People should have the right to be openly naked in public if they want to be. It’s very oppressive to insist that people wear clothing all of the time while outside. Obviously there is a time and place for everything. Nobody needs to be naked near a school or daycare, in a grocery store, or at a shopping mall. However, I feel very strongly that cities need to provide clothing optional spaces because being openly naked outdoors is a powerful and healthy way to connect with nature and your body. It teaches you to accept your body and love yourself just the way you are.
I have chronic depression and yet I can attest to the fact that shedding your clothes and freeing yourself from society's shame to be openly naked outdoors is a very liberating and invigorating experience. The first time I tried it was in 2019 at a gay men's clothing optional campgrounds which I've gone back to several times. I've also participated in the World Naked Bike Ride in Toronto in 2024. Being naked outdoors is so freeing and joyful that it obliterates my depression and makes me happy to be alive. Yet, I can only do so on very rare occasions, such as while I am at a clothing optional campsite, as once I return home to Ottawa I am prohibited from being naked outdoors including in my own backyard! Medicine isn’t the only way to cure people, sometimes all it takes is permission to stroll naked outdoors in nature. A lot of people will think this is crazy, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!
Here I am at the Toronto World Naked Bike Ride, 2024
Frankly, the law has no business governing our bodies as simply being naked is not offensive. We know this from the history of art and sculpture where nudity is a central topic because the naked human form is so beautiful. Therefore, what the law should govern is our behaviour, as whether or not we are naked or wearing clothes it is our behaviour that can be offensive. This isn’t just my view this is common sense, but our society just doesn’t seem to have much common sense when it comes to the topic of being openly naked.
I sincerely do not mean any disrespect to anyone, yet I find society is quite immature and foolish in this regard. For example, it’s okay to have a naked male statue in a public square, and to see images of that naked male statue all throughout our culture, so it’s perfectly okay if a statue is naked, but it’s not okay for an actual naked male, which the statue is based on, to be naked in the public square or to see images of the naked male throughout our culture. One is seen as beautiful while the other is seen as offensive. That’s quite nonsensical to me.
Perhaps the most beautiful male statue ever created, Michelangelo's David.
Our society has a very toxic understanding of nudity and the human body which is in fact harmful to our collective well-being. Disconnecting from our bodies by keeping them out of sight and out of mind under our clothes allows us to ignore when we are overweight and out of shape, plus it prevents us from embracing the diversity of humanity, as bodies come in many beautiful shapes, sizes, colours, genders and ages.
If nudity was more common place in society it's likely that there would be a greater interest in healthy eating and exercising. We would be better educated in regards to the medical causes of obesity, rather than erroneously blaming those who are overweight for not being able to cure their own illness and calling them lazy which is simply cruel and heartless. There also wouldn't be one ideal male or female body type featured in the media as we would have a more acute understanding of how foolish that notion truly is.
Yet, instead of celebrating our bodies as being virtuous and embracing the true beauty of humanity, we allow the media’s perfectionist standards and overly sexualized use of nudity to serve as our understanding of what a naked human body must be. I find this very sad as we have lost the ability to accept non sexual nudity as simply being a part of our humanity, and an honest way of sharing our true selves with each other. We freak out and get offended by it instead.
Not long ago, being openly naked was not such a big deal. It was especially common to be naked while swimming. In fact men still swam naked at indoor pools as recently as the early 1980's. From at least the 1940's to the late 70's, public schools required boys to swim naked during gym glass or for the school swim team. I found the above photo on Wikipedia. It was captioned: "Members of the Royal Australian Air Force diving into a river, 1943." By Anonymous - AWM Collection, Public Domain
Homes in North America were not built with indoor pluming or bathtubs until the mid 1900's, therefore it was necessary to be naked in front of family, friends and random strangers at public bath houses, especially during the winter months when lakes were frozen and swimming or bathing outside was not an option. As such men and boys would bathe naked together, as would women and girls, both using the same facilities at designated times for each gender. Here in Ottawa, ON, the first two public bath houses were built in 1920 and are still standing today as both were eventually converted into swimming pools. One of them was Plant Baths on Somerset St. which is now known as Plant Recreation Centre, and the other was Champagne Bath on King Edward Avenue, now called Champagne Fitness Centre.
