*What are your experiences with nudity in the US and other countries?👇* ▸Compare news coverage from around the world and across the political spectrum with Ground News: ground.news/feli _Correction: At __22:48__ I said that the numbers in Sweden and Norway are even lower than in Germany. That was true for an older study by Gallup from 2010 but it's actually not correct for the study I ended up quoting._

What I don't understand, and which happens in Europe as much as in the US, is why an administration (here the school's) immediately gives in after receiving a complaint from a microscopic minority (here two parents). Like 95% of the parents didn't see a problem with that statue, why does the school care about these two parents? Why not just pay back the tuition and let their kids go to another school? At least from the outside this simply looks like sorry spinelessness.

In general, what bothers me the most is the high acceptance of violence over nudity or sex. For example, a movie or a video game can be extremely violent, but the instant a pixel of a nipple appears, the maximum restrictions are applied.

I saw Michelangelo's statue of David when I was 7. I still remember it. I did embrace my mother however. Being from America I had never seen anything like that. I said, kind of loudly, "mommy that man doesn't have any clothes on." She appreciated the beauty of Michelangelo's art. So I was able to see all these wonderful works of art without any prudish crap. And was allowed to grow up appreciating Renaissance art.

So crazy! I was exposed (excuse the term) with the rest of my classes to the various works of art featuring nudity. This was in the 1960's, in Virginia, and it was no big deal! We just learned about the different types of art, period.

Growing up in the US (mid 80's), my parents had a coffee table in the living room that was two antique bronze statues of cupid (not the diapered version) each holding one side of a glass table. It had been there for my whole life, so I never thought twice about it. Well... one of my friends (ten, or so, years old) described it to their parents and all hell broke loose. I don't remember much of the details, but I know the school was called as well as parents of many other children. Then the police paid us a visit after getting a complaint of child pornography in our house. After seeing the table, they apologized for the inconvenience. It took a few weeks to calm the waters, but the only consequence was that everyone agreed the mother was a lunatic, the kid was no longer allowed to come over, and he was forbitten from talking to me at school. On the bright side, my parents still have the table.

One of the "funniest" examples of American prudishness was when someone said that: "Seeing breasts was inappropriate the young children." They're literately made for feeding children. LOL

As a teenager in Northern VA In the late 70s/early 80s we had a public pool in our neighborhood. Someone had family visiting from “Europe” (might have been Germany or Switzerland)…one lady simply came in, took off her top and lay down to sunbathe. There was NO huge uproar, someone simply informed her gently that it was illegal in the states. She wasn’t mortified, parents didn’t scream and cover their children’s eyes. We teenage boys were STUNNED though.😂 for a bunch of freedom lovers, we Americans can be INCREDIBLY prudish…

I can only talk for Germany - but in Kindergärten and schools we have books made for children where are pictures from a lot of very different bodies (with clothes but also naked). It‘s important to teach them from early on that every body is okay, that no part is bad and which rights they have! Perhaps this is one of the reasons why we don‘t have so much teenage mothers?!

As a 23-year old young woman who had alot of issues regarding my own body growing up, I would also like to add to the FKK and nude sauna conversation that it truly helped me feeling better about myself. Seeing all kinds of naked bodies while chilling with these people of all ages in a sauna or related swimming pool place helps putting into perspective how normal my body is.

It’s amazing at the record of “The Simpsons” in predicting the future. About 30 years ago, they had an episode where Marge leads a group of parents trying to regulate decency for the children. When the art museum brought David in for an exhibit, the parents got upset over a naked statue on display. But, Marge recognized the work of art it was, and said everyone should see it.

Got to agree with other posts, the "controversy" in Florida is WAY overblown by politicians trying to grab headlines. Absolutely ridiculous.

One of the things I've always realized was amazingly perverse about the US after having lived in Europe was how tolerant Americans are to violence in media for children but so upset about that children my see a naked body. Just too perverse for words.

I live in the US, and was recently doing some research about nipple reconstruction after mastectomies. The absolute craziest thing to me is I saw a *lot* of photos of women who had single mastectomies where the "real" nipple on one breast was censored, while the reconstructed "aritificial" nipple on the opposite breast was allowed to be shown. It is so frustrating to me that it's completely acceptable to view male nipples and reconstructed female nipples, but an actual female body part is considered indecent.

I find it difficult to believe that America, being one of the biggest producers of pornography, could be so prudish in their outlook on nudity in general. Especially when it comes to classical statues.

