Should Public Nudity Be Illegalized - Research Paper Example

PUBLIC NUDITY al Affiliation) Nudity is the of exposing one’s nakedness. In the 17th century, the concept of nudity was not embraced. It was reserved for members of the society whose professional orientation evolved around sex such as prostitutes. In most cultures around the world, it was believed that sophisticated members of the society were careful to keep their nakedness out of sight from those that they did not have intimate relations with. Towards the end of the 18th century, nudity became a more acceptable phenomenon. Women were the more explorative of the concept. While in the 20th and 21st century women are still more indulgent in public nudity, men have taken to it on a wider scale. This paper’s focal point is to lay the assertion that although it has limited positivity, for the most part nudity bears negativity and therefore, should be illegalized. Public nudity bears more negativity than positivity. Firstly, it inhibits healthy child development. It is entirely unhealthy for children to be exposed to images of nude adults. This is because they are not at a point in their lives where this information should be relayed to them. In every stage of human life, there are certain bits of information that one is meant to acquire: during childhood one comes to terms with language, gestures and interactive techniques. If information is passed at the wrong stage of an individual’s development, it causes misconception and elicits a harmful reaction. Children have very little cognitive development to bear positive results. They cannot assimilate nudity to bear positivity. Rather, the exhibition of this information to them could cause them to have a perverted line of thought. Scholars assert that human beings analyze issues as being either positive or negative. Children, being mentally underdeveloped, cannot fathom the positivity that comes from the nude human body. This is because they are unaware of concepts such as childbirth. The young human mind, owing to exploration and adventure, assimilates negativity faster than it does positivity (Lunceford, 2012, p.46). As a result of this, their minds ultimately divert to the negative - sexual perversion. Public nudity contributes to pornographic addiction: a factor that inhibits healthy mental progress. It causes one to develop lustful thoughts and to follow this up with indulgence in pornographic material. Public nudity undermines culture and religion. Most sustainable cultures in the world condemn public nudity. The African culture, for instance, one of the most celebrated in the world, has been undermined by public nudity. Young African men and women have taken up nudity after interactions with the West. Notably, the culture attracts people from all over the world who appreciate and celebrate it. If the culture is tainted and undermined, the world has nothing to celebrate. Furthermore, religions such as Christianity, Islam and Hinduism, which the larger section of the world live by, insist that nudity be reserved for one’s privacy. In this regard, the legalization of nudity would be disrespectful to culture and religion. These are elements upon which humanity draws guidance. Public nudity goes a long way in undermining the general regard for women. This is because, as previously mentioned, of the two sexes they are the more indulgent in nudity. This portrays women in a lowly fashion (Alexander, 2006, p. 78). Firstly, it illustrates that women would do just about anything to sustain their livelihoods. Although there are a number of occurrences where men engage in public nudity, they do not override the ones that women do. Furthermore, it depicts the female body as a tool for entertainment. The music industry, with specific regard to the hip-hop culture, is the apparent evidence of this. In the videos, in question women are portrayed as a means from which men draw pleasure so long as they are willing to spend money on the women in question. While this may not in essence be the characters of the women in question, their actions tell a different tale .In an era where feminism is fighting to gain ground, this does nothing in its favor. Public nudity also taints the general concept of sex. It is because of acts such as public nudity, sex has been misinterpreted. Nudity is an element of sex: this is why it ought to be reserved for individuals and their sexual partners. However, nudity portrays sex as an action that could be publicly displayed. This explains acts of public indecency that have constantly been on the rise since the onset of the 21st century (Alexander, p.112). It is common to come across people carrying out such acts in the light of day (The Guardian, 2014, p. 1). This is not to say that public nudity has been the sole cause of this but rather that it has contributed greatly. Because of public nudity, society has a distorted interpretation of what sex should be (Lehmuskallio, 2013, p. 1). Public nudity has also contributed to human trafficking and child molestation. This is because of the interpretation that sex sells. Human beings are sold into slavery where they are used as sex symbols. It is even more distasteful that children, who are barely of age, find themselves as victims of this practice. These children, if they survive, are unable to regain their initial attitude and demeanor towards life: they are permanently damaged. If public nudity is legalized, the rate at which the practice is carried out would increase. This would put innocent human beings at risk of being forced into it. As with the previous assertion, public nudity is not the only contributor to the evil that is human trafficking but is one of the greatest. Legalizing public nudity would therefore fuel the occurrence of a vice that rids thousands of families of their loved ones. However, in all fairness the concept does have a few positive attributes. Firstly, it is a form of expression. Through nudity, one is able to tell the mood or state of one’s mind. The physical positioning of the human body explains the state of the mind. Nude women have been used through time immemorial to illustrate chauvinism