There are, at least in the English language, two months out of every year that begin with the letter: “A.” The initial occurrence\is April, the one that we’re in right now. It is also the first complete month of the newly arrived Spring season. It also denotes the return of natural growth and of warming temperatures outside. A hopeful and promising month of the calendar.
The second month that begins with the letter “A” is August. Chronologically, August is the exact opposite of April. It is the very last complete month of the Summer season. It is typically a month of heat and of sunshine; among us of Greek heritage, it is traditionally the month for our annual return to the homeland to visit with family, friends as well as celebrating our culture and customs!
For my spouse, Aaron, and myself, both of the A-months, April and August, hold a special significance. April because were both born during this month albeit on different dates. However, our birthdays are less than a week apart and we were birthed during differing years.
Birthday treat!
Secondly, but equally important, we were married on 15 August, 2015. The wedding itself was the result of a conspiracy collaborated by both pairs of our parents but welcomed by the both of us! Fortunately, my father was alive when it happened and he was able to witness it and to bless us both!
Naturally, Aaron and I are not the only two bare practitioners honoured during the A-months. Alex, my identical twin brother, shares the same birthday and the same birth year as myself. We also have a first cousin, Michael Poladopoulos, nine years younger, who celebrates his birth during the middle of this month. He is likewise a bare practitioner, Deaf and a secondary school art teacher. He is half-Greek and half-Nigerian (our father’s are brothers).
Concerning Aaron’s family, there are no additional persons with a similar “claim-to-fame.” However, there are quite a number of nieces and nephews waiting for maturity before a final, official determination is made!
A bromantic moment!
Concentrating attention solely on the Peterson (Aaron’s) family and the Poladopoulos (my own) family in no way incorporates all of the A-month celebrants. Within the global bare practitioner community and culture alone, an entire listing is unfathomable! Even as a distinct social minority, we remain too numerous!
As a public site, ReNude Pride strives to remain accepting and inclusive of all the curious and those exploring their nakedness and their sexuality. We are all too aware of the feelings of being excluded, ignored or neglected. Like being forced to stand outside the home and only being permitted to watch through a window the social gathering taking place inside.
Many of us know these emotions firsthand and regrettably, some of us still have to cope with these even today. That’s why avoiding any repetition of these sensations is a priority for this publication!
So, in a serious and sincere effort to eradicate any exclusion and/or overlooking, Aaron and I invite anyone and everyone to an event to celebrate, commemorate and to enjoy nakedness! ReNude Pride’s very own:
BPO!
Bare Practitioner Occasion!
Motivated buttocks!
Anniversary? Birthday? Coming-of-Age? Coming Out? Any happening in life that you believe is worthy of commemorating within this calendar year, 2024, is enough reason for all of us to rejoice! Join in all the fun and laughter as we all strip out of our cumbersome clothes, toss away our inhibitions and gleefully engage together as community and culture in our very own special and unique collective occasion!
Our ultimate goal is to create an event that is as inclusive of all of us. Therefore, whatever the cause is determined to be: solo, a couple – bromantic or platonic – or a large group, we’ll join together and dance until all of our hearts, minds, and souls are overflowing with delight, jubilation and spirit. It makes no difference when the day occurs, the month and the date aren’t important! Aaron and I want all of us included and involved!
Circle of joy!
For far too long, our bare practitioner community and culture has enable the mainstream (majority) society the prerogative of identification of us. Their labels/names for us have often withstood (survived) the “test-of-time” and frequently became an epithet (slur) to use against us. This abusive and contemptuous identity becomes offensive and stereotypical in nature.
For example, about the time of the Stonewall Inn Riots (SIR) in June, 1969, the term “queer” emerged and quickly was assumed by general society to identify us – in a completely derogatory manner. “Queer” thus became very demeaning. However, our newly self-identified “gay” community actually liked the label “queer” and kept it with confidence and pride. We began to voluntarily even refer to ourselves and our culture as queer!
The broader society was baffled, confused and completely taken by surprise. How could we possibly endorse an identity intended to discredit and offend us? That same segment of society is still seeking another term to use, all these years later!
All we have to do is take a look now to see how queer has become synonymous with same gender loving. The mainstreamers continue to search for an appropriate replacement!
Tossing away briefs!
