Why Your Naked Body Shames You So

For all but the most cavalier among us, nudity is kind of a big deal. It’s something we don’t share with just anyone. Indeed, public nudity and shame go hand in hand. However, a recent BBC TV experiment, in which strangers were made to interact with each other in the nude, reveals that this sense of shame can be unlearned. But where does that chagrin come from in the first place?

According to the psychologist and professor Dan Fessler, of the University of California, Los Angeles, “Nudity is a threat to the basic social contract.” It is our social nature—and our lack of body hair/fur relative to other mammals—that has allowed nudity to become a problem for us. Because humans both mate for life (for the most part) and interact with so many other humans, nudity—and the sexual signals it sends off—poses a threat to “the mating pair.” We cover up, it would seem, to maintain order. Hence the abashment we feel when we’re exposed.

Does that answer satisfy you? What about the idea of being evaluated or judged based on physical form? That seems to be an issue for men and women alike—and even those people who are proudest of their physiques don’t visit the supermarket in the buff.

Is our fear of, or aversion to, public nudity something we should try to unlearn?

Via Mental Floss.