Naked Nirvana

So you know how clothes are itchy and binding? And how they make people JUDGE each other on such stupid domains as 'style' and 'income'  (judgment?  heck, who needs THAT?) ? (none of which have ANY merit with me, by the way)  They really are the staples of cliques. We can't really TRULY know each other for WHO WE ARE rather than WHAT WE HAVE if we are all tangled up in what people are wearing, right?

NWDT logo designed by Joris Ammerlaan

Well this is true metaphorically, as well as literally.

Let me e'splain...


I mentioned the itchy binding thing, yeah? See... I think I was 4 when I gave up nightgowns (or any pajamas) because blankets pulled one way and pajamas another and it was just to much conflicting action in the darned bed. Far better to just deal with my skin that moved with me...

Of course I'd given up swimsuits two years earlier—have you WORN wet pants? Can you BLAME ME?

"I like a little air around my privates!"

And see... I have never been SIZED like the clothes my friends bought off the racks... I was taller... wore larger sizes which initially could be EXPLAINED by being taller, but which made me feel fat nonetheless... It was normal teen logic, but it still sucked. But fashion NEVER flattered me. It was always just an obstacle to be gotten around in the least embarrassing way possible.

But REALLY, this is more to to with really just liking some air around my privates. JK Rowling was channeling me when she wrote Archie, the character if Goblet of Fire so set against pants... Air. Water. Wind. It all FEELS GOOD on the skin! (But NOT through fabric)

As a teen I also strongly advocated that TAN fat looked better than PALE fat, so I was obliged to wear as little as possible all summer... And through college I traumatized first my dorm mates then my sorority by solidly REFUSING to sleep in anything. It's possible I considered it my duty to squash any prudishness they'd arrived at college with...

So I've been naked a long long time.

Join the group hug?

But I find this is helpful when I edged out into the writing world. I'm USED to people staring and wondering where on EARTH I got the cajones to do what I do. Blogging, in particular, I think is more gratifying if you do it naked. Be as YOU as you can possibly be, and it is far more sustainable. Nobody will EVER be horrified on finding the real you, because you've never hidden who you are. You are making friends on a real playing field and if people like you, you can trust it is YOU they like and not some strange costume you've worn because it is the style of the day.


So while I would LOVE all of you to literally get naked with me... the Naked World Domination Tour could use you. What I really think you need to get on board for is being Naked in your writing. Give up the fear. Don't hide. Let it all hang out in as YOU of a way as you can. Your audience can only find you if you stop hiding behind those pesky mumus and tent dresses.