In this thread, I mention that I’ve never seen myself naked because I have too many hang-ups about it. In this post, Cisco seems intrigued by it, which means that others probably are too. Thus, this thread is born.
Wait a second, my mouth is really dry.
<grabs a beverage>
Much better.
I’ve never seen myself naked. I’ve seen my arms, legs, stomach, shoulders, and even my butt naked, but never my naughty bits. There: that’s how hung-up I am. I can’t even say the proper words for my “naughty bits.”
I’ve seen other people naked. Other people (well, one other person) has seen me naked. I’ve never seen myself naked.
Why is this? I don’t know. I don’t have any weight issues. I generally like my proportions and I feel I don’t need to lose/gain weight to be happy and healthy and beautiful. I’ve seen other women naked, and sometimes I might have even been somewhat attracted to it :eek: Scandalous!, as one of my friends would say. It’s not that I just never happened to catch myself in the mirror after a shower; I actively avoid seeing myself naked. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me–I certainly feel normal–but for all I know, there might be.
Have you seen yourself naked? How do you feel about it? Are you like me, and just can’t bring yourself to do that sinful, sinful deed ? If so, do you know why? Are you male or female? (I’m female, by the way.) Is there anything wrong with us non-naked-self-seers? Should we start a support group?
When I have a bath I occasionally stand up out of the water to wash the otherwise submerged areas. There are three mirrors in the bathroom arranged in such a way that I accidentally saw myself from the side. Not a pretty site and a bit of a shock.
Not only have I seen myself naked, I’ve seen myself naked through the eyes (or the pens, brushes, pencils, etc.) of a college figure drawing class. (Actually some of them gave me pictures.) It was quite interesting to stroll around on my break and see what was on the various easels, like, for instance–hey, that’s not my butt! Ye gods–is THAT what I look like, or is the chick who drew it gonna get an F?
All the time. The mirror in the bedroom is situated behind the dresser, so I get a full body shot every time I come in from a shower to get underwear. If the Pillsbury Doughboy has a twin, it’s me. No problem, although for aesthetics sake I try to avoid a side-view.
We just moved into our house (with a lot of windows facing the street) and haven’t put up any curtains yet, and it’s been surprising how much we were used to walking around in the all-together now that we have to be more careful (temporarily, at least). Once I’m clothed I stay clothed, but I never wear anything to bed and don’t get dressed until after I shower, so a day rarely goes by when I don’t see myself naked.
There’s nothing wrong with the OP, IMO, but I just can’t imagine it myself. It’s not like I don’t see things I’d like to improve, per se, but my wife likes to look at me and it doesn’t bug me to see what I see, so there you go.
Wow. Nothing wrong with the OP, but I find it hard to believe. Not that you’re not telling the truth, but that there has never been a single situation that required you to look. Do you mean pubic hair or genitalia, or both? For instance, how do you shave (assuming you do)? And you’ve never had a rash that you needed to look at? A small cut?
Anyway, no, I have no problem seeing myself naked, except for the fact that I’m quite overweight.
I see myself naked all the time, though 99% of the time it’s the shower. No full body mirrors, so even if I wanted to I couldn’t get a naked profile. I don’t mind myself naked, I’m average.
My question is this: How? How do you NOT see yourself naked ever? You never look down in the shower? Not even accidentally? I see that as being almost impossible! How do you know you’re cleaning yourself if you don’t look to verify? I’m not sure if you’re a guy or gal, but I suppose it is slightly easier for a guy to avoid this, since there is just the wang to be concerned about, wheras a woman’s got the boobies AND a vulva.
I’m being serious. Would you lie about something like this?
My breasts don’t get dirty enough for me to look at them while I wash them, plus they’re kind of small so they hide. Don’t know about other gals, but I don’t really rub them around in the dirt and mud. They kind of stay tucked away under several layers. I can focus on washing my legs without seeing my genital area. In the OP, I said I actively avoid seeing myself naked. Try taking a shower without looking at your genital/chest area. It’s not that hard if you put your mind do it. I don’t have a mirror in the shower, by the way.
I shave my legs with my underwear on, not in the shower. I’ve shaved the very edge of my bikini line before, but again, with my underwear on (I need a guide to see how far in I have to go–I’m not going to shave more than I need to and then get those stupid red bumps).