in society. Such portraits indicated the negative aspects through which women were made to regard themselves. Through photographs and portraits, one can be able to interpret feelings such as power, distrust, confidence, seduction, fear, happiness, as well as shame. It is believed that the human body is the ultimate canvas of art: the platform through which artists can express themselves in the most detailed manner (Lunceford, 2012, p. 123). Millions of artistic pieces exhibited all around the world are centralized on nudity. Curbing public nudity then amounts to curbing artistic expression. Allowing people to be in their natural form in front of the world, allows them to embrace self-appreciation. It illustrates that in the different physical flaws that people have they are still beautiful in their own elements. It allows others that are ashamed within society to embrace who they are. It was not until celebrities that are considerably curvy, exposed their bodies in appreciation of this, that other women of such build felt confident. Because of this self-appreciation, millions of young women have learnt to embrace themselves as they are. This is because public figures have defiled the notion that women that are not skinny and lean should not show their nudity in public. Public nudity in support of self-appreciation is the platform that has been used all over the world to save young women and men from depreciating vices and ailment such as anorexia, depression and skin bleaching. On an intricate perspective, clothes are artificial creations. The body on the other hand is a natural aspect. Nudity allows that this natural form be celebrated. It exhibits the human body in its most natural state (Harp, p. 69). It allows that human kind celebrate what existed before all else that human kind has developed overtime. The human body has the ability to nurture and give life. It is therefore single handedly the most important thing in the concept of life: it creates and sustains it. Naturally, it deserves celebration. Nudity allows that it be portrayed in all its glory. It’s a celebration of the one element upon which the existence of life is dependent upon. Curbing public nudity could therefore be interpreted as lack of appreciation and understanding of nature and its processes. The physical from of the human body illustrates the differences that exist between men and women. These differences have in the past been used to victimize women (Alexander, 2006, p.115). Feminists and scholars state that over the years, womankind has been taught to believe that their stature is a source of shame. However, through nudity both sexes are able to exhibit their most appealing, strong, and desirable elements. It is through nudity that people understand how these differences rather than undermine each other, complement each other. Through nudity, people understand that contrary to popular belief, the female body’s softness and lack of muscular build is not a sign of weakness; rather, it symbolizes the love that women represent. Society is able to appreciate the differences and uphold them. This goes a long way in curbing the existence of chauvinism. The issue could also be approached in an economical context. The 21st century has seen to it that the standards of living are high. Entertainment analysts all assert that the general population embraces sex – it sells. People are willing to spend high amounts of money in celebration of the beauty of the human body. While they may not always have pure and positive motivation, owing to the perversion of the modern day inhabitant, a good number of people actually just marvel in the human form (Harp, p. 256). This has acted as an income earner for a large section of the population – models, video vixens, and public figures. These persons, notably, have dependents that feed off their livelihood. Therefore curbing public nudity would see to it that a number of people fall short of their daily income. Arguably, this would do substantial harm to the economy. Public nudity would only be a form of sustainable positivity in a society that is substantially morally upright and intellectually sane (Harp, p. 259). Today’s society is struggling in attaining that status. The negativities that the act bears are of a greater magnitude than its negativity. Legalizing public unity opens the world up to evil vices greater than the ones it is currently battling. However, it is a relief that majority of the world’s population does not share in the belief that public nudity is a personal decision (The Guardian, 2014, p. 1). The most important demographic to be considered should be the young generation who are directly affected by this. Perversion of the mind through these inappropriate images would then spread on and erase all sort of logic within their minds. In this event, the future becomes nothing but a bleak and fecal imagination. Public nudity, a concept that is handled too lightly, is one that threatens actual economic and social stability. This is through acts such as human trafficking. It may seem such a simple vice but legalizing it would see its negativity felt for generations on end. Therefore, public nudity is just another evil vice that today’s human being is using to further depreciate the value of life. In this regard, humanity would be better off if public nudity were made illegal. References Alexander, T. 2006. Academic undress: an account of and guide to the conduct of life clases and attitudes to nudity in public. Ely: Melrose. Harp, S. 2013. Au naturel: naturism, nudism and tourism in twentieth century France. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. Lehmuskallio, A. 2013. Jomec Journal. Retrieved April 9, 2015, from Cardiff University Website: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec/jomecjournal/4- november2013/Lehmuskallio_Nudity.pdf Lunceford, B 2012.Naked Politics: nudity, political action and the rhetoric of the body LanhamLexington Books The Guardian. 2014. Law. Retrieved April 9, 2015, from The guardian : http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/oct/28/naked-rambler-stephen-gough-loses- european-court-nudity Read More