Nudity

strip club in Anora

Nudity can be physical or emotional. In the latter one exposes oneself, the orifices and cavities which comprise the mind. The former is a taller order. You undress, perhaps finding yourself in one of those dreams where you find yourself standing in front of a crowd with nothing on. As irrational as it may sound, some people would rather admit to anything in lieu of finding themselves scrounging for a fig leaf. The shame attached to nudity is a mystery akin to that of consciousness itself. Words play the role of clothes when it comes to unveiling emotion, but most people are not afraid to let down their guard when they get excised enough, for example. Stripper is a noun most people take for granted. You think of gaudy Gentlemen’s clubs where dupes pay exorbitant fees to drink champagne in the V.I.P room, but why not apply it to those who tell the truth? Further, to be contradictory, is telling all a definition of truth.

read "En Plein Air" by Francis Levy, The East Hampton Star