Our modern society is the weirdest. Even with having the knowledge of the past, the technology to look deeper into the past, and the lessons that past generations taught us, this day and age seems to just ignore all of it. This day and age teaches us to judge early, act impulsively and shame others. Take a simple topic like the human body for example, and you will begin to see the irony of our modern paradigms versus societies past.
The human body is simply that; a body. It carries out its autonomic functions to keep itself alive, healthy and energy efficient. It contains multiple systems that take care of the various needs and desires. Our older societies not only recognized this, but celebrated it. Ancient civilizations with beliefs linked to divine design were compelled to give thanks to the one they believed created it. Nude festivities were often the case, looked back upon by us now as simplistic and primal. The Victorian era dictated its conservative values across the board; every body had to have a high percentage of skin covered to be considered beautiful and dignified. It’s weird that this era followed our Renaissance; an era celebrating the beauty and functions of the human body, an era that enlightened every body instead of humiliating them.
Our society now is the weirdest yet. Now we are able to show an incredible amount of skin to show how empowered and enlightened we are, yet are still heavily judged. Advertising is so sexualized now that we are de-sensitized to it. It is so commonplace for us to see bikini-clad women and half naked men on screen selling us various products that we don’t even bat an eye. However, if a musician has a nudity slip up on stage, we talk about it for months after. We judge what they wore, we judge who they are and we judge their body parts. Our girls can walk around in skimpy bikinis, but God forbid if their bra straps show under their normal attire. Bikinis are flirtatious and risqué, but underwear is appalling and shameful. Boys are pushed to wear tighter clothing, but it is shameful if we see a bulge visible. We will teach our kids abstinence, but then proceed to watch shows with them that are filled with sexual innuendos and promote sexual deviancy. For goodness sake, Fifty Shades of Grey was one of the highest grossing movies of last year. Kenneth Clark, an art historian and author said it best, “The naked body ceases to be a mirror of divine perfection and became, instead, an object of humiliation.”
Breastfeeding is my final example. Every mother in every species on this planet feeds their young with the milk formed within their bodies. It is a natural function of the mother’s body. Why is it then, that when it comes to humans, breastfeeding is disgusting and shameful? A breast shown to sell a product is completely normal, a breast shown to attract a mate is completely normal, but use a breast to nourish a young babe and everyone loses their minds. Mothers are told to leave the presence of the public, to cover themselves completely so that nobody will be visually traumatized by the sight of the most natural thing in the world.
Why are we so weird? Are we stuck in a transitional period? Our older generation holds a set of conservative views that we don’t necessarily share with them. We are a different generation of thinkers, and this is evident locally. With the election behind us, we now see that while the province had a landslide victory for the Conservatives, the school elections showed that this was not the case with our kids. Our political views extend into every aspect of our lives, so perhaps this is a weird phase in our society due to the generations. I think it lies in a number of factors. Another factor is Christian beliefs. The story of creation in particular. Adam and Eve were naked and free, but once they ate that fruit they realized they were naked and suddenly became ashamed. We understand the story so well because we relate. We are ashamed of our bodies too.
Maybe it is best that we live simple. We can be proud of what we have and who we are. We won’t judge people just because of the parts they possess, but celebrate with them instead. I wouldn’t go so far as to have naked festivals right away, but being okay with a breastfeeding mom is a good start.
