Jamie Cotton on...
Returning to Eden

Editors Note: Returning to Eden continues to be the most popular article published in the Sensuous Line. We present it once again for those of you who may have missed our premiere issue.

A mythical millennium ago, a young woman named Eve took a bite from an apple and set the rusty wheels of moral evolution into motion. According to the book of Genesis, the first consequence of biting into the apple was that Adam and Eve "recognized their nakedness and were ashamed." Thus, as our spiritual predecessors adorn themselves with fig leaves, a legacy of shame and loathing for the naked body rises out of these pages and permeates the delicate social idealism of American civilization. Regardless of what one believes, we have all been influenced by certain implications inherent within the biblical story. It is here that the ideas of nakedness and sexual sinfulness first seem to join hands and the naked body has ever since been labeled as something shameful.
Even though the hemlines and necklines of indecency seem to be decreasing in modern society, this doctrine of naked shame still persists as a powerful social and political force. With the increasing use of the nude figure in both the art world, as well as in the commercial sector, shame and guilt have reared their ugly heads and caused conservative Americans to call for the censorship of art as if it were on par with images in Hustler Magazine. But art and exploitation are opponents of one another and only through the acceptance and integration of nude artistic images into our society can we begin to disempower the pornography industry

The problem with pornography is not that it exists, it is that only it exists. It is the only forum in which the naked body is prominently displayed. Its sole implication is that the naked body (and in particular, the female naked body) exists only as a sexual subject. The naked body is, at times, sexual, but at other times it is other things. In this country it seems that the only time when it is acceptable to be naked around another person is when engaging in a sexual act. However, our European counterparts realize public bathing, sunbathing and swimming as acceptable times to be" naked. Ancient Greeks performed nearly all sports activities in the nude. Furthermore, parts of the body which now require covering because of their illicit sexual connotations are denied the respect of their other purposes. The breasts are not merely erotic zones, but more importantly, perform the precious act of providing milk for new born babes, as well as providing comfort for others. The term "in the bosom of" is synonymous with the idea of providing comfort. The female vagina is not only where the sex act takes place, but it is also the place where the powerful and hideously beautiful act of giving birth takes place. These are areas of the body which should be revered with respect and awe, not relegated to being covered in shame and disgust.

Through the eyes of art, we can begin to see the body as beautiful in it simple naked form; admiring the figure as form, like one might admire a beautiful flower. By portraying the body as an object of beauty and art, we dilute the idea of body as sex object and therefore weaken the grip of pornography. In art, a naked body is nothing more than merely that: a naked body. It is devoid of connotation or judgment, devoid of moral obligation. It is merely an object to be observed and appreciated. The more we can neutralize the body through art, the more we disempower the sexual objectification of pornography.
If we examine the biblical story more closely, we realize that the sin was not in being naked but in feeling naked - in "recognizing" nakedness. The sin was in losing our simple acceptance of the naked body as a natural state of being, neutral in regards to moral, or any other, connotation. As an art object the naked body is no more sexual than a rock formation and no more sinful than a cascading waterfall.
Whether one professes to be religious or not, the negative influence of conservative religious idealism has so permeated our society and seeped into our consciousness that we can hardly help feeling a subconscious sense of shame towards our own naked bodies. Art is a forum which treats the naked body as it would the sky, the land, the rocks or the ocean; a natural object beautiful in its creation, simple in its existence and completely innocent in its nakedness - an object devoid of judgment. It is the only forum in which we can observe the naked form without realizing its nakedness. Thus, it is only through the exposure of art that we can begin to migrate back to a time of innocence in regard to the naked acceptance of our body. Only through art can we find our way back to Eden.

Jamie Cotton has a degree in theology from Saint Mary's College of Notre Dame and has been nude modeling for six years. She also runs "Bodyscapes," providing models for photographers and tours around the US.

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