Recently I ran across a quote from an artist and writer that got me thinking. In his essay Ways of Seeing, on art criticism, the late John Berger said the following:

“To be naked is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself. A naked body has to be seen as an object in order to become a nude. (The sight of it as an object stimulates its use as an object.) Nakedness reveals itself. Nudity is placed on display. To be naked is to be without disguise. To be on display is to have the surface of one’s own skin, the hairs of one’s own body, turned into a disguise which, in that situation, can never be discarded. Nudity is a form of dress. The nude is condemned to never being naked.”

I’d never thought of it that way before. Does Berger’s idea ring true for you? What do your partner and close friends think of the concept?

Why does Berger say the nude is “condemned to never being naked?” That’s strong language. Does being seen as an object cause us to lose something?

How does Berger’s distinction play out, or not, in your life? Do you feel naked with your partner—seen for your whole self—or nude—somehow an object? Have you felt nude in some settings and naked in others? Which feels better? Which feels sexier? Which makes you feel more fully yourself?