Why is the phrase “running around” so intimately associated with the idea of bodily exposure? Like, can’t naked people walk slowly?
That’s because many people are half naked in their daily life, at least compared to, say, 1940 or something.
Bouncing bits.
I don’t know. That time I stood out in my front hard with only cowboy boots and a holster on, the police saw things differently.
Why doesn’t anyone ever say they you are committing decent exposure?
Whoa - TMI, dude.
Context. If you say “I can’t come outside now, I’m naked” and you’re just wearing a towel, that’s true. If you say to your wife “Honey, I didn’t see her naked, she was wearing a towel”, that’s true too. In both cases, assuming the towel covers boobs, butt and crotch.
In fact, nudity is almost always about context. The things I wear to the beach, I’d feel naked in if I wore them anywhere else. It goes the other way too. I go to burns (local Burning Man events – never been to the big one), and you’d be surprised the amount of clothes and costumes people wear while still allowing all their naughty bits to hang out in the open. I don’t think I’d consider them naked, but I bet if they showed up to work in those outfits, their boss would.
Good point.
One interesting thing about social rules of modesty in the US is that nightwear (e.g. pajamas, nightgowns) is considered immodest outside of the home, regardless of how much of the body is actually covered. E.g. a miniskirt and halter top is considered more modest than a floor length nightgown. If a person in nightwear needs to step outside, they can become modest enough to step outside briefly if they put on a bathrobe, regardless of whether or not the bathrobe covers any additional parts of the body or whether or not the climate calls for additional protection against cold, etc. It’s just a social rule.
wearing my mother’s Freudian slip.
The New Yorker’s great Arno: http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/wp-content/t/_ArnoCartoons5.jpg
