What’s the Problem with Nudity?
What is wrong with nudity? Why are people embarrassed about their bodies? How and why did they get the way they are?
This documentary takes a group of volunteers and subjects them to a series of psychological and physical tests to challenge attitudes to the naked human form. The questions raised strike at the heart of human physical and social evolution.
Human beings are the only creatures that can be ‘naked’ – but why, how and when did people lose their fur? That question takes Horizon around the world to meet scientists from Africa to Florida, and they are finding answers in unexpected places: the chest hair of Finnish students, the genetic history of lice, and the sweat of an unusual monkey.
It turns out that something everyone takes for granted may hold the key to the success of the entire human species (THIS DOCUMENTARY CONTAINS SOME NUDITY…CONSUME AT OWN RISK!!!). (Excerpt from bbc.co.uk)
Watch the full documentary now
July 5th, 2009 at 23:33
Is this documentary broken or something?
July 5th, 2009 at 23:38
No it’s ok.
September 9th, 2009 at 00:23
very slow!
November 11th, 2009 at 17:58
So here I thought, we might have an interesting doco into the psychology/ philosophy of sexuality…
But no. Here’s where gay scientists are wasting tax payers money on.
I’m surprised they didn’t make the subjects engage in homosexual relations just to see what they’re ‘bio-evolutionary’ reactions would be… – for scientific research, of course.
Oh wait, it will probably be on in a few years time.
We’re just gradually being introduced to the matter, like the proverbial boiling of the frog, by slowly increasing the temperature.
And what is it with the British producing these docos?
November 15th, 2009 at 18:05
Yay! Let’s deconstruct all culture. And onto the future we go!
December 15th, 2009 at 12:48
many researches are subjective. and sometimes you can even prove it the way you want to.
back in the ages, a blacksmith argued that iron cannot float in water. to prove his point he threw an iron bar in water… and proven iron does not float.
but had he thrown a bucket in water he would have an emperical proof that metal can float water.
many a times ignorance of all the factors involved lead to erroneous conclusion. there could be some benefits for nakedness, but the there will be definitely some major overriding damages.
for instance, if we consider the theory of evolution to be true then man has evolved to start to wear clothes, for some functional reasons probably still unknown. hence, we were naked we evolved to wear cloth, then we now want to revert back. i would call this devolution. and could end up to be a failed species!!!!
perhaps technology might compensate our need to wear cloth. but
this could still be probably unfunctional. now we would need other means to prevent to subtitute for clothes, in the sense that other natural elements, like sun rays might cause more cancer in the caucassian race….. but man is very inventive and might look for some cream to block…but what could be the effect of these chemicals on our body skin… and the debate continues, probably ending with the cloth that natural selection has chosen for our species..
would be frantic to see a naked man with an extra large genital walking and accidentally standing behind a woman in a queue an apologizing for accidentally having an erection…. probably this apology won’t happen as we would get used to it but…
this will lead to the inevitable competition of males for females and create chaos.sometimes not knowing who the father is to take cater for the children… but we will find out a means of knowing who the father was… but imagine the big male knowing that the fair small guy had a quickie with his partner… perhaps they could be doing swinging but on the scale of a whole society and knowing human
moreover, over exposure to nudity can probably lead to frigidity, people don’t get arouse and don’t enjoy the normal pleasures of sex.
probably we could evolve again by growing up hairs. but for people who bath once a year its not a problem.
it would be fantic for people with diseases exposing rashes, pimpled body, birth marks and thus increasing the stigma… ok we do it on the beaches women having menses or bunch of adolescents at night naked seeing a lonely lady naked, what happen next is clear
on a small scale nakedness can work, as with one’s wife or in the forest but on a large scale it will definitely bring the inevitable breakdown of society.
one must realize that man is more sophisticated than most animals and devise ingenuous way to achieve his goals. perhaps the animal kingdom don’t suffer breakdown, because they are genetically programmed so. but man will definitely be impacient, except perhaps if we also follow the mating seasons as animals
let’s keep the gift that evolution has given us from the time people started civilisation- living in large group.
those researches could ultimately prove ‘the importance of using clothes’ lol !!!!!
February 18th, 2010 at 19:44
I enjoyed the topic of this documentary but did not find it to be very revealing. I spend as much time as possible nude during the summers at a local river. The attitude along certain places of the water is very skinny-dipping friendly and I have met a large portion of the community while enjoying my time in these isolated locations. Some locations along the water are even family-nudist oriented. In this setting it is very normal for people to be very friendly, welcoming newcomers with hugs, sharing food and joints (medicinal of course). How pleasant it is to sit in good company enjoying a drum circle and the sun in your natural state of nudity. Its never been uncomfortable or sexual in nature when I spend time with other nudists. When it is socially agreed that nudity is accepted in a situation, as the doc showed, it really allows people to open up and show their vulnerabilities and in turn, acceptance. I am only afraid that the time is soon approaching when this pastime wont be a possibility. Every year the Yuba river seems to grow shallower and the water quality lowers. In time it wont be worth living here to be by the water. Until then, this experience is the most natural of any i have felt and I would encourage anyone to try it at some point.
February 23rd, 2010 at 05:18
If humans evolved to have less hair as an evolutionary response to heat, why is it that people of Indian and Middle Eastern descent, which are areas with warm climates, generally have more body hair than people who are from cooler European climates?
February 23rd, 2010 at 05:19
Raya- I think it was pretty “revealing” actually!
February 23rd, 2010 at 08:45
I was kinda turned off by all the “body hair” talk. Thought it’d be more about why we as a individuals in Western society feel so uncomfortable being nude in front of others.
February 23rd, 2010 at 11:08
I wonder if Fieldman goes home and masterbates thinking of the naked people he works with. Overall the Doc was pretty gross. Whats with the Brits and their crazy docs. hahahaha
My rate of discomfort was a 9 when dudes were getting naked. Come to think of it when the women were naked it was the same.
Was it the DNA of the lice, or the DNA ingested by the lice where they got their results from?
March 6th, 2010 at 12:57
I could have done without all the lice talk.