So please come and join with us as we jointly celebrate us being what and who we naturally are: ourselves! Bare Practitioners Occasion!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, April 12, 2024, and the proposed topic is: “Quickie!”
ReNude Pride’s Annual Celebration and Salute to Bare Practitioners Everywhere Who Are Confident and Proud of Their Armpit Hair!
MaschalagniaMentors!
Kory Mitchell: Educator, Friend, Inductor
KoryMitchell is the very first openly gay and nudist celebrity to publicly acknowledge his maschalagnia affinity and to define it’s meaning – at least, to my knowledge. He confesses to being sexually enthralled with men’s hairy armpits. In an interview, he uses the label maschalagnia to identify himself and follows that with a thorough definition. Kory taught me the new condition and indoctrinated me on it’s effect on my life. I recognize him as my educator and as my inductor into this world of men’s hairy armpits. He is also a man that I proudly address as friend. I am so very grateful and thankful to you, Kory! As a token of my sincere appreciation, I often use this enlarged image of Kory’s underarm as the opening “header” for my postings on hairy armpits!
Prior to my lesson from Kory, I described myself as “a man with a fetish for men’s hairy armpits!” His interview about the traits that attracted him to men was in a magazine named Inches. He is of mixed descent. His father is an African-American armed service member and his mother is German. He received his education in both Germany and the USA. He can’t ever recall being elusive or shamed about his nakedness or about his sexuality.
After KoryMitchellwas diagnosed HIV+, he immediately became active in discussing HIV/AIDS prevention strategies with his professional associates in the gay porn industry. His receipt of his certifications in both the American Red Cross Fundamentals curriculum and the Red Cross Prevention Skills curriculum. I was an instructor trainer (educator) volunteer in both of those curriculums in addition to the African-American Prevention Skills curriculum. This was the immediate basis of our friendship that quickly expanded to include SGL issues, our shared nakedness and other social concerns.
Kory Mitchell: complete nakedness, maschalagnia and a leather harness!
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Sean Xavier: Secondary Educator
Sean Xavier, a smile and maschalagnia view!
SeanXavier (birthname: Kyle Overton) was born on January 16, 1988, in Victorville, California. He is the very second openly gay and nudist celebrity to publicly acknowledge not only his maschalagnia but also his shortcoming. He confirms the shaving of his chest hair when he initially began his career in pornography. He was young, inexperienced and intimidated by the studio executives who often treated him as a novice intern instead of an actor under contract. They told him to shave his chest hair and he did. He has now matured.
Sean has never admitted to shaving his underarm hair. I have never seen an image of him without hairy underarms.
In an interview in a magazine named: Inches, I read of his sexual attraction to the male hairy armpits and his – at that time – recent discovery of the word maschalagnia and it’s definition. The man conducting the interview admitted to his lack of knowledge on the subject.
“Body hair – a little or a lot – is part of being manly. Like our nipples, penis and testicles, it is what makes us who we are. Bisexual or gay, we know what is good for us!” ~ Sean Xavier ~ gay actor
Sean Xavier: maschalangnia and nakedness!
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The late Colin Black, Hirsute Axilla Activist and Champion
It was 2022, when I was reading a notice of the SGL actor, ColinBlack’s receipt of the 2012 Hoodie Award for the Best Boyfriend Fantasy that I learned of his gaining of both attention and reputation of a “Hairy armpits rights activist.” Until I read the article/interview, I never had even seen that phrase used. I became an admirer of Colin immediately.
During this period, the gay porn industry executives and producers (bullies?) were arbitrarily mandating that some actors (selective) were required to maintain themselves as “armpit and pubic hair free.” The reasoning? They were to be available to film or to pose immediately with no time to shave or otherwise groom away their hair. The “bullies” plan? If the actor’s didn’t sign that particular clause of their contract, then continue elsewhere to look for work. Additionally, some had another additional clause that prohibited them from public nakedness.
Colin, of mixed racial/ethnic heritage (African-American, Indigenous American and Korean) was known for his concern for civil and equal rights for all. He publicly lobbied and protested against these arbitrary clauses and argued against the studio’s infringement on the individual’s “natural rights.” His persistence achieved results and the policies began to disappear.
ColinBlack’sHoodie Award wasn’t based on his activist involvement but it was extensively revealed through his interview on receiving this honour.
