QUOTES 9/21/2017

“I don’t think there’s anything inherently transgressive about taking your clothes off (after all, we do it every day of our lives), but the fact of the matter is that we live in a society where nudity in public is still seen as the Original Sin, something still quite shocking and taboo, despite most of us leading predominantly secular lives. . . So why do we struggle so much with revealing our bodies and why is it still so uncommon to hang out with your friends in your ‘birthday suit’ on a Saturday night?  I think there’s something deeply significant about our discomfort with nakedness that in some ways ties in too much of what’s wrong in our society.  There’s something about needing to cover up what is natural, to need to dress into a role or to feel that how we are really, underneath the covering, is somehow ‘not okay’.  This stems from, and perpetuates, our sense of separateness – from the environment, from each other, and even from ourselves and our true nature – that is, I think, at the heart of the current malaise.” – Anna Levy, https://pioneerpitstop.wordpress.com/2016/09/03/how-to-be-naked/

“Japanese Nude Art Class” (Video) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wISNp3V3LfA&list=PLw0cOrKg2_28JMDTHXwP1kx_XjBIMwXVv&index=7

“There are places you can camp [nude] in Death Valley. . . According to a Ranger I spoke with on our last Guys/Sons camping trip, she said it was not illegal to be naked out there or drive naked out there . . .” – AndyDi, https://www.truenudists.com/groups/view.php?action=viewthread&id=8078&idt=104636&page=last

“Naturism breaks down social barriers.  We see each other not as fast food workers or doctors but as human beings.” - https://twitter.com/ohionaturist/status/732567110971469825

“. . . while women’s unclothed bodies are on display everywhere from The Metropolitan Museum of Art to HBO, images of nude men are way harder to come by.  Sure, depicting a naked body can lead to objectification and sexualization . . . But a powerful nude representation also has the power to be empowering, liberating, and, of course, beautiful.  In 2012, photographer Abigail Ekue embarked on a mission to photograph the unclothed male body in a truthful, expressive and direct manner, a style Ekue saw was lacking in the larger cultural lexicon.  ‘I wanted something different from the studio-based bodyscapes or flexing physique male nudes’ . . . everyday images of bodies at rest ― bodies that are imperfect, vulnerable, normal. . . Thus far, she has snapped almost 500 photographs of men sans clothing . . . a real person, desirable yet flawed, as we all are. . . Bare Men offers a striking range of individuals and bodies, each attractive in its vulnerability and strength. . . for the many men whose naked bodies are rendered invisible by mainstream culture, it becomes difficult to imagine the possibility that their bodies could be, in and of themselves, attractive.” (many photos) – Priscilla Frank, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nude-photos-normalize-male-body_us_579fac86e4b08a8e8b5eff23