The moral bath of bodily unconsciousness' : female nudism, bodily exposure and the gaze

Ruth Barcan

The moral bath of bodily unconsciousness' : female nudism, bodily exposure and the gaze

Ruth Barcan

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

In the predominantly clothed societies of modernity, nakedness is an exceptional state, especially in public space, where it is, by and large, forbidden to adultsÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âexcept in strictly circumscribed conditions or as a theatrical, subversive or criminal possibility. As a state often associated with childhood, it carries with it a whole metaphorical baggage around ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“innocenceÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“natureÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢, and ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“freedomÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ that can, in some circumstances, translate into a bodily experience of release. As Freud recognized, nakedness is one of the many freedoms relinquished as part of adulthood. Public nudity therefore has the potential to be not only abject, deviant, criminal, or transgressive, but also exhilarating. It follows, then, that any social practice which takes as its foundation this fundamentally paradoxical stateÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âthe naked body in a clothed societyÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âwill require much ideological work to sustain and regulate.

Original language	English
Journal	Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies
Publication status	Published - 2001

Keywords

adulthood
media studies
modernity
nudity
society

Cite this

@article{56a552d5545448998ad922fea8ca8ae2,

title = "The moral bath of bodily unconsciousness' : female nudism, bodily exposure and the gaze",

abstract = "In the predominantly clothed societies of modernity, nakedness is an exceptional state, especially in public space, where it is, by and large, forbidden to adults{\~A}ƒ{\^A}¢{\~A}¢{"}{\v s}{\^A}¬{\~A}¢{\^a}‚¬{\^A}except in strictly circumscribed conditions or as a theatrical, subversive or criminal possibility. As a state often associated with childhood, it carries with it a whole metaphorical baggage around {\~A}ƒ{\^A}¢{\~A}¢{"}{\v s}{\^A}¬{\~A}‹{\AA}“innocence{\~A}ƒ{\^A}¢{\~A}¢{"}{\v s}{\^A}¬{\~A}¢{"}{\v z}{\^A}¢, {\~A}ƒ{\^A}¢{\~A}¢{"}{\v s}{\^A}¬{\~A}‹{\AA}“nature{\~A}ƒ{\^A}¢{\~A}¢{"}{\v s}{\^A}¬{\~A}¢{"}{\v z}{\^A}¢, and {\~A}ƒ{\^A}¢{\~A}¢{"}{\v s}{\^A}¬{\~A}‹{\AA}“freedom{\~A}ƒ{\^A}¢{\~A}¢{"}{\v s}{\^A}¬{\~A}¢{"}{\v z}{\^A}¢ that can, in some circumstances, translate into a bodily experience of release. As Freud recognized, nakedness is one of the many freedoms relinquished as part of adulthood. Public nudity therefore has the potential to be not only abject, deviant, criminal, or transgressive, but also exhilarating. It follows, then, that any social practice which takes as its foundation this fundamentally paradoxical state{\~A}ƒ{\^A}¢{\~A}¢{"}{\v s}{\^A}¬{\~A}¢{\^a}‚¬{\^A}the naked body in a clothed society{\~A}ƒ{\^A}¢{\~A}¢{"}{\v s}{\^A}¬{\~A}¢{\^a}‚¬{\^A}will require much ideological work to sustain and regulate.",

keywords = "adulthood, media studies, modernity, nudity, society",

author = "Ruth Barcan",

year = "2001",

language = "English",

journal = "Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies",

issn = "1030-4312",

publisher = "Routledge",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The moral bath of bodily unconsciousness' : female nudism, bodily exposure and the gaze

AU - Barcan, Ruth

PY - 2001

Y1 - 2001

N2 - In the predominantly clothed societies of modernity, nakedness is an exceptional state, especially in public space, where it is, by and large, forbidden to adultsÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âexcept in strictly circumscribed conditions or as a theatrical, subversive or criminal possibility. As a state often associated with childhood, it carries with it a whole metaphorical baggage around ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“innocenceÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“natureÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢, and ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“freedomÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ that can, in some circumstances, translate into a bodily experience of release. As Freud recognized, nakedness is one of the many freedoms relinquished as part of adulthood. Public nudity therefore has the potential to be not only abject, deviant, criminal, or transgressive, but also exhilarating. It follows, then, that any social practice which takes as its foundation this fundamentally paradoxical stateÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âthe naked body in a clothed societyÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âwill require much ideological work to sustain and regulate.

AB - In the predominantly clothed societies of modernity, nakedness is an exceptional state, especially in public space, where it is, by and large, forbidden to adultsÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âexcept in strictly circumscribed conditions or as a theatrical, subversive or criminal possibility. As a state often associated with childhood, it carries with it a whole metaphorical baggage around ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“innocenceÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“natureÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢, and ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“freedomÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ that can, in some circumstances, translate into a bodily experience of release. As Freud recognized, nakedness is one of the many freedoms relinquished as part of adulthood. Public nudity therefore has the potential to be not only abject, deviant, criminal, or transgressive, but also exhilarating. It follows, then, that any social practice which takes as its foundation this fundamentally paradoxical stateÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âthe naked body in a clothed societyÃƒÂ¢Ã¢"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âwill require much ideological work to sustain and regulate.

KW - adulthood

KW - media studies

KW - modernity

KW - nudity

KW - society

UR - http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/35010

M3 - Article

SN - 1030-4312

JO - Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies

JF - Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies

ER -

The moral bath of bodily unconsciousness' : female nudism, bodily exposure and the gaze

Abstract

Keywords

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this