Fat Shaming Celebrities

Fat Shaming Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian Pregnant

Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera Fat Shaming

Melissa McCarthy

Melissa McCarthy Fat Shaming

 Celebrity Shaming

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I Have A Dream By Mariely Garcia

“Love Who You Are, Know You’re Not Alone”

Yesterday, Felicity and I went to show our support for Perfectly Made. Perfectly Made is the brainchild of young 17 year old  Mariely Garcia from New York City.

About a year ago, she founded http://perfectrevolution.org/ and there is no doubt that she has struck a cord with her teenage peers. It was a heartwarming sight to see so many teenagers chant messages of acceptance and love. She had put together performers who wrote and sang songs about everything from body image, bullying and teenage suicide to simple messages of acceptance and love.

A long banner where people could write positive messages at the rally

The video above is of Mariely Garcia – What can we say, other than the fact that she embodies everything that Young Naturists America stands for.

Please show here as much love and support as you can! With the world being what it is, and people being who they are, she is going to need it!

It’s all about the love and We Love Mariely Garcia!

YNA Twitter hashtag – #ItsAllAboutTheLove

Young Naturists And Nudists America YNA

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(Guest Nudist Blog By Anon)

Naked Run

For years I struggled with my own body image. I spent nearly half my life dealing with issues concerning my appearance and self worth. Needless to say, I had eating disorders that stemmed from those issues as well.

The idea of being naked in public never really appealed to me. If I couldn’t accept myself for what I looked like and who I was (under my clothes), how could I expect anyone else to?

But the conceptual idea of nudism had always intrigued me on some level. It seemed like it would be a very freeing (and very brave) experience. Anyone who could shed all of the fabric and textile materials that masked their body from others had to be incredibly comfortable in their own skin. So I promised myself that someday, when I would be stronger and more accepting of myself, I would give naturism a try.

It took a long time, and several false starts. But then the day actually came and I was ready to be brave! A couple of years earlier I had heard about the Annual Sunny Buns Fun Naked Run that would take place in a town near me. It was only a mile run, through one of the more heavily wooded parks and didn’t gain a large audience of non-participants. It seemed like a reasonable place to take my clothes off and be naked in public for my first time. To me, the thought of doing a naked run sounded far more fun and enticing than just hanging out at a nude BBQ or pool party.

So I signed up for the Fun Naked Run and payed my entrance fee. I figured that even if I got scared and bailed at the last moment, the money really wouldn’t be going to waste (since it was a charity event). The day of the Naked Run dawned cloudy and gray but not terribly cold. I jumped in my vehicle and headed out to the park. I still wasn’t sure if I was going to be brave enough to do the event, but I at least was brave enough to show up.

To make a long story short, I have to admit that I wasn’t able to strip all the way down that day at the Sunny Buns Fun Naked Run. I arrived at the park and saw all of the other participants roaming around in various states of undress, talking and laughing and having a grand time. I must have looked freaked out because several ladies came over and started talking to me. They explained the event, told me a little about their first experiences with social nudity, and in the end calmed me down quite a bit. And I was able to take off most, but not quite all, of my clothing. I just couldn’t manage to let go of my underpants and bra at the last minute.

The Fun Naked Run was a huge step. Especially for someone like me, who has lived for so long afraid of her own skin. I haven’t been back to try an event again, but I’m sure I will at some point. I met some amazing people and had a one-of-a-kind experience, and I look forward to doing it again. And this time I’m going to try for fully nude.

Young Naturists And Nudists America YNA

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Rachael Delmar

Guest Blog By: Rachael Delmar

Getting people to open up and share their experiences, struggles, hopes and aspirations, is just one of the things that we do at Young Naturists America. But in my opinion, these personal stories are extremely important. When we share our most intimate fears and experiences we not only begin to heal ourselves but we help others as well. In this instance, I reached out to Rachael in the hopes that she would be willing to talk and share with us her own personal struggles with body image. As we were reading her post, Felicity asked me why she was willing to reveal some of her most intimate thoughts and experiences. So we decided to ask her, and here is what she said: 

“I do it because I want to feel brave, like a survivor. I want others to know that no matter what, they are never alone and they have nothing to be ashamed of. It took me years to be able to do this. I know how hard it can be because I had to get to this point alone.”

YNA is not about the “me”, it is about the “us” and “we.” Together we can help each other move past those issues that hold us back. The only way we can make an impact is if we all work together to teach people how to be more accepting and compassionate. Together we hope to teach people how to be more tolerant and essentially, how to be more human. 

Again, sharing personal body image struggles is difficult so let’s all show her some support… and some love!

Distortions

mirror un-friendly you speak conversationally.

mirror mirror they surround

showing distortions

hypnotized

un-realistic

image

burning in head

flaming through eyes

the visions unclear

If someone were watching….

My Mother When She Was 19

That someone never fails to be me, viewing myself through my mother’s eyes. I dream of the day when I can look at my body through the eyes of others who say I am beautiful.  I remember the first time I confronted my soul out loud.  If anything, my mother did create a warrior.

As I grew, I watched her scream about being fat, starve herself, and berate me for eating too much.  She became everything I never wanted to be. 

She tortured herself until she reached 98 pounds.  A weight that made her lose her hair, and created the psychosis she suffers from today.  I can still hear her vomiting a barely touched meal.  She is a ghost in my head whispering into my ear every single day.  “Don’t cure me. Sickness is my me. My terror was you’d set me free.” -Frederick Seidel

I was too young to understand the meaning behind her compulsions.  My innocence was lost.  She looked at me and saw her child as fat. 

This was the start of a life that I never wanted.

My Mom Today

I have always vowed never to be like her.  It became my blood oath.  I do finally understand that some things can never release their grasp on your insides…….

By the age of 12, I weighed 120 pounds.  I didn’t know the meaning of calories.  Exercise was a thing we did in school.  As a ‘chubby’ kid, this was a moment I dreaded every single day.  I was surrounded by girls I envied in ways that knew no bounds.  I never longed for their expensive clothes or the ability to capture the boys.  I only yearned for their bodies.  

As the years went by, I grew into a more ‘womanly’ body.  Yet, I could never erase her voice in my head. 

By graduation, I was on a mission to become my own woman.  I wanted, needed, to emancipate myself from her grasp on my soul. I was so concerned about such a meaningless ideal, that I didn’t find myself on the road to graduating college.  After all, this was the one goal she did not instill in me. 

So I ran… from her and from myself.  I trained myself to exude confidence that most times I did not feel. 