Back then people didn't get offended or embarrassed about seeing each other naked, it was just a matter of daily life. It wasn't turned into an overly dramatic public scandal to be naked at the public bathes, nobody was ever cancelled back then simply for being a human being.
And yet, in today's society I can’t go outside naked anywhere within the city without getting arrested, not even to go swimming, so that's not an option. Therefore, I've decided to post a small selection of naked selfies online so that I can continue to experience the feeling of being openly naked and being seen as the real me. In my mind these naked photos are an honest expression of the joy and happiness that I have about my body and being my true naked self. Being proud of your body is a good thing. However I know that everyone will not see these photos the way I do. Some may be repulsed or offended, some may find them erotic, some may be indifferent, that is all up to the individual, but one thing that the photos are not is pornographic as I'm simply showing what my naked body looks like. I'm sharing my own male beauty with those who might want to see it, rather than hiding it away out of shame.
Just because I am naked in the photos does not automatically mean that they are pornographic, that is an unfortunate misconception that the media has created by focusing solely on sexualizing naked bodies. I simply want to share what the real me, my naked body, looks like and express how joyful I feel when I am naked. If you want to see my naked photos there's a link below at the end of this article.
Two years ago, in 2023, I got up the nerve to post my naked selfie photos online for the first time, but then the social shame towards public nudity that permeates our culture crept back inside of me and I took the photos down, but then I felt shame for taking them down so I reposted them, and then I took them down again!!! So now I am reposting them yet again, I hope this time it's for good. I want to be able to keep my naked selfies online and not worry about feeling shame. I want to be openly naked and be proud of my body and of being a human being, I don’t see why that’s such a bad thing.
The Barberini Faun is a statue of a nude male figure from the 2nd century BC that has long been regarded as controversial because the figure is posed in a somewhat sexual way. With the legs spread as they are it directs the viewer's focus to the groin area, and yet this is none the less a beautiful masterpiece. The statue is shown here in a Wikipedia photo captioned: "Marble copy by a Hellenistic sculptor of the Pergamene school or a Roman sculptor, of a bronze original." By unknown artist - Photographed by Bibi Saint-Pol on 8 February 2007, 12:57, Public Domain Of course it goes without saying that as human beings we are inherently sexual by our very nature, but this does not mean that we are helpless to control ourselves whether or not we are wearing clothing. The fact that it can be sexually stimulating to see a naked body or to be seen while naked does not diminish the body from being beautiful or justify classifying nudity as immoral, it only elevates the natural beauty of humanity and makes it all the more wonderful to be alive. Frankly in my view, what is immoral is to hide such beauty forever, or to outlaw it and cast it away.
Personally, I think it is sinful and disrespectful to discourage people from being openly naked and sharing their true selves with the world. It's also sinful to rob people of the joy that being their true openly naked selves outdoors on a sunny summer day can bring, or to prohibit people from having that experience of freedom and liberty in their daily lives. What a stifled existence it is to be prevented from ever knowing the freedom of being naked at the beach or to feel the water caress your entire naked body while enjoying a relaxing naked swim. Why should such a wonderful human experience be outlawed and denied to us?
Some of you may be thinking, "What do you need to be naked for, if you're wearing a swimsuit it's the same thing?" Well, actually it's not, because if you're wearing a swimsuit of any kind then you're not naked! Only naked is naked, it's a completely different feeling. The very reason people wear swimsuits is so that they won't be naked. If being naked was the "same thing" then we wouldn't have needed swimsuits in the first place.
In fact, I suspect that a lot of people would be surprised to learn that there are family friendly "naturalist" (or nudist) campsites and resorts all across North America where families with children are free to be naked anywhere on the site. Clothing is actually forbidden at naturalist locations, with very few exceptions, you have to be naked at all times. By comparison, sites that are "clothing optional" allow you to keep some or all of your clothes on if you wish, while others at the same site may choose to be completely naked.
