Bianca's antics 4 - Is nudism Messianic?
So in the previous post I made the (much contested) argument that nudism has become, for some nudists, a religion. That everything which ends in ism is (becoming) a religion, defined by Harari as a set of beliefs in some principles and values which are "superhuman" (in the sense that people can't change them) and from which we must derive some rules of behaviour.
Now I don't define myself as a nudist, I am just someone who engages occasionally in social nudity. Nudity does not rule my life and I don't believe that it has some intrinsic values or rules of behaviour. Which does not mean there there is no rule of behaviour in social nudity, just that they are made collectively by those who practice it.
I don't believe that those who practice social nudity are far better people, nicer, more egalitarian than the average. Of course, being naked adds a layer of vulnerability so there is a general expectation for nicer manners - except of course if you are in a SM nudist club, where the expectation may be opposite. The lack of clothes makes us more equal, although many of us still wear jewels and fancy small garments when nude. I plead guilty on this one.
We ladies expect in general that you guys don't let's say make jokes about our looks when we are nude. We may not be perfect, but when we show ourselves to you sans clothes we don't expect this to produce a good laugh. Which is something I sometimes see and don't enjoy in our album. Just don't make jokes about a lady's appearance period. Clothed or nude, your jokes don't make you look smarter, on the contrary. But all these are not superhuman rules and values, we make them ourselves. And for this group I made them myself.
In some places, erections are a no-no. In some, hugging your partner is forbidden. In others, sex in public, maybe even with multiple partners, is absolutely ok. Some places are nudist only, some others are clothing optional. I've been in all and some may have pleased me more than others but this is just personal preferences, not universal rules of nudism. These are all man-made rules so they don't define a religion.
Ok, full disclosure. I am not fully convinced by Harari's definition of what is a religion but I thought it can be provocative and launch an interesting discussion. Let's find counter-examples. Gravity. It is a suprahuman force and believing that it imposes some rules of behaviour on us (such as don't jump off a cliff without a chute) does not make you member of a church. Oxygen and its role in life processes, telling us that we should not try to breathe with our head under water. Etc. etc.
But let's cut the blurb and come (finally!) to the two questions I wanted to ask when I first launched this long and boring series of posts.
First question: are Bianca's semi-nude antics good or bad for nudists? Do they attract people towards social nudity by normalising it or on the contrary, repulses them by sexualising public nudity?
On a side note, I think Bianca is extremely sexy and attractive, although I am not really in agreement with her vestimentary choices. I'd rather walk around in thigh-high stockings and a see-through dress than in full see-through stockings, but she is the fashion model not I so from my side she can do whatever she pleases and I do like her audacity. You go girl. Show us as much as you can without being arrested.
Now most will discard the question, claiming with proletary pride "I don't care about the rich and famous and you Flora should stop be so shalow and read, let alone write, about Bianca Censori". But here is the thing. She was on my newsfeed and this made me ask some questions which I am sharing with you here. So when someone known appears in public almost naked this is a provocation, but is is good or bad for nudism? What is your opinion about it?
Interesting as this First Question is, my answer it is: I think it's more towards useful for nudism than towards harmful but I don't know for sure and I don't really care because my main interest during all the time I was typing up this series of topics was in the:
Second Question: is our role as nudists to promote nudism, to speak and behave such as to attract more people to it? In other words is nudism Messianic and are we supposed to be its missionaries? If nudism is a religion is it a closed one like Judaism or an open one like Christianism?
Now, in practical terms, if nudism was a religion I should have my statue on the beach in Cap d'Agde because I converted as least 15 women to it. I convinced them to try out social nudity in German spas and they all enjoyed it. There was only one who didn't but all the others continue as we speak to engage in social nudity in German spas. I'm not saying that they have become full-time nudists, mind you.
But I didn't do this because I think nudism has some intrinsic value or metaphysical rules, it's just because it feels nice to be naked in a pool, in the sea, on the beach or in a sauna. And once you're fine with exposing your more intimate bits to men's eager looks, you can't but enjoy "nudism" in these situations.
Yes, I converted also some men, but that is not very important, in nudism men are dime a dozen - sorry guys. It doesn't mean that you are not important as individuals, it just means that converting you is easy. Look at the gender balance on this site. Even in this group, which is supposed to be for the ladies, with the ladies, by the ladies.
I am ready to make an experiment. Suppose I invite ten guys to come with me to discover Friedrichbad - which is famous for being a place where not a stitch of clothing, no towel, nothing is allowed for the whole of three hours you spend there. Suppose also that they don't have a wife or girlfriend who could get angry about it. How many out of ten would accept the invite? My bet is that out of ten, one will be in general against nudism because he thinks it's not "normal", one will be too shy because he thinks he is too small or might get hard, and the remaining eight will say yes. If nothing else, just to see me naked.
I believe that because I only know one guy who once declared that nudism is not his thing, that he doesn't think it is natural or nice. And most guys' eyes start to linger on my body whenever I speak about a German spa and I know that at that moment they imagine me naked and they would be very tempted to accompany me in a nudist adventure.
One of the members of this group said that I should not be speaking about sex here because I give a bad impression about nudism and discourage the textiles from trying it out.
Look. Despite my prowess in convincing lady friends to shed it all off, I don't see my role as a priestess of the nudist religion. I am glad when friends decide to take the leap and I would be glad if nudity was more normalised, more mainstreamed. It's just bodies, just skin and we all have those. That being said, I will not lie or pretend there is no sexuality in nudism. There is sexuality in most of our domains of activity and nudism is not an exception. And I do like to challenge, provoke a bit and ask difficult questions. Even more so from behind the security of a tablet display.
And yes, I sometimes want to feel elegant even with my kit off. And elegance is an attempt to look good, to be attractive. Kill me, I'm a nudist apostat. And yes, I am a sexual person and I do engage in sexual activity even when I spend time in a nudist context, say in a resort. in fact, I believe I do this more in a nudist context than a textile one... Yes, elegance and sex are part of my life as a nudist and I am not ashamed of it and I am not going to lie and hide it just in the hope that I could attract online some people who are already on a nudist site to real-life nudism.
Not my role. Nude elegance is nice and sex is good.
Guys, I'm just joking. Of course I'm still a virgin.
Well this has been a deep question.
I just got back to the internet access. But I was able to be with friends ! And these friends know that I am a nudist and she was a nudist years ago. He doesnt really care either way. But she was the one to speak up and say, Jim didnt worry about getting naked. Go ahead and feel free to !
Well naturally or should I say I promoted my religion of being into Nudism .
I guess it was a long and boring post without many clear-cut questions.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not against religions as long as they bind society together and don't make it commit mass murders.
Just don't oversell it. Not wearing clothes is great in some circumstances and men's looks don't burn our skin, they're fine and we get used to them, sometimes even enjoy them. When I hear some nudists telling that story about sexless angels bathing in the nude I can't but remember of other utopias, such as the Nazi one (yes, Nazism was aiming at creating some very utopic bucolic communities where everyone was happy and sporty and for many nudity was part of it; I bet most of you have never heard of that and believe that Nazis were simply psychopaths who hated Jews and Russians).