Thank you - you covered this issue well and with entertainment, especially about the naked statue of the uncircumcised David. I am a male - 73 years of age. I grew up in a small American town and the public pool's changing and shower areas were all open. Physical Education was mandatory and all showers areas were open. I played sports through high school and you would have been considered weird if it bothered you to shower in an open area (no other choices). When I got to college at Oregon State University, all shower areas were open. In fact the men's swimming pool was Olympic style - men swam naked. My class of 1974 was the first provided with black minimal swimsuits. And my wife said the women were provided with black plain swimsuits with no breast support. During these college years some girls went through the "burn the bra" stage and no breast support was common on campus. But there was definitely two school of thoughts - conservative & liberal. In college, coed swimming naked together in rivers or beaches was not a big deal. For some of different backgrounds, it was a big deal. It was common, in the coed dorms (which had separate men and women restrooms and showers) for students to stuff towels under the doors and turn the hot water up and make a coed "sauna". These saunas were not for sex, but for just relaxing and quit making such a big deal - also as a counter-culture statement to the conservative masters of the college. LOL :) Today I still participate in sports including membership and swimming at our pool, and all the men's showers are open (both at the public and private pools). When little boys come in they are naked, when adolescent boys come in they leave their suits on and find booths to change in, when men come into the shower they are naked - who cares, as everyone can do what they feel comfortable with. I am a long time scuba diver and it is common to need to change on the rocks or beaches. Men don't care, but women make a bigger deal of it and try to cover up, and men always try to get a look - and some girls, especially from Europe, really don't care. Scuba Diving in different parts of the world has let me know that some cultures aren't bothered by nudity, while some cultures seem to sexualize everything, even families bathing or changing together. Japanese, as a whole don't really care - but have changed some because of pressures of Western Culture. Bathing in the hot springs are so open, and while once coed are now one hot springs separated by some kind of a barrier. On the male side, all males are just naked and comfortable being so. My wife says the same with the women's side. And nobody is really bothered if there is a child of the opposite sex in the area. BTW - in most of the world, children can swim on the beaches naked and girls start covering their tops when they want to. In the USA it seems like American culture sexualize everything and put bras on babies. At our local Anime Conventions (attendance 10,000+) the exposure of nipples are not allowed by either sex and bottoms are mostly covered. Growing up, breast feeding was always in private and I never saw it happening, and have not seen any of my nieces or nephews breastfeed. Now breast feeding in public is common, with the mother mostly covering up, and I have seen all 8 of our Grandchildren nursing and we all get to change the babies. So, there is a report from 1951 to 2023. Any questions?

As a very conservative Christian in the US, I completely believe the "controversy" over the statue of David is absurd and the two parents' complaints are laughable. It's a shame the school caved to a couple crazy parents over this.

No matter where you go, someone is always going to be offended by something, no matter how ridiculous it may be.

The most absurd thing: Prostitution is illegal in the US, yet they have the biggest porn industry in the world. So it is legal to pay a woman for sex, but your friend has to stand in the corner with a camera and film it. And this woman can be 18 years old - but she's not allowed to drink a beer after the filming.

Greetings from Denmark. I would immediately think that Denmark and Germany are similar on these points. In the 27 years I played football, the bath was a shared experience without me ever thinking about it. The same thing happened in school sports many years ago. Changing and bathing took place in gender-separated communal baths. In the youth club I was part of a mixed team at one point and they changed and bathed together. For my own part, there was a limit that had to be crossed, but after experiencing it a few times, it was actually quite normal. It is my experience that young people in Denmark have increasing problems with self-confidence when it comes to public baths. Whether it is the media's depiction of how a body should look, an actual shyness or the risk of unwanted images, I cannot decide, but it is worth investigating. It is fundamentally strange that the physics we humans are now equipped with can create these kinds of problems since it is literally completely natural that we look the way we do. As an atheist, I tend to blame religion for no social invention is more important to people's experience of unfreedom.

I have a relevant anecdotal experience to add to the conversation. When my English wife and I were on our honeymoon in Crete we were at a topless beach one afternoon and I saw something that perfectly epitomized the differences between American and European women. There were a number of these four-headed shower units you find on beaches all over the world and I couldn't help but notice this beautiful topless young woman standing under one of the units rinsing the sand off when three other guys come to the same unit and started rinsing themselves off as well. No one cared that she was topless. She didn't freakout because there were guys standing right next to her and the guys didn't pay her any notice. They just did their thing and went their separate ways. That could never have happened here in the States. The girl would have been freaking out with these stangers around her and the guys would have been ogling and trying to hit on her. The dichotomy of that situation has stuck with me all these years. However, there is a caveat to that. You night be thinking that topless or nude beaches are cool and something to be experienced. That is true, however, you have to take the good with the bad. There are some things you can NEVER unsee! You've been warned.

A topic very well covered. Americans have a puritan heritage and most can’t dissociate nudity from sex. In Northern Europe especially , nudity is not automatically associated with sexuality. Once you go beyond that, nudity is no big deal anymore. Same as going to beaches in south of France. You’ll see so many topless women that after a while , you’ll find it normal and won’t even bother to look.

The story about the poster of the David statue in the Glasgow Subway really surprises me. The UK is generally not that prudish about naked statues. I read a bit about the story on the BBC website. Apparently it was something to do with the company responsible for the advertising, rather than the Glasgow Subway itself. It seems absurd, particularly when you find out that there's a Channel 4 TV show in the UK called called "Naked Attraction" - it's a dating show, where the contestants are shown stark naked, and there are often close-ups of their genitals. Also there have been straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender contestants on the show. Also in the UK breast feeding in public places is protected in Law, and it's technically criminal offence for someone to try to prevent someone from breastfeeding in public.

