The perception of nudity in contemporary society

That of the bare nude is an extremely contemporary issue and treated in modern times with a never-before-seen frequency.

Even when the naked was a taboo, the controversy over the liberation of the female and male body has never had so much literature, but: Are we sure that nude is really a taboo that we, as an advanced society, have really overcome?

A quick review of the history of the last, let’s say, one hundred years.

In the field of art, the feminine nude returns to be treated with no shame with Romanticism - and the author precise “returns”, just because at this stage it seems ridiculous to us to remind or highlight the importance of the naked body in the centuries directly preceding that dark spot of misfortune, mythology and fanaticism commonly called the Middle Age. With the romantic movement, the naked body becomes a way to channel the ritual spirituality, opening a gap of the two centuries to come. Despite a small backdrop of mass culture between the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, avant-garde and counter-cultures continue to retreat the issue, seeking in every way to break down the last great stigma that binds us to those dark times.

We said "a brief review" because it was really a quick recap, a small, graceful brace right to contextualize the true theme of this writing: the contemporary and the perception of the free body. For the last fifteen years, the glorious 2000s, we have seen a return to vogue - let's say it, sisters, it has never passed for us - the controversy concerning social media, the progressive and constant change of social costumes, the women's liberation through the exposure their sexuality*, excessive media exposure to naked and soft porn, etc., etc., etc., etc. Well, we of nss have been very curious about this progressive and extreme polarization and decided to analyze the results first hand.

Why this long and boring introduction? Because in the last fifteen years something has changed.

Social medias have arrived.

That social networks are the global phenomenon that has revolutionized the millennium we live in, I do not think it's a shamrock for anyone but there is one thing among the many that have contributed to revolutionizing. Since their advent, the internet doors have been opened more and more to a new generation of young people and have led to the widespread belief that this has speeded up its growth process. It is a commonplace and a widespread belief that the young people have a too light approach to sexuality and affectivity and that this has influenced the diffusion of personal material - the so-called naked selfie. Well, it seems to spin. Social media, young people have no respect, they are not aware of what they are doing.

But is it really so?

Through the drafting of an online questionnaire open to everyone, the intended purpose was to understand what lies behind the disambiguation in the acceptance of the naked with a series of simple conflicting questions with one goal: to show that, at the expense of how much is said, naked is still perceived as a discriminant.

At least, this was the original idea. What we came to discover is, however, that the above-mentioned ideas on young people and sex are just a tide of benevolent stupidities.

On the almost three hundred people who freely offered to answer a series of questions about sex and the spread of personal related material, a very good part were them: the very young. What resulted from the analysis of the reports is that, when talking about sexuality, they are perfectly aware of the risks surrounding the phenomenon and that, because of this awareness, are in very little to do so. What denotes the data is that instead, the tendency to the diffusion of images of naked personnel is more widespread in the upper age brackets. Only 27% of respondents in the age group 13-18 stated that they had ever taken nude photos or sent pictures of this nature.

Well, as you ascend the age range, the percentage increases by 10 percentage points for each three-year range.

Why?
Because so is life.

With the increase in age and experiences lived and shared, the approach with each other evolves, becomes less naive and lighter and more and more aware not only of the other but also of the self. Increased needs, the perception of the self, and also the approach to one's own body and sexuality, and, to this awareness, not lead to anything else that a greater sexual freedom. 

Parents around the world, sleep peacefully because your older children are the ones you should worry about!

* if this particular step in the text has intrigued you, read our new column Sex Stories- Shelby du Jour.