The Power of Nudity

To me one of the most interesting and powerful aspects of submission is the incorporation of forced nudity into the dynamics of a female led relationship. I am not a nudist or naturalist so prior to my initiation into the D/s scene, being unclothed is something that had always been reserved for times when I was changing clothes to prepare for a different activity, bathing or having sex. Pretty much the rest of my life has involved wearing clothing.

Nudity is closely associated with sexuality in our culture and from childhood most of us were taught that a significant level of body modesty is expected. In an effort to impart the importance of modesty, for many of us our parents perhaps unintentionally also managed to condition us to associate feelings of shame with nudity. As a result nudity for me except under very narrowly defined conditions is a pretty uncomfortable experience. One euphemism for the embarrassing state of nakedness is “exposed” and in times past I have felt exposed and embarrassed in situations where I was is involuntarily caught undressed.

Once each week, my Mistress requires me to complete a standard ritual and as a part of that ritual I must be completely naked, wearing only the collar that symbolizes her ownership and control. While albeit not quite as intense an experience as it would be if I had to perform the ritualized nudity in her actual presence, still this requirement for complete nudity does produce some pretty powerful feelings for me, most notably, feelings of vulnerability and exposure. Because of the feelings I experience when forced to be naked I do have a clear understanding of why forced nudity is an integral part of the dominance/submissive experience.

Forced nudity is a means of subjugation, and one person’s subjugation is another’s empowerment. Forced nudity produces feelings of humiliation and humiliation is as a tool that serves to emphasize a submissive’s sense of being controlled. While our society has conditioned us through art and media feel okay with the idea of nude women we as men get a little nervous about the idea of nude men. According to Elayne Rapping, a professor of women's studies and media studies at the State University of New York, Buffalo, depictions of fully clothed men with nude women in classic paintings has been occurring since the 17th and 18th centuries. In modern times, full frontal nudity of females has also become a norm even in mainstream films. It seems normal for women to parade around au naturel, but men just don’t. Exposing our male "secret parts" as a result seems abnormal or taboo as this is just not as routine to us as is female nudity. In aboriginal cultures where nudity is commonplace and accepted, men still generally cover their genitals because as all men have had to occasion to learn at some point, due to the exposed nature of our genitals, covering them protects them from harm. To have our genitals completely uncovered and exposed caused us intense feelings of vulnerability.

Another issue I think that forced nudity causes for us as men is to reveal his private parts, a man is reduced to the position that women have traditionally been reduced to as a part of patriarchal society’s oppression which is to be examined, to be judged and that's a scary thing for men. When a man is flaccid it's not a very virile thing. When a man is sexualized or objectified through forced nudity it calls into question the whole “male dominance” idea we have been conditioned to accept. Also, for many men, physical modesty is the last shred of pride as clothing protects us from intimate scrutiny. Clothing expresses and symbolizes authority and dominance, so when we are forced to be naked by our female partner it powerfully “puts us in our place” and reminds us of our submission. Since ancient times, ritualized, ceremonial nudity has been evidence of a submission, resignation, an appeal for forgiveness and a sign of respect for our betters.

The idea of nudity and the notion of vulnerability apply in various absences of clothing and degrees of exposing the bare skin of intimate parts. Thus we can feel naked without being completely nude, as when female dominants require men to dress only in female panties. This submissive “uniform” can produce in us the same feelings of humiliation, exposure and vulnerability as when we are made to be completely naked. Nakedness (full or partial) is also often used as a part of a corporal punishment (spanking) to enhance the feelings of imposed humiliation. There is something very submissive about having to be partially or completely nude for a punishment and it causes men to feel their submission so much more completely than the spanking alone can do.

Nudity like submission shares an important commonality, exposure. When we acquiesce to forced nudity at the hands of a dominant, we reveal a lot more about ourselves than simply our exposed body parts, we reveal our submission. Through the forced or mandatory condition of being without clothes, we humble ourselves before our Mistress. This gives us an understanding of humiliation and its place in D/s relationships, the word “humiliation” comes from the word “humility”. The feelings of vulnerability that nakedness can produce should not be underestimated. The experience of forced nakedness triggers our submission. The mere fact that a woman is exerting this degree of control translates into something sexual. In our society, the sexual arena is typically ruled by the males of our species but now it becomes the place of power for the female. The female, once thought of as the “weaker sex” becomes the stronger of the two. A mutual exchange of power takes place. Our maleness becomes her tool by which to exert her own special brand of control over us. Our masculinity is mocked. The dominant female recognizes and uses this place as her pedestal in which to stand above us. It is from this vantage point that she can begin to exert her control over us. We give this to her willingly. Humiliation and objectification are often closely entwined; through the use of forced nudity the female makes the case for; “I own you, so then I can do whatever I please with you.” Being humiliated, even mildly, acts as a reinforcement of our submissive position. The mere act of being naked, and knowing the reason for being naked is to provide our dominant female partner full access to any part of us, whenever she desires and she doesn't even have to be physically present. Our nakedness is still a reminder that we belong to her and of the pleasure that comes in serving her.

