Wednesday 16 February 2011

......2 Sad........End The Shame Of Being Nude..........

............Something happened at my gym that made me want to blog about this....

.,....Now, my good mate Brenton over at Aussielicious has blogged about this - but something happened not 2 hours ago at my gym...

..I was in the locker room and got changed from my work gear to my gym gear - had to take a leak so headed over to the urinals and turned a corner to find a guy - probably mid 20's - with a towel around his waist, trying to wriggle into his jeans getting them UNDER his towel.

Now this kid was CLEARLY not wanting to have ANY part of his privates on show. EVEN IN HIS UNDERWEAR!! Now I think this is less about penis size and more about nudity. Coz this is not an isolated incident.

I see guys - big bulges and small - all hiding under towels and furtively looking around the locker room in FEAR.....

Now - given the gym's location - in the middle of the gay triangle of Brisbane - I know it isn't homophobia - but a nudity phobia.

Now - even with my weight loss and my journey to lose more - I'm a fatty - and I know that - but *I* am ok with being nude and very comfortable in my skin. These guys younger and older with fantastic bodies that sink into themselves in the locker room just make me wanna go up and give them a hug.

We now teach people that nudity is bad and something to be ashamed off. There is NOTHING wrong with our skin or our genitals and yes you CAN be nude with other men and not have it be sexual.

We have forgotten the fraternal nature of guys hanging out nude together. There's no surprise that members of the military are cool with nudity. By the very nature of the job they have a sense of fraternity and brotherhood - AND manhood - that you and I have NO clue about. They drop their draws and have NO problem with it. HELL.......they even jack off in the same room - why??? Coz it isnt about someone ELSES dick or nudity - its just what guys do - or more importantly - USED to do.

I am sad that we live in a society that shames our bodies. It does it in a myriad of ways, all with the end result being that we are afraid of ourselves and others. Gay. Straight. Younger. Older. Fat. Lean. In Shape. Male. Female. It's common to all - and it's sad sad sad.

Nudity is beautiful. Irregardless of your shape. Really.

Back when I was part of a nude gay mens social group in Melbourne - we had people of all ages and sizes. There was no attitude - none of that elitism that occurs in the clubs - it was the most welcoming bunch of men I have ever had the pleasure of hanging out with. Hotties socialised and chatted with the fatties and the young guys laughed and hung out with the mature guys.

Get nude.

Get nude often.

Encourage others to get nude.

Get nude on your own if you don't want to be nude with anyone else. But get comfortable in your own skin.

After all - if you aren't comfortable with it - how can anyone else be?

I even wrote this blog post nude.

Oh - and here is my little nude self - and that is a mole on my butt - not anything else. (People have asked before LOL).


Shalom everyone

Damien
.

9 comments:

queer heaven said...

I don't get it either! What is the problem? I'm off today to a Nude Meditation & Yoga group. What is more freeing than being naked with a group of guys???
Oh.... Damien... nice picture!!!

Princess said...

Nah, doesn't make sense to me either.

It's as if being naked and proud of our body around other guys is a taboo these days. There seems to be an odd belief that getting naked around a group of other men in a shower/change room automatically means that it is a sexual thing.

When I was growing up... open showers at the gym/pool were a great learning environment... if only as a comparative study...
Hell i didn't know what being Gay was back then. But I did appreciate the maleness of it all.

These days it seems that to get your gear off in the change room with other guys automatically implies that you "must be gay"? And if you're over 30 then you must not only be gay but a pervert too!

Change room etiquette today seems to require one to...

A: Hide your junk at all costs...

In case anyone tries to look at you and... and even if your arse is still wet from the shower... put your underwear and or trousers on while still wrapped in your towel...

B: Make sure you avoid eye contact...
By keeping your head down and staring at the floor...
Oh and whack your iPod ear pieces in to avoid any distracting conversation... Perish the thought that you might see someone else that is actually naked or someone else actually looking at you.


And C: Get the hell out of there as quickly as possible....

Either looking or being looked at
is some how the wrong thing to be doing... Hell why bother with
changing rooms at all?

Who knows what taking your time and just relaxing after a Swim/Workout might lead to?
You might end up actually having a conversation... What a novel idea!

*dismounts high horse*


PS..Nice arse D...;)

The Mistress said...

Take it off and KEEP it off!

Wonder Man said...

I wish I could feel the way you do. I admire your guts and bravery

Jim said...

Someone in their blog called it being "homonervous"

One day I would love to see someone drop the towel too soon and then I could shout: "Oh My God! I saw it!"

LOL

savante said...

Totally agree! When did everyone become such prudes! And kudos for the nude pic of yourself! :)

normadesmond said...

becoming comfortable with oneself can be a life long journey, or an excursion that need never occur.

the guys who are obviously nervous?
ignore them, look away.

cb said...

I know guys who are embarrassed or ashamed of being nude in front of others.

I outgrew that a LONG time ago. Being a competitive swimmer in your preteen years sort of destroys all sense of shame.

Unknown said...

I walk naked in my house all the time and my room-mate things I am crazy for it, but it feels natural so...