Being in the buff feels spontaneous, joyous, freeing, brave and sensual
When Gwyneth Paltrow posted a photo of herself in the buff on Instagram to mark her 48th birthday, the eye-rolling was swift – followers were quick to tell her she should “grow old gracefully” or to “put it away at her age”.
Her 16-year-old daughter Apple commented with “MOM”.
Unsurprisingly, the Goop founder also used it as an excuse to plug her wellness company’s new body butter (you don’t build a £191million-pound business by accident y’know). But I think there’s something to be admired and celebrated in Gwynnie’s unabashed body confidence.
I hope, like Gwyneth, that I’ll still be stripping off as I approach the big 5-0, although probably a little less publicly and with a distinctly less yoga-honed body.
I’d like to apologise in advance if you ever find yourself in a communal changing room with me – should such places ever return.
I’ll be that woman who looks at you just a fraction too long. Because although it might sound strange, there is something I miss about being naked in public.
This isn’t a confession of my time on the sex party scene, or me revealing that I have a penchant for flashing. But when the opportunity arises – a spa, sauna, nudist beach – I love being in my birthday suit.
I definitely haven’t always felt so body confident – I remember doing the awkward “changing under a towel” trick every school PE lesson and being mortified when my family stumbled on to a nudist beach in France.
‘Being in the buff is equivalent to meditation’
Kate Wills
But a visit to the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond changed my mind about nudity. Here, women sunbathe naked or nearly naked, and it was the first place I had seen the nude female form outside of paintings or on TV.
Forget air-brushed perfection, here were real women, unashamedly showing their C section scars, stretch marks, lopsided boobs and more.
It made me realise how beautiful bodies can be.
Continued…Read full original article…
Source: The Sun
Original publication 18 October, 2020
Posted on NatCorn 6th November 2020
Reference to an article does not infer endorsement of any views expressed.