The David Spade article really got me thinking about a lot of things surrounding the whole idea of having to change one’s gender and how political it really is. I had no idea the lengths that a person had to go to in order to change their gender…let’s say on their birth certificate. Not only do people have a million hoops to jump through, but in some states they won’t even reissue an updated birth certificate. According to a website I found that discusses this issue; Ohio, Tennessee, and Idaho all will not “issue a birth certificate reflecting the proper sex.” I asked in class on Thursday about intersex issues in places around the world and so I decided to do some outside research to figure out if the US is behind or ahead of the curve about this. I found this video that touches on a few different places….

It seems as if places are at least semi-attempting to be more accommodating to the intersex community, but there is still a ton of work that needs to be done.

The whole topic of nakedness seemed to be an interesting talking point that everyone seemed like. It’s so funny how we as a society are so obsessed with our and other people’s bodies but yet are so hush hush about actually viewing or talking about them. Naturally…I had to look into nudist colonies and ended up searching online for everything nudist because it was so interesting! I found on one website an article about 5 things you might not know about nudists, here’s my summary:

1. Since nudism often leads to the idea that the entire goal of the act is to promote uninhibited sex, they started by debunking that theory. Come to find out, sex isn’t even allowed in most nudist camps, beaches, or clubs.

2. Nudism needs to be thought of more as “an expression of freedom” rather than something sexy. Being naked isn’t sexy, it’s the small bathing suits, the sexy clothes, the revealing and tight ensembles that turn people on and make them all oh lala

3. Nudist camps and resorts aren’t full of models and hot-bods, in fact the exact words used were “some are thin, some are well-proportioned, and some are outright fat”

4. This is the one that really surprised me: nudism is for the whole family! So, grab your Grandma Betty and crazy Uncle Jim because there are actually nudist communities that are family-theme parks, talk about one unforgettable family vacation

5. The last of the things that you may not know about nudists are that even though they may decide to lose their clothes and go naked, they need privacy too and most resorts and clubs that are nudist prohibit videoing and photography

Arizona, California, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia all house nudist retreats, clubs, and get-a-ways. There’s also a 5k nude race to participate in too (brought to you by BARE: Buts A’runnin Race Enterprises) that reminds “newbie nudes” to remember their sunscreen. How great is that?!  This whole nudist idea really has gotten to me. I mean, we were all born naked; why not stay that way…maybe I’ll try it out and see what my roomates think.

–Jenna Wise