I just hope the furniture is Scotchgarded

July 27, 2016 10:02 AM

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bod (slMaisonneuve)
posted by Kitteh (5 comments total)

This is great! I am a huge supporter of non-sexual nudity -- I mean, in my head, at least, it doesn't come up very often unless my wife and I are debating when I should put a shirt on for guests -- and I love the idea of not just a safe space to do this in, but also regimented events (i.e. "cis women only") that let people see bodies of the same general configuration as theirs and erode both the concept of a "normal" body type and, especially for women, the conflation of "beauty" with "flawlessness."
posted by griphus at 10:11 AM on July 27, 2016 [6 favorites]

Really interesting, thanks for posting!

For me, this was what I loved about going to onsen (public hot spring baths) in Japan. (I mean, you know, in addition to enjoying the wonderful luxurious scented baths and steam rooms and sitting in a steaming hot bath outside with snow falling all around me and getting ramen and beer afterward. Other than all that.) So many old ladies and moms and stretch marks and wrinkles and funny-shaped boobs and it was just like, whatevs. (I'm lucky that I mostly blended in; some of my white friends also adored onsens but others were a bit uncomfortable with the idea of being naked while also sticking out so much visually.) I think I liked the total lack of fuss about any of it; the idea of loud and exuberant "body pride" as portrayed in this article makes me a little uncomfortable. I'm not sure if that's just a personal preference. Part of me does think it could be counterproductive, but it's part of that swinging pendulum - if you've been taught to be ashamed of something, you can't go straight to quiet acceptance, you have to pass through all this pride and empowerment stuff first.

(Also love the Betty Dodson/Bodysex shoutout. I copyedited a book by a Betty Dodson protege who went to a Bodysex workshop and wrote about it; she sounds like a trip.)
posted by sunset in snow country at 10:36 AM on July 27, 2016 [6 favorites]

the idea of being naked while also sticking out so much visually/could be counterproductive, but it's part of that swinging pendulum

I see what you did there.
posted by chavenet at 10:58 AM on July 27, 2016 [5 favorites]

...if you've been taught to be ashamed of something, you can't go straight to quiet acceptance, you have to pass through all this pride and empowerment stuff first.

this seems right.
posted by j_curiouser at 12:21 PM on July 27, 2016

I remember talking about the documentary Babies with a friend (from the Southern U.S.) in Philadelphia, and her complaining about how much of it seemed staged (probably true). But then her biggest argument towards that was the scene where the American mom is lying on her bed topless, midday, with her baby at her side. "I don't care if you're breastfeeding. No woman just hangs around without a shirt on."

"In her own house?" I asked, shocked.

"Anywhere."

Anyway, I'm glad that my kids are still young enough that our general "don't bother putting on clothes until it's time to leave the house" policy doesn't seem weird yet.
posted by 256 at 6:19 PM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]