The idea of obediently kneeling naked, exposed, and vulnerable in the presence of a fully clothed, dominant female turns me on to no end. A part of that is the idea of being subjected to the scrutiny and evaluation of a woman with complete control over me. Naked and on my knees is a good position, completely silent as I await her commands. I enjoy the feeling of powerlessness and defenselessness evoked from being nude in front of or for the benefit of my Mistress. My submission naturally grows from that and I wish to take it to its full level until I am stripped of all my inhibitions and feel her ownership of me completely.

My Weekly Sunday Mantra

Today I am sharing my weekly Sunday Mantra...

Topic assignment: “For your Sunday Mantra I want to consider what "exposed" as a word means, what that means to you. I would like you to give me at least 3 examples of being "exposed" and some of your feelings.” Source: Quote from Mistress Lily

Before beginning the actual period of meditation and introspection I consulted a dictionary to obtain the precise definition of the word. Here are definitions for both the word “expose” and “exposed.”

Main Entry: ex·pose
Function: verb

1: to reveal the true nature of.
Synonyms: uncloak, uncover, unmask
Related Words: disclose, divulge, tell, unveil
2: to make known (as information previously kept secret)
3: to make known (something abstract) through outward signs
4: to present so as to invite notice or attention

Main Entry: ex·pose
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): ex·posed; ex·pos·ing

1a: to deprive of shelter, protection, or care; subject to risk from a harmful action or condition
1b: to submit or make accessible to a particular action or influence
1c: to abandon especially by leaving in the open
2a: to make known, bring to light
2b: to disclose the faults of
3a: to cause to be visible or open to view
3b: to exhibit for public veneration
3c: to reveal the face of
3d: to engage in indecent exposure of (oneself)

Main Entry: ex·posed
Function: adjective

1: open to view
2: not shielded or protected

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Mantra:

As were your instructions I knelt for you at the location dedicated to observance of this weekly ritual, completely naked, wearing only your collar. I knelt with knees spread, back straight, and my hands resting on my knees palms up, head held high and eyes downcast. I took a printed copy of the definitions of expose and exposed to review as I contemplated the meaning of exposed with respect to how the term relates to me personally and to the expression of my submissive nature.

I concluded at the outset that exposed does in fact encompass both the mental and the physical aspects of me and my submission. Communication, honesty, trust, commitment and responsibility must be bywords of a D/s relationship between the partners if the relationship is to succeed. An ongoing flow of communication is essential for the survival and flowering of the relationship. There must be no secrets. As the submissive I in particular have little or no expectation of privacy and I have the responsibility to be totally open with you about my feelings. I must allow myself to be completely candid, open, honest and vulnerable with you at all times. This requires a level of trust in you that goes far beyond anything normally seen in vanilla relationships.

Feeling exposed for me as it pertains to the mental aspect then is synonymous with the term vulnerability. By answering any questions you direct to me I must be completely open, candid and honest in my answers and I must answer your questions as fully as possible holding nothing back. I must do this with the full knowledge that at times you may disagree with my opinions or even take issue with them to the extent that I incur your displeasure and invite your correction or discipline. Also continuing with the mental aspect, I am exposed in the sense of having no rights to withhold any information from you. I must share my faults, failures, needs, wants, kinks, and fantasies as you require. Being vulnerable means giving someone the power to harm either physically or emotionally; making myself assailable, risking it all, mentally, emotionally and even physically. Clearly the degree of risk that I assume when allowing myself to be vulnerable to you produces feelings of being exposed.

Exposed also carries a physical connotation for me for as your submissive I must subject myself to strictly obeying your every wish, desire or even whim as long as what you require does not violate any of my pre-disclosed core hard limits. While many of things you could require of me are not hard limits, there are still many possibilities that exist where I might be required to do some act that I do not want to do, may be fearful of doing, and may possible even loathe doing. Yet I have no choice but to swiftly obey you and carry out your commands. This is one example of the physical aspect of exposed.

Continuing with the physical aspect of exposed is basic nudity. It is your right to require that I present myself naked at any moment you might desire it. It is also your privilege to require that I allow you to see my body naked at anytime you require it, either wholly or in part. This is definitely a part of our relationship that makes me feel exposed. In our society clothing serves many purposes, not the least of which is to cover us thereby covering and minimizing physical faults or shortcomings and keeping them from view. I certainly feel exposed at these thoughts for two primary reasons. First, like many people I am not satisfied with my physical appearance right now because while I am not excessively over weight, I know I need to lose 12-15 pounds and become more fit. I know that my body would be more attractive to me and to others once I accomplish that. So feeling that I have flaws and faults, I know I would feel exposed and more self-conscious now if you required me to show you my naked body than I might feel after I have lost weight and become more fit. Also with respect to my penis, showing it to you would make me feel exposed and self-conscious. Having played sports in high school and college and having showered with other males I know that as far as size goes I am firmly in the camp of the “average.” I have seen smaller as well as larger penises than mine and the majority I have seen readily compare to mine. Yet not knowing your preference in this area because of the “fear of the unknown” I have no way of knowing if I measure up to your expectations.

That pretty much sums up my feelings about what exposed means to me. Now I turn my attention to giving three examples of things that would produce the feeling of being exposed for me. Hopefully, I was correct in assuming that you wished me to provide concrete examples of activities that would cause me to feel that.

