Right. I am not opposed to body hair or having it all shaved offultimately, it’s a personal preference, and frequently one that I pick to approach differently depending on my own mood! Going back a bit, I’m interested if there has been differences in reactions from women and men to your website?
BtoB: Not a major difference, I don’t think. I would say the majority of my following is female but I don’t have any real method to analyze or establish that. I get emails from both parties and they seem to be I really don’t think it was brave, but I locked myself out .
I think guys deal with a lot of these matters too, either from another perspective or a different point of view but similar things yet.
So there’s a lot of stark comparisons then.
BtoB: I believe with the internet you always get more comparison. The people who don’t really have an opinion simply scroll past it with no view, it’s the ones who desire to either praise you or yell at you who take the time to write.
As such, a lot of effort is put into dividing nudity from sexuality, which makes sense. When I visit a naturist club or strand with my family, the last thing I need to see is sexual activity. But, occasionally, I believe that we attempt a little too challenging to disconnect the two and demonize sexuality. I was quite interested by your answercan you discuss that a bit more and how sexuality plays a role in body approval, or being frank with your body?
BtoB: Yeah! That’s a question that I get a lot, and one of my favourite types of e-mails actually are from guys who want to “apologize” to me because they found my website and started masturbating to a photo or two and then began reading the text and ended up so on board with what I was saying that they felt guilty for using my pictures for self enjoyment.
I completely get what you are saying about virtually demonizing sexuality and separating nudity from it entirely. I think that the matters don’t need to be completely separate, you can see a nude body and be turned on by it and it does not make you a bad person or a “creep” or anything.
Sexuality is such a complex subject, there’s no way I could hope to really know and comprehend it, but in my own experience it IS tied in to I got a friend Tasha whom Ive known since my school days. I am very much fond of her if we desire to pretend it’s not. There’s a vulnerability that happens when you’re naked that’s so different than when you are in clothes that it’s natural to have different feelings when you are nude or looking at someone nude.
I figure I don’t think that sexuality is bad. I do not think nudity is bad.
I do not think that joining the two of them is evil. If someone uses my photos or my body to masturbate to, great for them! They understand what they enjoy and they pleasured themselves and can go back to whatever life they’re living.
I see no harm in that. I believe that nudity doesn’t HAVE to be sexual, and I’ve been in situations where it definitely isn’t, but I don’t believe it needs to be entirely removed from sexual feelings either.
And I guess I should clarify – those emails are not some of my favorites because they are apologizing to me, but instead because they are merely such honest accounts of a confused person and it is amazingly endearing and somehow flattering.
That was actually my next question.
BtoB: Absoluely. There are folks in my personal life who I can take a naked bath in front of and it’s completely nonsexual (for me, anyway) and then there are individuals who I feel sexually charged around only when I take off my jacket.
And naturally, intent is part of that as well. Among the questions you get from many would-be naturists is if seeing folks bare might relieve want. It definitely takes away a sexual cause and forces you to reconsider sexuality, but I think absolutely.
One of my favourite posts is when you comment about your span being a chance to reflect on what other “private pain” others are suffering. It seems that in many ways, this endeavor has provided you an opportunity to get empathy. I’m also reminded of two other posts, your comments on Kasey Edwards letter and Charlotte Roche’s book Wetlands.