I discovered a few years ago, that I had MS ( Multiple Sclerosis ). I recently discovered that there were a number of my friends I have known over the years who also had it. Now I tell you this not because I am looking for sympathy from anyone or that I am wanting to be recognized any differently. I am telling you this because it made me painfully aware (pun intended) that unless illness affects you, you don't want to know about it or you don't care. As the person with illness you are afraid to tell people about it because you have this internally stigmatized and think this is true of the people you meet. So you internalize it and keep it from people. The reason I discovered in alot of the cases, that some of my friends had MS was because they saw posts from me that made them aware of the fact that I had it. They contacted me because they wanted more interaction with someone who may know what they are going thru or they just wanted to let me know they were going thru the same thing and that if I ever needed a friend to talk to on the subject to feel free.
Here's the thing I don't understand. Why do people take anything that does not affect them directly, with the proverbial grain of salt, and then why when it does affect them they want to congregate with people like them? This site is an example of that. Alot of us are here because we are looking for people of like mind with respect to nudity and we fear the reactions of people who we think would not understand this. We live in a world where societal norms are the expectation and living outside those norms is considered deviant or bad and those in the norm want nothing to do with those who are not in the societal view of what is normal.
When I was growing up, I had a lot of friends, black, white, asian, latino, men and women. I did not know what racism or sexism was until many years later. When we are young we have the most innocent look on life and the people around. We don't see difference, because at that age difference does not exists yet. When I was growing up, between the ages of 3 - 7 or 8, it was nothing to play nude, even outside. No one cared and it was considered innocent. After a certain point we start internalizing difference based on the environment we are in and the way our parents teach us. In my case, I was taught that black, white, asian, latino, men and women were all individuals just like me and should be treated as equals. I agree with that to this day. When it came to nudity and illness, I was not taught much on that but my experiences were what guided me thru these and the environment in which I grew up in. Racism and sexism are still there. That I can not deny. I don't know if that will change but I do think these are getting better. Nudity and illness are still culturally engrained and I don't know where either of these are headed. I would like to believe that people are coming round to the understanding for both but I don't see the evidence yet.
BTW, as far as gays and lesbians. I recognize that this is also another one of those things that has been labeled in our society. I did not mention it until now because I don't know much about the subject. I know it is starting to come around and that people are opening up to the facts. The reality is that I suspect this will also be more open in the years to come and maybe more so than nudity and illness. But I can not really speak to something to which I have no frame of reference. I'm sorry if I offended anyone who is gay or lesbian on this subject. That was not my intent. I was only trying to point out what I believe is an inherent problem in society and something that I would like to see resolved in my lifetime, however unlikely it may be.
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