“You’ve got to be carefully taught” is a line from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical South Pacific. The sense of this satirical song is that prejudice is not natural but learned. The first verse spells it out: “You’ve got to be taught To hate and fear, You’ve got to be taught From year to year,Continue reading “Carefully Taught”
Tag Archives: body
Los Dorados
A poem for two voices, from an El Dorado-like ceremony in Co-ed Naked Philosophy. Grab a friend, throw off your clothes, paint each other, and read this before you dive!
Writing the Body
I hated high school gym class. Our teacher, a coach, would line us up for attendance and walk down the row, paddle in hand, asking us in turn if we knew where the Air Force Academy is located, the Naval Academy, etc. The class clowns would inevitably “forget,” and paddling hijinks would soon ensue. WhenContinue reading “Writing the Body”
Bernard Perroud, Somanaut
Bernard Perroud, creator of the cover image for Co-ed Naked Philosophy, is a prolific and highly imaginative artist, comfortable and talented in diverse media, whose blog I have long admired. Here he is, chasing inspiration in his dreams, or as he writes: Trying to visualize the feeling of flight while dreaming… DreamFly1 His artisticContinue reading “Bernard Perroud, Somanaut”
12 Nude Year Resolutions
Nudity can be light-hearted, but there are times when it’s no joke. When people, whether individuals or groups, risk arrest or worse simply for posting nude photographs of themselves in those parts of the world still clutching very restrictive ideas about nudity (and sometimes those parts of the world are closer to home than oneContinue reading “12 Nude Year Resolutions”
Body Riddles!
Hey Nude Scribe readers! This week only – your chance to win! Each weekday December 19-23 I’ll post and tweet a riddle about the body. First correct response enters a five-way drawing for a free copy of Co-ed Naked Philosophy! Monday’s riddle was: An unlikely trio: bottom, back, eye. To which body part do theseContinue reading “Body Riddles!”
Giving a Stitch
It’s the season of Thanksgiving here in the US. With turkey or tofu dinners on their minds, many generous folks give food to food banks so that others less fortunate can enjoy a hearty meal on Thanksgiving, too. It’s also the beginning of colder weather in most of the country, which is an excellent opportunityContinue reading “Giving a Stitch”
Stripping and Teasing
One Monday morning in the fall semester of 1997 or 1998, when I was an assistant professor at a university in Alabama, the phone rang in my office. “Are you married?” the female voice asked. “Yes, why?” “My friend, So-and-so, used to be your student. She’s getting married this weekend and we’d like to knowContinue reading “Stripping and Teasing”
On Reserve
Unwrapping the Sensory Mechanics of Nudity There are certain body parts that the twin social strictures of religion and politics most want to cover—or, more accurately, to bind. These parts are put on reserve, so to speak: under wraps. According to the rules of repression, they can’t be checked out, or unwrapped, except by special,Continue reading “On Reserve”
Intactivists and Lactivists
The cleverly named intactivists (against circumcision) and lactivists (for breastfeeding) have protagonized the news lately. One group wants the government to ban a bodily practice, the other group wants the government to encourage a bodily practice. But most importantly, both groups embrace the inviolate integrity of the human body and the functions for which itContinue reading “Intactivists and Lactivists”