If only it were so easy.
Ask someone if they’re “comfy with nudity” and that’s it. Drop your clothes, do what you need to do. There. It’s so easy.
Unfortunately it’s not. We all know this from real life, where we often have to scramble to find some naked time for ourselves, because the ‘normal‘ world insists that we put on the fabric prisons and ‘behave’. Especially that last bit makes me shake my head a lot, because on average I’ve found that naturists and other two-legged, clothes-free elements behave a lot better than those in the safety of their cotton covers and linen leisure suits.
It doesn’t end there, in the normal world. Even in our fiction, the right or privilege to be naked usually is a struggle. Either for the main character at first (like in the first “Naked Crow” book), or for the people who walk down the Camino de Santiago, in Robert’s “Small Company of Pilgrims“. Also the characters in Will’s “Co-ed naked philosophy” have to deal with this.
Even Emma Nelson, the detective that somehow escaped from my mind, has to look out when she uses her abilities, which only function in the nude.
All the time there’s that air of secrecy around being naked, in writing and in reality.
At times it is as if we’re fighting an uphill battle, on a hill that seems to get steeper and steeper, in a society that gets more and more prude, but on the other hand, hearing that many countries report that there are more naturists since the COVID pandemic, that’s a positive sound.
Now, we can pat ourselves on our backs (or ask you to do that), and say that our writing has contributed to that movement, but I don’t want to go there. I think that the pandemic has shown people that clothes simply aren’t always necessary. That people found some common sense. And even stronger: some of them were very reluctant to go back to their offices. The freedom of no commute, no clothes, is addictive. They now understand that it’s not that hard to be comfortable with nudity.
Let’s hope that those people stick to their new-found freedom and remain comfortable in their skin. It’s a good and sensible way to live. And if they need some moral support, there’s always a book or two about naturism. 😉
Thanks for including my book. Yes, the issue of being comfortable is vital. As for post-pandemic attitudes, I have a foreboding that the world is shifting further right which means less tolerance for the majority despite screaming “freedom!” Outliers likely will have less freedom. Sorry for this downer response.
How could I not add this book? I’ve read it, and I’ve seen the struggles in it!