A “hairy armpits rights activist!” I should seriously re-examine my own professional choice! Actually, that job title and that notion conveniently fits comfortably in my underarms and its fur!
Sadly, Colin died of narcotics complications in 2016.
Colin Black, maschalagnia and pierced nipples!
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Introduction:
2024 marks the eighth year of publication of ReNude Pride. At least a couple of times each year, I deliberately and intentionally offered in my accompanying photographs as well as my post entry text of my attraction to men’s hairy armpits. I’ve often received ridicule for admitting to having a “fetish” for men’s underarm fur.
For that reason, I felt a sense of privacy over my attraction to and fascination with men’s hirsute axilla! The jokes about my “addiction” to that feature of masculinity were manageable. The notoriety was the inconvenience that I sought to avoid.
Then, in 2021, after the coronavirus COVID-19 debacle, I mentally told myself to hell with it! My attraction to man’s hairy armpits is an integral aspect of what and who I am as a bare practitioner. Pretending that this characteristic isn’t a part of my life is – itself – ridiculous and worthy of all the degradation anyone wants to convey to me!
Felipe Ferreira flashes his underarm fur!
I’m so glad that Brazilian-born model/DJ/soft gay porn actor FelipeFerreirafinds my hesitancy over publishing about my dedication to hairy underarms on men so funny! Notice how he is sharing glimpses of his own underarm fur!
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Arms raised high!
Glossary:
Maschalagnia hairy armpit fascination and obsession
Axilla (armpit or underarm) is the area on the human body directly under the joint where the arm connects to the shoulder. It also contains numerous sweat glands. In humans, the formation of body odor happens mostly in the armpit. These odorant substances serve as pheromones which play a role related to mating.
HirsuteAxilla hairy armpit/ furry underarm
A person frequently is attracted to armpits and to armpit hair.
Austin Wilde (bald) invites his partner to sample his furry armpit!
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Open doorway to maschalagnia exploration!
His hirsute underarms and his nakedness invite us all inside to view this hairy gallery! Enter at your own risk!
Since graciously assuming his unofficial spokes-model role here for ReNude Pride, in all fairness, PhoenixFellington deserves and has earned all the recognition due a man of his distinction and nakedness. The 4M! entitlement? It represents the official message that this picture of him denotes: March:MaschalagniaMadnessMonth! That’s the very least we can do in order to celebrate hairy armpits!
“An eyeful of a man’s hairy armpits reminds me of my business: I’m about to get busy with another man!” ~ Phoenix Fellington ~ ReNude Pride spokes-model gay film celebrity
Phoenix Fellington: maschalagnia profile and nakedness!
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Hirsute Commencement
Friends with maschalagnia pride!
Alex, my identical twin brother, who I refer to as “Twin” (as he does me) and I began puberty just before our 12th birthday. He recalls that my interest in men’s hairy armpits seems to have happened within just one night. “I remember you went to bed, naked and normal. The next morning, you woke up dancing around our bedroom because you were growing pubic and underarm hair!”
Then, he also remembered that I only calmed down when he showed to me that the same was happening to him. For a few brief minutes, I felt special and unique entering into manhood! The photo of the teen duo (above) flaunting their underarm fur brought with it memories of “back-n-the-day!” Recently, I posted and introduced my lifelong bare practitioner buddy, Paul Turner. Click the title below to view.
During our many trips to the gay nudist area of the James River Park in Richmond, Virginia, we often observed young adult men engaged in physical exploration. A number of times Paul and I, in an adventurous spirit, followed suite. We both used our lips and tongue alternating between his hairy armpits and mine.
The memories that we have of the “memories of mischief” that we engaged in during our teenage career! I suppose our survival of that period is as miraculous as the mischief itself!
Another open admission: until Paul’s tongue licked my underarm fur, my armpits were virginal. Unfortunately, the experienced Paul was unable to confirm the same!
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Weightlifting underarms!
Time now to migrate from memories to a question concerning pheromones, defined in the Glossary above. I’ve often wondered, I know that we masturbate to relieve sexual tension and provide gratification. When we inhale the odor emitted from the pheromones of our own underarms, does that enable a similar self-gratification experience? Okay, an unintentional falsehood here. I have more than just one question.