Feli's videos are very dynamic and clear 👌😌 Love her pragmatism, that by the way, is what allows her to make fun without making fun of the cultural differences 🤭

And on my second watch through (yes, the video was that good!) I really resonate with your closing statement, "Sex sells, especially in a country where the body and sexual desire have been named the enemy." I think that's it. Sex sells because instead of seeing it as simply a natural and ordinary part of life, it becomes this secret thing that we want to experience. So at the same time our country seems so sexualized, it is definitely not in a healthy way. Way to go, Feli! Another homerun!

Omg! This video is so awesome! I was a servicemember that served 5 of my 20 years in Germany. I loved Germany so much, that my wife is German! I have legendary memories of SchwabenQuellen in Stuttgart and Boblingen Mineraltherme. I’d hit those two saunas twice a week! Germans live amazing lives and we try and get over there as we now live in The States every few years. Thanks for this video. 99% of Americans will never know what they missed.

About 50 years ago when my family was on vacation, we took our clothes to a laundry mat. After we had been there a while a group of young German tourists in their teens and twenties came in. They had a load of laundry with them and when they had finished loading the machine, promptly undressed and added it to the load. The reaction was memorable.

Feli, I am so glad to have checked out your video. You're very informative. I look forward to viewing more of your content! Around the world people should accept who they are. The US may be uptight with certain regulations of censorship with statues, steam rooms, beaches, and how a mother is supposed to nurse her new born baby. People should never feel ashamed or embarrassed with their body image. They should never feel judged. If someone likes to feel naturally comfortable then they should feel free.

I moved to Germany when I was 10 in a southern town in Rhineland-Pfalz. The local kids my age liked to tease me with pictures of naked women because I was a Prüder Amerikaner. They literally thought I was afraid of breasts. As I got older the blase' attitude toward nudity and sex in general there helped me be confident as a teen back in the US in communal showers.

Very well researched and presented Feli! As an American who's extensively travelled in the US military, I was honestly surprised how prudish American culture truly was upon my return from Europe as a young adult in 1990. Conservative laws for drinking age and nudity seem to fuel drinking and sex culture (perhaps due to making this taboo) while we seem to think driving at 16 is an inalienable right. I'm not sure where this is coming from but Americans don't seem to want to learn anything from other countries and choose to live in a bubble increasingly influenced by religion. I increasingly feel like an alien in my own country.

The absurdity of sex and nudity being simultaneously glorified and demonized in the US has always baffled me.

Greetings from an American in Munich! I love spending the day at Therme Erding. Not going to happen in the US! Friends and family can't believe I will spend the whole day naked with a bunch of strangers. If everyone is naked, nobody is naked! Love your insights, keep up the good work.

Nudity is so taboo in the US. I have never understood it. I am American and grew up here, but never understood why nudity is such a big deal. Especially after I traveled to Europe a few times. Being nude is one of the most natural things we do. Besides....swimming nude feels great!

As a 'senior citizen'in the US (okay, so I was born in the 1950's) who has witnessed many changes, I am still amazed at the inability of so many US denizens to acknowledge the existence or even the possibility of non-sexual nudity. As a male middle-school & high-school student, open showers for athletics were the only choice, no one found it a problem. Teaching at a middle school in my 60's before I retired, the boys & girls were only able to use individual showers, and most didn't bother (yuck!). Why? "Somebody might see them" (in a closed locker-room, who?). The boys in my classes told me that my generation's shower habits were 'gay'. The fear of child molestation and over-stress by the media here, coupled w/hyper-religious bias and over-reporting by social & network media drive this nonsense. And now it is made a political stand in the US. The puritanical drive against teachers in particular goes far back in this country. In the 1800's & early 1900's, female teachers were often forced to quit their positions after they married, or if they became pregnant. Both male & female instructors were severely negatively judged socially or outright forbidden to drink alcohol. This ostensibly was to 'protect the children'. In supermarkets when I buy beer or wine in my state of Illinois, if the checker is under age, they can't touch it until an adult employee strolls over and runs it over the scanner. After that, the kid can handle the bottle all they want, and bag it for me. This is even true of the non-alcoholic Clausthaler beer I buy, because it is made in a brewery. This makes sense? Puritanical nonsensical ethos is still a part of our culture here, and sadly, many are now trying to turn it into legislation.

As a conservative living in Missouri, it is beyond me how anyone could find nude people to be "pornographic" or offensive. That is like someone complaining that your face is offensive and demanding you fix it.

Tvm for the heads-up re: ground news :) I'll def be checking them out

I remember being in Germany in the 80’s at my Godmothers house, age about 11. There was a woman’s magazine on the coffee table, that looked fairly normal but had a nudist spread about some random couple in it. And a naked photo of Ronaldo in the shower! I was quite surprised, certainly wouldn’t get that in the U.K. I got the impression then that nudity was just pretty normal. Just how it should be!

