In case you’ve missed the news, here’s briefly what happened: Kanye West and his wife Bianca Censori were not invited to the Grammys but showed up anyway. He was wearing his typical fully black attire and Bianca had a thick black fur coat. When they arrive at the red carpet, Bianca turns around, takes off the coat, and appears to be fully naked. Well, technically she was wearing a dress, but one that’s more see-through than the emails we get from our rich uncle in Nigeria.
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The reaction
What took place next is a bit blurry. Either they were told to leave or left voluntarily. It doesn’t really matter, it had happened and within seconds, the whole world had seen it. The internet exploded, some believed that she should have been arrested for indecent exposure, and others praised Bianca for her bravery and willingness to question society’s norms.
Also on many naturist channels, Bianca was the word of the day, and here too, the opinions differ. Did this stunt show that there’s nothing wrong with the nude body? Is it a strong signal of body acceptance? Will it encourage more women to go nude or wear see-through clothes at public events? Or is it just a sign that nudity is controversial? Did she use nudity only to shock?
The most important question: Do we need to add Bianca Censori to our list of celebrities who are pro-naturism? We think not.
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There’s a time and place
One of the more interesting comments we’ve read talked about the dress code at the Grammys event which, apparently, mandates that “buttocks and female breasts” should be “adequately covered.” From a naturist point of view, it’s easy to disagree with such rules, but we’re talking about a private event that has its own rules. Looking at it from a different perspective, we know of few places in the world with a dress code as strict as that of naturist resorts, or an undress code, if you wish.
In the end, it’s all about respect. Respect for the venue and its rules. We know that some naturists disagree with this, but we believe that for nudity too, there is a time and place. Resorts, clubs, and nude beaches provide this space. Natural areas like lakes and forests match our natural selves a lot. A mainstream entertainment event that is being broadcast around the world is not the type of space where nudity is generally considered obvious, natural, or acceptable. Walking nude into such an event can’t be called an act of naturism but seems a lot like a calculated move to grab attention.
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Is Bianca Censori an exhibitionist then?
We don’t want to get lost in terminology and we’re not big fans of putting people into boxes, but in order to understand the situation, we feel like we somehow need to put a name tag on it.
For us, the big difference between naturism and exhibitionism is that naturists get naked for themselves. Because they enjoy being naked, because it’s comfortable, it makes them feel liberated, and they like to do so socially because by removing clothes, you take away a lot of social boundaries. But they don’t get naked for others. Exhibitionists, on the other hand, use their nudity to have an effect on other people. Sometimes they enjoy being seen, sometimes they want to provoke, or even shock others.
We don’t know Bianca personally, she may be suffering from severe hot flashes, but we seriously doubt that this dress made her feel comfortable or more accepted. It’s clear that this was just a stunt, especially since her husband is known to stir controversy through fashion. They were looking for a shock effect, and it totally worked.
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Was this good or bad for naturism?
We could say that every naked body the world gets to see is one step closer to the normalisation of nudity. But that’s probably the only positive thing we can say about this. The fact that nudity is being used to create controversy or a shock effect mostly establishes the idea that naked bodies are meant to be seen as controversial and shocking.
Additionally, when celebrities use nudity to grab attention, it reinforces the stereotype that nudity is performative and should be seen as entertainment. This creates a lot of challenges for naturists who want the human body to be seen as natural and non-threatening.
Bianca Censori’s stunt may have been bold, but it wasn’t anywhere near something naturist. If anything, it only adds to the confusion between naturism and exhibitionism. Naturism is not about controversy, but about respect, acceptance, and comfort. We doubt that either of these values was the purpose or the result of this act.
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I totally agree with your comments in this blog. The stunt was for shock value and publicity and had nothing to do with naturism. I also agree that it is bad for naturism in that it shocked the public and will only reinforce the misconception that public nudity is bad.
We need non-sexual nudity to be acceptable to be seen as normal in public and in the media but this isn’t they way to do it. Events like the WNBR is the way ahead for public acceptance of naturism.
The F-word was once taboo on TV and films at one time but has now become common place and partly socially accepted. We can only hope for the same with naturism.