Is this “scent of desire” created in our armpits excite only our potential intimacy partners? Are we immune to our own scent?
Regrettably, I can’t just close my eyes, take a deep breath and receive the answers to all of my questions. Perhaps I should raise my arm, sniff my armpit and maybe then I’ll have an answer!
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Gio Dell, salutes and maschalagnia pride!
SUN: Sibling’s Underarms and Nakedness
Venezuela-born bare practitioners, half-brothers, male escorts and models, GioDell and gay film actor Armani, salute everyone who shares in their maschalagnia blissful condition! Gio is confident and proud not only of his hairy armpits but likeise of every follicle of his hirsute manliness! He has modelled himself, his nakedness – and his gay exclusivity – since 2009. Above, he poses offering a salute to all of us. Gio shaves only his facial and head hairs! A man of my own standing!
Armani, name tattoo and hairy armpits!
The younger Armani, above, has sparser body hair but very impressive hair in his underarms. He keeps his head hairs cropped (cut) close.
Both half-brothers have made films for the gay porn industry and they both enjoy healthy living. Armani has a very popular male escort service!
Skinny-dipping Gio Dell!
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Pleasure
Ecstasy!
There is no doubt that the ecstasy this man above is experiencing is enhanced by his raised arm and his exposure of his hirsute axilla!
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Interracial maschalagnia!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, March 15, 2024, and the proposed topic is: “Does Size Matter?”
Often, the mythology lies around, dormant. After all, it’s an old myth that no one really considers important. It’s also an old myth that we have all probably seen refuted by reality. It simply is nothing earth-shattering or shocking. It’s not detrimental or explosive. All it does is just lie there.
Then, one day when we least expect it, it raises up and punches us in our face! We are so caught by surprise that there are few words that would adequately describe our reaction.
The overwhelming majority of us have been so involved with our everyday lives – handling our own business – that we never saw this coming our way! That’s the reason we’re so dumbfounded and numb.
We never saw “it” coming toward us! Suddenly and unexpectedly there “it” is! Right, directly, in front of us!
Bare! Black! SGL!
The “it” we never saw coming toward us? The mythology that was simply lying around: dormant. It was an old myth that none of us considered important. It was so completely and totally dormant that we had – intentionally or not – simply forgotten that “it” was “out” there. So irrelevant and useless that most of us never gave it any thought at all!
That old myth is this: Black people aren’t gay and they aren’t naked! White people are that way and they are “teaching” our people how to act and to be like that!
Believe it or not, like it or not, that old myth remains among us and with us. Another overwhelming majority of us may know it to be no more than what it really is: an old myth. A meaningless and useless thought left behind by hatred and homophobia. But wait! “It” is still with us.
Bare! Black! SGL! Continuation!
We do indeed live in the 21st Century. And yes, reality – real life – does afford us all with a multitude of opportunities to see examples and reminders of same gender love (SGL) as we go about our everyday lives handling our business. That’s just how this world is supposed to work.
We are all free to be ourselves. To be what and who we truly are. We should all remember that we are free to expect this from others as long as we show the same respect of freedom to all others! We all live in the same world, therefore, we all share the same world.
Nakedness and same gender love (SGL) may or may not be something that is essential or important to everyone and that is good. It is likewise good that we all accept and recognize that for some of us these aspects are crucial, vital and paramount in our lives. The same holds true for interracial couples and marriages – irregardless of the gender. The days of the iron-clad formula that Black should be with Black or that White should be with White are now long past.
Free to be themselves!
All of this I can share from personal experience. Following the arrival of marriage equality here during President Barack Obama’s second term in office, my then-partner, Aaron, and I took the path forward and became legally married (after incessant urgings from both of our sets of parents). My spouse is African-Canadian. I am Greek. An interracial union of two SGL men who prefer bare rather than textile (clothed). Ever since our wedding, we’ve both received an endless amount of comments from numerous casual acquaintances and/or co-workers about our “relationship.”
Kissing!
For some unimaginable reason, people – SGL couples included – have an issue or a problem when referring to a “marriage” between same gender partners. Is it our gender or is it our skin colour? Or is it a combination of the two?
