Image Gender Imbalance

                                                              Different parts, but both human

I received a comment on my post “Why? (A Question for Non-Naturists)” that sparked some thoughts on nude photos and gender:

“Wouldn’t be too bad if it was a man’s penis on show!!! It seems it’s always the women on show, wonder why?! Want to see more naked men please!!” -The Savvy Senorita

At first glance I thought she was talking about my blog.  I try to post equal amounts of nude male photos and female nude photos.  But as I re-read Savvy Senorita’s comments, she was speaking in more general terms.  Why is it we see more female nudity than male nudity in the media?

I could remember a time when you never saw a male fully naked in movies.  Sure, you saw bare buttocks, but never full frontal nudity.  Showing a penis was an automatic X-Rating, even if it was flaccid.  The only nudity that was acceptable was female nudity.  This has evolved over the years, but you still see more female nudity than male nudity in the movies and photography.

But why is this?  The following are some reasons why female nudity is more prevenient:

1. Men still call the shots.  Sad but true, most of the movie studios are run by men, most of the media companies are run by men, and most of Silicon Valley is run by men.
2. Women have a long history of being sex objects.  Western culture is based on exploiting women.  Until recently it was acceptable to sexually harass women in the workplace.  It was all right to demean women sexually and still is.
3. Art has made female nudity more palpable.  Let’s face it, there is more works of art that portray nude females than nude males.

I’m a naturist and I find both male and female nudity to be equally beautiful.  Nothing is more beautiful than another human being.  The reason why things are the way they are is because of antiquated thought processes.  If we’re to grow and evolve, we must set aside our past conditioning and create a new way of thinking.

Why Nude Photos are Important to Naturism

This is an example of who we are. There is no shame, lust, or degradation.

Imagine if you will that this blog wasn’t about naturism, but about camping and backpacking.  In my theoretical camping blog I’d write about my travels, offer advice, discuss issues within the camping/backpacking community, and show you pictures of my trips.   No one would get upset about pictures of Yosemite or the Grand Canyon.  But in reality my blog isn’t about camping, but nude recreation and the naturist lifestyle.

Since its early days, naturism has been portraying the nude human body in photography.  In fact, it was nudist magazines that set the legal precedent for nude images to be published.  Up until 1958, it was illegal for nudist magazines to be mailed by the U.S. Postal Service. In SUNSHINE BOOK COMPANY v. SUMMERFIELD, The U.S. District Court of Columbia ruled that nudist magazines could be mailed.  This decision also created the precedent for Playboy and other magazines to be published.

The nude human body is the core of our lifestyle, it’s what defines our philosophy and our outlook.  And when discussing our way of living, how can we describe it?  Sure I can drone on forever about nude recreation in words and sentences.  However, nothing describes who we are or what we believe than a picture. Many of my readers recall that my own foray into naturism began by seeing images of non-sexual nudity.  Naturist photos act like ambassadors to non-naturists, demonstrating what nude recreation is like.

Seeing nude photos helps eliminate equating nudity only with sexual activity.  For the vast majority of Americans, nudity is akin to sexual activity.  Movies, TV, and the internet teach us that mere nudity is only erotic.  Seeing non-sexual nudity is the first step to removing society’s warped conditioning.

Nude photos also fosters body acceptance.  I used to hate how my body looked.  I thought I wasn’t the “ideal” body, or a body fit to be a naturist.  But seeing many different people nude has changed my outlook.  I have finally learned to accept myself, and accept others.

Now I’m not naïve, I know that our lifestyle attracts the wrong people.  It’s a sad fact.  Our photos can be exploited by some really sick and warped minds.  Case in point: naturist photos used to show pictures of entire families, but now because of a few perverts, no naturist in their right minds would allow photos of their children to be posted online.  Another sad fact is that the term “naturism” has been hijacked by the porn industry.  But this isn’t the fault of naturism or nude recreation.  Blaming naturists for having their photos exploited is like blaming a woman for being sexually assaulted because she was wearing a risqué dress.  The accountability should be placed on the victimizer and not the victim.  I’m not going to stop being a naturist because of a few losers.

Nude photos are a part of naturism.  Nudity is part of the naturist experience, but the biggest part of the naturist lifestyle is what takes place between the ears and not the legs.  Nude photos serve only as an example of  what naturist activities are.  There is nothing shameful about the naked human body.  The only “shameful” part of nudity is those who exploit it for the wrong reasons.