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Moms are never wrong

A story about how Erin the prude bagan running in the nude

Eric Sindeworld '08

My introduction to public nudity occurred while visiting Grinnell on Admitted Student Day with my mother.

When we were innocently strolling past the Old Darby, members of the men's cross country team, most of whom had apparently forgotten their running shorts back at the PEC, ran past.

I let out a gasp/shriek as a sign of my combination surprise/disapproval. While I covered my eyes with both hands in an attempt to block out the rhythmic rising and falling of flaccid genitalia, my mother grinned and said to me with conviction, "Sweetie, this is the school for you."

"Okay, Mom," I sighed, eyes still squished shut. "But if you think I'm one of those runners endowed with the instinctive urge to remove my clothes in public, you're sadly mistaken."

Four and a half months later, as a week-old Grinnell student, I stood trembling on the Les Duke track, wearing nothing but my New Balance sneakers.

A congregation of unclothed Grinnellians-a throng of boobs and nipples, crotches and bulges, cheeks and cracks-raced once around the track, arms and legs pumping, breasts and penises bouncing and flapping on their own accord. I was among them.

Had I simply succumbed to peer pressure of the "take-off-all-your-clothes-but-not-as-a-precursor-for-sexual-activity-or-taking-a-shower" variety?

The answer is yes and no.

I will admit that I certainly would not have made it to the track that night with intent to undress had it not been for the coaxing of a new friend. But after the initial bout of verbal persuasion, an intense feeling of comfort and understanding swept over me. Once I stepped foot on the track, I knew the act of running naked was something I wanted to experience.

My decision to strip did not result from a desire to fit in with my new friends or to rebel from the social norms of my suburban upbringing. I did not feel pressured to participate and I did not feel violated while doing so.

My decision resulted from the realization that just because certain body parts are used in activities ranging from excretion to intercourse, does not mean that these parts should bring shame. It stemmed from a quiet understanding that yes, I have breasts, and yes, I am not a supermodel, but no, I was not going to be embarrassed about my body any longer.

Running these clothing-free laps, or Naked Quarters, is not about shock value or getting a peek at others' privy parts.

Occasionally being unclothed outside of the locker room or dorm is about being comfortable with my body, being comfortable with my friends and them being comfortable with me.

I've learned that nudity can be exhilarating. There's nothing quite like the feeling of warm Iowan air enveloping your bare body under the soft glow of the moon.

It can be fun. There's nothing quite like the feeling of silly carefree romps with the people you love.

It can be affirming. There's nothing quite like the feeling of being comfortable enough to let a bit (or a lot) of skin out for the world to see.

However, in our self-conscious world, I feel that the affirming nature of nakedness is its most crucial component.

Having spent too many of my high school days worrying about the curve of my belly becoming too curvaceous and my non-bootylicious rear end, I eventually tired of such destructive thinking.

During my senior year of high school, I vowed to do away with scales. To do away with wondering how I looked in form-fitting running clothes. And since coming to Grinnell, I've vowed to sometimes do away with clothing.

Everyone has different ways to cope with body image, but I've found that sporadically running in the buff works for me.

And I'm thankful that I belong to a school community that meshes well with my newly found intermittent naked urges.

But what did my mother, the one who had all too recently seen me squirm at the sight of bare bodies, have to say about my new lifestyle?

When she called last finals week to see what I was up to, I replied not with typical end of the year griping but with a casual, "Um ? I just flew a kite naked on Mac Field in the snow."

There was a long pause on the other end.

Finally she replied calmly with a smirk I could hear in her voice through the phone: "I told you Grinnell was the school for you."

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