I continued this marathon until the age of 21. I thought that if I could metaphorically run, I could kill the pavement as well as my mother’s issues. 

I still recall the day I ran 3 miles without stopping; the time I raced to 9 when my grandfather died. 

Endorphins became my drug of choice.  My weapon.  Yoga became my meditation, the flow was like sex.  The gym was my safe haven. 

I began modeling both clothed and nude.  A visual to really try and see what I looked like, through other’s eyes, not my own or hers. I began taking courses on nutrition and psychology.  I still possess the textbooks.  I refer to them as if they are my bibles when I feel I am on a downward spiral. 

Here is where I found my power and control.

I made everything a burn of muscles. 

I became obsessed.

…..still looking in the mirror, scales my enemy.

Not listening to anyone, in the past year, I have gotten down to 107 at 5’6”.  I don’t know the meaning of too skinny.  I only know the things that haunt me.

My battle is a daily curse every single day.  Instead of starving myself, I try and try to be healthy.  My only lesson is to try and embrace her and what she made of me.  Like the warrior she made of me, I am starting to own my body in the right way.

I know I will never be free.  Yet it is like a perpetual fire under my ass.  It ignites me to fight and never stop.  Most of all to never give up. 

I now own my muscles at the proud weight of 120. Back to where I started at age 12. The irony is not lost on me. ;)

I Am Empowered!

Young Naturists And Nudists America

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Blog written by: Logan of YNA OR

In Greco-Roman history, nudism was viewed as the ideal state, the pure state. The human body was viewed as elegant, beautiful and divine. Nowadays, the only time we are allowed to be nude and no one makes a big deal about it is when we are babies, but even this does not last very long. While reaching early childhood, nudity is viewed as a private matter, and it is shameful to be seen nude in public. I remember being around my parents and hearing them get upset because my niece and nephew (who was between 6-7 years of age) was getting ready for bed in the living room. My mother automatically commented and told them they can’t change in front of each other and need to get ready for bed in the bathroom, thus enforcing that nudity is shameful and should remain private. This deeply saddened me. Considering their ages, and knowing my niece and nephew, there was nothing sexual about them changing into their pajamas. They still had an innocent mindset.

Both men and women are told how to dress, what to dress, what the ideal man or women should look like and act. We have become so body conscious that we will often point out each other’s “flaws.” I remember growing up as a child and hating how I looked, especially as I struggled with my sense of self and body image. I strongly believe it is because we are grown into a society where it is not acceptable to be oneself. We are told to fulfill modern society’s ideals or otherwise we’ll get made fun of.

The nudist movement is not about sexual behavior. For YNA, it is about body acceptance, which will lead to an improved self-esteem and sense of self-worth. We are not about wearing no clothes all the time, as clothes are needed, but the difference is that clothes are not always needed. There are several activities that can be enjoyed without the constraints of clothes such as– swimming, hiking, jogging, gardening, and playing games, etc. Another benefit is going back to the age of innocence and enjoying being the best version of you whether clothed or naked.

I am witness to this nudist movement. I hated how I looked, and it was my meeting a certain person that lead me to become a nudist. Today, I can honestly say, my self-esteem and my self-worth have greatly improved. I stand here today as a changed man, and I believe everyone is beautiful. I believe there are no true body flaws. We are who we are for a reason, there is a story behind everything and we are worth knowing. We are all beautiful just as we are. I hope this nudist movement spreads, and we grow to love and accept each other as we are. Why should we be any different whether we are nude or with clothes? Today’s society would be easier to live with if we could learn to accept ourselves and others, which is part of YNA’s “people positive” philosophy.

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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“People positive,” based on our world view, is about not judging an individual based on anything but the way they behave. Below you will see an interaction that took place last night on the Young Naturists America Facebook wall. But before you read it, I would like to just make a couple of points very clear… The YNA people positive outlook is one of acceptance. Do we see people who are overweight or underweight? Yes. But it is not our place to judge these people. First of all, every person is different, and everyone has health issues. We do not know this history, we also do not know what this person is doing in order to live a healthy life. By jumping to judgement, people assume that they know what that person has been through and what physical issues they are forced to deal with. Also, the health of a person cannot be measured in pounds or inches. 

The USA is, for the most part, a free country. People have the right to choose how to lead their lives, and if they are happy then they are doing a good job. In order to see the person for who they are, people need to look past the outward appearances and see the person for who they truly are.

Sensitivity to other people is a major focus of the people positive approach we take at YNA. We don’t believe that offering advice on sensitive or personal matters unless an individual asks for an opinion. But if asked, we believe in telling that individual exactly what you think.

We all want to feel accepted – it’s human nature. One negative comment (even with honest good intentions at heart) could have a long-lasting profound effect on a person’s body image and general psyche. I mention general psyche because I want to be clear that our people positive outlook does not begin and / or end with body image and weight.

The people positive ideal applies to many different facets of life and human interaction. Bullying is a great example of behavior that cannot and should not be tolerated. Bullying does not have to mean physically attacking someone and causing bodily harm. A comment could leave scars that last a lifetime and this is something we do not approve of and frankly do not tolerate.

Our members are expected to act and interact in a respectful manner. Sometimes people might unknowingly say things or act in ways that could have negative repercussions. In such situations we expect those individuals to express some form of honest remorse (especially since the the comments were not intended to be hurtful). Saying sorry is by no means a show of weakness; if anything, it is a show of moral and ethical stature. 

Online and offline we urge people to think of the repercussions of what they say and how they say it. Realizing that our actions influence others is the first step to becoming a people positive and civilized society. 

And without further ado, here is the post that started it, followed by the conversation (I removed individuals’ names as needed for privacy concerns). 

We shared a link to photographer Jose Ferreira’s series, “Body Language”

Brian Anthony Kraemer: I don’t think that’s beautiful. If I saw a bluebird or a butterfly or a squirrel or any other species of animal that obese I wouldn’t think it was beautiful either. That woman needs to get on an all plants-based diet (vegan) and keep up her walking along the shoreline.

“Mr.Y” Replies: How do you know she doesn’t already do all that ?

Felicity Jones Comments: Brian, one of the cornerstones of the YNA value system is that it’s not our place to judge what somebody looks like, no matter how big or small they might be. Comments like yours can go a long way as far as hurting that person’s self-esteem and self-image. Frankly, such comments are downright unacceptable. Stephen also makes a good point. Research has shown that many overweight people don’t eat any differently from thin people, and size is often not an accurate measure of how healthy a person is. (You can be a thin person who eats nothing but junk food & never exercises!) You don’t know this woman, her background, her genes, her diet or exercise regimen, so don’t presume to know what’s best for her health and well-being. Let us reiterate, it’s not your place nor ours to judge or make medical recommendations.

