The necessary
corollary of affirming pleasure is that incarnation in the flesh is a
thing to be honored, relished, and celebrated. Such an affirmation
directly challenges the dualistic notion that the soul and body are
separate, even conflicting, entities. Body and soul are not in
opposition. The body is good.
It's a kindness to others to show your
body and to enjoy seeing the bodies of others. Because our sexual
awareness is tied into vision and objectification, we males especially
long to see others' bodies. We feel frustrated when we can't satisfy
our curiosity. For gay men, nudity is an affirmation of us as curious
bodies. It feels good to go bare chested. It feels good to see other
men shirtless. It reminds us we're in pleasure-loving flesh. Nudity is
good.
People clothe themselves for decoration
and for protection from the elements (these days including unfiltered
U.V. radiation). Clothes are wonderful. One of the joys of being gay is
often knowing how to dress well: to adorn oneself and others in ways
that create beauty and interest. People also clothe themselves for
protection from other people's judgment and sexual interest. Clothing
can enhance attractiveness by hiding flaws. Though that kind of
thinking supports the notion there are such things as flaws. The
obsession with hiding our bodies causes untold suffering, unhappiness,
and frustration. Baring all allows these anxieties to abate. Naked, we
forget to be ashamed of our bodies.
In our all-male world, we seldom worry
about being raped if we show our bodies. In the straight world, this is
a real concern. Women are raped in part because sexually repressed,
angry males rebel against the competitive, hierarchical system designed
to restrict sex to alpha males through the dynamic of women's
selectivity. Rapists force themselves on women who are helpless or whom
they imagine to be "asking for it" by making themselves attractive.
Modesty is both a mechanism of self-defense for women and a
demonstration of power and ownership by dominant males. (Middle-eastern
cultures that veil women and seclude them from public view demonstrate
this in the extreme.)
In a very practical way, feeling good
about one's body and showing it proudly--and appropriately, of
course--helps self-esteem, allays neurosis and anxiety, and motivates
one to take good care of oneself. Concern with the body is not foolish
vanity; rather, it is good stewardship over one's place in creation.
Taking care of yourself and sharing your success in that endeavor with
others is a simple, practical way of creating beauty and improving a
little piece of the world. Appropriate nudity is a dramatization and
demonstration of God's primordial "Behold, it is good."
Excerpted from GAY PERSPECTIVE: Things Our Homosexuality
Tells Us about the Nature of God and the Universe (Alyson, 2003)
