The myths and realities about nudism

Scientists have a general idea about when humans first started wearing clothes. They draw their conclusions from genetic studies of the common body louse. The body louse feeds on humans but needs clothing to infest in order to do so. Studies show that humans started wearing clothes about 72,000 years ago. That’s roughly 42,000 years old, so it’s not exactly identified. Human beings have existed in their current form, homo sapiens, for about 200,000 years, so the numbers show that most likely for more than half of our species’ existence, we were all nudists. A nudist is, of course, a person who does not wear clothes.

In those early days, most humans lived in hot climates and there are some indications that they were much hairier than they are today. It was only when they began migrating to colder climates that clothing was first worn and even then it was not modesty but warmth that was the motivation. Even when we became civilized and at the time of recorded history, the attitude about nudism was very different. In ancient Greece, for example, the habit of nudity was so common that even our word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos, which means naked. This occurred because nudity at sporting events was common and accepted. Nudism as a cultural problem exists only in a few scattered and primitive tribes in the Amazon Basin or on remote Pacific islands and these few remaining places are under relentless pressure to dress up.

Today, in what are called nudist colonies or nudist resorts, people selectively remove most of their clothing. This has led to some myths about nudity or naturalism as it is sometimes called. One such myth is that nudity is immoral. The reason is considered sexual in nature. It can be considered erotic or pornographic, but still sexual. In fact, nudists do not see themselves as voyeurs, people who have a prurient interest in seeing naked bodies, nor exhibitionists, people who have a prurient interest in being seen naked. In fact, the truth is that most nudists see it as a natural state and our purest form. They claim that we are born naked, so how can being naked be bad? They also extol the health benefits. Exposure to sunlight is good because it leads to the production of vitamin D in the body. On the other hand, our increased understanding of the causes of skin cancer has led to sunscreen being part of the nudist’s kit.

Nudism is practiced in many forms today. Nude beaches are quite popular, as are nude vacations on public or private land. The movement has several divisions of a philosophical nature within the lifestyle. One of the main ones is between the “clothing optional” and “nudity required” subgroups.