“Mr.Z” Comments: I agree with Young Naturists America but I will say that it’s hard to find the balance between fighting obesity/promoting a healthy weight and also not judging people. I would never say anything to offend anyone, but what IS the proper way to promote a healthy weight without offending obese people or promoting sex?

Felicity Replies: “Mr.Z”, what anyone can do is have a healthy lifestyle and lead by example. But other than that we should accept them. And basically only offer help or advice if they ask you for it. It’s offensive to impose your own ideas of how that person should change their body or lifestyle, especially if you don’t know the person’s medical history. To be proactive, you can also write and talk about it, bring up the issue, and raise awareness. (But it ain’t easy and you have to be dedicated!)
This is a good article on this topic: ‘What’s Wrong With Fat-Shaming?  Fat-shaming ought to be self-explanatory, but it’s actually kind of tricky to…’ [click here to see the entire article]

Brian Anthony Kraemer Replies: I know my words aren’t politically correct, but I don’t believe the argument that this is healthy. Give me one example of any species on the planet other than human beings who are grossly overweight and still manage to congratulate each other on how beautiful they are. If the woman pictured has some sort of thyroid imbalance or other rare physical problem that makes being obese a necessity, then her efforts to do the best she can with what she’s got, and her effort to overcome it, is beautiful, but I won’t say the obesity is beautiful. If someone’s face is horrifically marred by accident or disease, he may be inwardly beautiful, his spirit, his joy and happiness and strength of character may be beautiful, but I’m not going to put a photograph of his frightening appearance on Facebook and entitle it, “Some beautiful photos.”

Felicity: Brian, the point we were trying to make is about not judging another person based on their appearance / size. It’s *not* about whether you think it’s “beautiful” or not. You’re entitled to your own opinion about the beauty of any piece of art, or what you consider attractive in a person, as is everyone. But judging & fat-shaming are different, and don’t do any good for anyone.

What do you think of the “people positive” outlook? Fat shaming? Have you ever experienced Fat Shaming or any kind of Body Shaming? What did you do about it?

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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Guest Blog by: A. Tarasenko

“Beautiful” Man

Body Image - Unattainable Beauty - It’s a chicken-or-the-egg scenario: What comes first, our idea of what is beautiful or beauty itself driving our ideas? Does beauty even exist as its own entity or is it purely in the eye of the beholder? What happens when we are told what to behold as beautiful?

We all complain about how today’s images of ideal beauty are vastly different from reality, different enough for some people to starve themselves to death or go under the knife for life altering (potentially life ending) surgery. What convinces these people to adopt such a singular idea of beauty that they feel like they have no choice but to commit to a life of chasing conformity? These ideals cannot simply pop out of thin air, and there are no aliens in a parallel universe implanting pictures of supermodels into our advertising so millions of girls can eat lettuce the rest of their lives. So where does it all come from?

Portrait of topless young woman wearing corset

Our only visual records of the aesthetic of the past are what artists deemed necessary to put down on paper. If I had a nickel for every time I had a conversation with someone about how different the ideal body type was back then compared to now, I wouldn’t have to go to work tomorrow. The ideal woman had an accentuated waist, round hips, large breasts, and a symmetrical face with moist lips. The women all looked ready for action with sensuous plump bodies and the men ready to ravage or fight a lion, whichever came first.  Back then it was mostly reproduction that drove our aesthetic, or very simply put… Sex. Even in the renaissance, the demure down-turned face of the infinite Virgin Mary paintings had something coy behind the smile. But what happened to those curves, those soft fleshy women of yesteryear’s greatest masterpieces? Well let me point out that it wasn’t as much of a reality back than as we dream about, meaning that people didn’t run around naked, certainly never exposing that much flesh; and there was no such thing as advertising, a medium that would allow the mass distribution of images. The reality was that many women died prematurely because of the restraining, body altering corsets they had to wear. Those paintings we see now in museums were created more for the whims of their (usually male) patrons and thus defined their sexual tastes more than anything.

Then came the invention of media and the over-saturation of advertising in our media outlets. Today’s aesthetic is not really an aesthetic at all, but it is a product of the privatization of beauty. Any company who makes a “beautifying” product will try to sell it as something we cannot live without (makeup, fashion, plastic surgery). Thus they perpetuate the images of beauty they know are not attainable so we may hopefully be tricked into believing they are by using their products.

Lacing a Dandy

At the end of the day, no one can define what we are all supposed to look like and feel about our bodies. I can safely say that those of us who have been ignoring society’s pleas to buy into a singular idea of beauty may continue to do so at no detriment to themselves. For those who do fall into the trap, I hope they see sooner than later that instead of loving themselves like they should, they are just spending their time here on earth following trends that change in accordance with whatever companies are trying to sell them.

Unattainable Beauty

Young Nudists Naturists America YNA

The post Body Image appeared first on Young Naturists America.

(Guest Blog By Sensual Shaman)

Mothers and Daughters Free From Shame

Body Issues - Paradise. Absolute Paradise. Those were the only words when thinking back on my day at Rock Lodge that were adequate to describe my experience and all in a brief visit to this magical sanctuary.

“Packing light?” my husband joked with me as I put my sarong, towel and hat in my canvas beach bag. Conspicuously missing a swimsuit, I smiled. I had wanted to visit Rock Lodge all summer – a nudist paradise – beautiful lake, scenic hiking trails, wildlife and nature in abundance and the option to be absolutely clothing free. I had offered to teach a yoga class at 11:30am that day and after a few wrong turns on my adventure there, I arrived just in time for the class. I was joy-filled to see a wide range of yogis in the class, as old as seventy and as young as seven, each celebrating their body and the spirit of yoga sans clothes. In my yoga practice thus far, naked yoga had been about consciously removing clothes and the identities behind them and thus finding a new, deeper layer of freedom that isn’t generally available in the rushed metropolis of New York City living. However, now I was faced with a group of people who already had that layer of freedom available. There was no disrobing ceremony. These powerful yogis were already in celebration of their body, loved yoga and wore whatever clothes at Rock Lodge that felt appropriate in the present moment, including, most often, nothing at all. Sitting, meditating, Om-ing with this community, I thought – heaven is truly here on earth. This is what a world looks like when we are free of shame, guilt and fear.

