Customer Reviews

Being Naked: Attitudes Toward Nudity Through the Ages

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This book is not about attitudes towards nudity through the ages. Having told us that nudism is not about sex, the majority of the book is devoted to a history of sex and sexuality. Of 137 pages, about one or two are devoted to nudity before the 20th century. Along the way we get a lot about twentieth-century nudism and ancient philosophy, and some poetry.
The author's research seems disorganised. If anyone had read the book before publication, they would surely have noticed that she implies that Mesopotamia is part of Egypt and that the Victorian period was in the Middle Ages - while in other sections of the book it is clear she does not actually believe this. And only note-taking by recorded voice could explain how she turns the Sacred Band of Thebes into a "sacred band of thieves".
A pity. She seems a nice woman.

This book is mediocre at best. Her research is shoddy and her grasp of history is lacking. Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were not the same place. The Crusades and Victorian England were not set in the same time, but separated by many centuries. These types of disconnects are found throughout the book and call into question everything else she has to say, except her own feelings and thoughts. I enjoyed her examinations of modern contradictions in our belief systems, but her presentation is disorganized and very hard to follow. She spends most of her effort on sexual issues after saying that nudity and sex are not the same thing. I agree that they are not, but the author goes a long way toward defeating her own argument. I think Ms. Stanton is genuinely frustrated--and rightfully so--with double standards and illogical standards. I hope she can regroup and present her arguments in a more thought-out fashion. Perhaps a book of essays based on her own experiences as a nudist and how those experiences--good and bad--shed light on our present views of nudity and the human body. I was very disappointed in this book.