Seniors, Are You Comfortable Being Naked in Front of Others?

packleader said:

Berlin to allow women to go topless in public pools​



Women will soon be allowed to swim topless in Berlin's public pools, after a ruling by the city's authorities.
A woman complained after being told to leave an outdoor pool in Berlin (file pic)
A woman complained after being told to leave an outdoor pool in Berlin (file pic)© Getty Images

It comes after a woman who was thrown out of an open-air pool for sunbathing topless took legal action.
A second woman said she was told to cover up while at an indoor pool in December.
Authorities agreed they had been victims of discrimination and said that all visitors to Berlin's pools were now entitled to go topless.
The decision will be welcomed by those here who champion what's known as Freikörperkultur - free body culture.
Foreign visitors to Germany are often surprised - and sometimes downright disconcerted - by the sight of naked Germans frolicking in its lakes, snoring in its parks, or sweating in its saunas.
But this is a country which considers public nudity in some settings to be both appropriate and healthy.
The issue of whether, and to what degree, that is permissible at municipal swimming pools has plagued many a local authority.
Last summer, Göttingen in Lower Saxony and Siegen in North Rhine Westphalia allowed women to swim topless.
Berlin's swimming pool operator, the Berliner Bäderbetriebe (BBB), has not actually changed its rules, which insist that a bathing costume covers the *******s.
The BBB merely clarified that this applies to every visitor, irrespective of their gender.
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Whatever generates more interest in water sports......
 
To explore if the sense of shame is innate or a product of education, children of both se.es of a kibbutz in Israel were allowed to play naked with each other. They had no shame until puberty began. But then they stopped by themselves being nude in front of others, since they felt uncomfortable.
 
Happy Retiree said:
It's not that I was ever shy about going naked. I did go topless at a club med about 45 years ago. But I think unless you are young and slim, don't do it. Hubby and I have been to Wreck Beach here in BC and oh, my god, cover yourself up if you are overweight and or old. Not a pretty sight at all!!
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This is what I wish we could all change and accept. Why do we have to be 'a pretty sight' to others..The ideal would be to accept everyone for every size and shape! I am far from that. I am working on being less judgemental of others and of myself...and wish there were a movement pushing that agenda...
 
Disgustedman said:
As they saying goes "Those who'd look great should go naked, those who don't, shouldn't"
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But that is what I think is sad...who determines what looks 'good' I am guilty of judging myself and others but really believe that is a weakness within myself (and others) that should be changed with acceptance of all looks...
 
George1959 said:
To explore if the sense of shame is innate or a product of education, children of both se.es of a kibbutz in Israel were allowed to play naked with each other. They had no shame until puberty began. But then they stopped by themselves being nude in front of others, since they felt uncomfortable.
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Interestring...the discomfort imo came from others opinions and views...
 
Years ago, at a place I worked, a woman was making fun of a PETA billboard that had some naked women with the headline:
"We'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur." She was talking about how stupid it was.
I said, "Anyone who looks that good naked, should be required by law to go naked."
She got really mad & said, "Oh, you would........." 😂
 
I kind of have two opposing answers to the title question

1. If pics of me unclothed were seen by people I will never meet, then I'd have no particular problem with that

2. But in real life, with people I know? Definitely not keen on that!

I was raised in a family where, although we would go for seaside holidays and enjoyed being out in sunny weather, no-one ever sunbathed. I was taken to use public swimming pools early on but even that stopped around when I was twelve or so. One's upbringing plays a huge part in attitudes...
 
Heck no. I don't leave the bedroom without at least a tee shirt and shorts. And that's even if I'm by myself in the house.
 
I'm fine with being nude where it's legal, and where I'm not the only person to be nude. Fearing to be nude outside one's bedroom or bathroom is a type of attitude, and phobia -- gymnophobia. Mankind is the only life-form on earth that is ashamed or afraid of his/her body. Who taught you to be afraid or ashamed? As a small child you had no problem running around the house. A 3 year old hasn't been taught fear or shame. The little ones have the freedom to be like that.

Only when parents instill fear and shame into their small kids do they adopt the attitude that nudity is not allowed other than the two rooms I mentioned. Americans (I'm American) have shame and fear. Break loose from fear and enjoy your freedom. It's not about showing off yourself, nor is it about staring at others. It's all about feeling free at a beach. You'll feel like the unoppressed 3 year old once again. We are the land of the free, and the home of the brave, so let's live up to our motto!!
 
I ditch the clothes sometimes on my back deck when gardening, but only for short periods (It is fenced in with a 6 ft fence). As we get older, it's common to have vitamin D deficiency, so this helps, plus it feels good to let the boys get a little fresh air. I wouldn't do it around others unless it was a nudist resort, but never been to one. It would be an experience though.
 
I've been naked, accompanied by my husband, around others at nudist and clothing optional resorts. It was a fine and freeing experience and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. It's nice to be able to enjoy communing with nature in a beautiful setting in the buff with other like-minded people.

