Member-only story
Gravity, Titties, and the Women Who Don’t Look Away
Did you grow up with a naked mother? Check yes or no.
Did you grow up with a naked mother? Check yes or no.
I wonder if some progressive therapist has ever thought to ask that question as a way to assess a woman’s relationship with her body. The assumption being: girls who grew up with a naked mother become the teens who unabashedly strip down at slumber parties. Or the women who “do it” with the lights on — why not? They’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. Or maybe they even become the kind of ladies who corral, naked — ass, titties and all — into a locker room full of strangers for hours, while Korean elders rinse, steam, soak, and scrub them down to perfection.
But I did grow up with a naked mother. So let me assure you: growing up with a naked mother doesn’t automatically secure a woman a lifetime of body confidence.
Perhaps that’s why I paused upon learning that the Korean day spa experience that my friend suggested for our grad school reunion weekend in the DMV required nudity.
My nerves eased when we walked into this particular establishment in Northern Virginia. A jungle of plants greeted us at the entrance, along with several colorful paintings — we were told the owner was a hobbyist artist. But it didn’t take long for the “what am I doing here?”…
