Naturism and the paradoxes of identity in contemporary society

Author(s)

Eduardo Carrascosa de Oliveira

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas
• Defense date: 2012-11-07

Examining board members

Mariza Correa; Ana Lucia de Castro; Gustavo Luis Gutierrez; Laura Moutinho; Regina Facchini

• Advisor: Mariza Correa

Abstract

The research developed in this doctoral thesis is a study on the central axis of naturism, activity in which the body is exposed naked in public spaces. We discuss the key aspects that support the viewpoint of the construction of identities related to the phenomenon. Naturism can be interpreted as derived from a society that on the one hand, worships the body and the power of its image and, second, gives leisure a decisive role in promoting social action linked to moral precepts. As the human body serves as a symbol of belonging, the intrinsic dimensions of relations among practitioners is investigated, always bearing in mind the opposition emphasized by naturist groups between "purity" and "egalitarianism" of naked bodies. Using Abricó Naturist Association (ANA) in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) as a research subject, this research analyses the paradox that is part of the "respect" demanded and obtained through communal nudity (AU)