Currently I’m writing a story…
Wait, who am I kidding. I’m writing a bunch of them, but one of them gets special attention. As in ‘too much’. It’s a very special project that came to me in a dream last year, towards the end of December.
Is it naturist fiction? That’s where the limits come in. Some would say yes. Others would say no.
Are there nude people? Yes. Are they socially nude? That depends on your view of social. These people are members of a lower caste that never wear clothes. I guess that makes it kind of social.
In case you don’t know (I don’t know you so I don’t know if you don’t know), a caste system is something that for instance is fashionable in India. Some people are born in better circles than others, and so they’re in a higher caste, a higher layer of society.
So too for the people in my story. There are 2 castes, the Jabari (higher caste) and the Ikuna (lower caste). As their planet is very warm, the Jabari clothing is hardly worth anything; it’s a kind of mesh tunic and wide pants that hide nothing.
The Ikuna are always naked and they’re fine with that, as that’s how it should be. They don’t consider themselves naturists or nudists, they’re just people living their lives and doing their jobs / chores and so on.
It’s the way many people here on earth would like to live their life.
Oh, in case you hadn’t figured it out yet: the story is a science fantasy one. Yes, there are spaceships and rockets, but that doesn’t make it science fiction.
The title of the book? Zoolah.
When is it coming out? Whoa, don’t get ahead of things! Let me first finish writing it!
Interesting! Yes, castes are certainly meant to place limits on people. In the Spanish and Portuguese colonies there was a caste system in place, and painters were commissioned to recreate tables like the one you can see here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casta) to help colonial authorities identify people’s life station. It was allegedly meant to be inclusive, but in reality is was incredibly racist. You can see in the picture that clothing was supposed to be a big part of how to identify caste.
Oh wow, I had no idea that those colonies had castes as well!
I agree, if there is ONE way to be racist without showing it, it’s that system.
Piers Anthony wrote his SF “Adept” series featuring a society where serfs are naked as a clear sign of their lower status. I read a few, but not the whole set.
Not sure if it’s still the case, but for a long time Anthony waged a sort of crusade against publisher exploitation, offering lots of good information and advice to self-publishing writers.
I’ve heard many things about Mr Anthony. He’s loved and hated by many. And I still have to read something from his hand. (hangs head in shame).
I don’t know much about him, but if he was on the barricades for self-publishers, that makes him valuable in my eyes. 🙂
Thanks for that, Tim!