I lived in Germany as a military dependent in 5th grade. We went on a field trip to a castle and ended the day at a public pool. They had changing rooms for those who wanted to use them but our German teacher changed clothes right on the lawn in full view. We all giggled about it but no one there seemed to be bothered by it. I think the majority of Americans are too uptight about nudity because of religion. And it’s been embedded in our society because of it.

I wish I had the person to quote, but someone once said "It's like our sexuality is being taken away and then sold back to us."

Great video and what a delightful channel! So glad I came across you today :)

I've been a random viewer. I enjoy your channel. Your recommendation for Ground News is exceptional. Thank you.

So - first things first, I swam competitively in high school, and we all showered in a communal shower after practices and weight sessions. It was a little weird to me at first, but I quickly got over it. However, this was NOT the case for the Women's swim team. They actually put swim suits on to shower after weights sessions. My initial reaction was, how do you actually get clean if you're showering with a bathing suit on??? Kind of covers the areas that most need to be washed... Second, when I went to Germany for the first time, I went to Oktoberfest in Munich. When I walked into the bathroom I got a bit of a shock, because there was a 20-something year old girl handing out paper towels, so I thought I had walked into the wrong bathroom. Until I saw the giant trough in the middle where all the dudes were peeing, completely unconcerned. I did my thing, walked back out, and told one of the Germans I was with about it, and he just laughed. He basically said Americans are prudes, we don't even think twice about these things.

My wife and I did a long Europe trip and one of our stops was Florence. At the time, we were excited to see the Piazza del Duomo and other beautiful architecture and had NO idea that the statue of David was home there. We found out it was actually on display only a short distance away at Galleria dell'Accademia, and we immediately changed our plans so we could go to the museum. It was incredible. It was waaay larger than I thought, and the detail carved into the stone was astounding. It truly looks like a man cast to stone by medusa's gaze. Edit: Added name of museum where the Statue of David is displayed

Great video. Thanks!

Never wear a bathing suit in a natural hot spring high up in the mountains. Artificial dyes, detergents, and other chemicals meant to keep the dyes from fading leach into the water which contaminates the stream all the way down the mountain. It’s been a long time since I was there, but Conundrum Hot Springs below the Maroon Bells outside of Aspen, CO, did not allow backpackers to wear bathing suits in the hot springs. I don’t know if that has changed or not. Orvis Hot Srings in CO is clothing optional. I used to go there weekly. It’s wonderful. Local families bring their children. Nobody cares and the children don’t behave like they’ve never seen a naked adult before.

I’m an American, but my Grandmother was born in Baden-Baden Germany. I retired from a German automotive manufacturer and spent a tremendous amount of my childhood and professional career in Germany. As an American, I can say that we are very conservative about nudity and sexuality. Almost ridiculously conservative about these topics. My family in Germany, find our conservative views about these topics almost laughable. Perhaps my German family members, just take the stance of there are much more important issues to be concerned about. I personally find the German culture about nudity and sex more mature than us in the United States. I know my German friends and family, view the naked human body as natural and normal. I can vividly remember spending summers in Germany as a child (late 70’s early 80’s) and when the family would go to the lake, we didn’t have a “swim suit” your birthday suit was your swim suit lol. I always recall an experience with a professional colleague who travelled to Germany for the first time. We were in the bathroom at a bier garden and a woman walked in to change the hand towel roll while we were using the toilet. He almost had a heart attack! Lol. I remember his confusion when I tried to explain this was normal. I have always felt lucky, that I’ve been able to live both cultures. As my uncle Christoph said, “Everyone has a nude suit, get over it.” Danke

I went to a hot spring in Iceland with some friends (all of us American) a couple of years ago, and we were completely caught off guard when we realized that we needed to use the communal shower beforehand. We definitely felt pretty uncomfortable being naked in the showers with everyone, but it made me really question the inconsistencies of American social norms when it comes to prudishness.

I think you nailed it when you said that our values depend on our upbringing, I can’t believe a headteacher lost her job over a simple piece of art. That was a very interesting look at differing opinions from the USA & Europe. (UK viewer)

I love how you cover these topics without bashing either country.

Regarding nudity and kids: in Germany it’s common for babies and toddlers to wear just swim bottoms in pools, even up to elementary school age, whereas in the US baby girls are often out in ridiculous bikini tops! I remember my daughter being considered a boy just because she wore just swim bottoms as a toddler! That of course continues into adulthood where Americans find it scandalous that European men wear “speedos” instead of board shorts. Also, there was always the latent fear that the neighbors would call child protective services when we had our toddlers play in the kiddie pool in our own backyard. And then there are the stories of photo printing places calling the police for suspected child pornography of harmless photos of naked toddlers. I also have heard stories of US families where the only the parent of the same sex would bathe their toddlers, or where kids have never seen their parents naked. All things unthinkable in Germany.

I’m 75 so high school was a long time ago in the US. I’m shocked and disappointed at how much has changed in the US on attitudes on nudity. Showers were open communal and mandatory. After 3 days of nervousness (fear of erection and being laughed at) us freshmen thought nothing of it. We got to see how the other boys were developing and go to the next class without stinking. Now I understand that boys shower with clothing. Now if someone did that in my high school back then, that kid would’ve been laughed at and ridiculed for being modest. Maybe someone can tell me what caused this change. I think it is very unfortunate.

