Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

Redmango · 08-10-11 22:17:55

So, I seem to have written an essay. It is..... not brief. I think, however, that I could not find a better forum for its first presentation. The posts I've seen here suggest to me a community of free-thinking adults ready to consider ideas and offer useful feedback and criticism.

Please, remember that this is a draft of what could possibly turn into a much more elaborate philosophy, and while I am a fine typist, I'm also running on espresso right now, so there may be some spelling errors or typos. I put to you, as sentient humans, my essay, for your consideration, and I will post it separately as a reply to this message (because it is really quite long).

Redmango · 08-10-11 22:23:51

On Clothes and Human Culture

Humans wear clothes for a variety of reasons, many of which are practical, but I believe that there is a far more important reason that we wear clothes that is so subtle and deeply rooted in our societies that it is not even recognized or understood by the overwhelming majority of the populace. I believe that clothes lay the foundation of civilization.

The most obvious reason to wear clothing is warmth. This is the first explanation that many people reach for, as did I when I started to examine this question. Certainly humans could not survive outside the equatorial zone without clothes; we would not even survive one year. Yet this is not a fully satisfactory explanation for clothing. I live in Chicago, where summers are typically 90 degrees Fahrenheit with very high humidity, and often the last thing I want is to be fully dressed. Yet, people do not walk around naked in Chicago in the summer. Clearly there is more to clothing than warmth.

Clothing can serve to protect us in other ways, such as guarding against hazards like sunlight or fire. The sun may be the source of nearly all energy on Earth, but it is a powerful source of energy that can wound us if we get too much. Setting aside the extreme of skin cancer from excessive sun exposure, there is the more immediate hazard of sunburn, a painful and debilitating condition. Also, while fire is a useful tool mastered by humans, part of that mastery is the use of clothing to protect ourselves from the hazard fire presents to our vulnerable bodies. Yet, even in the sweltering humidity of Chicago summer, people who are not cooking and not exposed to direct sunlight are still wearing clothes! How do they bear it? There is yet more to the mystery of clothing.

Humans are tool users, and while our chief tools are our amazing hands with their opposable thumbs, we have learned to build many other interesting tools. Doubtless our ancestors discovered the need to have a way to carry more tools than could be held in the hands or mouth, so clothes can provide a means to carry objects while leaving the hands--our primary tools--free for other tasks. Pockets may be one of the greatest inventions every conceived by the human race. Yet the miserable people of Chicago, when it is 90 degrees in the shade with 80% humidity, will wear clothes WITHOUT pockets! What is the purpose? Clothing serves a yet more subtle function.

Clothes are a way for us to encode cultural information. In the way that our physical characteristics (such as eye color, hair color, hair type, height, frame type, shape of nose, length of fingers, and an endless list of other things) communicate what genes we may carry or what our kinship may be, our clothes communicate our cultural alignments, such as our political beliefs, or our religions, or our ethnicities, or even whether we like certain types of music. Wearing particular kinds of clothes is a way for a human to offer immediate information to others about his cultural background or lifestyle choices. Like it or not, people do make instant judgements about us based solely on the way we dress or keep our hair. But does this mean that a human without clothes (or without a full raiment of clothing) is inadequately representing his cultural information? A woman in a bikini is wearing so little clothing that it is doubtful she is offering any cultural information whatsoever, and the ostensible purpose of a bathing suit is such that one may ask, why bother with the bathing suit at all? The answer is not in the style of the bikini, or even what parts of the body that it covers, but rather its mere existence.

The purpose of clothing is merely to be worn, or, more precisely, that it is a sort of "civil uniform." Let us remember that humans are animals, so we do all the things that animals do. As animals, our primary concern in life is finding resources (territory and food) and maintaining them for the purpose of producing offspring. While this is true, it is an incomplete description of what humans do. More precisely, it is a description of what are bodies are telling us to do every moment of every day unless we set our minds to a different purpose. To this end, clothes serve as a sort of distraction. They are like a uniform that we wear in order to set aside the carnal nature of our animalistic selves and concentrate on the constructive, elaborate, higher-level activities required to maintain what we call civilization.

Clothes are the very basis of civilization. Wearing clothes in public is like wearing a uniform to work. In civil society, we are expected to place limits on our behavior so that society may function in a stable way, facilitating the smooth operation of our cities, our transit systems, our food production, and our defenses. Wearing clothing is an indication of acknowledgement of the social contract to not be merely animals. It is an indication of our agreement to particular modes of behavior when interacting with strangers in society. While the clothes themselves may not be directly important, the function that they provide is absolutely essential to the existence of civil society.

Dangers lurk in this framework. One great danger is that the cultures of the world have developed as though humans are not animals, yet the proper functioning of our societies depends on supressing--temporarily--the call of nature. Some of our laws and traditions have made associations between nudity and behavior that work to reinforce the suppression of the human animal, yet fail to acknowledge its foundational role in the existence of civilization; our animal nature is the motivation to create civilization! Persons in civil society are trained to be members of civilization, but not to be human animals. It is as though we have forgotten to teach our children how to be proper human animals because we are too busy building skyscrapers and computers. Clothing has been so useful in its role, so successful at its purpose, that it has allowed us to neglect our self-image as a species, producing a variety of complex issues with which our citizens struggle in childhood and well into adulthood.

