Why Are We Ashamed of Being Naked?

Discussion in 'Ethics, Morality, & Justice' started by TruthSeeker, Aug 9, 2004.

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Are You Ashamed of Being Naked?

  1. Yes

    21 vote(s)
    31.8%
  2. No

    45 vote(s)
    68.2%
  1. youreyes amorphous ocean Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,830
    Its about sexuality and what turns others on.
     
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  3. Bowser Namaste Valued Senior Member

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    But some claim the objects of interest in one culture isn't anything more than milk machines in an other culture. Why?
     
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  5. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    39,397
    There's a difference between shame and embarrassment.

    Shame involves a feeling of guilt and/or inadequacy.
    Embarrassment is what you feel when you add publicity to shame.

    Shame at nakedness is mostly circumstantial, I think, and it has more to do with embarrassment than with shame itself. I don't think it's uncommon to feel at easy at being naked in private but to feel embarrassed to be naked in public (in view of other people). The embarrassment can come from the perception that you are not adhering to the norms of society - e.g. if everybody else is clothed, you feel inadequate if you are naked, and possibly guilty for being in breach of the norm.

    Some people, of course, are ashamed of their bodies even in private. They think they are too fat, or too thin, or that they are unsightly in other ways. Being naked tends to reinforce existing feelings of inadequacy that are not a result of the nakedness per se, but result from other things. The nakedness is a reminder of the other inadequacies, because it makes those perceived inadequacies more visible.
     
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  7. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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    I voted "no"... but it is highly situational.

    I don't mind being naked in my own home, around my wife, for example.

    I wouldn't want to be naked at work... I don't think "ashamed" is the right word... but it certainly wouldn't be appropriate.

    I do think our society has become very ashamed of sexuality... which is a shame in itself, as it's a normal natural part of our psyche that attempting to repress... well, we can sort of see the results of that. Healthy expression is important!
     
  8. youreyes amorphous ocean Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,830
    Could you maybe show me an article stating that?
     
  9. youreyes amorphous ocean Valued Senior Member

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    2,830
    It would be socially inappropriate for you or me to be naked at work, but say the constitution itself proclaimed for you and me and everyone to have the right to come to work naked if they chose so and not get fired or rediculed or bullied for it. WOuld you?
     
  10. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    27,543
    I often walk around the house in my undies or even totally nude.
    At my age, I don't really give a stuff what people think of my body.

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    In public, I suggest that being clothed is firstly a result of the weather, and also as a bloke, walking in public in the raw could cause some problems, particularly if a Miss Universe type walked by equally naked, and I was to experience some form of "inappropriate excitement" if you know what I mean!

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    Plus of course, perhaps we [we being both sexes] have over the eons, that baring it all, and letting it all hang out, and the "inappropriate excitement" I spoke about, may cause problems, particularly for married couples security.
    Being nude at work will also depend on one's working environment and also the health and safety aspect of any particular situation.
    I was a maintenance Fitter, working in confined spaces, between rollers, in freezers, next to furnaces, in close proximity to work mates swinging 14lb hammers, others with pliers, screwdrivers and wrenches and such....Ouch!
    Am I making myself clear!

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    We wear clothes out of necessity in the main, and not because of any shame or embarrassment imo.
     
  11. wellwisher Banned Banned

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    5,160
    If you are in shape and therefore have an athletic body, this is a thing of beauty. There is so reason to feel ashamed when you are all toned up due to a lot of hard work. It can be a source of pride. Shame and beauty are group judgments, with the group not minding looking at beauty. The group does not want to look at ugly. Shame is there to protect the group from negative reactions, since these can dissociate the group.

    Animals, in nature, are muscular and lean and are nice to look at. The out of shape human body is no longer like a natural human animal. Such animals will become food and/or be the recipient of aggression. Shame is a defensive technique to avoid the aggression from the group.

    In the story of Adam and Eve, after they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they noticed they were naked. Symbolically, they replaced natural instinct with personal choice relative to good and evil. The result was the natural animal body was no longer natural, since what was considered good, in terms of the human body, was now manmade up. The unnatural human body became a trigger for aggression, with shame a pro-active submissive gesture, to avoid aggression.

