worshiping "skyclad" (i.e. clothed only with the sky) is used as a way of getting closer to Nature and to Deity. One might think that conventional religion, in contrast to these modern pagan approaches, would shun nakedness. But in reality there are numerous examples of religious leaders using nakedness to engender mystical states or get closer to God. The first third of my book focusses on this largely unknown history: looking in particular at the way nakedness has been used not only in classical Paganism and its modern revivals, but also in Hinduism, Jainism, and most remarkable of all, Christianity. I finish this part of the book with a quotation from Dolly Parton which nicely unites Pantheistic and Christian themes: “Sometimes I like to run naked in the moonlight and the wind, on a little trail behind our house, when the honeysuckle blooms. It's a feeling of freedom, so close to God and nature.”


Yet why are we so paranoid and fearful of wearing no clothes?


This book, 'Nakedness' is a book that looks very interesting to read as it sets out to explore and tackle these questions. Both my wife and I are interested in getting a copy of this book. Looks like it could be a winner.