Everybody Naked

Originally Posted Friday, September 5, 2014

Even as I (try to) pursue other photo projects that don't include naked people, I wonder at the alarms that go off when someone famous is exposed to have made naked pictures.  Once again I say that everyone should be required to post a nude picture of themselves online.  Then nobody would get in trouble. 

I'm naive, I know.  And I know pictures of naked people are titillating.  The beaches of Europe are full of naked people.  You can see secretaries nude sun bathing on the banks of the Seine at lunchtime in Paris.  And still, walk two hundred feet away from the river or beach and there are news stands selling magazines with pictures of naked people. 

Endlessly entertaining, I guess, even for the liberated. 

Sex tapes are another thing.  While everyone makes naked pictures of themselves (don't they?), not everybody makes a sex tape.  I do not like watching pornographic movies.  True dat.  But tell me that there is a Paris Hilton sex tape, and I'll be searching the internet all day until I can find it.  Why? 

Did you ever see the one that got Rob Lowe into all the trouble?  Of course you did. 

And still, I have no interest in watching a sex tape of you.  Or me.  None.  Zero.  Etc.  (Is masturbation considered sex?). 

I've noticed one thing, though, about t.v. shows that have a lot of nudity--the amount of nudity they show goes down each season.  Compare season one and the latest season of most HBO, Cinemax, or Showtime series.  I'd love to ask the creators why this is.  Do they talk about it with the writers and directors or does this just happen? 

I think publishers should insert pictures of naked people into philosophy books just to piss off Muslims even more.  OK, OK, not all Muslims, you know. . . the BAD ones who hate philosophy.  And nudity.  Even the Catholics were O.K. with the naked form when they were at their worst.  But I know I need to learn more.  Maybe what I consider bad Muslims are just the equivalent of Baptist Christians.  Or the snake handlers. . . which brand are those again? 

Without doubt, Hindus get the sexiest religion award, but I'm sure there are fundamentalist Hindus who are as bad as Baptists.  OK, OK, not ALL Baptists. 

And this is the problem with most discussions today.  You can't categorize.  It gets you into trouble.  Remember Bush--the one who started a war not against a country but against an ideology?  That worked out pretty well. 

Still, FOX news has no reticence about categorizing and they are the most watched news station by far.  People like simple categories.  Good.  Bad.  Moral.  Immoral.  Us smart people. . . you know. . . "us". . .  we can't stand categories unless we are against privilege which makes us a bit like terrorists. . . wait. . . .

I am too sleepy to figure this out.  In answer to your query, Lisa. . . I don't know.