Talking over a potluck supper that evening with my host Sandy, he mentioned of one young woman – eighteen years old, a budding opera singer and regular at Rock Lodge since she was eleven.  “She will never have an eating disorder,” Sandy said very frankly to me over our potluck. “When one grows up with body love and acceptance in all shapes and sizes and sees their parents embrace that, one never feels the need to alter who they are.”

I knew exactly what he spoke of. I envied this young woman who had been exposed to paradise from the impressionable young age of eleven, while I grew up struggling with body image issues from pre-teen to adolescence. I stared at this young woman and at all the women at Rock Lodge and was overwhelmed to tears with gratitude that a place like this existed on the planet.  I recalled instantly, like moving through a memory box of pictures, the snapshots of shame I had felt in my body from a young age – my rejection of wearing shorts in middle school because of my perceived ugly legs, walking out of a room backwards after making love with a college sweetheart so he couldn’t see my buttocks and thighs that I thought were unsightly, feeling the self-judgment and loathing of my body the first time I was naked in public as the young French boy I was dating stripped and encouraged me to join him and his friends in the skyclad hot tub as I tried to hide myself and my shame under the darkening night.

While these recollected moments felt like ancient memories and my shame long since transformed, today, seeing a new possibility being taught to future generations of girls and young women left me rolling through the memory box seeing just how far we’ve come.

During my paradise day-trip to Rock Lodge, after swimming across the lake twice, I pulled myself up onto a dock in the middle of the lake and sprawled flat on my stomach, my buttocks and thighs completely exposed to the sun, the elements, the community, with not a twinge of shame in my body.  There was no thought of hiding, concealing, judging what my body should and shouldn’t look like.  Here, in the nude-ness of nature was the quiet ecstasy of one-ness. I hiked. I swam. I talked with friends old and new. I bared myself to the world. I marveled at a young Israeli mother and her seven year old daughter who practiced side crow yoga pose on the swim deck naked as a… crow.  Accompanied with her mother, an accomplished yogi practicing next to her, I saw what my relationship to my body would have been like if I had the muscle memory to both be in side crow and to be naked publicly, free of shame at seven years old.  I wondered what my life would have looked like if my mother had modeled for me how to love my body instead of loathe it. I wondered for sometime what our world would look like if mothers taught and modeled for their daughters that their bodies could be both sacred and shame-free. It would be in our blood. It wouldn’t be something we would have to search for, starve ourselves for, we would simply be in it, naked in nature, in side crow, in love of our bodies.

Sensual Shaman

Body Issues

Young Nudists And Naturists America YNA

The post Body Image Issues – Mothers and Daughters appeared first on Young Naturists America.

 (This was submitted by one of our readers who would rather not mention his name – which we naturally respect)

Body Image

My Personal Body Image Story

Body Image

Young Naturists And Nudists America YNA

The post Body Image Story appeared first on Young Naturists America.

(This body image blog was submitted by one of our readers who would rather not mention her name – which we naturally respect)

Naked Body Painting

Many people in the United States struggle with body image issues. The world around us keeps tells us that we have to look like skinny celebrities with flawless skin. Needless to say, this can be hard for people to live up to.

There is a huge stigma, especially for women, that they have to be very thin. I have struggled with my weight since I was 13 years old. I never understood calories and fat. My family let me eat whatever I wanted and really did not teach me about healthy eating or exercise.

This created problems for me at school, especially gym class. I felt so depressed that I could not really take part in P.E. class. I looked so different from the other girls in my class who were all taking ballet, gymnastics, cheer leading, or were running track and playing sports.

By 18, I had taken steps to curb my weight and was back down to 97 pounds. Two years later, I got married and got pregnant and then suddenly those body image issues became front and center again. I gained over 65 pounds!!! Now, five years and three kids later I have had to deal with these issues head on.

A friend told me that she was able to deal with her body image issues by attending social activities while nude. Since I am a conservative and modest woman (I do not even wear bikinis) I naturally thought she was insane! But she persisted. She told me that to feel comfortable in my own skin, I would need to be free of clothes and just love myself for who I really am. After a few days of thinking about it, I finally decided to give it a try! So I worked up some courage and headed to a local nude beach.

I felt very shy at first and did not want to take off my towel. As the day went on, I saw that everyone was nude and they were not ashamed of themselves, nor did they pay much attention to the other naked people who were at the beach. There were people of all shapes, sizes, genders, races and ages. After a while I decided it was time to take the plunge! I removed the towel and was shocked that people did not even notice. Some even came up and wanted to chat with me. Not one of the people I met judged me based on my appearance and not one of them made me feel as though I was weird. It felt like these people did not really care what I looked like. They just wanted to know more about ME.

I have gone to many social nude events since then. These events have helped me deal feel better about being overweight and taught me to accept the fact that I was okay just the way I am. I am now a more confident mother and wife and the experience has changed my life forever. Who would have thought that curing my body image issues would be as easy and getting undressed!

Body Image

Young Naturists And Nudists America

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“Untitled”

Julia Kozerski is an artist and photographer whose raw documentation of her own weight loss journey touched a nerve and spread like wildfire.  I decided to interview her about her work and how it relates to body image, nudity, and censorship in American culture.  Check out the rest of Half, Tag, and other works on her website and read the interview below to learn more!  

What inspired you to document your weight loss journey through self-portraiture?

I never planned on photographing myself. In fact, I probably hadn’t been in front of a camera for 10 years before starting these works. In essence, I started utilizing myself as my own muse because I had lot of questions about what I was going through and what was happening to my body. I found solace in the one-on-one interaction I had with my vulnerable self in front of the lens. I couldn’t hide anything (nor did I want to). I wasn’t making images for anyone but myself (and at the time no one saw them but me). I liked that, when the images were captured, I could remove myself from them and look at them like I do with any other photograph, objectively. The act of photographing also helped me stop time. Losing over 160 pounds in a year is fast. I was living in my body the entire time so the transition was “normal” to me, but looking at the still images taken throughout, I can better understand just how not normal it was.

An image from “Tag”

What made you decide to be completely naked in the photos in Half and Tag? 

“Half” was shot during the same time as I shot “Changing Room.” My main motivation for beginning my weight loss was in direct reflection to my ideas about how other women looked. I saw 338 pounds on the scale and my first thought was “models are 100 pounds … I am 3 people!” “Changing Room” was more about the fantasy of playing “dress up” with my new body. In the dressing rooms I could be a Barbie, I could see how my physical efforts played out for others to see. “Half” was the truth about the emotional toll that the physical transformation had taken. My experience was not superficial, it was raw, it was real … I needed the images to bare it all and I knew that the truth lay beneath the layers of clothing. My series “Tag” was created in reflection to creating both “Half” and “Changing Room.” It combined the superficial nature of media portrayals of women with the reality of my nude form. “Tag” is the epitome of what I was initially attempting to accomplish with starting my transformation; fitting into these idealized ideals of the body in a futile effort.

