Exposed
There are three type of women in the locker room at my gym; the bathroom changers, the quick changers, and the casual nudists.
Over the last several years I’ve transitioned from a quick changer to firmly embracing the latter category.
Come on ladies, if you feel self-conscious or uncomfortable being naked in front of other women than when and where will you feel safe, confident, and normal sans clothes?
I’m not suggesting that we all just lounge around in there letting it all hang out but sucking it in, covering it up, and generally avoiding baring it all (or any of it!) in the company of other women is a great disservice to yourself and those around you.
I distinctly remember being in the gym locker room with my friend Sarah when I was 19 or 20. She was a few years older than me, maybe 25 at the time, and we’d both just finished showering (after my first ever Pilates class!). I did my quick change magic, making sure that no skin was exposed for more than a mere moment, then patiently waited while Sarah took her (naked) time; lotion, deodorant, hair, then eventually clothes. I was in awe, not of her naked body but of her nakedness. She’d shared with me more than one insecurity and so I knew that she had no intention of “flaunting” her bare body, rather she was in a locker room, at a gym, with other women. In other words, a total appropriate place to be naked and give herself a little self care.
It’s taken me nearly a decade to arrive at a similar bare-it-all mentality but it’s here to stay. It’s not about flaunting anything; it’s about embracing “flaws”, dispelling embarrassment, facing insecurity, and respecting the skin we’re in.
I also highly recommend skinny dipping at least once a year. 🙂
