Member-only story
What if You Were Not Ashamed To Be Naked, Even in Public?
On the history of shame around nakedness and its implications for our bodies and society today
Nearly all popular renderings of Lucy, the 3.2-million-year-old female Australopithecus afarensis often described as ‘the mother of us all’, depict her in thick, reddish-brown fur covering most of her body.
However, this representation isn’t exactly accurate.
Recent advancements in genetic analysis suggest that our immediate ancestors lost most of their body fur 3 to 4 million years ago and didn’t start clothing themselves only until around 80 to 170,000 years ago. This means that for 2.5 million years, early human species — including anatomically modern humans — walked the Earth as bare as a baby. But, also, that Lucy was much less hairy than initially assumed, or even naked.
Although if she had been portrayed as naked from the start, particularly in museum displays, some people would probably urge curators to ‘cover her up’ to make the exhibition more ‘appropriate’ for younger audiences. As an avid museum-goer, I’ve actually heard similar comments directed at exhibits of Neanderthals and… ancient Greek sculptures.
It’s not entirely surprising that even representations of our past can’t seem to escape modern cultural influences or scorn, though, is it?
But while shame and taboos around nakedness indeed run deep in our society today — impacting far more than just the portrayals of human ancestors — they are relatively new to humanity. Yes, really.
Last year, I visited Bath, here in England, which houses one of the best-preserved Roman bathhouses in Europe.
Built around 70 CE during the Roman occupation of Britain, the site spans several grand heated rooms and plunge pools of varying temperatures, as well as areas to mingle, relax, listen to music, and gossip. And, as most historical sources imply, it was quite normal for people to attend such bathhouses fully naked. In fact, being seen naked and openly caring for one’s body was often an indicator of high social status.
The ancient Greeks were even more fond of the naked human form than the Romans — although mainly male —…