“Bare”

There seems to be a major disconnect between your weight loss experience and what’s portrayed on TV and in magazines.. The media seems to promise happiness and confidence from losing weight while your images show something very different.. What is all the emotion behind such a physical transformation? Is it really a depressing, disheartening experience?

You know, this weight-loss experience has been a roller-coaster. There are times of extreme happiness and pride, mixed in with despair and depression. What I understand now (for myself at least) is that I needed to experience the full range, as it helped me better understand myself. With having gone through all of this, I am better in-tune with my mental and physical being. I can better predict how certain choices will result. Before this journey, I wasn’t living, I was just alive (inside an unhealthy, morbidly obese shell at that). I NEVER regret making these changing. Yes, there were tears but now there is nothing but pride in those tears. They are real, they are raw, we all have them (whether you struggle with weight or not, we all wrestle with our own demons/insecurities). My experience taught me what it means to be human.

How did the changes on the outside affect the inside?

When I first began my transformation, it was purely on the basis of aesthetics. I wanted to look like a model. Well … when I began to slowly realize that that wasn’t going to happen, my self-esteem dropped. I wanted to throw in the towel. Luckily, I’d been taking all of these photographs and that is when I started really looking at myself (through the lens) to see what I’d done to myself. The photos were key. In them I saw things that I wasn’t able to grasp/understand in that I was living in myself the entire time. In pausing those moments I could see the positive, even in the negative. I gained a better understanding that what was unfolding was truly real. It was humanity at its best – goals, struggle, pain, love, triumph over evil. While I was disheartened to not see a Vogue model, I was honored to see a nude form which referenced more so to the models seen posing in art historic paintings (what some now call “real women.”) Like anyone else, I still have difficult emotional periods but they are more balanced now. I am still self-critical but who isn’t. My inside (and outside) just feel more “me” (for lack of a better word) than ever. The changes on the outside helped me understand who was on the inside. The images I took of my outside also helped to understand the emotional places I was in and helped me better cope with my changing emotions. The photographs I took of myself played a huge role. I made them for myself and I never meant to show them to anyone else. They were therapeutic in a way, helping me look objectively at the woman in the image. Sharing the images publicly was a giant step, one that I will be forever grateful for. The discussions elicited from my work have been outstanding! I love that my photographs have transcended self (myself) and have become icons for humanity. They have shown me that I/we are not alone in our feelings and emotions and that it is okay to talk about these issues – without embarrassment. (Of course, I have received quite a few negative comments but I’ve come to understand that they stem from the reviewers own insecurities and that what I am doing physically and artistically is right for me.)

“Hunger”

Just out of curiosity, what have been some of the negative comments? (Other than thoughtless remarks of “that sucks”, etc)

I have received a variety of negative comments. Most times people say accuse me of lying about my experience (they truly believe I had surgery), other times people comment that I am ugly or that I looked better when I was at my heaviest. Most recently though, I have gotten a few responses that the nudity was unnecessary and offensive. I’m gotten comments (most notably on the images where my husband was included) that I should have covered his penis. “Indecent” is the word they use, and they often write that I should be embarrassed of myself for exposing my most private and personal self in such a public way.

My (unspoken) response to those people … I guess you don’t get it (my message and/or my “art” in general).

So taking nude photos and even sharing them in a hugely public way has helped you accept yourself and your body. Would you recommend this to other people who are trying to lose weight or who are trying to simply accept their bodies?

It’s so interesting that you’ve asked this. You know, I’ve encouraged several people to photograph themselves nude. (Now, I want to preface that with saying that I made it clear that I don’t think it is necessary for everyone to picture themselves naked and share them publicly, as I did.) We live in our bodies 24/7 and we look in the mirror and we see ourselves … it is much different when you hold an image or see a photo of yourself on the computer screen. It’s similar to the reason we all cringe when someone wants to take our picture. The photograph doesn’t lie, it shows us what is really there – whether we like it or not. It allows us to to look objectively at what is shown. My nude images helped me accept myself as I was. In the portraits I saw things that I wanted to work towards changing but I also saw things about myself that made me happy, even proud. It’s easy to hit “delete” or to shred an image so that it would never be seen again. Whether you are losing weight or not, seeing yourself in the “raw” might offer you new insight into yourself and your life.

I agree with you when you say on your website that people are being fed images of unattainable beauty and now more so than ever with the Internet. The result is many other women (and men too) who think they are supposed to, or should, or need to look like a model. What’s the solution… How can they ignore it or look past it?

I still look at the models and I’m still bombarded by the images of unattainable beauty; I’m not sure we will ever be able to avoid it. But, this is where my nude photographs helped me the most. From those images, I understood that I wasn’t a model (and I admitted that I didn’t really want to become one either). My images helped me understand who I was and what I wanted. All along I said to myself “I want to look like the models,” and I was wrong. All I wanted was to look in the mirror once in awhile and to be confident in the person (inside and out) I saw in the reflection. I wanted to love myself. It’s true, I still judge people to this day. I see people as “skinny,” “pretty,” “fat,” etc. (Of course, I would never voice such opinions.) I believe that these terms and classifications have been embedded in us by these media-sourced images. When I find myself in one of these instances, I think about the context of my internal conversation. “Ok, I think that person is ‘skinny?’ … What/who am I comparing them to?” Usually I find that the generalizations I make about others are in comparison to myself. Yes, in size, she may have been thinner than me … but she wasn’t me. She hasn’t gone through what I have, she doesn’t live my lifestyle, she doesn’t have my same genetic make-up or family history, most likely she doesn’t have the same goals and aspirations as I do. She is not me. So why bother comparing? My advice on how to ignore being overwhelmed by outside sources … be selfish with yourself. Think of yourself, of who you are, of who you want to be. What makes you comfortable? What makes you happy? Be yourself and celebrate that. If you are unhappy with how you feel (which is perfectly normal) make change to improve that … but do so on your own terms. Learn to love yourself.

“Ruins No. 1″

Have you had any problems with censorship because of the nudity in your work?

