A man is cycling by the lake in Berlin, suddenly stripping off his clothes and jumping into the water – but no one was surprised.
The scene took place before Rachel Loxton’s eyes, from Scotland. Although not surprising, she still needed time to get used to this culture of the Germans.
“I’m from Scotland, like many other places across the UK, where people are more traditionally thought. If someone is seen naked in public, they can be seen as a pervert. This is not normal for us, “Rachel said. Therefore, she was still ashamed to see people naked in the sauna or on the beach.
Annegret Staiger, an anthropologist at Clarkson University (New York, USA), said: “For English-speaking countries, people have a personal view of the human body that is completely different from Germany. , Bulgaria, France or Austria “.
Although nudity is disappearing among young people today, many beaches still have FKK-marked areas where locals and visitors can relax in comfort.
The culture of nudity, Freikörperkultur (FKK), has long existed in Germany. Since the late 19th century, many people in the country believed that not wearing clothes – even underwear, when swimming would be beneficial to health. The first organization of the FKK in Germany was established in 1898, towards health care and improvement. Later this culture quickly spread in the vicinity of Berlin, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Today visitors are allowed to be naked in many areas of mineral springs, saunas or health care centers as well as beaches.
Rachel Loxton never thought about removing her clothes in public until she arrived in Berlin. Rachel learned German and discovered it was a typical German culture.
“I had to be very brave to imitate others, and then I succeeded. After years of concealing my body’s imperfection, I found it great to be lying naked on a wooden board of a sauna. and feel the comfort of the heat that is working on her skin, “Rachel expressed.
For a long time, she had to fight with her inferiority complex, dieting to adjust her weight after puberty. But in Germany, she found that people of all sizes and bodies felt comfortable taking their clothes off. “Basically, this culture is different from the culture where I grew up, not related to sex nor directed to appearance,” Rachel said.
Guests are not allowed to wear swimwear or underwear in the sauna in Germany.
Gregor Gysi, a politician, agrees with Rachel: “Go to the beach marked FKK, you will quickly realize you’re not sexy. If you wear a bikini, you look even more sexy. I think nudity has a complete opposite of pornography or general public opinion. “
However, FKK lovers are also worried about the ban on nudity in public. Before the decline of this culture in Germany, Gregor Gysi proposed the need for more designated areas for fairy bathers.
This natural trend has the message that people should be confident with their bodies, everyone is equal. As a foreigner, Rachel felt that FKK was something special to her. She likes to live in a country where old people take baths, their friends sunbathe or do yoga without covering their bodies: “Nobody cares what you look like. Only this naked body – but every all of us are like that “.
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