"What a singular fact for an angel visitant to this earth to carry back in his note-book, that men were forbidden to expose their bodies under the severest penalties!"

(Henry David Thoreau, Journals )

"Man is the sole animal whose nudities offend his own companions, and the only one who, in his natural actions, withdraws and hides himself from his own kind."

(Montaigne, "Apology for Raymond Sebonde" )

On 2nd March 1972 a tiny spacecraft called Pioneer 10 was launched at Cape Canaveral in the United States and Pioneer 11 followed shortly thereafter. Their mission was to explore the Solar System and to relay data and photographs of the worlds that they passed, back to those that had sent them.

The Pioneer craft were both extremely successful and right into the mid-1990s, they continued to radio back information until they eventually moved out of the earth's range of communication. They are now travelling in the dark regions beyond the orbit of Pluto, and because there is no friction in space, they will continue their lonely journey, falling forever towards the distant stars that beckon them. However, they have one other mission to fulfill. Bolted on each Pioneer craft was a gold anodised aluminium plaque that features a pictorial message from humanity, in case either Pioneer 10 or 11 were intercepted by extraterrestrial beings. The plaques show the nude figures of a human male and female along with several symbols that are designed to provide information about the origin of the spacecraft.

It is hoped that one day the two craft will pass through a planetary system of a remote stellar neighbour, one of whose planets may have evolved intelligent life. If they do, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that other beings exist that have the technical ability to detect the strange vehicle from Earth, to rendezvous with it and to decipher the message engraved on the metal plates that is bolted onto the exterior of the craft. The plaques are reminiscent of the messages that were place inside a bottle that sailors once dropped overboard in the hope that they would be washed ashore on distant lands and their message read. Of course, the chances of an alien finding the spacecraft with its message is extremely remote, but it is human nature to try all possibilities, no matter how unlikely the outcome will be.

The Asgard get an invitation but they are going to get a surprise when they visit Earth. Naked people are deemed outcasts and obscene. What would people do if they were to make First Contact with naked aliens? They freak out of course!

Let us indulge ourselves and imagine that an alien exploratory vessel has intercepted the Pioneer craft and that the plaque has survived the ravages of space, remaining intact with its engravings still legible. What would you think the aliens first impression would be upon seeing the pictures on the plate? In the first instance, the most prominant figures on the plaque are the two individuals, who are standing against the spacecraft from Earth. They are not seen wearing anything, so in would not be unreasonable to assume that the aliens would postulate that this is how the earthlings normally appear.

Let us stretch our imagination a little further, and visualise that the aliens concerned are the Asgard as depicted in the Science Fiction Television series "Stargate SG1" from the studios of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. If you have seen this program, you probably did not notice that the Asgard are depicted perfectly naked. As these small aliens move about among the human characters of the program, their nakedness is excepted as quite "normal" and unobtrusive by the humans participating in the show. So it would not be surprising to find that the Asgard, naked themselves, would have thought the sight of naked humans on the plaque as being nothing out of the ordinary, and they would be right. Nakedness is man's natural state.

Continuing with this imaginary story, our alien friend, a naked Asgard whose name is Thor, having discovered and deciphered the plaque and the "map", decides to visit Earth to observe humans in their natural habitat. Upon arriving he expects to see humans walking about, as he is, naked. That is what the Pioneer plaque shows, doesn't it? However, he is surprised to find a world where nudity, for the most part is considered obscene and shameful. "What on earth", excuse the pun, "is going on, he asks?" It is a perplexing question, and if there was any thoughts of a close encounter of the third kind, forget it! What would the humans do if he landed and walked from his spaceship nude? Instead, Thor decides to remain in orbit, his ship cloaked from view, while he monitors the strange behaviour of humankind and their peculiar paranoia about nudity.

When researching history it is not long before Thor learns that had he arrived a few centuries earlier, the situation he now witnessed would have been significantly different. He would have found that in many parts of the world people did indeed socialise in the nude, and that nakedness was as normal as breathing air. This was so on in the Americas, Africa, Australia and Pacifica, and where nudity was not total elsewhere, female toplessness was commonplace and men were all but nude accept for loin clothes that barely covered their genitals. Only in Europe was nudity confined to specific activities and places. But now, for some inexplicable reason, most humans all over the Earth have become ashamed of being seen by others in their natural state.

Contrasting the Masai in a photo taken in 1906 and today. Notice the difference?

Our alien friend would have observed for example that when Europeans first came into contact with the Masai of Kenya and north Tanzania in the 19th Century they were confronted by a proud race, whose warriors was renown throughout the land as fierce and fearless.

The Masai had arrived Tanzania via Ethiopia and Kenya in the 17th & 18th Centuries and taken possession of the lands that they now inhabit. In Kenya the British used them as auxiliary troops when native uprisings occurred during imperial expansion of this European power. The Masai supported the British because those tribes that were involved in such uprisings were already their traditional enemies.