I don't have any doubt that many people will freak out in a negative way about family friendly naturist resorts and worry about adults being naked around children, though there really is no need for concern. Such resorts are a very safe place for children as everyone has to register to gain access, which is not always the case at clothing optional locations (such as public clothing optional beaches). In addition, parents and staff at naturalist sites are all collectively on guard at all times to make sure that rules of conduct are being strictly followed. I've never been to a naturist resort myself, but I wouldn't be opposed to going.
Naturists teach their children that there is nothing shameful about their bodies or being openly naked, which I think is a wonderful gift of confidence, acceptance and freedom for parents to give to their children, rather than shaming them and teaching them to feel embarrassed to be naked.
Quite frankly, it's simply abusive that our society would instill fear or shame in anyone by threatening to outcast them as a pervert and cancel them from society simply for wanting to be openly naked and to be seen for real as a human being. As a society, we need to get a grip on reality. We're no longer living in the Victorian Age so we no longer need to carry on with such prudish, harmful social norms. It's honestly okay to be our true naked selves! The sky is not going to fall!
Hercules and Lichas: A Greek myth about a deadly robe. If only Hercules had stayed naked he would not have been killed!
It makes me happy to know that people are seeing my naked body online because in this way my true self is being seen. I'm no longer being forced to hide my body away as though I am some sort of hideous creature. Granted, posting photos online is certainly not the same as actually being naked outdoors so it's a compromise, yet it's still quite a liberating and freeing thing to do and I'm glad that I've done it.
In the meantime, the closest that I can get to actually being naked outdoors in my city is to wear a skimpy swimsuit at the beach. My outlook is "the less fabric the better", so I like to wear either a skimpy swim brief with one inch of fabric at the sides, or a men's backless swim thong. Yes it's true, I have worn a backless thong at the public beach in Ottawa several times. Currently I have a black one, a purple one and a blue one, and each thong has been worn at the beach at least once. The blue one is the one I like to wear most often.
This will have to do as a photo for this section.
I tried to post a photo of myself wearing my blue thong swimsuit, which shows my cute thong butt, however blogger wouldn't allow me to include it without blocking this post as "sensitive content". So I can wear my thong in public with no problem, I just can't post a photo of myself wearing it on my own blog! This is exactly the sort of prudish foolishness that makes me so sad, because it makes no sense at all! What is there to freak out about? Why does Blogger think that my butt has that much significance? As cute as it may be, it's just another bum! Perhaps if I made a statue of my thong butt it would be okay to show it here? What nonsense!
In any case, being almost naked at the public beach definitely does not feel as welcoming as being at the clothing optional campgrounds, the atmosphere at the beach is far more judgmental (very much like Blogger!). This is why I don't wear my thong every time I go to the beach even though I want to. It's also why a designated safe space for being openly naked is so urgently needed in the city. People shouldn't feel ostracized or unsafe just for wanting to be as naked as possible at the beach.
That being said, I received a rather kind compliment once about my thong, so that's what I choose to focus on. I wish more guys would wear thongs to swim in because they are super comfortable. Why can't we all just be happy to be alive and celebrate our bodies by letting them be seen? It's quite common to see women of all shapes and sizes wearing skimpy bikini swimsuits at the beach that show off their butt cheeks, so if women can do it then so can men. Of course, I would much prefer it if we could all just swim naked. These swimsuits are so small, we might as well be!
Here I am way back when I was 20 in 1994. This is the first time that I took a selfie in my Speedo. I wanted to be naked but I was too afraid to do so, as this photo was taken on film which had to be developed at the photography shop. Digital cameras were not yet available. In retrospect, I should have done it anyways. It would have made for a more interesting picture. However I'm still glad to have this one as it proves that I used to be that slim! Alas, we can't stay young forever!
Unfortunately I had a Catholic upbringing, so at the time when I took the above photo I thought that I was doing something sinful and morally wrong for taking a picture of my almost naked body in a Speedo. That's why I have such a serious look on my face, I didn't want to get caught taking the picture. Seems rather foolish of me to have worried so much doesn't it? There's absolutely nothing morally wrong or sinful about this Speedo selfie photo! It's just me in a swimsuit! Even if I had taken a naked selfie there would have been nothing wrong with it, as there's nothing shameful about simply being naked. Yet it's this same Catholic ideology of wrongdoing and shame that has affected our culture so negatively. Our naked bodies are not sinful or immoral, that's just nonsense.