Now back to the mysterious “it” that was creeping upon us earlier. “It” remains with us and will somehow prevail. Aaron and a multitude of others are actual breathing, living proof that the old myth is unfounded and untrue. There are Black men who are confident being bisexual or gay and who also enjoy and are proud being naked.
Pride!
The awesome reality of this predicament is that no one, Pink, Green, Blue or White had to “teach” him anything. He was born this way and has no shame of being who he is. He has no guilt in being who he is!
Enjoy the remainder of Black History Month, 2024!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, February 19, 2024, and the proposed topic is: “Happy Hemisphere!”
This is precisely how an online acquaintance defined the meaning of this term to me. The year was 2008. We were in a chat room dedicated to same gender loving (SGL) men who were enthusiast of body and clothes freedom. I honestly can’t remember the name of the chat room nor my acquaintance’s screen name. But I do recall that he typed to me that he lived in the state of Massachusetts, USA. Some details one must never forget!
Growing up, Alex (my identical twin brother) and I both lived with an aversion to cold weather. Neither of us had any desire or dream of ever being bare outside in the snow! Until I was in the chat room that day in 2008, I had never acknowledged publicly that I had no experience being outside in my nakedness in the snow. As an erstwhile advocate of social nudity, I was simply too embarrassed to admit my innocence in the matter.
Yours truly, a inclement weather innocent!
S’Naked Virgin:
Even though I publicly “owned” my snow virginity while chatting with my friend in 2008, I refrained from publicising my status. True to the perpetual wisdom of the adage: “Old habits die hard!”
When I met and fell in love with my spouse, Aaron, in May, 2010, my s’naked virginity remained intact. The reasoning? Genetics.
“Twin” (that’s how I address my sibling, Alex) and I are both “heat and humidity” men. Centigrade or Fahrenheit, it makes no difference. The higher the temperatures, the greator our comfort and relaxation. Therefore, it must be in our genes. We have three older brothers and three younger brothers. Temperature preference, we are all eight the same!
Me, wondering what Aaron is preparing to do!
In December, 2010, we had an early snowstorm. Aaron and I had been living together for about six months. He, unlike me, was no innocent in being s’naked. He insisted he needed to preserve this opportunity on film, hence the images posted today.
While taking my pictures, Aaron “plucked” my snow virginity! He rolled handful of snow into a snowball and threw it into my bare, virginal buttocks not once but twice! One right after the other! In all honesty, I was shocked! My bare buttocks having intimate contact with snowballs – all without warning! Author’s note: that was not all he took from me that year!
Does that make me a s’whore? Snow + whore = s’whore. Do I qualify for spousal abuse?
Yours truly right after being “plucked!”
In the years following Aaron’s “plucking” of my s’naked virginity, I have engaged in being s’naked many times. I now readily admit to being recognized for my exclusive label of being a s’nudist (snow + nudist = s’nudist! Despite my s’naked status, I do wear boots while in the snow. I may be a fool for being s’naked but I am no idiot!
In addition, I shave my head hairs daily. Therefore, I wear a knit head cap in order to retain some body heat.
Experience and familiarity have served to increase my s’tolerance (snow + tolerance = s’tolerance)! Granted, the boots and knit cap have aided in this condition! My s’endurance (snow + endurance = s’endurance) – the length of time that I am able to spend s’naked is now increasing!
My s’endurance factor may be very temporary. The recent years have not provided us with snowfalls to justify being s’naked. The last snow that was of any convenience was in 2021. It has been cold, simply without substantial amounts of snow!
Perhaps I should file a s’lawsuit (snow + lawsuit = s’lawsuit). A s’naked slawsuit against the federal government for failure to present us taxpayers with a sufficient supply of snow for our s’naked adventures!
However, I’m not a snow-bunny just yet!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry is planned for here for Monday, February 12, 2024, and the proposed topic is: “A Week of Love!”
In the USA, the entire month of February, annually, is observed as Black History Month (now referred to as African-American History Month). It was started in 1926, when the noted Black historian, Carter G. Woodson (now remembered as the “Father of Black History Month) and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) jointly announced the second week of February to be Negro History Week. This particular week was chosen because it contained the birthday (February 12) of the late president, Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves held in the rebellious south during this country’s civil war. It also contained the birthday of Frederick Douglass, the noted Black abolitionist and influential leader (February 14).