As you are aware there are a number of submissive positions which originated with gorean practices but which have been assimilated into non-gor D/s interactions. The purpose of these positions is for the submissive to display their naked bodies is the most exposed manner possible as far as intimate parts (genitals, anus) for the inspection of their dominant. Having to assume these positions for your inspection would of course produce intense feelings of being exposed for me, because of course you would be inspecting and evaluating my nude body and its parts which to me offers the risk of displeasing you and suffering your rejection. That is my first example.

A second activity that would cause me to feel exposed would be activities termed as forced feminization and roughly encompass being required to wear makeup, feminine nail polish, feminine articles of clothing, female panties or lingerie. I grew up with three sisters, was married for good long time and have dated extensively. I can honestly say that despite a very significant part of my life being spent in close proximity to women and female things, I have never had the desire or even the slightest curiosity about experiencing what it might be like to wear things designed for females. Cross-dressing is not a personal kink of mine and any of the activities listed above would if I were required to do them cause me to feel embarrassment, humiliated and yes, exposed. But despite that here is a very good example of something that I would not ask to do or seek to do but it isn’t a hard limit for me. And having given this a great deal of thought, I believe that those very same feelings that would result would be something that would make me feel very submissive and very aroused, in part because I rather suspect that the humiliation and exposed parts of it are interwoven with certain kinks that I embrace. I wouldn’t feel submissive or aroused from the use or wear of female things but because of being forced to do it.

The third and final example I offer of an activity that would make me feel exposed would be anything that I was required to do in public which would feel kinky or naughty. It could be; having to wear bondage under my clothing, having to wear female panties or lingerie under my normal clothing, having to wear a butt plug in public, or having to be naked or masturbate. The key to the feeling exposed would be the public venue more so than the specific activities even though the environment was public but with privacy or at least a situation where there was very minimal chance of anyone seeing me perform an activity.

Mistress, hopefully you are pleased with these thoughts I have shared. As I mentioned it is my goal to spend more time each week kneeling for you to show my respect and devotion in a tangible way. This week I knelt for 25 minutes and contemplated the topic you assigned. My personal goal is to work toward being able to spend an entire hour each week on my knees for you contemplating and self-reflecting. Once I had completed the ritual for you, I then completed the short masturbation assignment you gave me. While continuing to kneel in my corner, I brought myself to an edge, waited exactly three minutes and then stroked my cock until I achieved orgasm. The orgasm was very intense and pleasurable, but more importantly it was very submissively meaningful to me because I performed it at your command for your pleasure. Thank you Mistress for permitting me to cum for you.

Naked, exposed, vulnerable

Each Sunday Mistress requires that I perform what she terms my “Sunday Mantra.” This activity must be performed in a certain way at a specific time and place and follows a prescribed decorum. Briefly I am required to kneel while completely naked, wearing only my collar for a period of time each Sunday. During this period of time I am to contemplate a topic which my Mistress selects and assigns to me each week. After thinking and meditating on the assigned topic then I am then required to report to her my impressions and how I see the topic under consideration applying to my submissive nature and my role as her submissive companion. This ritual contains two elements that strongly trigger my submissive response, the requirement that I present myself completely naked and that I assume a kneeling position.

As adults we predominantly spend our time clothed to some degree or other unless we are preparing for bed, preparing to shower or bathe or preparing to have sex. Because of the fact that being naked is not our normal state is in my opinion why being required to present myself naked to Mistress acts as such a powerful trigger in causing me to express my submission to her. I feel utterly exposed and extremely vulnerable. Being naked is a turn on mentally as well as physically. The mere act of being naked causes me to focus on the fact that the reason for me being naked is to provide my Mistress full access to any part of me she desires whenever she desires. My Mistress isn’t required to be physically present for the nakedness to be meaningful or for the exposed and vulnerable feelings to be significant and intense for me. It is still a reminder that I belong to her and of the pleasure of serving her and pleasing her as best I can. A reminder that I have chosen freely and willing to always be available ready to provide her with what she wants when she wants it.

Kneeling is the ultimate posture of submission and surrender. While kneeling before my Mistress, legs spread, back straight, hands on my knees palms up, head raised and eyes lowered, I indicate by bodily attitude, a total submission of not only my body but also my mind, will and heart to her control. It is an exterior manifestation of the reverence inspired by her domination and my complete submission and devotion to her. This simple act of surrender solidifies on a frequent and repetitive basis her authority over me. The physical dynamic of an assertive, dominant woman commanding me to assume this subservient posture position while nude provokes for me a powerfully satisfying sense of purpose and destiny. The act of kneeling before my Mistress and demonstrating my submissive personality provokes deeply satisfying feelings of place and purpose.

The Sunday mantra has the greatest effect in helping me maintain my submissive focus. More than any other aspect of my submission or of any other type of service I may perform. Maybe because it provides both the satisfaction of serving and the pleasure of being able to fulfill her needs and desires. I love the feeling of extreme vulnerability and though naked and exposed I feel no fear just calming peace, every nerve, and every cell tingling with excitement.