In 2008, when I was 34, I went with my friend Duane to the Ottawa Pride Festival and brought along my digital camera. Duane told me to strike a pose so that he could take my picture. I'm just stating that for the record because I don't typically sit this way. LOL It looks like I'm saying "Hey babe-beh! How you doin'?" I really like this photo a lot though so I'm glad Duane took it.
However to be honest, I wish that I could have been naked for this photo too. The shades are cool and all, but they hide my eyes the same way that my clothes hide my body. This isn't a photo of the real me. My true beauty is being hidden, I had a lovely slim figure back then so being naked would have made for a far more captivating image. Yet, at the time I was too ashamed of being naked even just to have taken off my shirt! How sad that I was ever made to feel that way about myself, to be so ashamed of my body that it made me hide my true beauty away.
Quite honestly, I have been thinking about and wanting to be openly naked in public for a long time. Back in my early 30's shorty after I bought my first digital camera, I privately began taking naked photos of myself which I enjoyed doing for many years. It made me feel tuned in and connected to my body. Yet, it also made me feel badly that I could never share any of my naked photos openly with anyone without being judged negatively for doing so. Regretfully, that very same feeling of shame is what made me destroy my naked photos immediately after taking them, or within a few days. This happened every time after each photo session even though it was difficult for me to do because I felt that I had no choice but to destroy something that I thought was beautiful about myself.
Today I would have had hundreds of photos of my beautiful young body to show you, taken during my 30's, if not for that intense feeling of shame for taking the photos in the first place, and for wanting to let people see my naked body. Frankly, I could have been a model back then if I had tried to be one, but the stigma of shame for wanting to show off my body kept me from pursuing it. My inherent social shyness and introverted personality didn't help me very much either.
One of the photos that I took in 2006 when I was 32.
I kept this one because I liked seeing my tummy. I wish I had kept them all.
Fortunately, I didn't end up destroying all of the pictures. There are a few photos that I kept from my 30's, like the one shown above. As strange at it may be, one of them that I’m especially proud of is a photo of my penis, commonly known as a "dick pic", which I took in 2006 when I was 32. I think it's a beautiful photo, both artistically and sexually. I know that it sounds odd for me to say that, but that's the honest truth. I'm just an average guy in that department, but I genuinely feel that the photo has artistic merit due to the composition of the image. There are at least 15 triangles hidden in the photo which happened quite by serendipity. If it was simply a pornographic photo, I would not have been interested in the composition or counting how many triangles I could find. I have always wanted to let people look at this picture, and to be openly naked in this way, but was worried that people would think that I’m a pervert for wanting to do so.
Even now, I still feel shame about wanting to show this photo to people, but there's also the side of me that would honestly love for everyone to see it. I certainly don't think it's the world's greatest photo ever taken of a penis, so that's not what I'm saying at all, I'm just very proud of this image. Maybe it's just my artist's ego getting the better of me, none the less it's sad that society would be so offended by my naked body that I can't openly show this picture to anyone without all of this shame and anxiety. I can't even post it here to show you otherwise Blogger will block this post as being "sensitive content". Therefore, I've added a link to the photo at the bottom of the page, but it shouldn't be this way. I should be able to post it here and share my naked body without any shame.
Once again, this will have to do as a photo for this section
We should be able to celebrate our bodies openly without any worry or bad feelings or awkwardness. The image of my penis is not a dirty photo just because it features the male anatomy, it's a beautiful one because it shows me as a young man being vulnerable, exposing the most delicate part of my body. It's also a sexy photo, it excites me when I see it, and the idea of people seeing it excites me as well. I'd have to be a robot for that not to be so, but that doesn't cancel out the fact that it's a beautiful photo. At least to me it is, and because I posted it online I now know that thousands of people agree with me!
I kept that photo hidden away for 18 years out of shame, it would be sad to hide it away forever. We shouldn't hide our bodies or say that certain parts of them are shameful, we should stay connected to our bodies and be proud of them, and let everyone see them, every beautiful part, because we are all one of a kind and unique. That's precisely why each one of us is so beautiful and special. We're all a natural miracle of nature, why would we ever want to shame that?