Nobody cared that you weren't model beautiful and not everyone was young. (I didn't hit a nude beach until I was 50!) There was no inappropriate PDA, no one was “strutting” or “prancing around”, or looking for s ex. It's not about that. A lot of people just don't get it. They think every nude resort is like Hedonism.

BTW, FYI, everyone dressed for dinner.

If you're uncomfortable being naked around others, it's not the place for you.
 
Bella said:
I've been naked, accompanied by my husband, around others at nudist and clothing optional resorts. It was a fine and freeing experience and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. It's nice to be able to enjoy communing with nature in a beautiful setting in the buff with other like-minded people.

Nobody cared that you weren't model beautiful and not everyone was young. (I didn't hit a nude beach until I was 50!) There was no inappropriate PDA, no one was “strutting” or “prancing around”, or looking for s ex. It's not about that. A lot of people just don't get it. They think every nude resort is like Hedonism.

BTW, FYI, everyone dressed for dinner.

If you're uncomfortable being naked around others, it's not the place for you.
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You know, the main reason I would want to go to a nudist resort is because I have a curious interest in psychology, and I believe that emotional nakedness is closely tied to physical nakedness. Just as we wear clothes to cover up, we also wear masks as metaphorical or symbolic clothing to cover up who we really are, and we seldom remove that mask to let others see the real us deep inside. I think partly because, just as skin or body imperfections make us self-conscious, so does imperfections in our personality and thoughts.

It's just a theory, but I rather think that people who frequent nudist resorts have more of a tendency to remove their emotional masks as well, and feel free to abandon any psychological clothes as just part of the experience. If you're not hiding anything physically, then why hide emotionally. I can't prove it, but I think by talking directly to them, it would probably become evident. I think that transparency and genuineness would be refreshing.
 
bobcat said:
You know, the main reason I would want to go to a nudist resort is because I have a curious interest in psychology, and I believe that emotional nakedness is closely tied to physical nakedness. Just as we wear clothes to cover up, we also wear masks as metaphorical or symbolic clothing to cover up who we really are, and we seldom remove that mask to let others see the real us deep inside. I think partly because, just as skin or body imperfections make us self-conscious, so does imperfections in our personality and thoughts.

It's just a theory, but I rather think that people who frequent nudist resorts have more of a tendency to remove their emotional masks as well, and feel free to abandon any psychological clothes as just part of the experience. If you're not hiding anything physically, then why hide emotionally. I can't prove it, but I think by talking directly to them, it would probably become evident. I think that transparency and genuineness would be refreshing.
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While physical scars are exposed for all to see, that doesn't mean that emotional scars can't and shouldn't remain hidden. It depends on the individual how free they feel to open up and emotionally expose themselves, clothed or not. I've met some very interesting people while naked; some have held it close to the vest they're not wearing, and others have freely let it all hang out. Do they behave the same way fully clothed at home? Who knows? People have been known to act out on vacation, away from home and their everyday cares and worries, and do and say things they wouldn't normally do or say.

As for myself, I wouldn't share anything while naked that I wouldn't share while clothed. That doesn't mean that I'm disingenuous. We all are self-conscious to a degree, have insecurities, and have imperfections—but just how "transparent" do I really want to be with a perfect stranger? To me, sharing emotionally exposes much more than physical nakedness ever could. I'm very careful about who I let get close to me, both physically and emotionally.
 
Bella said:
While physical scars are exposed for all to see, that doesn't mean that emotional scars can't and shouldn't remain hidden. It depends on the individual how free they feel to open up and emotionally expose themselves, clothed or not. I've met some very interesting people while naked; some have held it close to the vest they're not wearing, and others have freely let it all hang out. Do they behave the same way fully clothed at home? Who knows? People have been known to act out on vacation, away from home and their everyday cares and worries, and do and say things they wouldn't normally do or say.

As for myself, I wouldn't share anything while naked that I wouldn't share while clothed. That doesn't mean that I'm disingenuous. We all are self-conscious to a degree, have insecurities, and have imperfections—but just how "transparent" do I really want to be with a perfect stranger? To me, sharing emotionally exposes much more than physical nakedness ever could. I'm very careful about who I let get close to me, both physically and emotionally.
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Yes, I think trust has a lot to do with it. When we let down that guard or mask, it allows us to be in a vulnerable situation. I would think that you just wouldn't do that with someone who hasn't earned that trust.

I remember from the movie Avatar, where Nitiri said to Jake: "I see you", by which I believe she was saying that she saw his soul. She saw who he really was inside, and it allowed her to put her trust in him and to feel a special bond between them. That's the emotional nakedness I was speaking about. I guess I was thinking that people in nudist resorts (Regulars) would need a certain level of trust to allow themselves to be seen unclothed, and that might lead to the emotional nakedness as well. But maybe that's not how it works. I wouldn't know.

I think that can also happen, and probably needs to happen if one has a therapist, but I think it is a lovely thing that happens between two people in a relationship, where you get to know the person so deeply that emotional nakedness is the most intimate interaction between their souls. It's risky to expose that much of yourself, but if the trust is strong enough, then I could see it happening.
 
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