I was having a discussion with a fellow staff columnist at a party last weekend about American prudishness when it comes to nudity. We both agreed that Americans are uncomfortable with nudity and that this is reflected in our insecurities with our physical appearance. Having spent some time in Scandinavia and Russia, I had to overcome my shyness and embarrassment just to dare to experience Finland's national tradition: the sauna. Fully experiencing a sauna requires showering naked with friends or strangers (usually of the same sex), sitting in a hot room (we're talking 100 degrees Celsius) with those same people (everyone's still naked) and beating each other with the bunches of freshly gathered birch leaves. My first few times I refused to enter without my shielding towel wrapped around me. I wasn't able to go in without the security blanket until I was a seasoned sauna veteran.
The whole issue of nudity doesn't bother any of the Finns or Swedes and Russians who also have similar practices, yet it caused my fellow American friends great anxiety. And quite honestly, these experienced sauna-going peoples seem to be a lot more comfortable with their bodies in general. After all, from birth they go to the sauna with both parents, relatives, and anyone who comes by for a sauna party. Most ski vacations and stays at summer cottages involve a few visits to the sauna. As a result, children grow up accustomed to seeing people naked and have a healthier attitude about the human body. I'll be honest, I felt a lot more comfortable with my own body after having to walk naked around a Turkish bath in Budapest with 100 other women of all ages and sizes than I do walking around the Dartmouth campus.
Americans, with our puritanical heritage, still assign negative connotations to casual nudity which, consciously or not, affects the way we view ourselves. No one I've spoken to on the Dartmouth campus is completely satisfied with their bodies and most would be more than hesitant to sit naked in a sauna full of their peers, no matter how traditional or innocent it may be. And I don't think any of us have an unaffected view when comparing ourselves to our peers. For example, I always notice how little women on this campus eat whereas a friend of mine was complaining about how hard it is to eat healthy here when all the women she knows eat junk food all the time. How could we make such different observations? Both of us were looking through tinted glasses based upon our preconceived notions of what the truth on this campus is. Likewise, Dartmouth students are selectively noticing what other students look like and are comparing themselves to one body-type. Maybe if we'd grown up with a more realistic perception of what people look like and a concept of physical beauty that is not limited to the pictures in fashion magazines we would all be more self-confident and comfortable even in the competetive atmosphere of the Dartmouth campus.