If this is the role of clothing in our lives, its purpose is essential, but it has left us with a difficult tradition. As such a basic element of our civilization, it cannot be easily abandoned or transformed, but we do need to be more aware of its purpose as a global society. Further, we must take steps to regain an awareness of our existence as human animals and fully re-integrate this awareness into or societies. We are witnessing now a variety of social problems due to the misunderstanding of our human animal nature, its misrepresentation in our lives, and the lack of attention we give to the root of the problems.

Redmango · 08-10-11 22:44:02

As a response to my own essay, with regard to the SlutWalk thread begun by Viva, I think a basic problem we are facing is people who are not integrating their human animals with the mandates of society. And, if I'm right, and clothing is the "flag" that indicates proper behavior, then they are getting confused about the rules. I am by no means saying the behavior is acceptable--it is not acceptable, which is why we have the problem.

Our failure is three-fold. For the first part, we are failing the victims because they are really being victimized by a very old cultural model that needs adjusting. For the second part, we are failing the violators because they do not understand why their behavior is unacceptable, or they are unwilling to recognize consequences, or are otherwise undeterred. For the third part, we are failing everyone because we create solutions that focus on responding to violations rather than working to adapt our culture to prevent the violations from occurring at all. We need to simultaneously respond to the violations as well as address the causes rather than merely the symptoms.

blissed · 09-10-11 00:27:03

I've speed read through your posts and I'd have to recommend the book sex at dawn again, because your looking at the possible origins of human sexuality. The 1st paragraph of this exert really concurs with what you've said about the human animal.

http://www.sexatdawn.com/page11/page10/page10.html

.

Last edited by blissed (09-10-11 00:27:55)

viva · 10-10-11 00:48:53

I reckon we are working our way towards naked. Body parts like the nape of the neck, ankles, knees, arms, shoulder, omigod MIDRIFFS, the ever-dangerous tops of thigh... and even the devastatingly sexual head-hair of a women, all things once strictly forbidden from public display, are now embraced and adored like free tomato sauce at a hot chip convention.

There is a tiny movement in the more liberal of those ever-puritanical United States, for women to *gasp* sunbathe bare-breasted in public parks. It's interesting to me because even some of my very open-minded friends and colleagues doubt the motivation behind these movements - these chicks just want attention, right? There's no other reason for showing your tits in public.

But think back on those daring ladies of the roaring 20s, who pulled their skirts up to unthinkable heights and laughed in the face of modesty - modesty could go fuck itself sideways up the ass, I imagine them thinking. Not so their modern counterparts - while they may be (forced to) make a statement with their mode of undress, I think the majority of them just want to get some sun on their breasts. And really, there's nothing wrong with that.

The sexualization of female breasts seems like something which is imprinted into our cultural minds to the point where it's impossible for people to see a grown woman's breasts and not think of how naked and vulnerable and sex she is and then henceforth want to either do her, be disgusted by her, or angrily tell her to stop being so damn inappropriate - often all three.

But I just want to remind people that at some point in history, ankles were considered the same way - so delicate, and so private, that to lift your skirt and show them off was as good as begging for it. Society moves ever forward, it's just a matter of changing with the times, or turning into grumpy old-minded folk, condemning progress and muttering about kids these days - surprisingly, your age in numbers has little to do with whether or not you can become grumpy and close-minded.

my 2 cents.

blissed · 10-10-11 01:59:28

I think we're back to the preditory gaze thing again Every part of someone we're attracted to (ankles or boobs or beards) is sexualised and to an appreciative gaze that's lovely and a mutual attraction is mostly subconsciously expressed with social sexual chemistry. conscious expressions of appreciation are only made if the person is comfortable with them and they're genuine, (which means they're not sexual advances) and so from me, outside this kind of forum those compliments end up hsppening pretty infrequently. So you enjoy her lovely boobs without making her feel self concious about them. If I had boobs I was proud of I'd want to show them off to waves of admiration, but who would want a reaction that makes you want to put them away again. No one would want to do that with anything we're proud of wether it's something we've made or any naked part of our body.

.

Last edited by blissed (10-10-11 02:02:53)

Redmango · 10-10-11 07:24:40

@Viva, I agree, there does seem to be a trend toward more and more of the body being revealed in public forums. I'm curious, though, if it continues without bounds, and it results in a society where nudity is acceptable everywhere all of the time, then what will become our flag for Civility?

To elaborate, when I argue that clothes are the flag for civility, I am speaking of more than just sex. Suppressing animal urges is also about asking someone for a piece of pastry rather than smacking him with a club and taking the entire pastry.

It also occurs to me that this civility-carnal dichotomy could be a large contributor to things like alcoholism, considering that most people who drink to excess do so because it subverts the superego and lets them behave without inhibition, an action which may really be a desperate grab for release from the oppression of cultural rules of behavior.

