Damn pervert customers.

[Tria]

Every parent has a picture of a naked child. Think about that for a sec or two.

I'd agree with that one, even with my prude family it wouldn't be hard to find the bathtub pics of my cousins and me. All about context.

[Customer Beating Robot]

Naked picture of an undeveloped toddler is different. Pictures of a 13 year old boy or girl who have "developed" is wrong.

[MadMike]

Naked picture of an undeveloped toddler is different. Pictures of a 13 year old boy or girl who have "developed" is wrong.

I don't know if they still have this, because I haven't been there in probably about 20 years, but they used to have this one exhibit at the Smithsonian about the development of the human body. It was a serious of nude pictures, both male and female, in various stages of development, starting with prepubescence and ending with adulthood.

[Jester]

There's such a thing as a 'family' nude beach?? Um, eeww? Does anyone else see this as being really wrong? I didn't know such a thing existed, or that familys would want to go on a naked outing to the beach

I don't know about any of you but I'd prefer not to see my parents naked. Creeps me out. I wouldn't want my knicknacks exposed to them either... YUCKO.

So you would take your kid down to the beach and let them run around nude and be totally at ease with this, even with today's society having pedophiles around?

Not passing judgment here, but these comments seem to be coming from people who have never been around nudists or naturists. I have, and have more of a "European" view of the whole thing than my typical American friends. That being that there is nothing wrong with nudity in and of itself. Exposing oneself to a child in a situation where that is not appropriate is not right, and I will not argue with that. That being said, raising children to not treat the sight of the human body as wrong or taboo is not a bad thing, and children raised in such an environment tend to have less hangups as adults in many social situations, not just sexual situations. They tend to be, as others here have said, more comfortable with themsleves and more confident in themselves, and more aware of what is right and wrong, and more aggressive in reporting wrongful behavior by adults.

Most serial killers were raised in sexually repressive homes. This is not my opinion, but fact. Feel free to check the reference works on it, and there are many. While you yourself may not be comfortable with the idea, the Puritanical American "norm" seems to cause more problems than the "sick" family nude beaches and resorts being condemned by some here. Example: Americans are more reserved about their bodes and sexuality than their European brethren. Anyone want to guess who has the far higher rates of teen pregnancies, rapes, sexual assaults, and pedophilia? In virtually every area, the United States has far more problems with sex-related crimes and issues than any of the continental European countries. (Can't comment on the UK, as I cannot remember the relevant data.)

I don't understand. There are books with pictures of naked children in them? How is that any different from child pornography? (And don't tell me it is art. How do you define art? Is the rape of a child "art" if someone says it is?)

Anyway, I am okay with nude beaches for grownups. Nude beaches for children is sick. Again, it is okay for a child to see genitals at a beach but not the grocery store? What is the difference and will the child understand the difference? You are dealing with children here. Great, so they learn nudity is okay, so when the uncle comes over for a visit, it is no big deal that the uncle walks around naked and even sleeps in the same bed as the child. Naked. Correct?

Naked picture of an undeveloped toddler is different. Pictures of a 13 year old boy or girl who have "developed" is wrong.

Is it? What is wrong about the human body? Is it therefore wrong for medical students to study pictures of naked youngsters for their studies, as they most assuredly do? "But that is different." Yes, it is. As is parents making a decision to raise their child outside the puritanical bent of American society as a whole. I have seen art books that have lovely pictures of people of all ages, sans clothes. I did not get sexually excited by any of them, even the better looking females in my age range. Why? Because they were not sexually exciting pictures to me, as I have been to clothing optional beaches, resorts, clubs, and bars. (Yes, there are clothing optional clubs and bars.) And I am quite used to seeing the human form, both attractive and not so, in its natural state. Does this make me a pervert? No.

Does it make it right for Uncle Chester to get into bed naked with Johnny? No. And a child raised in an atmosphere where sex is not a taboo subject will almost always know that this is inappropriate behavior, and Uncle Chester is going to have a lot of explaining to do. A child raised in a reestrictive atmosphere where sex is taboo and they are taught to unquestioningly obey authority figures is less likely to blow the whistle on the deviant Uncle.

My comments here do not condone and should not be interpreted to condone pedophilia or child pornography. I find these things sick, amoral, wrong, and atrocious. Pedophiles will, in fact, hunt down children who are unsure of themselves and have low self-esteem, so they are able to gain their trust by telling them how wonderful they are, etc., so when they do make their move, the youngster will not be sure what to do. Pedophiles rarely go after children who are confident in themselves, because children like this, PEOPLE like this, do not generally make good victims.

I am against all forms of child abuse, pedophilia, and child pornography. I just do not agree that some of the things being labeled as such in this thread are, in fact, child abuse, pedophilia, or child pornography. Our (American) society has instilled in many of us a fear of the natural sexuality we all possess, and of our bodies in their natural state. While I do not necessarily want to see everyone naked, I don't mind if I do, as it does not bother me. Yes, I have seen my parents naked when I was a child, and it did not scar me. I am not a pedophile, nor a sex-offender, registered or otherwise, nor a child pornographer, and have not in my life been convicted of any crime worse than a traffic offense. I may not have a perfect life, but I consider myself fairly well-adjusted, all things considered. I don't frequent stripper bars any more, as having worked in them before, they just don't interest me. I have seen some of the art books in question, and the only thing that piqued my interest was my wish that I was able to take such a beautiful photograph.

