Sunday, April 4, 2010

Response 3


In the preface of the book The Naked Child:Growing Up Without Shame, written by Dr. Dennis Craig Smith and Dr. William Sparks, the two men attempt to answer the challenging and controversial question of nudity and whether it can be concidered child abuse. They believe that the true abused are those who grow up clothed. The clothed are the ones who suffer more from negative self body image and body shame. The clothed are the ones who suffer the most from sexual overstimulation. Dennis states, "We live in a time that the human anatomy is examined, extolled, studied, and lectured about, and at the very same time is exploited, ridiculed, and excluded from social exceptance. We insult ourselves by calling our bodies obscene, pornographic, lewd, base, dirty, immoral, or evil, and in doing so deny the basic truth of our own existance. Our anatomy is us - and is none of those terrible things" (Smith). Using reliable research and documentation, Smith and Sparks explain the pros of growing up without shame.


Though a little lengthy and wordy, I found this excert very informative. It was wonderful for me because not only did it answer many of my questions, it also helped me come up with more questions. This is good because it can help me brainstorm for future blog responses.


Smith, Dennis. Sparks, William. "Growing Up Without Shame." SCNA NUDE EDUCATION FORUM(1996):1-4.Web. 4 Apr 2010.




1 comment: