. (@3017amen - this seems like a good moment for you to chime in...) — Possibility
Well, I suppose one thought, of many, would be the so-called significance, or the philosophy behind the creation of that reality show 'Naked and Afraid' (?)
Anyway, I completed a 15-years in the making thought-experiment last summer, and to make a long story long, here's my story:
As a kind of qualifier to the OP, when I was a child, I remember how the actual thought of being naked seemed particularly disconcerting and somewhat shameful viz a grade school discussion that I had with a fellow classmate. He had told me that his parents came to wake him every morning naked. To me, I was very uncomfortable with his word-picture, yet he seemed perfectly fine with it, almost to the extent that it made me feel like I was the one, with the weird 'hang-up' instead of him. When the subject of nudity comes up, I usually always remember that little encounter.
Anyway, after that first discussion and realization of feeling a bit shameful or at least self conscious about my body, along with discussing other people's nakedness, now as an adult I seemed to have adjusted quite nicely to my birthday suit attire by taking care of my body (not that that's a prerequisite to feeling good about your body) by working out and keeping myself fit. Whether it was the experience of being a lifeguard/fitness center, or personal experiences out on my boat or in the hot-tub or pool (naked), I began to embrace my so-called nakedness by feeling more comfortable with it.
Accordingly, my first time sunbathing in the buff was by sheer happenstance during a day where it was so very hot and humid. While boating in broad daylight, I became so adversely uncomfortable to where out of frustration, I hastily tore-off my swimsuit to find relief from the heat. I must tell you, words cannot describe the liberating feeling I had when I subsequently jumped into the water, looked around at my beautiful surroundings (including my ex-wife) and felt like God came 'down from the heavens' as it were, to say that it was all ok, relax. It felt like the old movie Blue Lagoon with Brook Shields (sorry Brook). Wow, it was a euphoric feeling seemingly being caused by a phenomenon between my perception of nature and my vulnerability in it.
As the years went by, after I became single again, and while still enjoying nude sunbathing, an idea popped into my head about seeing what it would be like to experience a nudist colony. I reached out to a local place (they are much like campgrounds, with pools, clubhouses, activity centers, cottages, golf carts, etc.) and inquired about protocol. After the gentlemen described the rules, I said I would see him soon. Well, it never happened. I was scared or at least not ready. But I was intrigued with the entire thought process of how I would react to seeing other people vulnerable and naked, along with how my own thoughts and perceptions of it could somehow change me, and how I would be able embrace the whole experience. Could I handle that? Thus my thought-experiment.
I thought to myself, how would my normal abilities of social interaction be impacted by such a daunting experience? Would I be scared and become self conscious and uncomfortable, or would I embrace my natural way of being along with nature itself, and discover a sense of normalcy in my interactions with others? Or, would it become a sort of erotic sojourn where I would have to find a private moment to take care of my business?
Well, after that first phone call of inquiry, ironically enough, I started to have discussions about this particular Colony with other women who had visited and then shared their experiences. One was a social media friend (very attractive young woman) who went there regularly, while a few others told me it was a 'once and done' ordeal with their girlfriends. And so this intrigue never seemed to go away, until, last year.
And so I decided to go to the 'colony' by myself over a fourth of July holiday, and put my 'thought experiment' into action. Driving up to the place was like entering a medium security compound. I was nervous. Once I drove past the security gates and figured out where to check-in, I knew there was no turning back. There I was, filling out forms and exchanging personal information at the desk (driver license, etc.) all the while I'm clothed and men and women are naked looking at me. Needless to say my heart was racing. After I was advised of all the necessary protocols, I walked over to the clubhouse to disrobe and join the festivities at the swimming pool. Mind you, there was no alcohol allowed, and there were some families with children.
After the first 5-minutes of shock and awe, I actually seemed to calm down enough to start conversation with some men but mostly women. Before I knew it, I was my old self, interacting in a normal way and engaging with a smile, along with having light philosophical discussion about nudity itself along with some other lighthearted banter and otherwise normal conversation. I met so many 'normal people' who were quite experienced with other 'colonies' from around the country. It was intriguing. (Now did Mr. Happy get a little happy at times; you betcha. But I had a little white towel over Mr. Happy when I was sunbathing.)
Though I've never visited Europe and topless beaches, I kind of got a taste of what that experience might be like. To tell you the truth, looking back, it was really no big deal. It almost became like an experience you might have in a co-ed locker room where you just felt pretty much normal. I felt like I had successfully completed the thought-experiment by putting this idea into action. I'm glad I did it. My takeaway's were worth it. I experienced something within myself that I really can't describe. I dealt with my fears. Perhaps philosophically, you could say I had a type of religious experience, where I was with people who were equally as vulnerable and had no 'façade' to hide their own sense of truth. Accordingly, it became my truth and my truth only; a subjective truth. Yet I felt like in some ways, we were all in this together, exposing our vulnerability with each other. It was like we were liberated from our fears, and we somehow knew we had achieved something together. We were joyful in our nakedness.
The only strange thing that happened following that experience was that for about 2-weeks after, when I would see other people walking around in their everyday attire, it was as if I had x-ray vision. I cannot explain it, but everyone I saw, my mind was telling me..' yep, I know what you look like without clothes' . What a bizarre feeling.
What is my theory behind the necessity of clothing? To be continued...