Description
Book SynopsisFrom Naked Juice to nude yoga, contemporary society is steeped in language that draws a connection from nudity to nature, wellness, and liberation. This branding promotes a free and natural lifestyle to mostly white and middle-class Americans intent on protecting their own bodiesand those of society at largefrom overwork, environmental toxins, illness, conformity to body standards, and the hyper-sexualization of the consumer economy. How did the naked body come to be associated with naturalness, and how has this notion influenced American culture?Free and Natural explores the cultural history of nudity and its impact on ideas about the body and the environment from the early twentieth century to the present. Sarah Schrank traces the history of nudity, especially public nudity, across the unusual eras and locations where it thrivedincluding the California desert, Depression-era collectives, and 1950s suburban nudist communitiesas well as the more predictable beaches and resorts. She als
Trade Review"This excellent book examines nudity and changing American notions of the body from the early twentieth century to the present . . . Well-researched, well-written, accessible, and fascinating,
Free and Natural deserves a wide scholarly and popular readership." *
Southern California Quarterly *
"Sarah Schrank's excellent new book
Free and Natural charts the evolution of nudism in the United States . . . American history, Schrank teaches us, can be chronicled on our attitudes toward naked bodies, which reflect the forward march of capitalism more than any sort of radicalism." *
Pacific Historical Review *
"Uncovering truths about the meaning of the body that are not as self-evident as its unadorned form would claim, Sarah Schrank's
Free and Natural is a lively, enlightening book authored by an accomplished historian at the height of her powers." * Whitney Strub, Rutgers University-Newark *
"A rich narrative and rewarding read,
Free and Natural reveals the long backstories behind contemporary debates about our bodily selves and provocatively reframes the study of 'the body' as deeply enmeshed in multiple strands of modern cultural history-notably, the shifting beliefs about nature and environment as well as public and private space." * Phoebe S. K. Young, University of Colorado Boulder *
Table of ContentsIntroduction. On Being Free and Natural
Chapter 1. Welcome to the Nudist Colony
Chapter 2. Naked at Home
Chapter 3. Therapeutic Nudist Retreats
Chapter 4. Swinging Suburbs
Chapter 5. How to Free a Beach
Chapter 6. Naked Lifestyle Consumerism
Epilogue. Bodies Out of Place
Notes
Index
Acknowledgments
