"Being exposed to average bodies, to average humans, makes you readjust your perspective about what is normal, and what is acceptable, and what is beautiful," says Rachitskiy.
I'm sure that's the crux of it. My own experience of nude beaches is that it feels normal and is very relaxing. You see other people nude and they are all normal bodies with all sorts of variety.
I don't see how this really works. Sure you see that most people have average bodies but when you see someone who looks like a Roman statue or has an otherwise "perfect" body then would you not still compare yourself to that?
It's not really about learning to rank yourself against other people's bodies more or less accurately.
My experience with nudity at saunas and nude beaches is just that it makes one relax about the topic of bodies in general, and get less fussy about the topic, and exposure to it makes the whole issue less salient.
I think the biggest part of this is just that you're in an environment where no matter what someone's body looks like, the social responsibility is to be casually respectful, and not make a big deal out of someone's body regardless of whether it's normal, or exceptional in a positive or negative sense.
This helps one put into context that it doesn't actually matter so much what your body looks like. You can be beautiful or hideous, and still have a right to relax and feel comfortable.
Clothing has a way of amplifying our curiosity and imagination. It makes you build up taboos in your head. Stripping away the clothing shatters the taboos. If you go to the sauna or whatever, you'll see ugly bodies and beautiful bodies, and you'll see just how little it actually matters.
If you are living in northern Europe, you can also just go to a sauna.
The core conclusion "makes you feel better about yourself" is really a no-brainer if you regularly go to a sauna. Plus, as bonus, it's healthy for your cardiovascular system, your immune system and probably for your skin too.
I would. I'd argue it's only in recent times humans have hidden the body with clothing and made just about everything taboo and you've been brain-washed to think that is OK. It's only illegal because some people found it offensive and now all people find it offensive.
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[ 2.1 ms ] story [ 40.0 ms ] threadI'm sure that's the crux of it. My own experience of nude beaches is that it feels normal and is very relaxing. You see other people nude and they are all normal bodies with all sorts of variety.
My experience with nudity at saunas and nude beaches is just that it makes one relax about the topic of bodies in general, and get less fussy about the topic, and exposure to it makes the whole issue less salient.
I think the biggest part of this is just that you're in an environment where no matter what someone's body looks like, the social responsibility is to be casually respectful, and not make a big deal out of someone's body regardless of whether it's normal, or exceptional in a positive or negative sense.
This helps one put into context that it doesn't actually matter so much what your body looks like. You can be beautiful or hideous, and still have a right to relax and feel comfortable.
Clothing has a way of amplifying our curiosity and imagination. It makes you build up taboos in your head. Stripping away the clothing shatters the taboos. If you go to the sauna or whatever, you'll see ugly bodies and beautiful bodies, and you'll see just how little it actually matters.
The core conclusion "makes you feel better about yourself" is really a no-brainer if you regularly go to a sauna. Plus, as bonus, it's healthy for your cardiovascular system, your immune system and probably for your skin too.
A lot of other cultures don't have this level of unease around nudity.
> you've been brain-washed to think that is OK
Some of us have learned new things in the past 170,000 years
> now all people find it offensive
This entire post is about how many people do not find it offensive