I have a house full of sons and I'm ok with them seeing me naked
KRYSTAL on SEPTEMBER 05, 2012

"I have always been a "nudie booty" in my own home. I would come home from work or class and just shed my clothes. It's not so much that I dislike clothes; I actually love them quite a bit. I love to be able to express myself with my wardrobe, but when I want to relax, I don't want anything to do with them. Not even underwear. Nudie Booty.

My husband had always liked it in the past. He'd come home from a long day at work to find his naked girlfriend sitting at her computer playing World of Warcraft, or his naked newly big-breasted pregnant wife sleeping on the couch. He even thought it was cute after our first son was born to find the two of us naked napping in the bed. But something changed when we found out our second was a boy too.

Not too long after the big gender reveal of our latest pregnancy, my husband came home and found me and our son, both naked, playing in the bath tub together. He very calmly said "Don't you think you should start covering up around him? He's getting a little old for that." I just brushed it off saying that our two-year-old didn't care or understand just yet. Husband let it go.

But now that our youngest son is about to turn one and our oldest son is just over three and well aware of the differences between my body and his and his brother's, the thought of my nudity around them has stirred up a sense of panic in my husband again. He uses words like "appropriate" and "decent" to try to justify my need for covering up. I guess I still don't really get it — why I, as their mother, would need to cover up around my sons. I mean, they both grew inside my body, made their way through my body, and used my body for nourishment and comfort. Neither one sees my body as something bad or as something to hide — it's just mommy's body.

Husband and I had a long talk about it one night because I honestly don't understand his problem with my being nude around our boys and he rebutted that he didn't understand why it was such a big deal to me. That one stumped me. I told him I'd think about it and get back to him. Well, I've thought about it, and here's why it's a big deal: because my body isn't bad.

Why should I hide my very real body from my sons? They're going to be accosted by images of perfectly Photoshopped and smooth women their entire lives. Wouldn't it be a good idea to show them, starting from a young age, what one real woman's body looks like? A size 10, saggy belly, dimply, streatchmarked, real and very imperfect body. Wouldn't it be a good idea to show them that bodies are nothing to be ashamed of? That just because you're not what our society deems as perfect doesn't mean you should be ashamed of your body.

I want my sons to grow up with a much healthier view of their bodies than I had growing up. I want them to see their bodies as instruments, not ornaments. Finely tuned machines that need to be treated well to run well with good clean fuel and plenty of exercise. To make them want to do all these things because they want to be healthy, not just skinny. I want them to respect all shapes, sizes, and colors of people's bodies for more than just their aesthetic appeal. To realize that there is much more to a woman (or any person) than just her physical body. I feel like not changing who I am, not hiding my body or being ashamed of my body will be a good foundation and example to point my sons into this direction.

Of course, I do realize there will probably come a time when being around naked mommy will embarrass one or both of my boys, and when the time comes that one of them asks me to cover up, I will. But for now, while they still have innocent pliable minds, I think my nude booty will do them more good than harm."
http://offbeatmama.com/2012/09/parent-nudity-in-house