The short answer, “yes.” People are very sensitive about nudity – a lot of my online presence has been flagged with “NSFW” warnings/labels. Many venues will not exhibit my work because it is seen as too “graphic.” Some places feel as though they would alienate a certain audience if they were to show these images. Several print publications have turned down use of my imagery and, instead, gone with text-only reporting of my story. I’ve had modifications (blurring, cropping, etc.) done to my photographs in order for them to be “useable” for some press. My series “Changing Room” actually surpassed my other photographic series “Half” in popularity because people could not “handle” the nudity (which is a shame because I believe “Half” to be a much stronger and more important body of work).

I understand censorship and I appreciate protecting people (whether it be with regard to age or personal/religious stances), but I don’t believe that we should demonize the natural, human form. What I am sharing with the world through my images is real. It is not pornographic or harboring some other hidden agenda. My nudes are documentary in nature and serve to share a story called humanity. They may be images of me, but the story is not about me – it is about love, beauty and identity, it is about struggle and perseverance … it is about the common thread that holds us all together, life. I see the images as an artistic catalyst for open and honest conversation and discussion about these issues. I am proud of these works and feel honored to have had the opportunity to share them thus far. I can only hope that others may soon look past the mere sight of skin and look deeper to find the real meaning of the work.

One last question – the venues that rejected your images – were those art galleries?

The places that typically stay away from my work have been more public arenas (major tv, websites, etc.) but I have been turned away from a number of galleries. It’s just because my images do not depict the “idealized” nude. (You know, they wouldn’t make any money because no one wants one of my nudes hanging over their fireplace.) *roll-eyes*

Images used with permission.

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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(This was submitted by one of our readers who would rather not mention his name – which we naturally respect)

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( Guest Blog By Melissa Dejanude )

Body Image And Anorexia

Body Image – I have always been self-conscious about my body. Growing up, I had developed eating disorders, both anorexia and bulimia. The symptoms of these disorders began back when I was a teenager. I believe I was in either eighth or ninth grade at the time. I was also involved in the sport of competitive gymnastics too, which really did nothing but provide fuel for the eating disorders. I had a very realistic goal of going to the Olympics and actually competed against Marylou Retton back in the 1980s. Involvement in such a sport makes you constantly obsessed about what you look like. What you weigh is an obsession you wake up with every morning. Needless to say, I ended up developing a distorted body image of myself and other people as well. The very idea of becoming fat or unpleasant looking was just not acceptable in my eyes. My father was also a violent alcoholic while I was growing up as well. He used to scare me half to death just about every day of my life and was always telling me how worthless and stupid I was, which of course also lead to the self-esteem issues. My self confidence went right out the window.

When I went to school, I used to try and cover my upper body up with a big sweater or I would wear double shirts to try to conceal my waist as I thought I was totally fat and disgusting. I did not want anyone to see any part of me let along let anyone to see me nude. In gym class, I refused to change my clothes in front of the other girls and would hide in the bathroom to get out of having to take a shower and be naked in front of anyone as I did not feel comfortable doing this in any way whatsoever. Keep in mind that at the time all of this was happening to me, I was at a weight of about 93 pounds. When I looked at myself in the mirror, all I could see was areas in need of improvement. Once reaching the age of 18, I suddenly had a boyfriend somehow, but that ended quickly since there were sexual issues on my part. These issues with distorted body image and low self-esteem went on for about 15 years until I reached the age of 30.

When I look back at it all now and look at pictures from back then of myself or others, I cannot believe how thin I looked. My mind was really messed up back then. No doubt about it.

Body Image

Young Nudists Naturists America YNA

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Nudism and Body Image

Is Naturism good for Your Body Image ?

Naked Girl & Body Image

While there are a wide range of reasons to get involved in social nudity, arguably, the most well-known benefit of nudism is the remarkable improvement this type of lifestyle can have on your body image. Ever since modern nudism can into practice during the early 20th century, people have found that participating in social and recreation activities, while nude, with other naked people is an extremely useful way to become comfortable with one’s own body.

 

Why Is Social Nudism Good For Positive Body Image:

 

Being nude in a public or private social setting allows you to discover that the blemishes and shapes that make up your physical appearance are nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, nudity teaches people that it is the unusual characteristics of your body are simply some of the many things that make you a unique and lovable person.

Socializing While Nude And Body Image:

One of the main reasons why nudism is so great for your body image is that it allows you to see how readily you are accepted in a social setting when you are in the nude. The nude body that social taboos have lead you to think must be shunned from the eye of the public is actually readily accepted and appreciated in a nudist setting. What new visitors find most remarkable about nudism is just how casual the whole atmosphere is. Once you have gotten settled in a nudist environment, you will soon find yourself socializing with others as you would in any other setting, and this can have a lasting impression on your personal body image.

Body Image And Nudism – The Great Equalizer  

Another reason that nudism has a positive impact on your body image is that participating in nudist events allows you to see that your body is not so different from any other. Due to the images of beauty presented in fashion and the entertainment industry, many people develop a very warped view of how their naked body compares to the general public. By spending some time with regular people in a non sexualized nudist environment, you will find that so-called imperfections are universal in men and women of all ages. As a result, nudism helps you break through mainstream beauty standards and permanently improve your body image.

Young Nudists America

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(By Melissa Dejanude)

Breast Size and Self Esteem

Breast Size and Self Esteem - As a little girl, most of my friends were boys. It wasn’t that I didn’t have female friends, I was a tomboy who preferred the ruff-and-tumble style of play that I could engage in with boys. It wasn’t until one fateful day in the fifth grade that I began to re-evaluate my choice of playmates. I was sitting at my desk, when a group of male classmates informed me that I had won first place in a poll that decided which of the girls in class had the largest chest. I immediately began to feel a sense of discomfort in knowing that the people who I considered to be my friends were actually looking at me as a sexual object. I had always loved being able to get along with both girls and my male counterparts, but that day changed my ability to do that. Although I resented them for making me feel that way, the end result was a sense of shame about my breasts.

As most girls in my class could not wait until their budding breasts peaked, I, on the other hand, could not wait for mine to stop growing. While many girls my age began wearing padded and push up bra, I, on the other hand, stuck to the models that would minimize them. But they never went away, and I was made even more aware of them once other girls began making comments.

I finally came to the realization that there was nothing that I could do about them at the end of junior high. Once I entered high school, I became surrounded by older girls with much more developed figures. Suddenly I was no longer faced with the issue of being the only top heavy girl on campus, but then a new issue surfaced: I felt underdeveloped. In comparison to seventeen year old young women, a fourteen year old’s body pales in comparison. I felt a sense of insecurity and inadequacy when I looked at them, and that did not feel any better than what I felt before.

