MALE Beauty
We usually associate beauty with femininity. By contrast with women's, male bodies are built for power and strength, have a 'rugged beauty' of their own. As nudists, it's wholly acceptable to admire others' physical bodies--regardless of their gender or ours. This is a group to express our admiration of the male physique.
The Ancient Greeks and Nudity
Return to DiscussionsAs many already know, the Ancient Greeks had a real appreciation of the male body--in terms of athletic ability, aesthetics, even sensuousness and eroticism. It's no surprise then that the first Olympics were performed naked, with thousands of spectators. Now imagine if that were the case today? Especially here in the US (which has its roots in Puritanism)--I suspect vice squads would be closing in, all sorts of accusations of indecency, etc. etc. Fortunately, nudism gives us a sane outlook on such projections. Nakedness and the nude human figure are regarded as completely natural and integrated into our everyday social life and recreation. I've chosen to focus this group on MALE nudity (since there are so many already having to do with female nudity) and the beauty of the nude male body.
I totally agree! It tarted with the Greeks and they were always nude. We have become a prudish country thanks t the puritans in our hisotory and we need to change that and allow nudity as it is universally unique! Why should we USA people think we are different the the rest of the world who accepts nudity in men and women! We are becoming a backward country! History tells us diferently and we need to listen to it!
Hickguy
As many already know, the Ancient Greeks had a real appreciation of the male body--in terms of athletic ability, aesthetics, even sensuousness and eroticism. It's no surprise then that the first Olympics were performed naked, with thousands of spectators. Now imagine if that were the case today? Especially here in the US (which has its roots in Puritanism)--I suspect vice squads would be closing in, all sorts of accusations of indecency, etc. etc. Fortunately, nudism gives us a sane outlook on such projections. Nakedness and the nude human figure are regarded as completely natural and integrated into our everyday social life and recreation. I've chosen to focus this group on MALE nudity (since there are so many already having to do with female nudity) and the beauty of the nude male body.I absolutely agree. Olympic Games should indeed be played NAKED again, according to the ancient tradition. And yes, the focus should be on male nudity and the beauty of the naked male body.
Agreed, but tv broadcast in the US, which is a significant source of income for the Olympics, would be a problem.
Plus if the IOC even requires men to wear shirts for events like boxing, wrestling, and beach volleyball, which are often shirtless elsewhere, allowing nude competitions would be a major cultural shift.
I've read blogs about how Greek athletes trained and find it quite amazing. Exercise physiologists are just starting to understand the Greek ideal and are matching it up modern ideas of functional/animal movement, core strengthening and their balanced, lean, and athletic physique with defined shoulders and arms, lean legs, abs, and a broad chest/back. Compare that to modern weightlifting with its often cartoonish proportions. We have a lot to learn.
At the same time, the Greeks practiced pederasty or sexual activity involving a man and a boy or youth to the degree it became socially accepted. As a father I believe this is wrong. I've also studied early Christianity and understand the Apostle Paul preached vehemently against it. The problem is that his terms for "child abuser" were later translated to "homosexual" and his personal sexual hangups ended up influencing Christianity to be quite sex-negative (and Puritans who came along a millennium and a half later made it even worse).
The Greek disdain for an exposed glans, which was considered shameless and dishonorable, synonymous with lewdness and wantonness, is humorous to me, especially in contrast to the Judeo-Christian focus on amputated foreskins as a sign of piety. Even penises can't please all the people all of the time, so it's easier just to focus on whole body nudity.