by Forest, Will
“All’s well that ends well, so let’s abandon macho metaphors.”
“Alright, alright. Here’s the situation: Tabitha is going to come to class on Wednesday. At least I hope she will, because I invited her. And I told her I knew that there would be at least five students wanting to add the course, the same number that dropped.”
“She’s worried about that state program? The minimum number of majors…what’s it called?”
“Viability, exactly. I need you to come too.”
“You need me? How sweet!”
“I need you because any support would be helpful, but especially yours because of your research in Sweden and your resulting seminar this semester. It would be great to see you.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll see me alright, and you’ll see me in the altogether, as I assume you mean. But I haven’t told you my news yet.”
“Your manuscript…?”
“Oh, if only...No, but better: I’ve decided to copy your style. Maybe not quite so flamboyantly…”
“What do you mean?”
“My seminar is a Tuesday / Thursday course, so the first class meeting is tomorrow. I’ve decided to officially forego textiles in the classroom environment. I’ll explain to the students that it’s entirely appropriate for us to be nude, given that I’ve planned the seminar as a forum related to the results of my recent research.”
“Angie, that’s terrific! What a sensational idea! Maybe they could even keep a journal, or somehow do a study on their own experiences with clothes-free education…”
“I’m way ahead of you. I’ve already built journals and a self-study into the syllabus.”
“I like the journals idea, too. Maybe I’ll have my students write them as well. I wonder if we have any of the same students in these two courses.”
“I don’t think so, because mine are mostly seniors and education majors. But I’ll let you know when I see who your students are on Wednesday.”
“Angie…how are you going to do it? You know, are you going to show up nude, or undress in the classroom, or what?”
“I was thinking of undressing in the classroom. Why, how did you do it?”
“See, I think you could get away with that, because you’re a woman and I’ll bet most of your students are women. In my case I concluded that, for the students, the shock of a naked man showing up to teach class would be awful, but still better than having to witness me disrobe in front of them.”
“A clever but unpersuasive defense of your overly dramatic methodology. I think you chose that option because, quite simply, you’re a closet thespian.”
Christopher laughed and pretended to give up. “Okay, you got me. I can’t resist a chance to epater le bourgeoisie, you know. But I bet you can’t resist either. So be there or be square on Wednesday at 10:00, Humanities Building room 330.”
“I’ll be there with bells on.”
“Great! See you then.”
“Bye!”
Christopher clutched the receiver until he heard the dial tone, then started singing “You Can Ring My Bell.” Four bars into the chorus, he was dancing.
Nude Body Learning
Dr. Angela Saucedo arrived to the first class of her ED 490 seminar with her yoga mat, a CD, and a candle under her arm. Most of the eleven students in the class knew her already from previous courses. She greeted the students, called the roll, and began explaining the course content and goals.
“This senior seminar is called ‘The Student Body: Attitudes toward Dress in Successful Pedagogy.’ Many of you know I was on sabbatical last semester, but you may not know that I traveled to Sweden to observe and analyze an innovative program at a school in Stockholm in which nudity is the norm.”
Most of the students gave her looks of shock, some of pleasant surprise.
“In this seminar we will study and discuss not only the issue of nude education but also the use of school uniforms, academic dress codes in general, school tolerance of religious expression through dress, and related topics. Our goal in the seminar will be to promote an understanding of what I’ve begun to call nude body learning, based on earlier theories of whole body learning, in which body acceptance opens the path to a greater participation in the learning process. Greater participation means increased internalization of the subject matter, whether it’s math or Arabic or history. The results of my research and interviews at the Fri Skola in Stockholm show that nudity can optimize such participation and internalization, with the caveat that social nudity has to be both a school-wide policy and a lifestyle at least somewhat familiar to the school’s community. We’ll begin the course with an analysis of the benefits of nude education, but given the current sociopolitical realities of the United States, we’ll also move on to topics like the effects of a uniform policy and the implementation of a body-centered curriculum. Any questions so far?”
A red-haired young woman in the front row raised her hand. “Is this a demonstration course?”
“What do you mean, Lisa?”
“I guess I should know by the catalog description, but I don’t understand if we go observe classrooms, or if we do student teaching as a part of this course.”
“Good question. Neither observations nor student teaching are required components of this seminar. As education majors you will meet those requirements in other courses that you have to complete in order to graduate.”
“Then how can we get a solid understanding of nude education?” asked Jacob.
“Go to Dr. Ross’s class!” yelled another student.
Dr. Saucedo looked around the room, surveying the laughter and knowing smiles in response to the exchange. Yes, word travels fast, she thought. Then she forced a sigh. “Well, maybe we can make this into a demonstration course after all. But, to quote my colleague Dr. Ross, context is everything. I’ll need your help. Observe and learn.”
