Children are the unhindered naturist; unfortunately mainstream Western society has a negative view of nudity. This is shown throughout the media and beyond. Genitals and faces are blanked out on the television screen when nudity is displayed. This practice conveys that nudity is a taboo. The idea that nudity is unnatural and coincides with sex or lustful thoughts is effectively promoted through these means. Thus the concept that nudity should only take place behind closed doors is validated. This belies that the body in its natural state is somehow lewd.
When nudity takes place in movies, the film is given a rating for more mature audiences, regardless of the rest of the content. This encourages the belief that all nudity is synonymous with sex. Consequently, the foundation for individuals to believe that sex must be a part of the naked form has been built. Even the lack of the nude human form in most non-sexually oriented magazines promotes this mindset. Safely hidden, the images behind the black cover become an even greater fascination.
Parenting is difficult enough without this factor. Today’s parents are faced with more dilemmas than even their parents had when they were growing up. Those bad seeds that were partaking in child pornography now have neighbors spying on neighbors. It is not unheard of for a call to the authorities to be made when a toddler is seen playing in the backyard nude. In past times naked babes running through the sprinklers would not cause adults to even bat an eye.
Photographs of children taking a bath, dancing around freely in their nudity, and even nursing are now being seen less than pure. Pictures that were once commonly displayed in baby albums are suddenly being defined as sick practices. The world is heading in a topsy-turvy direction wherein the actions of the few leave the many under the microscope. Intentions are questioned on a daily basis, and parents have to second guess their every action. This is especially true in the case of nudity.
In this world of self-blame and external pressures, parents are now finding themselves faced with the daunting task of how to instruct their children on appropriate societal attire. They must find a way to do this without shaming their young in the process. The family bed is twisted to seem an immoral practice if everyone in it is not clothed. How much nudity is too much? Where, if anywhere is it appropriate to be in the nude? These are questions the modern day parent might find themselves asking.
There are struggles over toddlers getting dressed to leave the house. This is coupled with the hope that said toddlers will not decide to try to strip in the grocery store. After all, what will onlookers think of their parenting practices? These babies were born in the nude. Parents are often led to overstress the need for proper attire as a result of what society views as acceptable.
Educators teach that the body is “private” rather than sacred. While the two words may seem to hold little difference, the undertone of each is profoundly different. Private is to be hidden, kept under lock and key, such as a journal or diary that one would not dare let anyone else see. Sacred implies that it is special, natural, and should be reserved for appropriate occasions and only certain individuals should be included in the sharing of it.
Sally goes to her preschool class and shows everyone there that she is not wearing underwear today. Not only is she faced with the laughter of the other children, but her teacher will most likely be putting in a call to dear old mom and dad. She’ll either have to wait in the hall, or worse, sit and listen while the “problem” is discussed. Sadly, she will probably walk away from the experience feeling as though she did some horrible thing. Again, this implies that there is something wrong with her. In truth she was only behaving in a natural manner for a child her age.
Early childhood is often spent with lessons that doors should be closed if nudity is involved. A closed door should be encouraged if the child expresses more comfort with such. If the child desires to know they are not alone behind a closed door, what is the need for the barrier simply because the person is nude?
The natural desire to understand their bodies and persons, inside and out, is clouded over by what is determined to be right or wrong. Obviously if they want to play with their genitals they are displaying an interest in sexual activities too early. These explorations cannot possibly be a natural occurrence.
What happened to plain and simple curiosity? If they were dissecting the egg they were given for lunch, no one would think it immoral. Yet if it concerns the naked body, look out, there is something dirty about that and the young must have this drilled into them as soon as they show an interest. This mindset often leads to the inherent belief that there must be something wrong with their bodies.
With all this attention paid to covering up, it stands to reason they might correlate sex with nudity when they partake in their health classes and sexual education. After all, this is the subject in which they obtain their first public introduction to the naked form.
What effect does this have on the self-esteem? There is so much that is compared already, one’s appearance being added into the mix just cries out injustice. Often times, if a child is caught in the nude in an area that is considered too public there will be a brash instructive blurted out such as, “Cover your self!” Worse still, if they are caught exploring their body, they may hear something along the lines of, “No, no, that is not okay to do.” In some cases these natural explorations are met with comments like, “You should be ashamed of yourself!” How could anyone think this would have a positive impact on any individual, much less a growing child?
Logically speaking, this could lead to low self-esteem. The very core of them is under scrutiny. They are judged not by who they are, but by what they were born with. Put two and two together. By these standards nudity is for the purpose of having sex. Sex should be enjoyed by individuals who love one another. Is it not understandable for the mind to jump to the conclusion that they must have sex for their nudity to be loved? If they are already shameful of their body, it stands to reason they would want someone to approve of it. They want to hear that they are not something to be ashamed of. This desire may cause them to be more inclined to partake in sex before they are truly ready for it.
Beyond that if individuals already feel shameful of themselves, why would they be inclined to discuss openly something being done to them that they did not feel comfortable with? A more logical path to open communication would be encouragement of nudity being natural. Remove the tawdry connotation of nudity and suddenly it becomes a natural thing. Seriously, what benefit is there in teaching our young that the nudity is anything less than natural and beautiful?
It is one thing to empower the youth with the concept that their body is sacred and special. It is an entirely different thing to teach them to be ashamed of the body they were born with. When it comes to children, there is a fine line between these approaches. To impress upon a child the idea of their body being natural and sacred while also teaching them modesty, is no simple task. In fact, one of the most useful things a parent can do to achieve this task, is to revisit their opinion of their own body. Once they can view themselves as a sacred being, it will be that much easier to pass such beliefs onto their children.
Porn stars and nude models make a killing in profit because the forbidden is exciting. The notion that sex and nudity are one in the same runs rampant in our society. Yet much of the mainstream crowds are aghast at the idea that young men and women would find a need to compare themselves to such lewd icons. Perhaps classic pieces of art, such as paintings and sculpture need to be pulled out and dusted off. They ought to be prominently displayed and made regular features. Truthfully, we were not always such a shame filled species.
There is such a gift that can be given in teaching the youth that nudity is a sacred thing. Empowerment could be granted if this were presented in a way that would promote them to be selective of where and with whom they chose to share their nudity. What an amazing place they could be shown if the way they came into the world did not suddenly become outlaw because they are no longer newborn.
In conclusion, what mess are we as a society creating for future generations to clean up? How many rights do we need to lose before we stop being all right with losing any more? How long before we wake up to the fact that with every new restriction we place upon ourselves we let fear rule us that much more? What is it that we fear so greatly of such a natural state of being?
We were born in the purist, most natural state we will ever be in. Our births were both natural and pure. Perhaps we should take our children’s lead and allow ourselves to be less inhibited. We do not have to flaunt ourselves, but neither should we feel we must be ashamed of our bodies in their natural state.
Does anyone want to go tell the Kodiak that he needs to be wearing a loin cloth?