    For example, in some poor cultures being overweight is a sign of prosperity. This is not healthy for the body and it is not natural in the wild for a species of hunters and gatherers. Shame will make sure this covered up with frills, so the backlash is minimized, and the illusion of good can be maintained.
     
  12. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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    Probably not, for a few reasons, including I don't think it would be comfortable environmentally, and I would question the sanitation of doing so (I trust my own hygiene regimen, but others I'm not so certain of. I trust my natural defenses to handle such things as using a public toilet (though I still give the seat a quick wipe when dropping a deuce to avoid any wet spots... ew) but I'd rather not plant my naked self into the same seat as someone who may or may not have various conditions (or simply chose not to shower this week).
     
  13. Bowser Namaste Valued Senior Member

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    that was the gist of an earlier post, which might be correct--I don't know. I suspect that our long history with clothing has something to do with our modesty regarding our bodies. It would also seem that clothing has played a role in social stature through human history, even to this day.
     
  14. birch Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    5,077
    Are you nuts?? Society is ashamed of sexuality?? They flaunt, push and advertise it everywhere often gratutiously, bluntly or explicitly!

    I think society is overtly permissive and sexual. Anymore liberal people would be walkimg around with no clothes period.

    It is very strange that a christian would say thay society has become very ashamed of sexuality. Oh, by the way, were they more liberal in the past? In what way? Having hundreds of concubines? Rape okay? Children? Is that what you mean because i fail to see how society has become MORE ashamed of sexuality rather than less. This should be interesting
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2017
  15. birch Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    5,077
    Such lack of common sense.

    You have this all wrong. People arent ashamed of being naked in public because of looks or beauty, its because they are exposed which can pose a threat. Just as well, someone even better looking could feel even more vulnerable or threatened because they could garner more attention than someone considered ugly and is left in peace.

    For instance, in wartime rape scenarios its always the prettiest or most well endowed one that gets picked while fortunately the less attractive ones are spared. You see how this works? Its context because a positive attribute can have negative consequences depending. A perfect example of a seeming positive quality attracting negative consequences is because its a predatorial universe.

    The silver lining of having nothing others dont want is to be left in your dignity though you may not get adoration either but still whereas if one has desirable qualities it not only attracts the positive but also negative or predatorial intent even more.
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2017
  16. wellwisher Banned Banned

    Messages:
    5,160
    Animals are under instinct and natural selection. Being naked or not naked is not a critical part of the animal natural selection process. Humans, on the other hand, can define knowledge of good and evil, apart from natural instinct. These rules can be based on shallow criteria; best naked. The best naked does not equate to the best natural selection. There are more important skills and attributes, compared to the singularity of being naturally endowed. The perfect body does not make you the best fighter, the best hunter, have the most resistant to disease, the smartest or the most fearless.

    Beginning with Adam and Eve, after the symbolic eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, human began creating rules, laws, procedures and traditions based on value judgements of good and evil, right and wrong, better and worse. This allowed shallow criteria to become more important than the depth from the natural core. This is due to human vanity; self judgements/laws we each create for out own good and evil. If you were in charge of the tribe and had the largest feet, and you could make a law, so large feet become important and held up with esteem. This will enhance your prestige and control in the tribe. The shame of being naked was an instinctive attempt to cover the shallow criteria, so centered things have a better chance to be evaluated. People can more easily see the shallow, but can't always see the depth. If you take away the shallow, the brain has to up a notch, to define what is important.

    As an example, if a young male went to the beach, early in the season, all he may see are generic half naked, nameless girls. Some may stand out due to certain enhanced features. If, on the other hand, the young male sees all the same girls, at a party, all dolled up, now the young male needs to explore this deeper, since the naked criteria is not there. The all dolled up may be based on a different set of shallow criteria, like perfection in designer clothes or creative use of economy. Although still shallow, at least that layer is a product of a working, creative and organized female mind. The humans start to pair off.

    The next day, if we go back to the beach, the same men may have wandering eyes, based on something more shallow. They sort of forget the higher layer of skill and dwell on the lowest shallow. The high rate of divorce is connected to shallow criteria not able to see the persistence like a deeper layer election. It comes down to what are called God's laws, which are analogous to natural laws for humans. The other is manmade laws, which are best in the short term, for shallow reasons.
     

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