Surveys Show

Nudity has been a topical issue of late in the press in recent years with various stories making the headlines, along with  the repeated convictions of the naked rambler Stephen Gough. Opinions tend to vary greatly as do surveys with never a definitive answer but most do show or give insight to the way people think. YouGov has in recent years asked participants whether they thought nudity was a taboo subject in the United Kingdom and the general perception of participants towards their own and other people’s nudity they asked if :

NUDITY IS A TABOO SUBJECT:

Most participants said that nudity was a taboo subject. participants who argued this viewpoint gave a range of views, with some participants remarking that nudity was a subject that ashamed the vast majority of people in Britain. Nonetheless, other participants stated most people tend to ignore the topic; due to its embarrassing nature and that the general public in the United Kingdom should hold more liberal views on the topic, like our European counterparts do. In a similar manner, a small section of participants noted the conservative, austere, and restrained nature of British culture as a reason for nudity being a taboo subject. These participants’ general perception was that many people in the United Kingdom equate nudity with sex, another reason why it is generally frowned upon in British society today. On the other hand, a minority of participants said that nudity is becoming less of a taboo subject and more acceptable to the younger generations, through the exposure of the media, which has made people more tolerant of nudity as a whole.

 

The best viewpoint comment was : “ The British culture has since the Victorian era been somewhat restrained by manners and politeness. This may be why nudity is thought of as a taboo. Nudity and sex are not the same thing although they can be confused by some people ”

PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE MORE COMFORTABLE WITH NUDITY:

In contrast to the findings on the taboo nature of nudity, participants tended to be far more comfortable with their own nudity than not comfortable in their naked skin. Participants in this group noted how nudity was liberating for the individual and that it can make people more positive about themselves. Similarly, the vast majority of participants said that they were comfortable with other people’s nudity, for instance in changing rooms, on the beach, or on TV, so long as it did not affect them directly. It appears that on the one side of the coin, that although participants’ perceived nudity as a taboo subject, on the other side of the coin they were more open about both their own nudity and the nudity of others. On the whole, the majority of participants also said that they had become more comfortable with their own and other people’s nudity as they had got older. Explanations ranged from becoming more tolerant, mature, and less judgmental of the behaviour of others.

In this section the best comment happen to be this one : “ I feel I have nothing to be ashamed of in my body. I’m happy with the way I look,and I think why should we be ashamed of our body when everyone has one? We should celebrate ourselves rather than feeling like we have to cover up and hide the way we look naturally. I think it’s insecurity that causes people to be prudish about nakedness ”

PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE LESS COMFORTABLE WITH NUDITY:

Participants in this group were not comfortable with their own nudity, as they saw their own bodies in a negative light. Moreover, participants in this group tended to be embarrassed of their body size or shape and this was why they felt uncomfortable with both their own nudity and other people’s nudity. A minority of participants said that they were not comfortable with other people’s nudity, seeing it largely as a new phenomenon. These participants were primarily concerned with nudity undermining the moral fabric of society and also equated nudity with a decline in the moral standards of society. Those participants who were less comfortable with nudity as they became older were in the minority, with more people saying that their attitudes had stayed the same and had not changed as they had become older. In this section this comment seemed to top the lot : “ Firstly, I follow the concept of being clothed at all times, with exception of a few occasions. Secondly, I am conscious of my body and don’t feel comfortable exposing it. Finally, I feel, my privacy of body belongs to my partner and no one else needs to see it ”

 

P.S. This post is dedicated to Andrew Martinez