As my body continued to change and grade levels above me eventually moved on, I was again put in a familiar position: the busty girl on campus. Although it was not a new experience, it was still painful to realize that people no longer saw me for me; they only saw what was on the outside.

Breast Size and Self Esteem

Young Nudists And Young Naturists America YNA

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Guest Body Acceptance Blog by: Jordan Blum

Body Acceptance – I was thinking the other day that for some reason I cannot think of one celebrity charity that advocates for body image / body acceptance. So naturally I googled it and this is what I found:  

look to the stars print screen image

There are so many worthy causes out there. And there are hundreds if not thousands that are supported by celebrities! So why hasn’t one (just one) come out in full and total support of body acceptance and all that it represents?  Are most celebrities too busy standing in front of the mirror? Perhaps they don’t think that body image is a worthy cause? Why must they / we wait till the problem develops into something more serious, like anorexia or bulimia to take action? In my world view, it is not our place to judge people based on what they look like. If someone is 500lbs and this person knows the risks, then it is not for me to judge. If they are happy then what is wrong with letting them continue living a happy life?   

We applaud actress Ashley Judd for her own rant (which is far more eloquent than this one) about the objectification of both women and men and the way society and the media relentlessly judge a person’s worth or value solely by their appearance.  But still, a consistent, dedicated advocate for body acceptance is missing.

What do you think? Are we missing a celebrity advocate for body acceptance or positive body image? Why? 

Body acceptance

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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Guest blog written by: Shaquoya Hemmans

Body Image

Living in a world where beauty is power, I have always had trouble finding myself in it. Always keeping up with the ever changing trends, spa treatments, and gym workouts is hard and costly. All of that in an attempt for me to always be accepted and loved for the beauty ideals and attractiveness that was built before I was born. Needless to say I am not the only girl, only woman, trans-woman, man or child who lives this cycle of ridiculousness.

My name is Shaquoya Hemmans. Feminist. Progressive. Strong-willed. Strong. Woman. I work with women and young women from the ages of 5-19 who have been sexually exploited. I conduct workshops to promote Healthy Body Image. I was invited to conduct a workshop at the Young Naturists America Gathering at Juniper Woods. At first, I was very nervous to accept. I have never been in an open space around nude individuals before, much less to be nude around people I didn’t know. The thought of letting them see my body, the body that I dressed and decorated for years, without my armor of beauty scared the shit out of me. How would they know how beautiful I can be without my long, beautiful scarf blocking the view to my round gut? How can I prove my status without my gold watch and studded dress? Who am I without the costume I worked to perfect for over 21 years? I have conducted workshops for over a year and a half, teaching others how to love themselves more, yet the thought of me being naked sent my self-confidence crashing down. But I love a challenge. I knew this could be a chance to do something I have never done before so… I gladly accepted and made arrangements. I have never been more excited, scared, and nervous. I arrived with a friend/ assistant to Juniper Woods with a packed bag for the night and my notebook with 3 hours of notes from the long drive to the resort. I needed to make sure I planned as much as possible for the new audience of my workshop. I was greeted with smiles and bare skin. Everywhere I looked was a bare bum, bare breast and genitals. As much as I enjoyed watching, I knew that there were eyes on the young woman running the body image workshop…still covered with clothes. So for the sake of keeping others comfortable, I got naked.

N-A-K-E-D! I walked freely with the naked people. The people who would be considered strange or perverts. These “strange people” were more accepting than any “normal” judgmental people I have met before. They walked nude without a fancy scarf blocking their tummies. They walked nude with large visible scars, without makeup, without fancy jewelry, without judgment. It made it easier for me to take my clothes off. To undress myself of the perfected costume, to leave my fancy jewelry and status-telling outfit behind for some good old human conversation. At one point I looked at myself in the mirror. Studying my curves and flaws, trying to imagine what others see. Trying to understand why for so long I was hiding, ashamed of the body that cradles my soul. Who made me ashamed? Who gave me the social guideline that has held me back from loving myself without all the shit beauty magazines offer to help “fix” me? Why did I ever believe that this person, I, me, myself who I see staring back at me in the mirror was ever any less beautiful then what I saw in that moment.

I got my notebook, tore all my planned notes out of my book, and got my pen. I headed over to start my body image workshop.

To be continued…

Young Naturists And Nudists America YNA

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My friend, Hadassah, has elbows.  I’ve always assumed this but only a short time ago did I see her elbows for the first time to prove that she does have them.  It’s funny that we’ve known each other for 14 years yet it was only recently that I saw her elbows.  Why did this happen?  Hadassah is of the Orthodox Jewish faith, which dictates that her whole body, including elbows and knees, must be covered.  I guess she joined a more moderate branch of Judaism recently, as her elbows can now be seen.  This is a huge change for her- and for me, as I look at her elbows for the first time.

For Hadassah, exposing her elbows was a breach of modesty, as seen by her faith.  Her religious beliefs had more emphasis on which body parts are acceptable to see and show, perhaps, than most people’s beliefs, but how different are they from modern culture, really?  While most people in the USA would agree that having people see your elbows is fine (and you may get some funny faces if you suggest otherwise!), how many people have that same good part/ bad part response when talking about… a woman’s pubic mound/ labia majora?  Or a penis?  Or a woman’s breast?

These body parts are the parts that are so sacred/ private/ obscene/ bad that they have many, many names.  A penis could be a dick and may have a name, the labia majora may be called a crotch, and a woman’s breast might be called a boob.  Even the grouping of the parts has a name: our private parts or, as some kids say, our privates.  Of course, we all know numerous other names for all these parts and many parents teach their children to call them some off-the-wall names.  And don’t even get me started on what we call the urine or feces that come out of these parts!

All of this begs the question of why certain body parts have numerous names and are “forbidden” while other parts only have one name and get no attention.  Think of the poor elbow: it only has one name and certainly no pet names.  All children call is simply “elbow” and everyone knows the name of this body part.  Not so with the genitals: they have numerous names, none of which are to be said in polite conversation.  I double-dog-dare you to bring up the status of your penis next time you’re at your family reunion- I’m thinking this won’t go well.  Compare this with a discussion of your elbow and you’ll see that there is a huge difference in how discussion of body parts is received.

