The Isis “Nudist” Fashion Awards?

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If there was any doubt just how beautiful the human body is, look no further than the Isis Fashion Awards. When these videos first popped up on my YouTube feed, I was quite pleasantly surprised. Not only does YouTube allow this level of exposure on its platform — something for which, hypocritically, I was nearly banned — but the nudity is unapologetically full-frontal. There are no sheer outfits, barely-there lingeries, or dental floss bikinis to tease the audience. The organizers behind the Isis Fashion Awards have done away with hiding the obvious, their models confidently striding down the runway in all their natural glory, nipples, labia, penises, and all.

If this show proves anything, it’s that the very best outfit is no outfit at all. No designer can compete with a million years of natural selection. Yet this begs the question: is the Isis Fashion Awards pro-nudism? After mulling it over for weeks, I’ve concluded that the answer is yes and no. Let me explain.

No.

. . . because the human body is not a prop, not something to be gawked at, drooled over, or fetishized. The Isis Fashion Awards coyly avoids advertising the fact that their models strut around naked — they could have called it “The Naked Fashion Show” if they had wanted to be crass — but they chose a subtler, classier route. Still, they know what they’re doing. This is obviously a gimmick to draw attention to what would otherwise be another forgotten event.

Secondly, all their models are traditionally beautiful, and nudism is not about upholding beauty standards. Lastly, if they had wanted to promote the nudist ethos, they would require that everyone be naked, from the designers to the judges to the audience watching from the sidelines. Having only the models show skin suggests that some special quality is necessary before the human body can be accepted.

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Yes.

Too often, I feel, nudists live in a bubble of their own making. We have created so many rules regarding who should wear the nudist label, we start looking cultlike, deterring outsiders from engaging with us, and ultimately harming our cause. No wonder AANR has such trouble attracting younger members! Now, I am not suggesting we embrace every viewpoint when it comes to nudity. Eroticism is everything the lifestyle is not. But the Isis Fashion Awards makes no mention of sex and is a far cry from pornography. While their women represent the industry standard when it comes to beauty, they do not strike suggestive poses, nor do they elicit arousal in the viewer (at least that isn’t their intention). What’s more, the show doesn’t shy away from male models, who strut down the stage with their penises in full view.

These runway models are treated like any other performers, their bare bits going unnoticed by the spectators, designers, and judges. The discussions surrounding the event focus entirely on the accessories, and from what I can tell, the attendees seem genuinely interested in art. If your monitor were broken, you might assume everyone involved was fully dressed. The show also helps dismiss popular misconceptions about nudists, namely, that we want to be naked 24/7 and that we do not have a sense of style or individuality. If anything, nudism allows for greater freedom and a wider range of personal expression. If you feel most like yourself wearing nothing at all, like I do, you can choose to present yourself that way. Nudists also like to sport shoes, hats, and all kinds of jewelry. We are not allergic to clothes; we simply want the option to go without.

Of course, going nude in public doesn’t make you a nudist, but we can be certain these models share at least some of our views. They cannot be, for instance, morally opposed to public nudity, and they appear comfortable enough in their skin to make it seem quite normal. And isn’t that the goal of nudism? To normalize the human body? To make clothes-free living no longer taboo, shameful, or illegal? Clearly, the men and women participating in this event do not care who sees their not-so-privates, and that is a step in the right direction. That is a glorious thing.

We will never live in a world where an unclad girl (or boy) elicits NO reaction from the beholder. We are still animals acting on primitive programming. Bodies are beautiful things, and it is only natural that we take notice of them. I still maintain the belief that a penis is no more shameful than an ear and a vagina no less decent than an elbow, yet these are still sex organs, and we cannot expect society to treat them like any other body part. This does not, however, defeat the nudist ethos. The whole point of nudism is that we can enjoy looking at bodies without succumbing to our animal urges. I can see a nice car, a watch, or a bundle of cash without wanting to steal them. I can stand in front of the most beautiful girl in the world, a girl wearing only her birthday suit, without rape crossing my mind.

The Isis Fashion Show admittedly takes advantage of the natural drives hardwired into our brains (it’s a wonder anyone even notices the items they’re modeling). And, sadly, while Googling photos to post to this article, too many porn sites popped up for comfort, proving that the lowest common denominator usually wins out. It is also being broadcast from the Netherlands, where nudity is much more accepted than it is here in the “Land of the Free.” And yet, I cannot help but consider how a show like this demonstrates what I most want to see in the world. Yesterday, innocent nudity became normalized in our video games (not surprisingly from another European studio); today, full-frontal exposure graces our fashion shows. Tomorrow, maybe, we may see actors in the buff in movies and TV sitcoms, not just in R-rated content, but on regular, everyday channels doing regular, everyday things. Perhaps future Olympic events will be hosted in the tradition of the Ancient Greeks, with athletes showcasing their hard-earned physiques as they compete in the decathlon. As the sight of genitalia becomes meaningless, little more than another pretty feature, more of us will find the inspiration to go about our lives the way God and nature intended.

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