Women’s Health UK – September 2019

Did you grow

up in a naked

house? You

either did or you

didn’t. I didn’t.

I was raised by

parents who

would dash from

one room to

another if all the clean pants

were hanging in the spare room,

and each member of my family

can do a full outfit change

while holding a towel around

themselves with one hand.

The thing is, this stuff sets a

benchmark for adulthood. I’ve

always felt more comfortable

about sex when it happens

under bed sheets and the cover

of darkness, and I nearly had a

hernia on my first girls’ holiday

when two friends shared a bath,

nude bodies side by side. I’m

positive this attitude of the

naked body as something to be

hidden has fed into my issues

around body confidence, so I

volunteer to follow the experts’

advice and strip off more often.

‘For some, the act of being naked

could feel empowering and

foster a sense of comfort with

one’s body, which can reduce

self-objectification and body

shame,’ body image researcher

at UWE Bristol Nadia Craddock

explains. ‘Indeed, a 2017 study,

published in the Journal Of

Happiness, found seeing other

naked bodies was associated

with positive body image.’

I find the gym less nerve-

racking than my own house, so

I start there. Seeing women of

all ages, shapes and ethnicities

wandering around in the nude

or underwear as they towel off, sort out

kit or apply make-up in the changing

room of Soho’s Third Space has already

had an impact on the way I view the female

figure. Can I join them? I start slowly –

not grabbing the towel if it slips to reveal

a boob, and moisturising my legs in just

a thong and T-shirt. Baby steps for some,

but massive leaps for me. It feels terrifying

at first, and takes a good week to override

the autopilot reaction to cover up. It turns

out forgetting gym kit offers a helping hand

• one day I realise I’ve packed just a sports
  bra and shorts, and where once I’d have
  walked out, I embrace it as a chance to get
  more skin out. I spend the first 20 minutes
  of my hour bike workout oscillating between
  trying to suck my slightly wobbly torso in
  and staring at it in curiosity, but by the time
  I step off, I’m hardly aware of what’s on show.
  At home, the change feels a bit more
  pronounced because I know my fiancé
  will notice. Being in a loving relationship
  (with someone who would eschew clothes
  entirely if society allowed) has loosened me
  up a little, but it takes a conscious effort to
  walk from room to room naked. I pull my
  stomach in, try to take up as little space as
  possible. He says nothing, possibly aware
  something is shifting, which helps – to draw
  attention would risk undoing any positive
  change the nudity has prompted.
  After three weeks, airing out my birthday
  suit hasn’t catapulted my body confidence
  into uncharted territory, but it’s certainly
  helped to lessen my inbuilt shame around
  it. I walk around naked at home with less
  internal chatter and strip down to try on an
  outfit in a friend’s room rather than slip into
  the bathroom. If it means I can downsize
  my towel collection, that’s just a bonus.

Women’s Health SEPTEMBER 2019 | 17

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DOES IT WORK IN REAL LIFE?

It seems counterintuitive – showing off skin to feel more

comfortable in it. But, as experts suggest nudity can promote

better body image, one nuddy-averse editor strips off

THE

GUINEA PIG

Victoria Joy,

WH Deputy Editor

THE VERDICT

Quick results

Confidence-boosting

Value for money

Long-term solution

OVERALL SCORE

GETTING NAKED FOR

BODY CONFIDENCE