OK, I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes, but in my defense I wanted to make sure and give the subject Malidin was asking about my serious and as unbiased attention as possible.
Going back and reading the original post, I believe this is the question:
Is society holding back our children in there sexual development because of the extream stigma we put on the naked or half clothed body.
Once I saw that this was the question, I searched for material by positing "effect of nudity on children".
Several very interesting articles appeared in a variety of scientific journals.
Most of them seemed to be at odds with "common knowledge" which holds that there are some negative effects associated with familial nudity.
The general consensus, gleaned from studies conducted among children and older teenagers, is that greater or lesser nudity was neutral in effect on attitudes towards sexuality.
One interesting point, that I feel gets more to the heart of the matter as it relates to this site, is the difference between a childs reaction and that of an adult.
When parents showed great discomfort and were ill at ease regarding nudity in the family, the children seemed slightly more likely to have a reaction to things like sexual behavior, body image etc.
But what really caught my attention was the statement which summed up the importance of this issue.
What should be the real subject of concern is not the reaction of children to nudity in adults, but the reaction of adults to nude children. Those adults who find themselves aroused or unduly interested in nude children probably have tendencies to pedophilia.
On the other hand, I think it is foolish to say that it is because some children are exposed to familial nudity, or not has anything to do with the fact that they are later victims of abuse.
Anyway, I found the whole discussion among researchers to be very interesting. In selecting subjects for the studies, they screened for children who were victims of child abuse, evidently they were a category apart.
In reading through the various studies, it became very obvious to me at least that there are many factors other than nudity or clothing optional choices made in the family that influence for the better or worse sexual development in children.
In and of itself, however, ordinary nudity in a family situation where the parents and children are comfortable with it, seemed to have a neutral or sometimes positive effect on childhood sexual development.
These are just a few random thoughts generated by the barest minimum of 'research' on the topic.
On a personal level, I am very modest in my behavior regarding clothing in front of children. I think that modesty is a virtue and that modesty in dress and appearance is a very underrated mode of behavior.
As relates to others, I must admit that I would find it a matter of concern where family nudity was practiced and the children began showing inappropriate sexual activity.
Once again, the scientific data gives me some guidelines. I was surprised to see what is considered normal sexual development in small children by pediatricians and child psychologists.
My experience with my own recovery from sexual abuse is that I must maintain some level of detachment in my intellectual investigation of what happened to me and happens to others.
Simultaneously it seems imperative that I recognize how important it is for me to have my "feelings" even when, or perhaps especially when, they seem to contradict what are generally established norms.
It is in the play between these two energies that I find my own understanding and acceptance.
It is often very difficult for me to allow this freedom to others. But that is subject for many more posts.
Thanks, Maldisin, for coming back and opening this up. I must have been skipping school the first time this came up.
Wow, interesting statistics on child abuse in nudist camps.....lots more to learn.
Thanks for letting me ramble, and forgive my perhaps obtuse paraphrases.