Very enlightening. Thanks.

I love your way to explain everything! 😃

I was never more embarrassed than when I was a soldier in Germany and some of the other guys were really excited about going out to a lake to swim, but all they did was put on sunglasses and walk around looking for people laying out naked. It turns out the people that were laying out naked where not the people that they wanted to see laying out naked.

As a member of AANR (American Association of Nude Recreation) here in the U.S. I want to thank you for this very well researched and presented video.

Good day Feli! I only discovered your channel this week. Just wanted to let you know that your videos are delightful. Thank you. Welcome to Ohio, and Merry Christmas. (Bruce)

Feli I love this video hope to see more soon thank you

My sons went to Catholic schools from grades K through 12. My youngest son's class had the opportunity to go to the Detroit Institute of Art for his 7th grade class trip. My wife wasn't able to take a day off from work, so I was the only Dad that went on the trip as a chaperone. I had a group of 7th grade kids, boys and girls, and I made sure that both had the opportunity to see specific areas of the museum that they were interested in seeing. The boys, of course wanted to see armor and weaponry from the middle ages, and the girls were more interested in the more "romantic" style sculptures and paintings. To my great surprise, the boys were a lot more well behaved when they were exposed to the sculptures and paintings that had nudity. Not a single snicker or giggle or lewd comment from a single boy, while the girls were quite vocal and immature when viewing the same objects and paintings. I had to mildly scold them and told the girls to behave themselves. I expected it to be the other way around.

In Canada, it's been legal for women to be topless wherever men can be topless for ages. It is not really a well-known law, so not many take advantage of it, and there were 1 or 2 cases of women being fined by police for it, but they ultimately won in court because they did nothing wrong. As for nudity and the US, I see the issue pop up often in regard to video games. One is a horror game that's kinda violent and gory but has a tiny bit of nudity in it. The discussion boards are usually filled with posts demanding that nudity be censored because people play the game with kids in the room. I always find it odd that a boob existing in a video game that you don't even really see unless you know it's there and are looking for it is not ok for kids to see, but violence and gore is completely fine.

I took my teenage children to Germany, a boy 15, and a girl age 13, in 1995. During the trip we stayed at a very nice hotel which had a large indoor pool. Everyone wore a bathing suit when using the pool but there was only one changine room. My son was amazed, and a little embarrassed but also a little amazed that children and adults of both genders used the same showers before, and after, using the pool. It was a teaching moment and I believe he matured significantly because of the exposure to more moderate attitudes towards human nudity.

This was fun. Thanks.

This is a great video, Feli. Regarding the bizarre American idea that crime is rampant, there is an equally bizarre explanation. Over the last thirty years crime has dropped to the level of the late 1940s, early 1950s. But so have the budgets of local television news departments. There are about 1/3 the number of reporters employed by television stations that there were in 1990, but the same amount of time to fill. Most local police departments are happy to provide pre-packaged crime stories to stations, which are run or read as-is. This has created the illusion of rampant crime. There are also several private organizations which have contributed, especially the myth that thousands of children are "kidnapped" every year. In fact, according to the F.B.I., there are about 200 children kidnapped by strangers each year; not a lot for a nation of 330,000,000 people. There are, however, about 20,000 cases where one parent takes a child from the other parent and refuses to return it. That is also a crime, but hardly the same as a stranger kidnapping. However, several NGOs use the larger number in appeals for funds.

Feli mentioning adult magazines being hidden away in stores reminded me that in some ways America is even more prudish now than it was when I was a kid in the seventies. At that time, you would see adult magazines displayed right out in the open. At one store I had to walk past them to get to the comic books.

Yeah, about time we bring it up !

I live in Canada. Once I went to the Netherlands and was invited to go swimming at a public park by a slow moving river. There were no change rooms, people simply stripped and put on swim wear. I thought it was kind of silly; why put on swimwear when everybody had already seen me naked! But I did, as everyone else did. Here in many cities in Canada, women are allowed to go topless wherever men are allowed. It may not be surprising that I’ve only rarely seen a topless woman in public. The climate in many parts of Canada is only conducive to nudity in the heat of summer…and even then, many Americans would find it too chilly. We do have some nude resorts and a few nude beaches. More recently, I was at a public pool, separated gender change rooms, and a father brought his 5 or 6 year old daughter into the change room. She changed in a private stall, but the change room and showers were more of the open plan. She came out and saw what was on display. She didn’t seem to be shocked (or amused..many kids are) and I’m pretty sure she knew what she was looking at. Another time, I was showering after swimming, a young girl evidently walked from the pool into the men’s change room…looked around and calmly exited. No shrieks or reaction. I think it’s a good sign. The opposite sex should not be alarming and I do not believe that young girls are damaged in any way, by the sight of a naked man. Amused maybe, but not damaged. Women regularly nurse babies in public…though not usually when they’re old enough to walk around. At least this has been my experience/opinion.

