Dendrophilia

[description: series of self-portraits posing naked with various trees]

The pandemic-induced lockdowns of 2020 must have incubated within me a sense of wanderlust, since for the past two years, my favorite hobby has been going out into the woods to get naked and take pictures.

Just over the course of this past year, and initially without consciously meaning to, I gradually came to the realization that I'd been taking lots of pictures on or near or interacting with trees. So, I decided to lean into it. I started going out specifically looking for interesting trees to pose with.

As a lover of nature in general and trees in particular, these images hold a special significance for me. They also reflect my interest in naturism - enjoying the sensations of being out in nature without clothing - while also demonstrating the beauty I find, as an artist, both in nature and the human body.

I've named this series "dendrophilia" (love of trees), which is a term I learned many years ago, after being captivated by a short but memorable scene in a David Hamilton film depicting a young girl's romantic encounter with a tree.

Whether to interpret this love as erotic or platonic is up to the viewer - I consider both interpretations to be valid. Speaking as the artist, I am not sexually attracted to trees, but neither am I disturbed by the idea. In truth, I do find that being naked in nature can be a sensual - sometimes even erotic - experience, and I am not ashamed to admit that.

I simply do not view sexual attraction as a destructive or degrading influence. I respect that which I admire, sexually or otherwise, and am invested in its wellbeing. Certainly, it is no more shameful to experience physical pleasure outdoors, than it is to engage in such mainstream activities as hunting animals, felling trees, and polluting the environment.

Tanga Thoughts

[description: a figure in a pink hoodie wears a swimsuit so brief as to be barely visible]

As somebody who likes to wear as little clothing as possible, you'd think that a swimsuit as skimpy as this one (I tend to bring it out late in the season when there are less people at the lake, to help even out my tan) would be a satisfactory substitute for being naked. But while, as an exhibitionist, I do like wearing it, as a nudist, it doesn't capture nearly as much of the feeling of being naked as you might think.

It sounds perverted (though it's really not), but a large part of the tactile joy of nudity (at least as an anatomical male) is the sensation of your genitals swinging freely, unencumbered by the restriction of tight clothing. After all, that's the primary defining factor that separates being naked from being dressed. Therefore, a loose dress without underwear ironically feels closer to being naked than wearing a thong bikini*, despite the latter exposing much more skin and being far more restricted by society than the former. Hence the popularity among nudists of the "shirtcock" - unfortunate inasmuch as it isn't usually, in my experience, a very visually appealing fashion.

Nevertheless, the full effect of nudity can only be experienced when that feeling of freedom extends to every part of the body (including the feet), which is why "complete" or "total" nudity maintains its special status (at least in my mind), even as you'll not uncommonly encounter nudists wearing shoes, or wrapped in shawls, or what have you.

*Don't get me wrong, the thong bikini can be quite thrilling to wear, in the sense of exposing a maximum percentage of your body. But that's more of an exhibitionist thrill, and not really the same thing as the nudist sensation of being naked. Which is probably why nudists who eschew exhibitionism tend to completely overlook the virtues of skimpy swimwear (a perspective I never really could relate to).