Off to the Garden of Eden

Photo Courtesy of JayManCan aka JayManGrow (Wikimedia Commons)

Adam and Eve were the original world naked gardeners, so why not follow their example?

In large parts of the world, spring is about to erupt. Even Britain is predicting 27 degrees this weekend, Taiwan is heading across the 30 degrees, and countries which are leaving summer behind hopefully still enjoy an autumn balmy enough for some nude sprucing.

The eternal problem of course is what kind of garden people have. I myself don't have a garden worth that name. Living high up in a building, there are plants on the floors of the balconies. I might venture out there in my natural state, but it won't take long before either the neighbors or the police who are regulating traffic several floors lower might get an eyeful of what I'm up to.

I  used to live in the countryside, which was much more friendly to naked gardening, at least from the size and vision angles. The garden was huge, and a considerable part of it was lined by walls of 2 meters and higher, not allowing any neighbors or passersby to see what was going on inside.

That of course is the ideal place to spend the first Saturday of each May, World Naked Gardening Day. You don't have to worry about any non-naturist or sensitive neighbors or passersby, you just do your thing, and not just on May 5 this year, but every warm day.

I'll probably never again own a patch of garden where I can enjoy truly 100 percent naked gardening, though I've always dreamed of living in a totally naturist community, where I never have to wear any clothes any day, except when it's too cold, but then, I would pick a spot in a warmer climate anyway.

To all those lucky enough or brave enough to spend a true World Naked Gardening Day, my best wishes. If you're not gardening and happen to be in Paris, with tickets already booked, this Saturday also marks the naked tour of the Palais de Tokyo Museum.

www.wngd.org

http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/2932703/palais-de-tokyos-exhibition-flaunts-a-naked-day-pleasing



Everybody Can Be Botticelli's Venus

Photo from Emily Ratajkowski's Instagram account @emrata

I've said it many times before on this blog, especially around the time I announce my Celebrity Naturist of the Year. Just because a famous person likes posing nude or issuing nude pictures to the world, does not mean they are naturists.

For most celebrities, we just don't know whether their preference for nudity only exists in front of the camera or extends into their daily lives. As celebrities, they are unlikely to appear at nude beaches with Jack and Jill Naturist, but will prefer a more private environment, at a villa or on a yacht near an isolated beach.

Emily Ratajkowski is a case in point. She became famous for wandering topless in the Blurred Lines pop video, condemned by many  as an example of pure sexism. Since then, she has been frequently posting topless or 'near-naked' pictures of herself on her Instagram, ensuring they get picked up by the world media.

Is she a true naturist? Difficult to tell. Eva Mendes, Heidi Klum and Rosario Dawson - to name but a few of my past Celebrity Naturists of the Year - are known to hang around naked in their homes or on the beach. If you look at the past Instagram offerings by @emrata, you must come to the conclusion, that at least when she's at home or at a villa with pool, Emily Ratajkowski enjoys it too.

Of course, there is the issue of looks and fame. The all-too-frequent reaction to nudity is that it's allright if the person in case is good to look at, but if they somehow don't conform to general ideals of beauty, they should remain dressed.

This is where naturism comes in. At a naturist resort, on a nude beach, it doesn't matter whether you look like Emily Ratajkowski or not. Everyone is free to enjoy the sunshine and the water on his or her skin, and doesn't have to worry about what other people will think. Not only social class distinctions disappear with the clothes, but notions of beauty as well.

In the naturist world, everybody can become Botticelli's Venus, just like Emily Ratajkowski.

Maybe that's an idea for a new photo album, people of varying body types posing for The Birth of Venus. Anyway, whether she's a naturist or not, I personally feel Emily Ratajkowski - and other nude-friendly celebrities like her - are promoting the idea that nudity is OK, nudity is relaxation and nature.

More about Emily Ratajkowski's Botticelli pictures: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-5266209/Emily-Ratajkowkski-evokes-Birth-Venus-nude-photo.html

Kim Kardashian also went 'one step further' with her most recent nude post, according to the media: http://www.tmz.com/2018/04/24/kim-kardashian-almost-shows-off-vagina-nude-photo/