The Sunday News
Peter Matika Getting Stylish
LAST week, in my article titled “Since when has it been a justifiable undertaking to pose nude” it would seem I stirred a hornet’s nest, or rather opened a Pandora’s Box judging from the responses I received from some of my readers.
From the feedback, I discovered that people were or rather are against the whole issue of women and nudity.
As I mentioned last week, nowadays it’s very common to find pictures of semi-nude or nude women in magazines, the Internet or on TV.
Somehow this is a growing trend, which at some point in life, I guess we’ll all eventually have to embrace.
Although, we should understand and appreciate that nudity will never be entirely embraced particularly in Zimbabwe in this lifetime, because of our strong cultural backgrounds. We should also appreciate that there are people out there that find no harm in being semi-nude … or not dressing entirely.
Also it is not only because of our cultural background but because of the laws.
In Zimbabwe there are also laws that govern the way we behave and dress, I am sure that is the case with many other countries.
There is a law that prohibits certain exposures, which if violated is a chargeable offence, I am sure it is called indecent exposure.
Anyway I had a chat with a woman called Regina – from Bulawayo, who fancies herself as a nudist.
After last week’s article she immediately sent me a message, stating that she saw nothing wrong with being nude as she felt comfortable with her nudity.
So I was drawn to hear her side of the story, which of course I had reservations towards.
“Personally I find nothing wrong at all, as long as I am comfortable with it and it makes me happy. I can take as many nude pics or walk around baring it all every time. What’s so wrong with that?” she said.
After that I asked her whether she “practised” her nudism around people or just at home, to which she responded: “At home I am almost always naked but in public I leave a little to the imagination… less is more to me.”
So from that I derived that she somehow was bound and appreciated our social and cultural structures, as she didn’t entirely walk in public naked.
“In public, this society of ours would tear the meat off my bones with just the eyes and words, not that I mind because I am such a free spirit. If you come to my home, I promise you I wouldn’t run to find a towel or something to cover myself up,” said Regina.
Being interested in Regina’s tale, I asked her who she lived with, as I figured that there was no man in the home.
“I live with my granny, daughter, nieces and nephews.” Surprised by the set-up I asked her how long she had been a nudist. For as long as I can remember. I grew even fonder of being nude when I went to boarding school. I was literally naked everytime I got to the hostels. Guess it’s in my DNA. I guess I’m still stuck in the age of our forefathers, civilisation and evolution hasn’t quite caught up with me yet, or maybe I didn’t spring enough from the apes,” said the 27-year-old Regina.
So I guess being nude in an enclosed environment that doesn’t affect the people around you isn’t a big deal, I said to her, it only raises eyebrows in public and naturally it affects us men more than women, as we tend to have wild imaginations when it comes to issues of nudity and . . . “I would really love to be in a place where nudity is not a big deal. There I can be free and comfortable in my own skin (literally),” she said.
I in-turn decided to view her profile picture to see if what she was telling me matched what she wanted to show the public.
Her profile picture told a different story entirely, she was fully dressed and “decent”.
“This was on a cold day mind you,” she responded. “Going to my daughter’s school, she would kill me if I got to her class clad only in skimpy shorts that make up most of my wardrobe,” she said.
I then asked her where she wanted to go or achieve with the whole nudity issue.
“I have always wanted to feature in glossy magazines such as Playboy and Vogue. In 2005 after I completed my A-levels I wanted to be a model but never pursued that dream because I was more interested in sports,” she said.
After trying to convince her that nudity was more of a private “thing”, not suitable for public consumption she responded: “This makes me understand how gay people feel, living in the closet, not having the liberty to be yourself is not ayoba . . . following principles that are not yours to begin with is torture.”
In conclusion, I figured that nudity may not be fashionable today but in future I am sure it will be. A day I hope never to see. Living in a world that has been turned into a single village, with multi-cultures and races, nudity at some point will become fashionable.
Feedback:
Mr Matika sir, nudity may not be fashionable but in this world there is not even one bad thing without a follower. Look at Satanism, Boko Haram etc. the other point is that we might not like nudity now but with time we are going to justify it like we did to trousers for women. We are living in a multi-cultured society, where cultural change is inevitable. As such, some things will end up being fashionable just because of moral decadence and moral ambivalence. – Lifa Mdlongwa
Hey Peter! Great article indeed, thumbs up. To be honest walking around naked or semi naked has never been fashionable. It makes one appear unattractive. So my advice to all ladies out there is to flaunt a bit of skin. Trust me the less skin guys see the more they are attracted. Seriously, who wants someone who bares it all? – 0776411391
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