a Stray Finn here. The thing about Nudity and sauna's is spot on. Finnish sauna is naked people only and must be over 60 degrees C hot. Reasoning in these is that most of bacteria (including legionella) dies at 55-58'C, so going over 60 is mandatory, unless you want to breathe in supercharged bacteria and moisture where they thrive. Similarly using any wet clothing is like giving germs a bunker where to hide and at the same time providing them with warmth and moisture to thrive. Final point why no swimming suits or towels in sauna is that many of the public saunas in Finland are in swimming halls and swimming pools use chlorine to purge the bacteria, now if you go into sauna with a swimming suit full of chlorine, you end up making shiploads of chlorine gass in the closed warm space. So yeah, not good. So nudity in sauna, you can keep your clothes on anywhere else.

I remember many years ago reading in the news about a substitute teacher showing the movie "Striptease" to a class... I think it was about 6th grade. Another teacher happened to peek in the room and of course shut down the show immediately. Of course that movie for those kids was age-inappropriate. But the thing that stood out to me about the story was that all the kids had to be interviewed by counselors afterwords to ensure that none were unduly traumatized by the experience. Of course, none were. While the subject matter of that movie might not be appropriate in the context of a 6th grade classroom, why would adults think that children would be psychologically traumatized by the experience of seeing a human body? I think that it is the prudish nature of our society that causes the trauma, and not the sight of something that is natural.

In 2018, I was introduced to nude sauna and swimming culture in Germany and while it was strange at first, I got comfortable quickly and ended up loving it. It really did change my attitude towards nudity and sort of took the sexualization out of it. I hope more Americans move towards this attitude. I think it is healthier. In my junior high and high school, during the late 80's/early 90's, open showers in men's locker rooms were the norm.But, generally, public nudity in America is mostly verboten!! In sex-separated saunas, people are normally wrapped in towels or in shorts. Nude swimming or bathing is never allowed unless you are in a private, hot springs/sauna resort (I visited one in Colorado once).

Here in the USA we have far too many "morality police prudes" who need to shut up. That's the reality.

Growing up in the US I have dealt with both single and communal showers as a kid and adult. For me and a lot of my friends growing up communal showers were a great thing. It helped us in a lot of ways. Seeing others naked helped with body issues and showed us what to expect as we got older. It made us not feel like freaks because everyones body was different.

I sometimes go to Korean spas in Los Angeles. No clothing is allowed in the gender separate areas. Every once in a while, someone will be wearing a bathing suit but they often are groups of people that come together that look Eastern European. If no one says anything, nothing happens but if the staff finds out, they will approach the clothed people and explain that clothing is not allowed. One time after a backpacking trip, my friends and I found our way to a hot spring. A couple and their baby girl and an adult friend were in the spring with bathing suits. My friends and I didn't have bathing suits. I thought we were hanging out and waiting for the family to leave but my friends got naked and hopped in so I did the same. Boy, the the conversation got uncomfortable after that. They said, "This ain't Europe" and complained about how we were exposing ourselves to their daughter. That baby couldn't even speak and couldn't care less whether or not people were clothed but she probably noticed that her parents got angry. Way to go mom and dad.

They’re always playing volleyball here too! At the nudist areas in Oregon that’s like the only sports they play and of course I find this comical so when you said that it really struck a chord with me and I just died laughing.

When I was a teen in the US, I mowed the lawn of a German couple in my neighborhood. Their niece visited one summer to play the recorder with the Louisville Symphony Orchestra. For some reason, they felt it was necessary for me and her to hang out while she visited. They took us to this water attraction with a water slide. I went down the slide first, and the German niece. When she hit the water, her bikini top fell off! She was not impacted at all by this happening. She scooped up her top and put it back on like nothing happened. At least I had enough sense not to make a big deal out of it, but it my one culture story in this category.

Living in Europe for 17 years really changed my mind when it comes to nudity. My first experience was a sauna in Berlin with a friend. We were there with other guys when his dad walked in then a few minutes later his MOM! I freaked out and shrunk! Then a few days later his neighbor, who worked for VW, asked me if I wanted to go to the beach with her and her son. My friend was at work so I said yes. I grabbed my swim suit jumped in the car and we headed to the beach. It was a local lake surrounded by woods. We walked through a trail to each the water and once there they took their clothes off! Mom and her 15 year old son, naked! I just though WTF and dropped my pants and joined in with them and the hundreds of other naked swimmers. When I moved to Prague I saw nudity everywhere - tv, tv commercials, print ads etc. A local park had an area for nude sunbathing. It didn't take long for me to get comfortable with all of it. When I moved back to the US, I went to my local gym for a swim and after my swim I took a shower and headed to the men's only sauna. I was sitting naked all alone when two men walked in, then walked out. An employee came in and told me to get dressed or leave. This was a MENS ONLY sauna. Those two men were offended so I left. America is so backwards and I blame the proliferation of religion - right wind extreme Christianity.