With that, she lit the candle, lowered the blind, switched off the lights, and started the stereo. The students in the softly glowing classroom began to perceive the aromas of ginger and peach and the plaintive wafting raga of a sitar. As unaffectedly as she could, Angela rolled out her yoga mat and removed her clothing. She sat in the lotus position on the mat, eyes closed. After meditating a few moments, shutting out the ambient noises of the students in the classroom, she began to assume asanas, or positions, in a flow as it occurred to her, something of a sun salutation with variations. At some point in the flow, it became necessary to open her eyes. Not losing her focus, she nonetheless observed that a handful of her students had disrobed, completely or partially, and seated themselves upon their shirts or blouses on the floor. A few more were in the process of undressing. Angela continued her flow for a few more minutes before seating herself again on the mat. She then saw that all of the students were sitting on the floor. Three of them were still clothed, but none had left.
“Close your eyes,” Angela said. “Breathe deeply, from the diaphragm. I’m going to read a meditation for you:
My body is the home of my spirit. Though my spirit may wander, as well it should, it must always return to this, its natural and beloved abode. I choose to honor my body, all its parts, in its sensual totality, and to care for my body in order to better express my spirit. I recognize the bodies of those around me as the homes of their spirits, and I recognize the immensity of sensory and spiritual perception created by a congregation of unencumbered bodies united in mutual respect and appreciation. Freedom and harmony for the universe begin in every body.
Angela allowed a lengthy pause. “Thank you for your participation today. Please look over the syllabus and begin the readings for Thursday’s class. Yoga mats are recommended but not required. Dress code: nothing but smiles.”
As Angela expected, her students didn’t exactly jump up to leave. The class dissolved into informal conversations, in which Angela also took part, reluctantly switching off the stereo and turning the lights back on only when the last students were dressed and ready to go. She thought of Ch
ristopher, in a playfully competitive way, when she realized that, unlike her nudist colleague, she had not had anyone walk out of the classroom. But, she thought, even though she may also have students eager to add the course once word got out, the course prerequisites limited her potential student population to senior education majors. Christopher’s course, in contrast, was open to anybody in the university. Better for him, she thought, he needs the students. The philosophy department needs the students. For the love of humanity, what we all really need are interested and engaged students.
Aesthetics and the Body
There were many more people than usual milling about the philosophy department main office and hallway shortly before ten o’clock on Wednesday morning. Christopher sauntered out of his office, wearing nothing but his watch, and stared intently at all the miller-abouters feigning indifference while straining their eyes to look at him. As he neared the classroom at the end of the hall, he sensed rather more noise than he had expected to hear. He took a deep breath and turned left into the classroom. Oh my God. There were some thirty people cramped into the tiny seminar room. Every seat was occupied by a nude student, and just as many more undressed pupils were standing along the walls. And there was Angela, standing nude in the back, talking with the very smartly dressed Dr. Tabitha Lasseter-Peebles.
“Good morning!” called out Dr. Ross as he approached the desk. “All new students please see me after class to get syllabi and fill out your add-a-course forms.”
“Oh I’ve taken care of all that already, Dr. Ross,” said Dr. Lasseter-Peebles with a big smile.
Christopher stared at his department chair, bemused. “Have you found us a larger room, as well?”
“Yes, you and Dr. Sheffield next door will switch classrooms starting on Friday.”
“Thank you, Dr. Lasseter-Peebles. Are you going to join us today?”
“Please don’t mind me. I’ll just stand here in the back.”
“Feel free to, you know, make yourself comfortable.” Christopher cleared his throat, wanting to say something even more direct to her, about the unease that her refusal to disrobe might cause among the students. But he realized that they clearly were not interested in her presence. Being nude was the majority option.
Instead, he asked the students: “Have any of you received a phone call or email message from me soliciting you to add this course? If so please raise your hand.”
No hands were raised. Dr. Lasseter-Peebles nodded in recognition of this fact.
Christopher looked around the room. “So, you are all here by your own design. I congratulate all of you for your courage to participate in this course. It will be a groundbreaking course in many ways. But I also expect you to understand that our purpose here, as in any philosophy course, is to ask questions and seek answers about what we think we know and how we think we know it. We are nude, all the better to discuss aesthetics and the body, because the social contexts of human existence determine how we portray bodies. Not just in art, but also in our everyday lives, how we dress or undress, whether and how much we exercise or diet, etc. All of these factors will merit our consideration in this course.
“But we have started with nudity. The human body is the most ordinary of things, yet also the most extraordinary. The sight of naked bodies is not commonplace for most of us, but it should be—including naked bodies in motion, with flapping penises or bouncing breasts. We need to reclaim this nudity, this freedom of expression! Why do we let the pornography industry dictate and control the nude body, whether in motion or in stasis? We are no better than thieves ourselves if we rob our children of understanding the bodily basics of humanity.
“There is a deep joy in perceiving your own body nude among the nude bodies of others. It is not a perverse joy. It is the splendor of variety, the knowledge of our natural selves that we all seek to confirm in the semblances of others. Know this: Accepting nudity does not mean tolerating flagrant sexuality. Accepting nudity does mean welcoming inherent sexuality.”