Carter G. Woodson,“Father of Black History Month!”
The very first commemoration of Negro History Week was featured in segregated public schools in three states (Delaware, North Carolina and West Virginia) and the Black schools in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Frederick Douglass, Abolitionist and Black leader
Up until the commencement of Negro History Week, throughout this country, the most that anyone was aware of African-American history was when the topic of slavery was discussed. Otherwise, there was practically no mention of any achievement or contribution of any Black person in the history of the USA. Black people were largely viewed as nothing more than “second-class” citizens throughout this nation. Discrimination and segregation were practiced everywhere and severely hindered the recognition of any notable African-American leadership.
Black History Month encourages honouring persons of the African Diaspora!
Black educators and Black United Students at Kent State University in Ohio first proposed a month-long celebration for Black History Month in February, 1969. It was approved and first observed from January 2, 1970 through February 28, 1970.
President Gerald Ford first recognized Black History Month in 1976 during the USA bicentennial. He urged people to “seize the opportunity to honour the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavour throughout our history. He may have been the first president not elected for the job but he became the first one to publicly recognize the Black History Month celebration.
Looking for his past!
Personal Recollections:
As a child of Greek immigrants, I have very limited knowledge of what it was like to grow up in what was perceived by many to be a White man’s world. I do have some insight into the most definite deficiency of historical information concerning African-American history.
When my parents arrived in Richmond, Virginia, during the second presidential term of Eisenhower, the only home they could purchase was in a primarily Black neighborhood. The city was the capital city of the Confederacy during the Civil War and “old habits die hard (they were, after all, immigrants). Fine. The street that we lived on had a Greek Orthodox Church on one end, an Armenian Church in the middle and an African Methodist Episcopal Church on the other end. A celestial highway!
My oldest brother remembers the controversy surrounding the televised release of Alex Haley’s Roots. For many die-hard Confederate descendants, it was absurd and unforgiveable that White Confederate characters and their offspring were shown as evil, dishonest and violent. I imagine the truth does sometimes hurt.
Alex, my identical twin brother, and I are both Deaf but that didn’t prevent us from having Black friends in our neighborhood. Children don’t need an official interpreter to communicate between Deaf and hearing. We had several Black friends who shared with us in our nakedness (with enthusiasm).
Our motto!
Our neighborhood bordered the south side of the James River in Richmond. As we grew into our teenage years, Twin and I and our neighborhood friends frequented the James River during our summer school holidays. On one of those excursions, we discovered an area within the park very popular with the local same gender loving (SGL) people who were also active nudists. This resulted into an entirely different educational and enlightening world for all of us! The doors to bare practitioner manhood were opened – at last – and remain opened until this very day!
One of my neighborhood friends is named Paul Turner. We have become lifelong friends and have kept in contact with each other since our early teen years. He’s three years older than me and is also gay and a self-admitted bare practitioner co-founder and cohort! We jointly enjoyed and explored the SGL naked area of the James River Park almost daily. We continue to exchange laughter and memories of those summer “retreats” into our nakedness, our SGL identity and all the adventures and pleasures we had while maturing together! This past summer, we took a reminiscent hike to the riverfront park and our “classroom” of education into reality.
Paul and his partner have been a live-in couple for twenty-two years now. They’re both active in Richmond’s Black gay community and are very good friends to my spouse, Aaron, and myself. The four of us are exploring and negotiating the collective composition of a perspective of bare practitioner in today’s world. Our goal is a 2025 publishing.
Nudist friends are the best friends!
Black History
Happy Black History month to everyone! Enjoy the time that we all share together!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for tomorrow, Friday, February 2, 2024, and the proposed topic is: “A Dream Comes True!”
The arguments and debates concerning the appropriate sensitivity and respect over the holiday and/or Holy Day…bah-humbug! On ReNude Pride, we try to be equal and fair to all, no matter the culture, faith, heritage, ethnicity, racial identity, sexual attraction and sexual orientation! We wish for everyone happiness for whatever the occasion!
Our header (beginning image) above does deliver a usually perceived “christmas-type” depiction but our listing below contains the reasoning factor. We intend to pay tribute to all here!
