Goal: Be a Nude Model

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Wait. What?

 

Yes. I'm talking about my

nude modeling on a professional site.

 

 

But why?

Well, you see, laurendunteman.com is 100% Lauren. No ifs, ands, or butts about it.

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Completed: October 21, 2017

 

• Why was this a goal? I could say something inspiring like, "I wanted to challenge society's views of nudity." While that was a positive result of the experience, it wasn't really my motive. Put simply, I wanted to do it because it would be a new experience and because it was outside of my comfort zone. Also, I'm artistic, and I've always admired female nudity in art. Why not get on the other side and be the model?

• What was the biggest obstacle? Being naked is hard.

• What was the biggest motivation?  It was a way to explore these goals in a safe space.

 

 

 

How It Happened:

I took my clothes off and sat for three hours. That's how.

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Okay, okay there's actually a story:

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I was 23 years old. All of the artists were 40+. Oddly, I think that made things easier for me. Most of them were regular members of the art association, so the whole nude-figure-drawing thing was a normalized practice for them.

 

What I didn't expect was how quickly it would feel normal for me too.

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     The class was set up so that I chose a pose and sat in it for 3 hours, taking breaks every 20 minutes. During each break I would toss my robe on, walk off of the stage and go to sip on some coffee, check out the sketches and paintings in progress, and chat with the artists. At the end of each break I would return to the stage and resume the pose.

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     During the second session, I made eye contact with a woman that was creating conversation with me while sketching. At first it felt fine; eye contact is normal, right? The reality of the situation hit me; the person that she was making eye contact with was NAKED. I couldn't help but giggle to myself. 

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     By the end of the third break, I strolled up and got into my pose again. It wasn't until after doing so that I realized I had taken my robe off. In other words, disrobing had been completely subconscious after only 60 minutes of modeling.

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It took me just one hour to become so comfortable with being naked

in front of strangers that I did it without conscious effort.

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     Ha, that was an amazing experience in itself. Public nudity is a very abnormal state of being. Yet it was seeming normal for me in that instance. I became amused at the idea of "accidentally disrobing" out on the sidewalk or in the post office, where such an act would have less-than-positive consequences. 

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    All in all, I enjoyed the experience. I'm not sure I would do it for free (holding a pose like that for so long can get uncomfortable), but given the compensation and interesting experience, I found value in returning two more times.

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Accomplishing this goal was as rewarding as I had hoped. I enjoy sharing my story of the experience with others. Many find amusement in it, all are surprised. The experience reaffirmed my argument that nudity doesn't have to be sexual. I think our culture is too caught in the belief that it innately is, so I enjoyed stepping out of that box and experiencing things differently.