Firstly, I would like to apologize if this topic is considered taboo, and as I didnt find a pinned rules for this section I will try to be as appropriate as I can.


Since birth, we humans (or most humans in the civilized parts of the world) have been made to wear clothes. When I was little I would regularly strip off my clothes and run around the house (I'm sure lots of kids do that), and for that I usually got appropriate scolding from my guardians. This lead me to wonder why putting on clothes was something so important?

Well, now that I'm older, I understand that putting on clothes keeps us warm, some clothes protect us from harm, and others.. are just for covering ourselves. I understand the keeping us warm and protecting us from harm part, but I still fail to grasp why we clothe ourselves just to cover up?

If you still do not get what I mean, let me put it in a more conventional way.. if we stay in a warm place, and there isnt anything in the environment to that can harm us, why cant we walk around naked? If possible I would like to like to leave religion out of the picture, as I would like to discuss reasons that go beyond rules and laws, I would like to know why humans in their own nature cover themselves.

Usually the things we try and cover up/hide are the things we find unpleasant, ugly, vulgar and shameful. So does that imply that we find our own bodies unpleasant, ugly, vulgar and shameful as well? Or is it because we want to look good? Or could it be because we feel vulnerable when naked? I would like to know your personal views on this.

Also, laws have been put in place to restrict a human being from walking around naked. What are your thoughts on those laws.

An interesting answer. Could you elaborate further on the statement you just made.

"Once any species starts feeling "shy", they are getting "civilized" "

Also it wasnt very nice to flame the previous poster, as I did ask for personal views on the matter. ^^

@shakes86:
Nice point made.
"clothes relects who we are in the society"
Even in ancient cultures the high ranking individuals (priest and shamans for example) would adorn themselves in a much more than a regular individual. So would it be wrong to assume from your statement that humans cover themselves to look/feel more in-control/superior (or to try not to seem inferior to other individuals)?

Regarding your second statement, I would like to put forth a question. You stated that "it would be an unpleasant sight seeing someone naked". Why is that so? Why do we humans feel uneasy when seeing a naked person in public? Are we not all the same? Feeling uneasy looking at another human in a state of undress but being fine looking at yourself or your loved ones, I would like to find out why that is so.

mumeichan



keeseng12



@mumeichan & keeseng12:
When I started this topic, I stated that I would have liked to leave religion out of the picture. But that was only because I was looking to restrict religious replies like "because the bible says so". I too find that religion played a significant role in why we cover up. So feel free to include religion in your statement.

Forgive me if I step on unwelcome territory here.. but on the matter of religion playing a vital role in how we clothe ourselves, why would the creator who made us to look the way we are, require us to cover ourselves up? On the other hand, if religion was the crafts of human-kind, why would we want other human beings to cover up? Human beings have a naturally lustful nature, and could it be that instead of being ashamed about our body, humans are actually ashamed of their lust? And so they cover themselves to hide it?

I have to say I agree with memeichan's second statement that clothes "have more of a symbolic rather than practical function", but why is that so? Is it because the human body is lacking a natural way of presenting its superiority over another human being? Thats where C-Note's reply comes in..


C-Note



According to C-Note evolution has caused us to adorn ourselves with more and more clothing items, but why? Lions have their manes to show superiority and status, rams have their horns, deers have their antlers, others show superiority and status through size and power or age. But we humans had to resort in such a fake way of showing our status.. clothes. Well maybe except for women, who still have a little ancient instinct left to feel inferior to someone with a larger bust. And I guess men too still have some ancient instinct left and feel inferior to another who has a larger/longer dingdong.

So maybe instead of clothing being a way to show status, it has become a means to equalize the status of all human beings. Instead of being "born" superior (physically), humans have to work hard to earn "clothing" to raise their status. Interesting..


rexis


@rexis:
True, not all people wear clothes for status, so then why wear clothes in the first place? It is quite true that we cover up because that is the norm in our society, but why did it become that way in your opinion? Who or what is the firehose that caused society to make being naked a taboo?


goldfries



@goldfries:
Very true indeed, why would we consider wearing clothes to be more civilized than being in the nude. Also, if we construct a clothing timeline (very like the picture posted), we would get something like this...


nude > cover major genitalia > cover major genitalia as well as top for females > full covering > full covering + extra outer covering > less inner covering + outer covering > less inner covering + less outer covering > and maybe in the near future full nude again.

Does that mean that humans have evolved and then undergone de-evolution? Also I find your last statement rather interesting. It is quite true that we would be very much less offended if a well-figured nude person is seen rather than if we saw those who are not so well-figured. I wonder why it is so. Are we actually offended but feel less offended because we find a well-figured person more "sexually attractive"?