Does anybody else have a problem with those three panel medicine cabinet mirrors. I can’t help but notice myself when I get out of the shower. Usually I’m pretty tired and out of it and scare the hell out of myself. When one the the panels isn’t quite closed the angle creates the illusion that I’m twice as fat as I really am, kind of scary first thing in the morning. On the otherhand and other angles, I can cut off about 60 pounds,
I don’t mean to seem incredulous, and I certainly have no reason not to believe you but…
:eek:
How? I have a hard time wrapping my mind around that. I guess because part of being a female requires a great deal of care to a certain portion of your body (being very polite for unsuspecting thread openers). I think it’s certainly unusual, but not anything that would make me say “there’s something wrong with you”. My best guess is that you are very young (despite your comment about being married…). I’ve discovered that as I have gotten older, my “hang-ups” as you call them have fallen by the wayside as I’ve broadened my horizons (meeting people completely unlike myself, moving 3000 miles away from almost everyone I knew…). You may find yourself changing your mind at some point in your life.
Alright, I got a picture of Lindsay and Tobias from Arrested Development. However, I don’t watch AD as much as I should, so is there a reference I’m missing?
Jaade, I am youngish (19), but where did I say I’m married? I’m not.
I’m very, very tempted to quote a line from Maude Lebowski here, but I won’t.
Anyway, yeah, it’s a hang-up, but you acknowledge it as such and it doesn’t sound all that harmful. It’s not usual, as you can probably tell by now, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad – sounds like your self-image is perfectly fine. I mean, you wouldn’t have started this thread if you were all that hung up about it, right?
Some guys (assuming you’re straight, and interested in guys) might even consider it a turn-on – it’s “all for them.”
And yes, I have seen myself naked. Far more times than I’d like to. I’m from the ArchiveGuy school of domestic clothing and spend a good portion of the day in the altogether. It’s just easier.
Tobias is a self-proclaimed never nude, a condition characterized by an inability to be completely naked. Even in the shower, Tobias feels the compulsion to wear denim cut-offs. Needless to say, this has put quite a strain on his marriage. Unfortunately, the DSM IV has not yet acknowledged never-nudity as a psychological condition, but it is known to have afflicted certain members of the german parliment. In a later episode, Tobias appears to have overcome his never-nudity, and is shown coming down for breakfast sans clothes.
As far as the OP goes, I make a point not to catch myself naked in a mirror, although I do see myself unclothed in the shower, of course.
I see myself naked every morning: I always step in front of the full-length mirror to practice posing (I’m such a geek) and to check out my (lack of visible) abs. I also check out my ass everyday to make sure it looks the same.
I’ve seen my naughty bits, though not recently. When I was much younger, I went through the “exploring your body” phase and used a mirror. I had a brief period where I was fascinated by porn and other women because I needed some reference.
Hmmm, I personally think there is something wrong about never seeing yourself naked and actively avoiding any accidental exposure. Beyond just being an indication of repression, there a some health reasons to consider (such as checking for skin cancer). Plus, maybe if you took the opportunity to examine yourself naked in a private, comfortable place, it might help you work though some issues.
When I was pregnant with my first son we lived in a house with no full length mirror. One night we stayed at a hotel when I was more than eight months pregnant. There I saw my self naked in a full length mirror and I swear my heart almost stopped beating.
Other than that I don’t try to look in the mirror but I don’t avoid it either, it doesn’t really bother me.
tremorviolet probably has a pretty good idea with the looking at porn (just to get used to what women look like ) it might make you less nervous about seeing yourself.
I see myself naked everyday. We have a full length mirror in our bedroom, right next to my chest of drawers. I usually end up seeing myself as I dress. And now that I’m almost 30, I like to check that everything’s still where it should be. :eek:
I don’t mean to be a judge about you but that is one of the strangest things that I have ever heard. I have a degree in psychology and I have never neard of the “inability to look at one-self”. That is extremely strange and should be treated. I have no idea where that came from but I have to nominate that for the most deluded thing thing that I have ever heard of.
Please take this very seriously: There is either a joke going on here or you have some very big problems that need to be treated right away. This is not a joke. This was passed on to me by a friend that could have you committed if you were in our state. Something is very, very wrong with you and should be treated by a professional. I would take a serial killers statement as less serious than I take yours. That is truly delusional and strange and you need help.
This comes from a former mental patient with Bipolar-Type I Disorder who was commited 5 times in the last 5 years and is now very successful (doing better than most - I am a multi-millionaire mainly due to my wife). Yours seems like an extreme cry for help and we can do whatever we can)
Alll I can say is please continue your coversation. Most of us our very sympathetic and here to help even if you are a stranger. I can relate to most of it because I am very high-functioning and yet an alchoholic and a Bipolar-Type I Patient
? If so, do you know why? Are you male or female? (I’m female, by the way.) Is there anything wrong with us non-naked-self-seers? Should we start a support group?