I dunno... maybe if we lived in a society where everyone was well-educated about their animal natures, then it wouldn't ever matter whether we were nude or not, and people could just be civil all of the time. Even if that's possible, I'm not sure how we can get from Here to There.

blissed · 10-10-11 10:47:46

Being nude doesn't make you uncivilised. Nudist colonies are'nt a hotbed of violence and niether are life drawing classes In life drawing classes and on nudist beaches we very quickly get use to nudity. Once aclimatised it really doesn't matter what you are or arn't wearing, being civil is about being civil. In Brazil the indigenous people, like the Awa. are naked and the uncivilised behavioir comes from legal and illegal loggers. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12649955 naked societies can be just like clothed one's ether brutal or civil.

.

Last edited by blissed (10-10-11 10:54:08)

Redmango · 10-10-11 16:44:59

@blissed, I agree that being nude does not make one uncivilized. Being civil is most definitely about being civil. But a man who feels tempted by a woman because she is nude may do something uncivilized, like violating a dancer on stage.

The point of writing my long-winded essay was to be specific as to my meaning when I say that wearing clothes is an indicator for civilized behavior, while the clothes themselves do not guarantee civilized behavior any more than being nude guarantees barbaric behavior. The key quality of clothing is that we wear it and other animals do not.

The idea is that if a man is accustomed to clothing and associates it with civilized behavior, then the absence of clothes may imply permission to be uncivilized.

blissed · 10-10-11 18:15:49

Yes but it doesn't does it. And that would be a good way to get thrown out of a club. Can't see any permission granted as his ass hits the pavement outside In my experience wearing clothes isn't an iidicator for civilised behaviour, but an inclusive acceptence of nudety is.

.

Redmango · 10-10-11 19:40:08

And the guy who violated the dancer was so oblivious to what he had done that he didn't understand until after she almost kicked his ass. I think it's a shame that she didn't, because I expect that he later found some crazy way to justify what he had done. If she actually beat him down, he would have opportunity to meditate on his wounds in the hospital and maybe deal with a lawsuit, which would have left a more lasting impression. In truth, I can only imagine that it was his first time in a strip club, or that he was very stupid, because every club I've ever heard of has a strict No-Touch policy.

Just so there's no confusion, I am not defending what he did. I was merely using him as an example of unacceptable behavior.

In any case, I'm pretty sure I'm not properly explaining what I mean. I'll have to rethink how to explain it.

blissed · 10-10-11 19:57:26

I think you have with the last post. In that you think societies acceptence of a boys will be boys mentality means he felt that if he didn't have permission to do it then he thought it was a a cool joke with no real penalties. I think we're back to the slut walks again and all the other cultural manifestations that counter the notions that prompted him to disrspect someone who was already giving him pleasure.

All you can say is if someone sees a lack of clothes or an erotic display as an invitation they're deluded and suffering in part from the non self aware syndrome gaze, because to act, the erotic attention has to be directed as an invitation to him specifically as an invitation to him, say, if a dancer slipped him a note, and that's a very different situation from what happened.

.

Last edited by blissed (10-10-11 20:59:46)

viva · 11-10-11 00:21:42

Yeah dude, we're back at the slut walks. Women have long been treated like chattel and meat, regardless of how they dressed. The shaming took a different form once upon a time - in public, implying that a woman had sex with a man before marriage was enough to disgrace her name, but the mistreatment hasn't changed - ass grabs, mocking, suggestive gestures, lewd name-calling, up through abuse and rape.

The point is it was never about clothes and when and if we're all naked it won't be about lack of clothes. We've made great progress and will continue to make progress and the goal is that people are able to be themselves, whether or not they decide to drape themselves in fabric. And that one day, the sight of nudity won't be enough to make people feel embarrassed, uncomfortable, (more) turned on (than they already were), etc.

As we wear less and less and embrace dance and modes of behaviour which are more and more suggestive, many people sigh wistfully for the demurely dressed, but absolutely smoldering sexiness of Peggy Leeas opposed to the give-it-to-me-baby stripper-style of Christina Aguilera.

When everyone is naked, the sexy ones will wear knee high socks, or a big long wool scarf that covers her collarbones and falls down to obscure her ass. Men in nothing but a pair of slacks, well - that already does it for me.

#1 08-10-11 22:17:55

Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

#2 08-10-11 22:23:51

Re: Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

#3 08-10-11 22:44:02

Re: Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

#4 09-10-11 00:27:03

Re: Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

#5 10-10-11 00:48:53

Re: Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

#6 10-10-11 01:59:28

Re: Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

#7 10-10-11 07:24:40

Re: Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

#8 10-10-11 10:47:46

Re: Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

#9 10-10-11 16:44:59

Re: Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

#10 10-10-11 18:15:49

Re: Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

#11 10-10-11 19:40:08

Re: Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

#12 10-10-11 19:57:26

Re: Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

#13 11-10-11 00:21:42

Re: Why Do Humans Wear Clothes?

Board footer