Had this exact same experience this past weekend !!! I went to a swim club for the first time with my family friend (woman in her 50s-60s) and she made me do a polar plunge. The endorphins were amazing and she insisted we go shower and sauna afterwards, where she stripped completely nude wordlessly and invited me to condition my hair with her. We then got into the sauna with 5 other women who were splayed out in various positions, all completely nude, and laughing and cutting it up with each other. We all rubbed coconut oil on our bodies and reminisced about how cold the Bay water was etc etc. I was so elated afterwards and I felt so free and happy and went around uncontrollably smiling for the rest of the day :,). Everyone had wrinkles and rolls and big stomachs and thighs and stretch marks and pendulous boobs and all sorts of different things going on. I want to go back every day to experience it again and again ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
this is a meaningful piece! as always, thank you for sharing! some particular lines that leapt out at me:
"No two people looked alike. Despite the media always showing the same body type over and over again."
"Fully understanding the diversity of possibility and actually welcoming it was incredibly liberating."
"Americans treat nudity like it is something taboo. Unlike in other countries, Americans are much more worried about a child watching a film with a butt cheek than a head graphically blown off."
this resonated so deeply! for similar reasons, i remember having an epiphany at an art museum where there’s so many different body shapes portrayed throughout histories and cultures. i was looking at an old sculpture of a woman with an actual stomach, thighs, breasts, and just had a moment like “oh our bodies have always been this way actually!” and the body type that is currently marketed toward us is only from the more recent decades. we’re all so beautiful and always have been :,)
I remember the few times changing in the bathroom of the girls locker room during school because I felt so weird being semi naked around people. Even now, when my friends/sister in law was breastfeeding I had to look away because I felt a bit awkward.
I wish I felt more comfortable acknowledging the human body without the idea of sexualization around it. A body is just a body after all
I completely agree, Allison!! I think one reason that I have relatively good body image compared to other young women my age is because i saw my mom naked all the time as a kid, as weird as it sounds. It made me normalize wrinkles, cellulite, saggy boobs, stomach fat, body hair, etc from a young age and made me feel less pressure to change my appearance (that being said, of course I’m still impacted by our culture and media at large!). My stepmom took me and my stepsister to a women’s spa when we were 14 and that was another huge moment for me, seeing not only my stepsister’s body but all the diverse naked women’s bodies around me! I totally agree that seeing real-life naked bodies can be huge in normalizing our bodies and can help foster an attitude of body acceptance and neutrality. Thank you for sharing!!❤️❤️❤️
I loved this, Allison! I am in my late 20’s, and I was just trying to articulate these thoughts to a friend who is newly 22 this weekend. The thing I have found most helpful for my own body image and personhood as I am becoming a Real Adult Woman has been seeing other Real Adult Women’s bodies. We’re all different, we’re all the same, always changing, never all “bad” or all “good”. Sexual AND functional, separately and at the same time. My body isn’t a secret that needs kept. Life changing! Thank you for your words♥️
Thank you for sharing, Allison; this piece reflects my own experience as a woman. I remember in my hometown high school, when I was a cheerleader, some other girls and I would change in and out of our uniforms in the bathroom stalls. Even in college I remember other girls and I hastily covering up our boobs with our arms after taking off our bras. It’s quite sad how something as biologically normal as nakedness has become so sexualized. Hell, I’m 34 and only just recently began learning to feel more comfortable in my naked body. The journey never ends!
Thank you for sharing, Allison! Last week, I took on the task of getting a friend home from the club after she became too intoxicated. I got her home, into her bedroom and before I could turn depart, she stripped off entirely, and asked me to get her dressing gown for her. Her only thought was cleanliness and comfort - and my only thought was ensuring she got into bed okay (she was fine the next day, just hungover). I felt so maternal in that moment and I'm so glad she felt comfortable being so vulnerable with me. Yay for platonic nudity!!!
No Korean spa for me, but I, too, recall the first time I encountered female nudity in the wild - a two-week horse packing trip with 14 other women ranging from early 20s to late 70s, with me smack-dab in the middle. Although I eventually got there, my initial reaction was not at all like yours! Thanks for this thoughtful piece on the ways society pits us against each other, and a great reminder that comparison is the thief of joy. BTW this is my first visit here, but I'm heading to the archives with high hopes ;)
Had this exact same experience this past weekend !!! I went to a swim club for the first time with my family friend (woman in her 50s-60s) and she made me do a polar plunge. The endorphins were amazing and she insisted we go shower and sauna afterwards, where she stripped completely nude wordlessly and invited me to condition my hair with her. We then got into the sauna with 5 other women who were splayed out in various positions, all completely nude, and laughing and cutting it up with each other. We all rubbed coconut oil on our bodies and reminisced about how cold the Bay water was etc etc. I was so elated afterwards and I felt so free and happy and went around uncontrollably smiling for the rest of the day :,). Everyone had wrinkles and rolls and big stomachs and thighs and stretch marks and pendulous boobs and all sorts of different things going on. I want to go back every day to experience it again and again ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Omg I LOVE this so much!!! Thank you for sharing the experience!
dear allison,
this is a meaningful piece! as always, thank you for sharing! some particular lines that leapt out at me:
"No two people looked alike. Despite the media always showing the same body type over and over again."
