
You would think I'd include sex without a disclaimer in that short list but I am not sure if, as it is usually presented, it does. In the second series of The Mindy Project Mindy explains to her colleagues (to set the scene it's a very sharing office) that she's never been naked with a partner. How has she ever managed to get away with this? Probably because we know the truth: a hint of nudity is more titillating than parading about naked.
Which is why a mother's full frontal nudity is far from perverted or sexual. Jules Pomerance, mother of three, is often naked and as she lives with her children she is often naked in front of them. | it gives permission for her children to be comfortable with other people's bodies |
If her son asked her to cover up then Jules says she would. However it's important to her to show her children that you can be comfortable with your body whatever its shape and size. Not only that but it gives permission for her children to be comfortable with other people's bodies and that there is no Officially Acceptable Body type. It also means that nudity isn't seen as some form of sexual invitation.
Does that seem mentally scarring to you? The Daily Mail cites two unnamed opposing studies, one found that "exposure to parental nakedness for those aged six or under had benefits when it came to their capacity for affection and intimacy as adults. But another found that boys who saw their parents in the nude from the ages of six to 11 were more likely to have permissive attitudes towards sexuality and more sexual partners." Which...doesn't sound so bad.
Squeamish Kate