There are certainly many sexual problems in our society, things we must be wary of and on guard against. But I do not think that the natural form of the human body or teaching our children not to be scared of same should be counted among those problems. We certainly have enough other problems to keep ourselves busy dealing with them. And maybe learning from the naturists can help us deal with some of those.

Something to consider.

And may you all have a wonderful and clothes free day.

[hecubus]

Well said, Jester.

[Canarr]

Agree with Jester. I remember the uproar about Ms. Jackson's boob.... last year? And I remember not understanding it. Here in Germany, you're bombarded with boobs just from watching comercials on TV; it's actually gotten to the point where it's annoying. Hard to believe, I know.

What always makes me chuckle was the Australian member of parliament (I think) who stated "I'm just glad that we got the convicts and they [the US] got the Puritans."

But I digress. Yes, beaches in Europe are not generally regulated as to the state of clothing, though most people still prefer to wear bathing suits. In Germany, the eastern part is more relaxed concerning nudity than the western part. But in all of Europe (that I've been to), you see little kids running around naked quite often, though, and it's not really a problem. After all, if a pedophile were indeed waiting to snatch a child off a public beach, he'd hardly be deterred by clothing, now would he?

Personally, I feel it's a matter of situation. I recently started LARP'ing, and you quite frequently get players of both genders simultaneously dressing, undressing, showering, washing... and while that's nice to watch (in most cases...), it's not a sexual situation, so there's no arousal involved.

Nudity doesn't necessarily equal sex, or perversion. Just an opinion here folks, nothing to see. Move it along...

[Banrion]

And may you all have a wonderful and clothes free day.

All I can say is HERE HERE! To the whole post. Edited for length.

[chainedbarista]

i also agree with jester; we can look at it this way as well-because of our repressive attitudes towards sex, nudity and sexuality, we have removed sex ed from most schools, parents won't teach it in their homes and are so 'embarrassed' by the terminology, that they resort to using 'pet names' for body parts. it's absolutely ridiculous; call it what it is, not what you want to because that name is 'dirty.' if you can't say what it is, maybe you shouldn't be using it...!

[Tria]

I recently started LARP'ing, and you quite frequently get players of both genders simultaneously dressing, undressing, showering, washing... and while that's nice to watch (in most cases...), it's not a sexual situation, so there's no arousal involved.

Off topic, but what do you play?

[Spiffy McMoron]

Agree with Jester. I remember the uproar about Ms. Jackson's boob.... last year? And I remember not understanding it.

I didn't really understand it either. I realize that people watched the half-time show of the Super Bowl, not expecting to see a boob, and were shocked when they saw one. OK. But what about the rest of the performance, in which the backup dancers (and Janet and Justin, too) performed sexualized dance moves? I didn't hear one complaint about that. As well, I saw the clip of it happening, and I saw very little boob-you'd see more skin if you took a walk on a hot day!

I recently started LARP'ing, and you quite frequently get players of both genders simultaneously dressing, undressing, showering, washing...

Er, what is LARP'ing? *clueless*

As an aside, at school today, the class got a guest lecturer in my Educational Psychology course, talking about the best way to teach sexual education. (Which method is the best, when is the proper age, and whom should teach the children is a debate path we will not go down.) During the presentation, though, she showed us some very startling stats, which show an increasing lack of knowledge (even among adults) and more kids, doing more sexual acts, and earlier in their lives.

[Tria]

Er, what is LARP'ing? *clueless*

Live Action Role Playing.... Think of it as a play where only the director has the script and you adlib within set parameters.

[Spiffy McMoron]

Live Action Role Playing.... Think of it as a play where only the director has the script and you adlib within set parameters.

At the risk of offending an LARPer, (And completely taking this thread off topic, which I would not like to do) it sounds alot like an improv skit. Is this accurate or not?

[Rapscallion]

It's like playing D&D, but you use boffer weapons (mostly non-hurty) instead. http://geebasonparade.keenspot.com for a comic strip that would explain more via osmosis.

Everyone gets a chance to be a monster, but everyone also gets to play. Most of them get to hit someone else with a rubber sword and shout 'silver' at some point.

http://geebasonparade.keenspot.com/d/20060410.html for one of those special moments.

Rapscallion

[Canarr]

Off topic, but what do you play?

Further OT:
I play Werewolf: The Apokalypse. It's with a group of about 20-40 people who meet up for a weekend every 2-3 months.

Fun times; a lot of characterplay involved, and you get to kill stuff Rubber swords aplenty, and shouting "silver" is definitely a regular occasion.

While I've no idea what an improv skit is, I doubt that I'd be offended.

[AFpheonix]

Because they were not sexually exciting pictures to me, as I have been to clothing optional beaches, resorts, clubs, and bars. (Yes, there are clothing optional clubs and bars.)

Here's to hoping that they don't use vinyl upholstry