Last week we saw a movie called The Sessions. The film is based on a short story written by Mark O’Brien.
Mark suffered from polio as a child, remains immobile and visits a sex
surrogate. I had never heard of sex surrogacy but let’s just describe it as physical
therapy for other parts…Helen Hunt plays the sex surrogate and while I have all
sorts of thoughts about this profession, I was more intrigued with Hunt’s
nakedness. Helen Hunt doesn’t have a nude scene in the movie, she’s nude for
most of the movie and seemingly totally at ease.
On the Today Show Hunt said, “all right, all right for
God’s sake, I’m naked. People keep saying this is a ‘brave’ performance and I
keep thinking ‘brave’ means ‘naked’”. I’ve written before about the naked locker room people (and how I am sooo not one of them) but while naked for covered-up
types like me is “brave” I am thinking for the naked-and-happy club naked is
sort of natural.
Hunt also said “my role in this movie is to come in and
give the audience a glimpse of what it would be like if we dropped all our
strangeness about sexuality.” Where does this strangeness about sexuality or
nudity come from though? Is a comfort level in the buff tied in with body
image? If you feel better about your body are you more apt to sleep naked or
parade around without clothes? A piece on Mind Body Green actually suggests
time in front of a mirror naked as a way to reduce body hatred and improve self-esteem.
I haven’t tried it yet.
I’m also intrigued by whether growing up in a naked house
makes you more comfortable naked. Interestingly, I have a mother who was very
comfortable (and still is) about her body. She didn’t parade around when I had
friends over but didn’t ever seem in a rush to cover up either. You’d think
that would make her children “free” in this sense but it didn’t. Is that our
personalities or do you pull away from what you’re used to? Again not sure.
Matt Lauer said to Hunt something to the effect of as the
film goes on you sort of forget she’s naked. This may just be really good
acting but it would be really nice if we could all forget the discomfort and awkwardness
that nakedness presents. There will be no “sessions” in my future or group
nakedness (I didn’t mean it like that) but I do think body comfort is something
to aspire to. Do you?
Have you seen The Sessions or heard about it? Are you a naked sleeper or locker room person? Why do you think some people are naked-and-happy? Is it from your family, where you were raised or is it individual? What do you think of the naked time suggestion from Mind Body Green?
I think everyone looks better naked. Clothes cut us in all sorts of weird and unflattering ways. Nothing looks better on the body than plain old skin.
ReplyDeleteIt's no surprise that nudity and art go hand in hand.
would that make you a naked-and-happy Samantha? I do agree the tugging of clothes can be worse than no lines just body but some nude isn't "arty".
ReplyDeleteI read about The Sessions in the WSJ last week. I'm not a naked person, but I think naked time is helpful. My family was covered up all the time and I believe that was a decision my parents made in response to their own childhoods in which not nudity, but inappropriate behavior on the adults' part, was a sad fact of life. I appreciate the protection and do not think they were uptight or shy. I'm more comfortable with my own nudity as I've gotten older, but not even close to the Helen Hunt neighborhood!
ReplyDeleteCaron- so interesting that you used the work "protection" I think clothes are protective in that way. Interesting the messages about covering and not we transfer to our children.
ReplyDeleteI actually come from a family where there was a lot of body shame (or however you want to say it). I consider my sense of comfort in my own skin to be an accomplishment of sorts, and I try to encourage my female relatives to feel good about themselves instead of always apologizing for, like, existing. Some years ago, I actually had a brief experience working as an art model for a school, and I found it rather freeing. No one was, like, "OMG, you're naked"—they were just trying to get their work done, and I got paid to just be still and breathe. In my day-to-day life now, though, I prefer to be covered up. Thoughts on sleeping in the nude: What if there's a fire?!
ReplyDeleteLove Helen Hunt and her response to the "brave" comments are funny. Good movie?
ReplyDeleteI am a semi-naked person (how does this compare to Tobias on Arrested Development's never-nude??) I don't mind letting a little skin show in the gym locker room but I make it my business to go ahead and get dressed before doing things like dry my hair. With a 7-year-old son hopping into our bed with great regularity, I don't think I'd be a naked sleeper, whether that was my inclination or not.
love the different levels of locker room exposure, changing clothes-yes but drying hair-no. Even jumping up if kids wake up awkward if not clothed.
ReplyDeleteReading this in bed with my pj's on, although I do love to sleep sans clothes on occasion. I would never be like Helen Hunt's character in the movie, but I agree with you it would be nice to be totally comfortable in nakedness. I love that my kids still have no qualms about parading around naked, although I know that will change soon. Great naked family memory...when my kids were younger we were visiting my Aunt and Uncle at their house in very rural Maine where they had a river behind their property. My uncle took us there then said he was going to leave, but we should all hop in for a swim, so off came th clothes and we all skinny dipped in the freezing cold water. It definitely felt a little strange, especially since it was on public land, but it was totally exhilarating too. Thanks for the good memory :-)
ReplyDeletefantastic memory, we all need more of that.
ReplyDelete