A naked man who allegedly shaved his body in a bathroom while his mother was using the toilet has sparked debate on Mumsnet.
In a post shared on the AIBU (Am I Being Unreasonable) forum of Mumsnet, user Nudityetiquette claimed her boyfriend let his mother use the bathroom to urinate while he was "nakedly shaving his body," possibly his chest and bum.
According to the user, her boyfriend comes from a Portuguese family that is "liberal and very comfortable with nudity together and talking about sex."
In a later post, the user said he was allegedly "spread-eagled on the side of the bath with [his] back facing the rest of the bathroom."
The original poster explained: "I went in to say hello but his mum [mom] beat me to it and asked me to wait outside as she needed a wee [to urinate]. Thought [it was] slightly weird, she came out and I went straight in to see him [with] legs spread on the bathtub!"
According to an American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) article by Gary Mussell, the president and founder of the AANR Western Region, "for most of human history, nudity was a natural and normal part of life" and the "foundations of nude recreation and social nudism" can be traced back to Ancient Egypt.
The International Naturist Federation (INF) says: "Naturism has a long history dating back to the 1800s."
Mussell explained the revival of the modern Olympics in 1896 (during which most athletes played nude) "drew attention to classical nudity." Mainland Europe "developed a tolerance of sensuality and body acceptance" and nudism thrived in Europe after the Second World War.
By around the mid-1930s, there were eighty-one nudist camps across America and in the late 1990s, membership of the American Sunbathing Association (the nudist group formerly known as the American League for Physical Culture) peaked at over 50,000 members through the U.S., Canada and Jamaica, according to Mussell.
In an August 2021 InsideHook article, Laurent Luft, the president of the INF, said: "Attitudes are changing" towards naturism. "Five years ago anyone who asked me about naturism assumed it was all something kinky," but "these days naturists are seen as just another section of society," he said.
A January 2017 study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Happiness Studies found that "more participation in naturist activities predicted greater life satisfaction—a relationship that was mediated by more positive body image, and higher self-esteem."
The latest Mumsnet post has divided users, with some saying the boyfriend's behavior is "weird," while others saying it's not "out of the ordinary for European attitudes."
One wrote: "Yes very weird, but also weird he was shaving those body parts."
While another claimed: "I'm Portuguese, this is NOT the norm! Just to clarify!"
And a third just wrote: "Ewwwwwww. Ick."
Several others were more understanding, with one saying: "I certainly wouldn't do it in my family, but if that's how he's been raised I don't see a problem. All cultures/families have different practices that we sometimes find odd, but each to their own."
Another agreed, noting: "Well if he comes from a family that's very comfortable with nudity then it's not so weird is it?"
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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