If I can't be openly naked outside then I'm wearing my short shorts!
Back in the 70's, 80's and early 90's this was the typical style of shorts that guys would wear. Since 2016 short shorts have been gaining popularity for guys to wear again and in 2020 they were officially back in style. I prefer the feeling of not having any fabric covering up my legs, and they're much cooler to wear on hot days. Plus they show off my legs, and at my age you have to go with what you've got left! LOL (I'm just kidding of course!)
Like anyone else, I worry a lot about behaving the way that people think that I should behave, the way I'm expected to behave. But then I ask myself, what about how I want to behave, what if I just do what would make me the happiest? It goes without saying that nobody is expecting me to be openly naked, or expecting that I would voluntarily want to be seen while naked, or that it would make me so happy to go to a clothing optional campsite that it would essentially cure my chronic depression. But it does make me that happy, and I'm absolutely thrilled and greatful that I've been able to experience being openly naked, both online and in public. I can't wait to do it again!
Here is a drawing that I made to express how I felt about my body when
I was a slim 26 year old in 2000. I have never shown it to anyone until now.
This is one of my favourite drawings that I've ever done. I think he's beautiful.
The fact is, I can’t control what people will think about me, but I do know that it honestly feels awesome to have my "dick pic" and my naked selfies online for anyone to look at if they want to. I also love being openly naked outdoors. I’m tired of feeling shame about my body and denying myself from doing what I have always wanted to do, which is to be openly naked. This is something that I know for sure about myself.
Once upon a time it was no big deal to be openly naked, now it will get you thrown in jail and end your career... unless you're an actor or a statue! It's all quite silly!
Discus Man: In order to honour the Gods, Athletes used to compete
openly naked at the Olympics as their muscular bodies were so beautiful.
To be clear, when I talk about being openly naked I’m certainly not advocating that it’s okay to send dick pics to people without consent, that’s just creepy and wrong for good reason. I would never do that. But there is certainly nothing wrong with a guy being proud of his penis or his naked body and wanting to show it off in a way that is not harmful to others. There's nothing unusual about wanting to be seen while naked, it's a perfectly normal way for anyone to feel about their body. Being proud of your body is a good thing.
Posting naked selfies on a website that welcomes such photos and allows people the choice to look at them or not, doesn’t harm anyone in any way. Not in the least. The only person that might be harmed by posting naked selfies is myself, the person posting them, should people decide to get all self righteous and mock me or cancel me for having the nerve to be openly naked. If you don’t want to see me naked then don’t look at my naked photos, it’s as simple as that, because if I can't be naked outdoors enjoying the sunshine then being naked online is the next best thing.
There are people who like to have a lot of tattoos, and some who only want a few, and some who don't like to have any. Same thing applies to clothing.
In 2020 when I was 46, I got an awesome tan complete with bright white privies! LOL
Due to my chronic depression I ended up gaining a lot of weight in my late 30's and early 40's, and became completely disconnected from my body. I withdrew from life and isolated myself because I didn't want anyone to see me. It felt very much like I was a slim person trapped in a chubby person's body. When I would dream at night, I would be my slim self in the dream, then wake up to realize that I was in my chubby body again.
However, after I lost 30 pounds in my late 40's, I felt good enough about my body to start taking naked selfies again. That's also when I went to the gay men's clothing optional campgrounds for the first time and had an extremely positive life changing experience being naked and free outdoors. I'm so glad that I took that brave leap!
By posting all of this here I'm making another one! I'm tired of the shame, so I'm letting go of it.
It’s my body so it’s my choice, and I absolutely love being openly naked. It makes me happy to be alive.
- Mikey
Click here to see my naked photos
(then scroll down past the text)
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Randy Rat and Gordon the Sea Monster hanging out at the Puppets Up Festival in 2024. I'm told those other guys in the picture are their bodyguards, Liam Prince and Mikey Artelle. You don't wanna mess with them! No way, Ho-say! They mean business! Just look out! Look out I tell you, look out! They'll sneak up on you! In fact, Randy Rat's bodyguard Liam likes to keep a low profile playin' it cool with the shades. You won't even know he's there until it's too late, and then it's curtains time! ...because he has a puppet show to do!!!
