Why do we wear clothes??

originally posted by: TheJourney

originally posted by: ketsuko
If you want to have people walking innocently around in the buff, then you need to lay off the sex and let people be innocent.

Sex isn't the problem. It's viewing sex as some sort of immoral, shameful thing. You're saying, people can't just be naked, because it will be sexual. Well, nudity is so sexual because of sexual repression. In proportion to our level of sexual repression, we become increasingly sensitive to potential sexual cues. Saying 'lay off the sex then we could be naked' just re-enforces this repression. Stop repressing sex, and treating it as some dirty thing, then nudity won't be such a problem.

It is my feeling that the naked people thousands of years ago could not wait for the day they were able to put on clothes. Believe me this is not a place we would want to go back to.

Everyone has different opinions on this, but many people here believe the government is trying to opress nature and destroy it and use technology and put cameras everywhere. If you believe this is true, why not be more open-minded to the idea of human beings walking around naturally instead of artificially (make-up, clothes, etc.)?

Because I would be mobbed by women and have to service them all. That would cut into my golf and video games time as well.

I'm bipolar and in many of my manic episodes I ditched my clothing. With repercussions to the people around me, but I remember running through the woods feeling quite at home in my naked skin. I almost feel like there must have been a lifetime I've lived in the past where I didn't have clothes, because that's how strong the urge to disregard them has been. Of course in my fully-immersed-in-the-21st-Century-and-medicated state, I kind of need them.

originally posted by: arpgme
Everyone has different opinions on this, but many people here believe the government is trying to opress nature and destroy it and use technology and put cameras everywhere. If you believe this is true, why not be more open-minded to the idea of human beings walking around naturally instead of artificially (make-up, clothes, etc.)?

I suppose it all boils down to just how one defines "natural" in this context. Every culture going back until at least the Pleistocene, has engaged in some sort of decorative displays. In some instances it was jewelry and bead work, others it was body painting as demonstrated by many aboriginal communities from Australia across the Pacific to the Americas and allover Africa. Clothing, while often merely a functional response to environmental issues, is also a form of self expression and likewise fashion is simply a modern extension of earlier behaviors of this nature. So if Neanderthal who used red ochre, iron oxide and manganese 75,000 BPE to adorn their bodies as well as jewelry and beadwork are to be considered "natural" then by that same token, the modern fashion industry is little more than an extension of that. Clothing has been utilized, based on genetic data related to the separation of various species of louse, for well over 130,000 years, long before Homo Sapiens Sapiens left the loving confines of the African continent. I'm not sure where you live, but here in the North East US, nudity in the winter just isn't an option while shoveling out my driveway!

anthropology.net...

www.theguardian.com...

a reply to: peter vlar

But it's not optional at all, it's mandatory because being with clothing is illegal for humans. Yes, clothing was used for a long time to keep warm and for self-expression but it wasn't always mandatory - at one point it was optional.

I am a life long Naturist/nudist.

I am setting here posting in the nude.

That should keep you up for days thinking about it.

a reply to: arpgme

and what point exactly was that switch over in moralities? In western societies you can probably narrow it down to t he influence of the church on perceived moralities and how Kings and Emperors wrote law. There are plenty of places you can spend your days completely nude. It's ones choice to continue living within the confines of a society whose moral base they disagree with.

Hi guys,

I would posit that clothing *can* in fact change one's perspective on desirability - like icing on a cake.

What may have been utilitarian in colder climates (including by European influence), is now the norm - and we only recently gained the luxury of having this much...

There was a time in the not-so-distant past where wearing clothes that was full body covering was a luxury afforded by the few - and variety was even less affordable.

Again, if the world heads to the issues I see potentially occuring - we might actually choose to discard more than a few of those "luxuries".

to avoid sunburn, various skin injuries, avoiding contaminated surfaces
lots of reasons to 'cover up' in today's society

a reply to: peter vlar

It's ones choice to continue living within the confines of a society whose moral base they disagree with.

Not always, and the same could have been said back then about the "morality" of slavery, women's rights, etc.

Why do we wear clothes? Probably because unless you are in great shape and in about your 20's, the human body can be an ugly thing to look at. I find clothing restraining. However, at 57, it's good to stay covered.

1. but when you are not in lust and evaluate objectively, people don't look good without clothes. even when you consider deemed attractive porn stars/glamour models, they don't really look that good without clothes, the bared vagina doesn't look that good.

2. practically to keep warm.

3. order -wise to reduce sex appeal stimulation, otherwise rape and lust would be greater aroused.

4.some cognitive sense of shame/sexaulity. higher intellegence mean being able to grasp concept like morality , sexuality and so on perhaps. of course this is from a scientific context.

a reply to: cooperton

I think it's a cultural thing too. We are also conditioned to think our bodies are "sexual desires" and so we must hide our bodies.

But back in the 1700's was it? women weren't allowed to even show their wrists because it was seen as a sexual body part...or something like that. We've come a loooong way though!

maybe one day clothes will be optional and we won't see our bodies as being purely sexual.