Grew up as a military dependent and lived in Germany for a while, and I was shocked by the nudity at first, but adjusted pretty quickly. Experienced some serious culture shock, moving back to America. . .nudity and cursing being taboo definitely blew my mind. . .and still does.

Haha! Hey Feli, just seen this, does make me giggle! I was married to an Austrian girl. My very first meeting with my new in-laws was in their sauna, yep nackt! Your shyness wears off pretty quickly. After plenty of apre-ski in the Alps you just become used to the free feeling.

Becoming a fan of you!

A coworker and I were having a conversation about this the other day too--how our US culture tries to treat anything remotely related to sex as something that needs to be hidden. It doesn't actually protect kids from anything (we discussed how the second we got any freedom we did everything we weren't supposed to, lol) but it does sure stop us from being able to teach. I've had middle schoolers insisting I taught them something "inappropriate" because a reading referenced "the goddess of love" or I mentioned that in some cultures people don't wear much clothes because they live in hot areas. So frustrating. And if you're going to call yourself a "classical school" (a system created during the Renaissance based on Greco-Roman culture) you probably shouldn't have an issue with this. Well, it was great "hanging" with you earlier and the video was worth the wait! :-) Have a great weekend!

A few years ago, I was in a hotel sauna in Munich. There was a large sign reading "nude only. No bathing clothes allowed." When I went in, I saw two women with bikinis. Showering and ignoring signs. I thought nothing of it, derobed, and went into the sauna. The first woman finished showering, and proceeded to dry herself in front of the sauna window. When she spotted me, she whispered as loudly as only an American can (I had no trouble understanding her from another room through closed doors) to her friend: "Look, over there. There is a naked man in the sauna!!" The other woman came rushing to gawk at me through the window. Same as her friend continued to do. Together, they ogled me for a good minute or two. Clearly not knowing how windows work, they were unaware that I could see them staring at me. Then, I waved them hello and they ran away.

"Hang out naked" 🤣🤣🤣Love your content. Truly enjoy every video.

As an American descended from Puritan immigrants, having been raised in a strictly prudish high-demand religion, and having thankfully had the opportunity to live in Munich, I can very much say that my parenting style with my children is MUCH more informed by healthier German attitudes around body positivity, thoughtful self-awareness and interactions, and bodily autonomy rather than arbitrary external control.

I once dated a women who had recently moved from Frankfurt, Germany and worked here in Louisville, Ky. USA as a visual artist. She said she had arranged for a group of models to gather in a park for a photo shoot. When she casually mentioned they were to be nude in the park, one of the models said, "You're new here, aren't you!"

As a fellow German, having lived in the US for 30 yrs now, I got to say you are spot on ... great video !!!

Floridian here. The David thing is crazy to me. I think the school had a knee jerk reaction and were probably afraid of being sued. I feel bad for the principal who was forced to resign over something so ludicrous, but it's cool that she went to Italy. As for showers in school. I went to all public schools in the 70's and 80's here in South Florida and we had open showers in the locker rooms for gym class in Middle and High School. The locker rooms were separated by gender and the showers had a wall so that you could not see from the entryway into the locker room, but there were no curtains or stalls for privacy when you were in there. All the girls changed clothes and showered in front each other and if a girl was embarrassed she would usually just go without showering or do the oft used doctor's note to get out of gym class trick. I do remember there was quite a severe punishment for boys who tried to sneak into the girls' locker room however. I think they got suspended IIRC, but we did also still have corporal punishment back then too so maybe they got paddled, but I'm pretty sure they were at least suspended 3 days.

Das Sambnehl (the thumbnail)! Hatte schon Angst, dass du das ganze Wideo so moderieren würdest. ^^ Grüessli aus der Schweiz. :)

Interesting topic. I was raised by very prudish parents. There was NO nudity in our house! When I was in high school, the showers after PE class were communal, with three stalls provided for “that time of month”. Sex education was non-existent. The only nudity I saw was in the National Geographic magazine. My husband grew up Catholic, and his mother told him that “sex” was the original sin. In college, I traveled with a group to Austria, and had our first exposure to a co-ed naked sauna. I passed on the opportunity, but it was sure an eye-opening experience for those that went, and a topic of much discussion on the rest of the trip.

I grew up in a very southern baptist home and was in church for the better part of my childhood up until about 10th-ish grade. I distinctly remember seeing the David statue when I was a kid either in some PBS program or in some kind of art documentary and I remember just being a little confused why David was naked and I think I asked my mom about it and she said, "Well, it was probably very hot when he fought Goliath." She's a visual artist so in hindsight, I believe she looked at it from the perspective of exactly that, art.

Servus Feli, another thing I'd like to add is that in Germany, as far as I know, driving your car naked is legal. Being Austrian with a 3 year old child I let my boy run around naked all the time when at a pool or a lake. I also enjoy being naked, going to the sauna and FKK, because I really do not like to lie around in bathing shorts, they are really uncomfortable. Going to a pool with bathing shorts I never use the changing rooms (or the towel "trick"), I just change on the spot. It takes about 0.5 seconds and I never had anyone complain and many others (male and female) do the same. The majority does the towel trick, which usually takes 5 minutes to get changed ... :)

I'ma new subscriber. Thabk you for your insights and taking on subjects that are taboo, aka Nazis and Porn... well done. Brilliant. Hope all is well with you!