A photo taken in 1906 shows these mighty warriors in their battle dress. Save for a short cloak they are entirely naked. However today, though scantily dressed for tourists the once proud Masai have been overtaken by the phobia that shrouds this world in a dark gloom. As Thor continued his researches, it soon became clear that most of humankind have become brainwashed in believing that, although they are naked creatures, to be seen naked by their own kind is something detestable. Thor knows that a brainwashed person does not know if he or she has been brainwashed, so it is not going to be an easy task to convince those so influenced that they have a problem. But there is one thing that humans have to their credit. Sometimes a simple story, a parable can sometimes break through age-old prejudices and perhaps put things into proper perspective...

The well-respected mainstream author Howard Fast (1914-2003) became famous for his novel Spartacus, which was filmed in 1960. What is not known to many people was that he wrote a science fiction story in the same year entitled Sight of Eden. It is in fact a modern parable.

The story Sight of Eden describes the journey of the first humans to another planet outside our Solar System. Seven astranouts of both genders descend upon a planet where they find a beautiful Eden, with gardens, rivers, fountains - but apparently no inhabitants. Yet there are also beautiful buildings, some of whose corridors are "lined with colorful and masterful murals of naked children at play". Perplexed they search for the inhabitants of the veritable paradise who have apparently abandoned the fabulous buildings for no apparent reason.

Three days after their landing, the astronauts are finally greeted by a man, a human seemingly just like them. He reveals to them that many worlds throughout the universe are inhabited by "humans" and that this whole planet has been set aside and developed as a park for their use. However, as the astranauts considered the possibilities of living on this beautiful planet, the man expressed his sadness and tells them that he is familiar with the history of Earth, its wars, violence, and destructive ways. Furthermore, only on Earth, he said, did mankind exhibit such pathological behavior and for this reason visitors from other worlds avoided the place. The astronauts from Earth, therefore, were not welcome here on this paradise world.

The man then spoke to the astronauts and explained that, in all the universe, there is only one race of man that holds their bodies with such shame and contempt. All others walk naked in pride and unashamed. Only Earth, he said, had made the image of man into a curse and a shame.

The man sighed. Once, he said, their world was the most beautiful world in the heavens, but in the course of time, mankind raped it's natural resources for selfish gain, so that what remained was a polluted world made barren by the misappliance of the technologies of man, the ground soaked in the blood of millions of animals and his own kind. No! Man must be confined to his own planet and not allowed to join the rest of galactic society of humankind.

Needless to say, the astronauts objected to this slur on their characters and responded by saying that what he was talking about was the past history of Earth. which was now irrelevant. Mankind had grown out of such things. The man listened to their arguements with respect but then a knowing smile crossed his face. Suddenly without warning he opened up his robe, and allowed it to slip off his body to the ground. He now stood before them completely naked.

The women instinctively turned their heads away and covered their eyes, while the men reacted with shocked disbelief and gasped. This was not what they had expected on this new world. The man picked up his robe and clothed himself again, and as he did so the astronauts slowly began to comprehend what had taken place. The man then spoke to the astronauts and explained that, in all the universe, there is only one race of man that holds their bodies with such shame and contempt. All others walk naked in pride and unashamed. Only Earth, he said, had made the image of man into a curse and a shame. The astronauts hung their heads for they knew that what the man had said was true. In that moment they came to realize the absurdity of a race of beings which cannot stand to look at themselves as they really are....naked!

So ends the parable! What do you think? John Lennon once said that the "main hangup in the world today is hypocrisy and insecurity. People have got to become aware that it’s none of their business and that being nude is not obscene. Being ourselves is what’s important. If everyone practiced being themselves instead of pretending to be what they aren’t, there would be peace." I concur with that view.

In the Next Issue "Nude Confusion" I discuss a paradox: The Statue of David is nude and so am I here in this picture. If you are offended by my nudity why? Millions praises Michelangelo's nude sculpture and the only difference is the material from which each is made.

In my next article "Nude Confusion" for ISEE magazine I shall discuss the strange paradox of a sculpture that is made of stone and the image of a naked man. Created by Michelangelo, his statue of David is praised and looked upon by a million visitors each year. However if I was to stand naked alongside at the same location in front of the same visitors, I would be immediately arrested. Clearly, the naked Asgard in the present article would be perplexed by such a pardox. What about you? Since we will be talking about Michelangelo in some detail, what did the famous artist have to say about such matters.

Michelangelo said that "The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection" and so since we are told that we were created by God nude and that his works were perfection, then clearly a naked person is much better than the copy of the divine that is made of stone. Furthermore, Michelangelo said, "What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed? ".

I hope that this article has given you pause for thought.