Ice Shows and Nudity

Did that get your attention?

I'm not going to talk about "Nudes On Ice", or as the cast referred to themselves in "Boobs on Cubes" that took place in Las Vegas in the late 80s. Technically, that show wasn't nude, just topless, and curiously, the "skaters" who were topless, weren't skaters at all. They were bitter showgirls forced to learn to skate to retain some kind of a paycheck!

I'm glad that I never had to decide whether I would skate topless in a show, because I'm not sure what I would have done. To bare or not to bare - either way there were disadvantages.

the disadvantage to not bare - not getting paid as much
the disadvantage to bare - having grandchildren some day

I think I could have gotten used to my boobs being on parade, since I did shows other shows where my butt was hanging out for all to see (sorry about that Grandma!).

Okay, Miss Ice Charades, let's talk about whether anyone would have paid to see your boobs. Yes, you make a good point.

But back to the nudity, in so many backstages of so many shows, they were anything but private. This was a world with male stagehands, who were, I think, predominently straight, who could easily catch us in progress from one costume to the next.

All of skaters got used to it. There was no point in protesting the situation, because you might just make it worse for yourself.

So this past weekend, I got to thinking about nudity again, when we had our first German sauna experience. No bathing suits allowed.

I would be lying if I said I was comfortable hanging out completely naked with all of the other sauna enthusiasts. In northern Europe and Scandinavia, this is normal, btw. I used to do it all the time without caring too much ... what was different this time?

Then it hit me.

This time I and my skating co-workers wersn't the only ones on display. Seeing everyone else hanging out in the nude made me think I preferred it the old way.