Breastfeeding debate depends on where you're in the US. In Alaska (where I lived) two young mothers were breastfeeding their babies infront of me while we were talking. They asked me if I was offended ( in a challenging way) I told them that as a German it took a lot to offend me but certainly not nudity. That was at a time when young mothers were challenging the system by doing it in public buildings ECT.

“You want to know what it’s like in a men’s locker room? Just a bunch of uncomfortable dudes trying to get out of there as quickly as possible … and one old guy letting it all hang out.” - HIMYM

"Nudity plays different rules in different cultures." That's definitely the nicest way to say that Americans are prude.

You're so well rounded Felicia, giving us great information on the topics you discuss here. Growing up in Canada, it's very rare to see much of anything 'nude', yet on one of my trips to Playa Del Carmen in Mexico, there where many without bathing suits, thus we just figured 'they must be European' as we generally believe nudism is more Liberal in Europe generally. I feel, let people be whatever they wish, although I do remember back when my two daughters where young, not taking them down to the natural hot springs, until the two nude males got out of the pools, possibly more for the men, as we all had bathing suits on. If you have time, I'd love to hear more about any 'travel' you've done, and perhaps the history of these areas! Unsure if you've been to Alaska, but on one trip I took into the Yukon and up to Inuvik by the Arctic Ocean was a fabulous trip, mainly for the scenery and wildlife, but it continued after taking our time through Alaska. I've been twice, and look forward to the next time, as it's beautiful, as are the people there! Appreciate the work you do on your video's, as I understand the time needed for editing and such, as I'm a photographer and do the same for my images.

I've always found it funny how terrified or shocked people feel about nudity or being naked around other people. That is not the case here in Finland where it is normal thing to be naked in the saunas. Public swimming pools and saunas have usually communal open showers (men and women separated) where you have to be naked. When friends or friend groups get together and decide to go to sauna (a very common thing) we always go there butt naked boys and girls mixed (or if you are a modest person from down south boys and girls go in separately). A naked body is the most natural thing and there is nothing to be ashamed for being naked in the sauna, shower or lakes etc with your family, friends of even with strangers.

We're a weird combination of prude and perverted. Watching foreign cinema there's a lot more non-sexual nudity. Someone runs into their bedroom and needs to change very quickly you'll see a matter of fact presentation of nudity that you'd never see in an American film which would go out of its way to hide it away. But when we do show nudity it's in highly sexual contexts. I think it's done something weird to our brains where the lack of non-sexual depictions of nudity has wired us to associate any nudity with sex. So nudity = pornography is both an example of our prudishness but also of the kind of twisted way that we save the human body to use exclusively in sexual ways in our media. It's a little bit of a feedback loop. Nudity is inherently erotic so it must be avoided, which eroticizes nudity in the American imagination so it becomes inherently erotic in practice.

This is a good channel. I shall sub.

A someone who has been in the front line of retail in the media department for a long time, I have seen this countless times. Violence, blood and language is no issue, but even the suggestive themes warning on media and parents are like "no way in hall is my child seeing this". Even though the the suggestive theme warning is just a girl in a swimsuit. I don't get it either.

As an American I can say the hypocrisy surrounding nudity and sex in a country that teaches freedom and choice is bizarre at best. Growing up with an ultra conservative father and the polar opposite mother was quite interesting. To sum it up succinctly dad never had "the talk", but my mom did. When the AIDS epidemic erupted in the early 80s mom came up with the expression "a bag a day keeps AIDS away". So as an eight year old boy I learned that condoms were for STD prevention rather than their original intent of birth control. I lean liberal and always showered nude in public showers. Been to a nude beach once, was a bit creeped out by people recording everyone else. I'm sure I'm on someone's home video in my birthday suit. I never saw any naked people in the English Garden when I was in Munich. Although it doesn't bother me it would have been a bit of a culture shock. The first time I ever encountered a woman breastfeeding was at a fine dining restaurant I worked at in college. She had her napkin over her breast and the head of her child. Didn't bother me. I really don't understand the outcry over a naked statue. Have those who claim to be Christian even read the Bible? The Old Testament could easily be considered pornographic.

I have always found Americans to be way too hung on nudity and making something sexual that absolutely shouldn't be (re: breastfeeding). Breastfeeding really has faced fluctuating acceptance, it has almost always been accepted by the poor, and sometimes looked down on by the affluent, but thankfully the healthy baby aspect has made acceptance better throughout American society.

I was stationed in Germany when the Janet Jackson 'Nipplegate' happened. I was watching the game with my Polizei counterparts and no one could understand over the next couple of weeks why the United States was melting down over it. Doing vehicle searches, many drivers of trucks had articles of newspapers with cutouts of topless women from Bild and other European newspapers/magazines.