"Fully understanding the diversity of possibility and actually welcoming it was incredibly liberating."
"Americans treat nudity like it is something taboo. Unlike in other countries, Americans are much more worried about a child watching a film with a butt cheek than a head graphically blown off."
thank you so much for sharing!
much love
myq
Thank you so much!
this resonated so deeply! for similar reasons, i remember having an epiphany at an art museum where there’s so many different body shapes portrayed throughout histories and cultures. i was looking at an old sculpture of a woman with an actual stomach, thighs, breasts, and just had a moment like “oh our bodies have always been this way actually!” and the body type that is currently marketed toward us is only from the more recent decades. we’re all so beautiful and always have been :,)
Exactly!! Love this perspective!
I remember the few times changing in the bathroom of the girls locker room during school because I felt so weird being semi naked around people. Even now, when my friends/sister in law was breastfeeding I had to look away because I felt a bit awkward.
I wish I felt more comfortable acknowledging the human body without the idea of sexualization around it. A body is just a body after all
It's been a work in progress for me too!! But it's exciting that we can change our thoughts around it!
I completely agree, Allison!! I think one reason that I have relatively good body image compared to other young women my age is because i saw my mom naked all the time as a kid, as weird as it sounds. It made me normalize wrinkles, cellulite, saggy boobs, stomach fat, body hair, etc from a young age and made me feel less pressure to change my appearance (that being said, of course I’m still impacted by our culture and media at large!). My stepmom took me and my stepsister to a women’s spa when we were 14 and that was another huge moment for me, seeing not only my stepsister’s body but all the diverse naked women’s bodies around me! I totally agree that seeing real-life naked bodies can be huge in normalizing our bodies and can help foster an attitude of body acceptance and neutrality. Thank you for sharing!!❤️❤️❤️
Oh I love this! Shows how important those early experiences are!
I loved this, Allison! I am in my late 20’s, and I was just trying to articulate these thoughts to a friend who is newly 22 this weekend. The thing I have found most helpful for my own body image and personhood as I am becoming a Real Adult Woman has been seeing other Real Adult Women’s bodies. We’re all different, we’re all the same, always changing, never all “bad” or all “good”. Sexual AND functional, separately and at the same time. My body isn’t a secret that needs kept. Life changing! Thank you for your words♥️
Sexual and functional is such a great take!! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for sharing, Allison; this piece reflects my own experience as a woman. I remember in my hometown high school, when I was a cheerleader, some other girls and I would change in and out of our uniforms in the bathroom stalls. Even in college I remember other girls and I hastily covering up our boobs with our arms after taking off our bras. It’s quite sad how something as biologically normal as nakedness has become so sexualized. Hell, I’m 34 and only just recently began learning to feel more comfortable in my naked body. The journey never ends!
It's so wild! But I'm really glad we're starting to make progress in the right direction!
Thank you for sharing, Allison! Last week, I took on the task of getting a friend home from the club after she became too intoxicated. I got her home, into her bedroom and before I could turn depart, she stripped off entirely, and asked me to get her dressing gown for her. Her only thought was cleanliness and comfort - and my only thought was ensuring she got into bed okay (she was fine the next day, just hungover). I felt so maternal in that moment and I'm so glad she felt comfortable being so vulnerable with me. Yay for platonic nudity!!!
What a great moment between friends!!
Inspired me to get changed at my locker instead of hiding in a shower cubicle at the gym this evening. Freeing! Thanks Allison 🙏
Wow!! I love that so much!!
I remembered this text, but didn’t quite recall it. Thank you for sharing it again, Allison. Women are so beautiful! 🌹🪻🌷
They really are!
In the words of Jim's Dad, "It's a perfectly normal, natural thing."
No Korean spa for me, but I, too, recall the first time I encountered female nudity in the wild - a two-week horse packing trip with 14 other women ranging from early 20s to late 70s, with me smack-dab in the middle. Although I eventually got there, my initial reaction was not at all like yours! Thanks for this thoughtful piece on the ways society pits us against each other, and a great reminder that comparison is the thief of joy. BTW this is my first visit here, but I'm heading to the archives with high hopes ;)
I don't see it! Maybe try again?