Bare Friendships/Nude Dudes in Disguise

I first met my bare and same gender loving best friend, Jay, on January 3, 2009. It was at a "naked cocktails" event at a local bar in Washington D.C. At the time, a popular leather bar in the downtown area, opened early on specific Saturday afternoons for a private "naked cocktails" party hosted by a local gay nude group. That's where Jay and I first met on that first Saturday back in 2009. 

We've since evolved into a platonic but bare friendship as we discovered we shared many interests and pursuits in addition to our same gender attraction and preference for social nudity. In fact, we grew so comfortable with our shared nakedness that a week later, we initially didn't recognize each other when we met in a local bookstore. Neither one of us knew the other because we were both wearing clothes for our second encounter! That situation had never happened to me before!

Although clothing is both superficial, artificial and totally unnecessary, I wonder about how important it is in our recognition process. Is it an essential adornment that we associate with an individual? How valuable is it for us in identification? Since most of us change clothes daily, our garb regularly changes as few of us wear the same ensemble every day.

For Jay and I, clothing was not necessary for binding our friendship but it was an "unknown variable" when we met a second time after first interacting with each other a week earlier. We were accustomed and familiar with our respective nakedness but awkward and unsure of each other when we were both fully clothed in our winter apparel. 

My experience has been, at least with my bare friends, is that our absence of clothing encourages us all to be more honest and open with each other. We don't have the artificial covering or protection of garments to hide under. What is visible between us is our true naked selves. In other words, you see us all, our physical deformities as well as our physical attributes. There is nothing, and consequently, nowhere for us to hide (conceal) anything. We are physically bare to one another.

This leads to a complete lack of any need to impress or assume an attitude of superiority. There exists between us a level of honesty as there is no need for stylish fashions or designer labels to use as a pretense between us. We are all exactly as we appear in the eyes of others. 

True, the overwhelming majority of us same gender loving naturists/nudists live as a minority in a world that is, by and large, consumer-driven and clothes-wearing. Practically every culture on our planet is obsessively commercialized. Everyone wants what, if not better than, our neighbors have. However, among my circle of clothes-free friends, this is simply not the case. 

We view clothes as a necessity for comfort and survival. They help keep us warm when winter is here and enable is to go places without causing anyone to call law enforcement. Aside from those and similar situations, we see clothes as being incidental as opposed to essential. We are happy and content to go without them at every available opportunity (and for my friends and myself, this is often true). 

It sometimes allows us to not recognize each other when we meet by chance in public while wearing garments. Like what happened eight years ago with Jay and myself. 

Just this past weekend, I had another situation identical occur. It was Saturday, New Year's Eve day, when someone tapped me on my shoulder at a local library. I turned around and stared at the person for what seemed to be an eternity. His face appeared familiar yet I couldn't immediately recall his name or even how I knew him. 

Then, using American Sign Language (ASL) he asked: Do you remember me?

My temporary amnesia vanished. It was my good friend Darren (pictured with me above). Yes, we're generally bare when we're together. Another case of clothes non-recognition!  

Have a very happy and a very bare 2017!

Peace! Get naked. Enjoy!

Bare With Pride