# Did you ever see your parents (either or both) completely naked? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 7, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985 "2012-09-07T14:21:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/41 "2012-09-07T19:07:00Z")
I took showers/baths with either parent before I got too old and even after that changed with my stepdad in the swimming pool locker room. I think a weirder experience for me was being naked in the gym locker shower with my coworker. ---
**Author:** ![cynyc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@cynyc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cynyc)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/42 "2012-09-07T19:29:24Z")
My old man always walked around nude. It was just the way it was. And once I wandered into what they call The Primal Scene. My mother was so still which I thought about later when I grew up. Then I became a mother… ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/43 "2012-09-07T19:42:57Z")
A FEW times, but not as a routine thing. I think my parents’ general attitude was “For people over the age of 5, being naked is something associated with private activities, but in reality, we live in a very small house with one bathroom so inevitably there will be some nudity visible.” It must have happened enough that I had the basics of what naked people looked like, because I never remember being shocked or surprised at the view. The appropriate response to an accidental bathroom encounter was something like “oh excuse me, I’ll be done in a moment,” not screaming or embarrassment or anything. Grew up in the 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/44 "2012-09-07T19:56:22Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > Permission to hijack, please. Like rhubarbian said, there is nothing inherently sexual about nudity, so for those of you pressing dismay or disgust, why? I ask because casual nudity left no impression on me other than “oh, so that’s what grownups look like”. I follow the Seinfeld philosophy that there is good naked and bad naked. Parents are never good naked. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/45 "2012-09-07T19:56:58Z")
My mom, all the time. She used to get dressed while we hung out in her room and chatted (and vice versa). My dad, never. I have seen him in briefs on the way from bed to the bathroom but that was it. I was born in '77. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/46 "2012-09-07T19:58:53Z")
Not as far as I remember. I mean, I saw my mom’s boobies when she was breast-feeding my brother, but that’s about it. I don’t recall ever seeing either my father or mother completely naked. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/47 "2012-09-07T20:00:29Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > My own typical housewear is a tank top and underwear between the time I get home from work and the time I take my morning shower, but then I’m a bachelorette. This is me, too (and describes my attire as of this moment). As soon as I get home, I have to get out of my “outside clothes” and into an outfit as described above or a nightgown or some kind of non-clothing-clothes. I think this comes from having grown up wearing a school uniform. The uniform was THE most expensive thing in my closet, and I changed out of it the instant I walked into the house. So whatever I’ve worn out in the world must come off the moment I get home. On a weekend day I may stay in my non-clothes all the freakin’ day long. 🙂 Oddly, sitting around the house naked just doesn’t work for me. I have NO neighbors, so modesty isn’t the issue. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/48 "2012-09-07T20:23:35Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Are they Focus on the Family followers? Dr Dobson espouses the idea that boys should at least sometimes shower with their dad. Somehow it will make them grow up to not be gay. Maybe it’s intended as aversion therapy. I don’t think FotF even existed in ~1981, but either way, they weren’t. But mom must have read the theory somewhere, because it was just once, and it was the same weekend Dad gave me The Talk. Ugh. And I didn’t turn out gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/49 "2012-09-07T20:32:40Z")
> [@jem\_1](#): > > My siblings and I feel that nudism was not a great thing. For many reasons. Oh, and none of us ever took our kids to nudist camps. Care to elaborate? ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/50 "2012-09-07T20:33:45Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I follow the Seinfeld philosophy that there is good naked and bad naked. Parents are never good naked. Yeah, I get that. But since I saw my parents naked occasionally since I was born, naked was just “without apparel”. However, if I didn’t see them naked until I was mid-puberty when naked classmates were who I was interested in seeing, that would have been a bummer. But not nearly as bummer as a couple years back when I walked in on Mom with her head in Dad’s lap (they were over 60). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/51 "2012-09-07T20:34:58Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > Yeah, I get that. But since I saw my parents naked occasionally since I was born, naked was just “without apparel”. However, if I didn’t see them naked until I was mid-puberty when naked classmates were who I was interested in seeing, that would have been a bummer. But not nearly as bummer as a couple years back when I walked in on Mom with her head in Dad’s lap (they were over 60). She was resting? ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/52 "2012-09-07T20:43:45Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > She was resting? Sure. Kneeling while draped over the arm of his Lazyboy with her head in his lap. Resting. Recliners seem somehow dirty now. As do my parents :o ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/53 "2012-09-07T20:52:56Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I don’t think FotF even existed in ~1981, but either way, they weren’t. But mom must have read the theory somewhere, because it was just once, and it was the same weekend Dad gave me The Talk. Ugh. > > And I didn’t turn out gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. So it worked! Heh. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/54 "2012-09-07T21:30:30Z")
