My friend (if I may call him that) and fellow blogger Christopher Scott Sarno used the phrase with regard to actor Daniel Radcliffe nude appearance in Equus "running around naked on stage."
I find that phrase -- which everyone uses -- interesting. I find that when I'm naked I don't move any differently than I do when clothed. I certainly don't feel a need when dropping trou to start running.
And, I think, nudity is a good thing. I don't belong to any clubs for such purposes, but I do enjoy going to nude beaches, particularly Sandy Hook State Park in New Jersey, where it's legal and quite popular. People often say that people who get publicly nude shouldn't -- because they don't have the "right" body for it -- but they're missing the point. You don't go to a nude beach to look at people, you go to enjoy the beach and the water naturally (is there anything more silly than wearing a bathing suit?).
I remember when seeing the New York production of Naked Boys Singing (the DC production was awful) that after the novely wore off I was much more focused on the singer's faces than body (really). The human body is indeed beautiful and I do enjoy looking at the male form but I think clothes often become a distraction and once removed our mind's relax to the perception of the person as a whole.
8 comments:
I totally saw Naked Boys Singing! When I try to explain the premise to friends who haven't seen it, I'm at a loss. There is no real plot. It's just guys singing nakedly.
Didn't they have a song, Gratuitous Nudity?
Yup,was the show opener. Premise? The title says all you need to know.
Without putting too much thought into this response, I used the phrase somewhat facetiously to describe the fanfare surrounding Daniel Radcliffe's nude scene in Equus. I'm guessing it's just one of those expressions that somehow, somewhere, gets stuck in the back of the head and becomes embedded in the cultural lexicon, despite its inaccuracy. (Hmm ... might it be a southern thing?)
As for nudity in general, I like what you said about clothing deterring from perception of the person as a whole. I've always enjoyed visiting nude beaches and clothing-optional resorts (I was a frequent visitor to Haulover Beach in Miami from my late teens throughout my twenties) and agree that nudity removed from sex is a different issue and should thusly be viewed as such.
I wasn't trying to be critical of your use of the phrase, but I was struck by it when I read it in your post. It strikes me as an odd phrase. The last thing on my mind when I'm naked is running. Although there was that one time at Seashore State Park with the LTR in the sand dunes and we thought we heard a park ranger and...well, never mind.
I wasn't offended at all ... just genuinely trying to figure out (for myself, even) why I even thought to use it.
You're completely right, of course ... it is an odd phrase. I do often wonder how our choices of words make their way into our personal repertoires over the years. Products of our culture and environment, I guess.
BTW, I've learned long ago to always keep an eye peeled for those pesky park rangers lurking about the sand dunes.
("Keep an eye peeled"? ... there's another one! Who comes up with these things?!)
;-)
Man, I don't have any fun beach stories. :-\
As you pointed out in another comment, you're young.
Besides, it's not all it's cracked up to be...sand and lube aren't a good combination...
I'd imagine it's not good, no. I'm (just about) 25 so I have my share of stories, but none concerning the beach. Argh.
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