What I find even more interesting is that men’s genitalia are typically correctly labeled- penis, scrotum, and testicles- while women’s genitalia are confused, even by adults.  We talk about the vagina as the part that is seen when the clothes come off, but, unless you’re the woman’s gynecologist or are very intimate with her, you’re really not seeing her vagina.  This is a common misconception.  Let me give you a little anatomy lesson, in case you didn’t know: the vagina is the canal inside of the woman that leads to the cervix.  (You’ll put your Diva Cup in the vagina, for those of you who have followed Felicity’s Blog about the Diva Cup.)  If you are at a nudist event, you most likely are seeing the woman’s labia majora, otherwise known as the pubic mound.  You may also see the labia minora, the inner lips inside of the labia majora, if the woman has “protruding labia.”  What’s sad to me is that so many people don’t know this basic anatomy- and I’m not just talking about children here! 

All of the silly labels for genitalia and the incorrect use of the terms of the woman’s genitals are simply a result of the stigma that is attached to these parts.  So why are these parts “bad”???  In this day and age we can understand this a bit because these are the parts that have been wrong for us to talk about and wrong for us to see or show since childhood.  We can understand that and, as nudists, we can take away the penis and labia majora stigma by not hiding these parts either with clothing or in our conversation.  This is something that we need to help our society to overcome, though!  This may start with first educating people on what their parts are, as so many people don’t have any idea of what’s what.  After that, we need to normalize these parts and take their stigma away by treating them with the same respect as our elbow, which has no stigma.  But surely there’s more…. What more can we do?  How do you help others to stop seeing their and your genitalia as bad parts that can be neither seen nor heard about?

*  Be sure to visit Young Naturists America often to stay up-to-date on news that matters and thoughts that change you!

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Nudism Improves Self-Esteem - I was in the locker room at the Travasuns pool party, getting dressed to leave when another woman doing the same started openly lamenting her weight and figure. “I need to lose weight,” she said, “I wish I looked like you.” My response was, “Now that is the wrong mentality!”

Have you ever had somebody else envy your body, complain about certain parts of their bodies, or judge themselves out loud? They say things like, “I’m so fat,” “I wanna get really skinny / I need to lose weight,” “I need to have a flat stomach.” I have definitely spent too much time trying to convince friends with low self-esteem that they were not “fat,” that their body and size were “normal,” and that they didn’t need to lose weight. But it’s not that easy to change how other people feel about their bodies. Some people, when they look in the mirror, start judging and criticizing themselves about every little bit of flab and flaw. They don’t see what you see when they look in the mirror.

You might think that since I grew up as a nudist that I’d have great self-esteem and effortlessly feel good about my body. I did spend many of my summers in social nudism, but the rest of the year I was living in the textile world. I read fashion and beauty magazines and still felt pressure to look good, wear trendy clothing and make-up in school. I was very shy and insecure (admittedly still a little shy sometimes). I was and still am thin, but that didn’t keep me from judging my own body and living with a fear of getting fat. I had this terrible mental habit of comparing my own body to those of other girls, from the ones I saw in real life to the models in the magazines, to figure out what I should look like. Am I as skinny as she is? Do I have cellulite? Are my thighs too fat? I wish I had straighter lines in my figure like her. My friend, who also grew up as a nudist, developed an eating disorder in college, in spite of her deep involvement in nudism. It just goes to show how invasive the skinny=beautiful notion is. Also, did anyone enter college in fear of gaining the “Freshman 15”? It doesn’t even exist.

Nudism Improves Self-Esteem

The reality is that it doesn’t matter what your size is or what you look like if your mind has been infected with a sense of inadequacy. People of any shape and size can feel ugly, inadequate and overweight, and so many young women (and men, but less so) are obsessed with getting thin. That’s what today’s beauty and fashion magazines are counting on to make money, from women especially. Thank you, Ashley Judd, for recently standing up against the ridiculous puffy-face accusations and using it for discussion about the objectification of women. Read her letter here. She brings up a good point: women judge each other and participate in patriarchy, too!

But wait! You don’t have to listen to all those messages telling you you’re not good enough, need to diet, or need plastic surgery! I want to share this awesome video from Laci Green, sex-positive blogger and sex-ed teacher, about having better self-esteem. Her advice can make a difference. No more beauty, fashion, gossip magazines (I’m definitely happier without them, and I say avoid Cable TV commercials too). No more judging your own body or others’ bodies (pay attention to that inner dialogue). And my favorite: Get Naked! If you’re not a naturist, you can start going nude at home. Then, I think one of the BEST ways to feel good about yourself is to see the beautiful, uncensored bodies of people in real life who are confident and comfortable just as they are. This is one reason I love naturism.

You can also read Laci’s tips here.

Nudism Improves Self-Esteem

Young Nudists Naturists America YNA

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Wonder Woman’s Original Body

Body Image – Comic books are perhaps one of the widest spread things for boys and to a larger extent than one would think… girls. To form their ideas of body image and what constitutes perfection. And if you look back over the years then you can see how social perception has altered what we see in these comics… or perhaps it’s the other way around?

Let’s turn back the pages to the first example of the modern comic book hero; Superman. Superman was originally thick through the shoulders with a trim but round stomach and heavy arms and legs. The reason for this was that, at the time, the character’s art was based off of circus strongmen. It’s also the same reason he wore tights. The same is true of Batman, who was less muscular but was built like the professional athletes of the time. Even the original drafts of Captain America showed someone who, while in superb physical condition, wasn’t rippling with slabs of muscle. So the question is, what changed? How did these and other heroes, which started out with achievable and believable physiques, change into the nigh-impossible examples that we see on the glossy pages today?

Well, major changes to the heroes we love likely came with changes in what we, as a culture, viewed as strong and fit. As sports culture changed, particularly during competitions with the USSR when it still existed, the use of steroids and advanced training techniques became more common. The results, of course, were bigger and more muscle-bound athletes. This perception moved forward into the 1980s and 1990s where classic heroes were given a complete makeover, making these paper paragons into fantastically proportioned men and women that were outside the realms of reality without absolute dedication to your appearance and body.

Wonder Woman’s New Body

We’ve seen this same trend expand out to so many parts of modern culture that we just accept it now when wrestling superstars, fitness models and actors all sport physiques for the cameras that make us drool in envy and which would make us cry in order to get them. It’s not so much that this is the ideal that’s the problem, really. The problem is that there doesn’t seem to be an understanding of the ridiculous amount of work that goes into that sort of body. It takes time, dedication, training and a very explicit diet, as well as a godly will.

What we try to learn from nudism and the nudist movement is that all body types are unique and should be accepted. Perhaps one day, the comic book industry, will understand that they more than just fun for young people. They help shape body image as well as the minds of future generations!

Superman’s New Body

Superman’s Original Body

Young Naturists & Nudists America YNA

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