Going out of his way to be outraged
I was at a literary event this week where a number of published authors, all female, gave readings from some of their books.
My wife and I attended to hear one particular speaker who has done a lot to encourage me to adopt a positive attitude to life post-stroke. She knows I'm a naturist and is firmly of the 'it's not for me, but I'm fine with you talking and writing about it and I'm certainly not going to unfriend you over it' school of thought.
What gave me the idea for this post, however, was not that lady, but another of the authors, one I had never met until that evening, even though she is a friend of a friend. She had flowers in her hair and was wearing a brown cotton dress. It quickly became obvious that despite the chill of a January evening (and it wasn't exactly warm in the art gallery which was staging the event) that she wasn't wearing any underwear.
It became so obvious, in fact, that when she bent down to put a cup of coffee on the floor, I heard one rather indiscreet member of the audience (in his 60's, male, the archetypal easily-outraged Daily Telegraph reader!) tell his wife (60's, the archetypal easily-outraged Daily Telegraph reader!) in a clearly audible stage whisper: ''My God, you can see right up her.......''. Of course, he then went out of his way to make absolutely sure that you could see right up her.......
It obviously didn't occur to this easily-outraged gent that he was sitting in a modern art gallery which was staging an exhibition of female nudes and if he was that keen to see a lady's private parts and be outraged, all he had to do was look at the pictures on the walls around him. And if he was that quick to be outraged by the lady in the cotton dress sans underwear, what was he doing in an art gallery which was staging an exhibition of female nudes?
The reason I mention this incident is that clothes can sometimes titillate more than can the naked body. Having been a naturist for over 25 years, I've seen an awful lot of naked female bodies. And I would venture the opinion that a female body wrapped in minimal clothing is far more provocative and titillating than the naked body itself.
Bikinis which hide almost nothing except nipples and vaginas, for instance; tops with plunging necklines which push out and exaggerate cleavages. And dresses worn without underwear.
I've met, I've interviewed, I've sat opposite and alongside in naturist environments, dozens of attractive women with no clothes on. Never have I been to look right up their..... It's rude and very much against naturist etiquette, for a start.
My point is that I wonder what that man's reaction would have been if the event had been in a naturist environment? My wife and I attended a showing of naked photographs from Amelia Allen's excellent book, Naked Britain, recently. It was held in London and was a naturist event - all the visitors were nude; the only people wearing clothes were the catering staff, who did so for 'elf''n'safety reasons.
Granted, all the guests were experienced naturists but the gender balance was about 50-50 and if anyone had wanted to be appalled by the sight of a lady's private parts, there was ample opportunity. But naturists just don't do that sort of thing - people who behave as if they have never seen such things before clearly do. Why not just go without provocative clothes and have done with it?
My wife and I attended to hear one particular speaker who has done a lot to encourage me to adopt a positive attitude to life post-stroke. She knows I'm a naturist and is firmly of the 'it's not for me, but I'm fine with you talking and writing about it and I'm certainly not going to unfriend you over it' school of thought.
What gave me the idea for this post, however, was not that lady, but another of the authors, one I had never met until that evening, even though she is a friend of a friend. She had flowers in her hair and was wearing a brown cotton dress. It quickly became obvious that despite the chill of a January evening (and it wasn't exactly warm in the art gallery which was staging the event) that she wasn't wearing any underwear.
It became so obvious, in fact, that when she bent down to put a cup of coffee on the floor, I heard one rather indiscreet member of the audience (in his 60's, male, the archetypal easily-outraged Daily Telegraph reader!) tell his wife (60's, the archetypal easily-outraged Daily Telegraph reader!) in a clearly audible stage whisper: ''My God, you can see right up her.......''. Of course, he then went out of his way to make absolutely sure that you could see right up her.......
It obviously didn't occur to this easily-outraged gent that he was sitting in a modern art gallery which was staging an exhibition of female nudes and if he was that keen to see a lady's private parts and be outraged, all he had to do was look at the pictures on the walls around him. And if he was that quick to be outraged by the lady in the cotton dress sans underwear, what was he doing in an art gallery which was staging an exhibition of female nudes?
The reason I mention this incident is that clothes can sometimes titillate more than can the naked body. Having been a naturist for over 25 years, I've seen an awful lot of naked female bodies. And I would venture the opinion that a female body wrapped in minimal clothing is far more provocative and titillating than the naked body itself.
Bikinis which hide almost nothing except nipples and vaginas, for instance; tops with plunging necklines which push out and exaggerate cleavages. And dresses worn without underwear.
I've met, I've interviewed, I've sat opposite and alongside in naturist environments, dozens of attractive women with no clothes on. Never have I been to look right up their..... It's rude and very much against naturist etiquette, for a start.
My point is that I wonder what that man's reaction would have been if the event had been in a naturist environment? My wife and I attended a showing of naked photographs from Amelia Allen's excellent book, Naked Britain, recently. It was held in London and was a naturist event - all the visitors were nude; the only people wearing clothes were the catering staff, who did so for 'elf''n'safety reasons.
Granted, all the guests were experienced naturists but the gender balance was about 50-50 and if anyone had wanted to be appalled by the sight of a lady's private parts, there was ample opportunity. But naturists just don't do that sort of thing - people who behave as if they have never seen such things before clearly do. Why not just go without provocative clothes and have done with it?
Comments
Post a Comment