“I don’t understand, Dr. Ross,” said Heather, Renee’s friend from Ricky’s, who was one of the new students.
“Let me try a different way. I think we would all agree that sex is a basic part of life, yes? Even the celibate or the comatose may have sexual dreams. Why should it be any different whether we are clad or unclad? Sex is still a basic part of life.”
“But without clothes we expose the sexual organs,” said Daphne.
“First, we have to distinguish between the genitals proper as sexual organs and other body parts that are often sexualized. And second, we have to recognize that often when wearing clothes we accentuate the genitals or other fetishized organs like the breasts or the buttocks, or even the feet or the ears. Swimsuits, for example, are veils that, in many contexts, can reveal more than they hide.”
Renee massaged her earlobes with her fingertips. “So if I’m wearing only earrings I’m still clothed?”
“I think the jury’s out on that one,” replied Dr. Ross. “What do you all think?”
“Earrings aren’t clothes, they’re decorations,” said Greg. “It’s not like they’re covering anything up.”
“Right, or if you wear glasses because you need them to see, you wouldn’t want to go without the lenses,” said Jennifer. “Although that could more closely relate being naked to being vulnerable.”
“Wait a second—how do swimsuits reveal more than they hide?” Terrence asked.
“Is it because they draw attention to what they cover?” asked Daphne.
“Yeah, and if you’ve been swimming outside, you’ll have tan lines,” added Heather, “which definitely make the parts that were supposedly hidden under the swimsuit stand out when you’re in the locker room, or when you’re with your partner.”
“And some bikinis barely cover anything,” said Renee. “So it’s like, if you’re almost completely naked, you make other people look at that part, or those parts, that are barely covered.”
“These are very good points,” Dr. Ross began, satisfied with the students’ observations and participation. “Consider how in some areas of the world women go topless on the beach as a cultural norm, while in other areas, both women and men still wear extensive covering to go swimming.
“By the way, I like the way you all are thinking, and I like the way you are feeling free to express yourselves. Precisely for this reason—that is, feeling free to express ourselves—there is no photographic equipment allowed in this classroom. That includes cell phones. In our precious quest to reclaim the image of the human nude, context is everything. Filming or photographing creates the possibility of a deferred context, in fact many deferred contexts, once, twice or many times removed from the immediacy and spontaneity of our class discussions. We live in a society that does not openly accept nudity, especially social nudity, which means that the most common context that would be created for the viewing of photos or film from this class would be a prurient one.”
“What does prurient mean?” asked Brian, cross-country and track teammate of Alex and Greg.
“An excellent question. It means being overtly interested in sex, and is usually a result of a repressive social environment, for example, one that conditions us to automatically associate nudity with sex. In other words, it’s perfectly natural to be interested in sex and to be interested in our bodies, but when the social environment treats nudity as a synonym for sex, then nudity and sex both become greater taboos, and therefore more greatly desired.”
Terrence raised his hand. “So, if everyone’s nude, then no one’s interested in sex?”
“No. Like I said, it’s perfectly natural to be interested in sex, whether you’re nude or not. Some people have the impression that public nudity is an orgy for swingers, and other people think that public nudity is completely asexual. In fact, it’s neither one nor the other. There’s a popular saying that goes something like, two naked people running through the waves on the beach can be erotic, but twenty naked people waiting i
n line for potato salad is not. Again, context is everything.”
“What if I get an erection in class?” Greg’s tone glided between anxiety and bravado. “Hey, Brian, don’t laugh, it could happen.”
“This is a very common concern among people new to social nudity. Probably no one will notice, unless you jump up and start prancing around, which I wouldn’t advise. I would hope that you would relax and accept that getting an erection is normal for men, several or even many times over the course of the day and into the night as well. But flaunting it is certainly not appropriate in this class.”
“What if I’m having my period?” Jennifer asked seriously.
“Another frequent and excellent question. This is a very important health issue and common sense should prevail. Feel free to wear what you need to wear if you are menstruating. Also, if any of you, female or male, are simply too cold or feeling under the weather, it’s understandable that you would cover your body to some extent. Health comes first.”
Christopher noticed Tabitha squirming, uncomfortable with these issues, or the frank nature of the discussion, or both. But she stoically stayed for the entire class period, and insisted on fulfilling her part of the bargain by treating her colleague to lunch afterwards at Giacomo’s Casa Toscana, if only for the satisfaction of seeing him dressed again.
She confessed over her Caesar salad. “Mea culpa, Christopher. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“What, disrobe?”
“I struggled with it. I felt… too official. I felt the need to represent a status quo, still, for the time being.”
“Understood. Thanks for staying for the whole period.”
“And I’m sorry, too, for my reaction the other day. I see now that there certainly is a chance for increased long-term interest in philosophy with your approach.”
“Thanks.”
“But I still see the possibility of danger as well. I’m meeting with the dean this afternoon to discuss your course. I’ll enlist his help, but there’s no guarantee. Don’t forget, there were five…”