Yeah. Both. Not at the same time, however. But the family was pretty easy-going. Ranch family, no illusions about nature and mammalian physiology. No neighbors, too, so it was a lot easier to get away with. We’d all take turns sunbathing nude, getting lovely tans with no tan-lines. Graduated high school in '74. Actually, wearing shorts and a t-shirt at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/55 "2012-09-07T22:21:41Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > That’s pretty interesting! For those of you who grew up with casual/okay nudity, are you similarly open with your children? Or do you plan to be, if parenthood is still in your future? > > IOW, was it a good thing that you plan to continue, or a bad/questionable thing that you plan to change? I never had any kids, and at 51 and happily married to a woman who is older than I am, very unlikely to father any. As for the latter, it is like this Onion article: [_Naked Man Only One Comfortable With His Body_](http://www.theonion.com/articles/naked-man-only-one-comfortable-with-his-body,1221/) I’ve lived in nudist situations since being a kid, and been nude with friends in non-sexual situations. The only real, lasting impact I can see on me is an inability to take clothing seriously. But maybe that’s just because I’m a huge geek. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/56 "2012-09-07T23:44:48Z")
I’m surprised how many “no’s” there are in this thread. My parents are pretty morally conservative, but I frequently saw them naked in the context of dressing, showering, etc. up until about age 5. They still wander around their own house in their underwear when I visit. BTW I am female. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/57 "2012-09-07T23:59:07Z")
> [@jem\_1](#): > > Another nudist here. Up until age 16 (mid 70’s) I went with my family to a local nudist camp every weekend. My kids are in their early 20’s and neither one has seen me naked. I am very modest! \*\*My daughter has seen me in my undies/bra/nighties, not my son. \*\* > > My siblings and I feel that nudism was not a great thing. For many reasons. Oh, and none of us ever took our kids to nudist camps. Bolding mine…How do you know your daughter hasn’t seen your son like that? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/58 "2012-09-08T00:00:24Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > I recall seeing them naked when I was a little kid in the early '70s. > > When my little brother was a senior in high school, he came home early one Friday night, with friends, to find Dad going down on Mom on the living room floor. Awkward… That’s awesome. Myself, never seen either nekked. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/59 "2012-09-08T00:15:53Z")
female, grew up in the 60s - only saw my Dad in his underwear that I remember, although my Mom tells the story of me as a toddler opening the shower door while he was in there and saying “Hi, Dad!” and since then he locked the bathroom door. my Mom I saw naked many times, as well as a lot of other females at the YWCA where I grew up. everyone walked around in various stages of undress including completely nude and I never noticed anyone make a thing about it. I feel sorry for girls now: last time I was in a locker room all the women were undressing and showering behind closed doors. like your naked body was something to be ashamed of! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985/60 "2012-09-08T00:40:42Z")
female, born in 1974 (graduated high school in 1992) My parents were pretty casual about nudity. My moms (bio and step - two different households) would change clothes or get dressed while we chatted. During my middle school years, I had some of the best conversations with them while they were in the bath or shower (which now that I’m a mother myself, I feel a profound need to apologize for!) My dads (bio and step - also two different households) not quite as much, but they’d walk from the shower to the bedroom naked, nap naked, sleep naked, and bathroom and bedroom doors were left open by default. The only time that stands out in my memory, actually, is the one time my father, lying naked on his bed reading a book, grabbed for the sheet and hurriedly covered up when I stuck my head in the door. At the time, I felt awful, and attributed it to my new pregnancy and Dad feeling like I was “a woman now” or something. Looking back on it, I wonder if he was just masturbating. I’ve taken my kids - not to nudist camps, exactly, but to hippie/neopagan festivals where anything goes, clothing wise, including no clothing. Think Burning Man, but smaller and not in the desert and with drum circles instead of techno music. About a third of the people there are in some state of undress (more when the crowds were younger, but now that we’re all aging, we’re more likely to be seen in fanciful layers of silks, tutus or ren-faire garb than “skyclad” (naked).) The first year I took my son, he was 6, and he did come home and report to my mother with wide eyes that “there were naked people there!” She asked him how he felt about that, and he shrugged and said, “I wasn’t naked. I don’t like that much sun screen.” 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-your-parents-either-or-both-completely-naked/633985.md?page=4)