There are a limitless supply of beliefs, facts and reasons for all of our differing occasions to celebrate, commemorate and enjoy! Our intent is to attempt and strive to be as accepting, acknowledging and as all-inclusive as possible. We want everyone to feel comfortable, special and welcome here on ReNude Pride! Especially if you are both bare and same gender loving!
Celebrating all of us!
Please remember that no one is intentionally ignored or excluded from us here (unless too fully dressed)! Each and every one is encouraged to join in our adventures, escapades, education and fun. Good times and life are for us all to enjoy and experience.
Too many of our kind, of our nature have been forced to endure and to suffer during their lives. Many are even doing so still today. Now is the time for us all to cast aside all the oppression and repression!
In coming together we not only offer our collective compassion and support, we also share our suffering. This, in turn, empowers us all to commiserate as a community and to look and to move forward in strength and unity!
Togetherness!
All of us realize that our past is behind us. It is a lesson learned. Our present is part of what unites us and envelops us in love and respect. Our future is a journey, a path forward, a light that shines with all of our combined aspirations, our combined dreams and our combined hopes.
Working together, in patience, tolerance and understanding, our future becomes not only much brighter but also more alive and more promising! It is a step in the direction towards harmony, peace and tranquility not only for our community and our culture but also for our hearts, our minds and our spirits.
Our diversity makes us stronger!
This is why the celebrating of, the honouring of, the knowledge of, the memory of and the power of our communal and familial heritages is so important and necessary. Our history, whether personal, family, religious, communal or cultural is a vital part of each and every one of us! It is what makes us special and unique!
Sankofa proverb!
It is precisely the message of the Sankofa Proverb of the Adinkra peoples of West Africa. “If you forget it, you must go back and fetch it.” The truth shall be our guiding light!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, December 11, 2023, and the proposed topic is: “Identifications!”
Thursday of next week, November 23, 2023, is the USA holiday of Thanksgiving. This is known as one of the busiest holiday travel events here. Many families will spend the Thanksgiving holiday with one set of family relatives and follow that with the Winter Holiday (next month) with the other set of family relations. The result is a boost for the airline business and a chronic disaster for a majority depending on the airlines to deliver them safely from one destination to another.
For those who lived a comfortable distance from their family home, an auto trip was a convenient alternative to dealing with the airport masses and disgruntled tempers. However, for an innumerable amount of years, the USA Thanksgiving holiday has held the notoriety of being the absolute worst day for travelling – period! Not just for transport by air, the distinction is applicable for highway driving situations as well. Traffic congestion on the roadways is equally frustrating and unsafe (vehicle accidents).
From kitchen into the sitting room, at home!
“Are there any other transportation options available?” my spouse, Aaron, and I frequently ask ourselves. Suggested alternative: perhaps extra consideration is necessary here. The best form of transportation during this “worst predicted travel time” designation period is maybe walking inside our own apartment/house from the abode’s kitchen to the sitting room after a trip to retrieve a can of Dr. Pepper soda from the refrigerator!
Personally, this option is the most appealing to me. As long as the ability to be clothes free is available, it works best for me. This completely eliminates the task of putting on clothing in order to simply walk outside the front door!
Using the underground (subway) automated stairs!
My spouse, Aaron, and I live in a condominium in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area (specifically, Arlington, Virginia). Another option available to us is the local subway/underground public transportation system. At this moment, it is convenient, congestion-free and relatively safe. The only problem is that in our area, the wearing of clothing is a legal requirement when in public. My spouse and I both agree that a bare escalator ride to access the underground transport system would be a most welcome improvement!
Sitting on luggage in a crowded airport terminal!
Given the challenge of donning (wearing) a textile covering in order to go somewhere, Aaron and I are choosing a stay-at-home option for this year’s holiday travel season (the total period of time from the Thanksgiving holiday through the New Year holiday).
Relaxing at home!
As long as there is no threat of a family emergency in either one of our respective families, we’re both comfortable with our decision. This year has had a number of chaotic and hectic situations in the both of our families and so we’re both eagerly anticipating a relaxing option of being together in a calm atmosphere. Allow the airlines and the vehicle congestion experiences for others to endure!
Holiday guests!
My spouse’s older brother, Paul, and his partner, Sudhir, plan to be our Thanksgiving visitors and stay with us through the weekend. Their travel here shouldn’t be too traumatic as they’ve used the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) method before and are doing so again.
Alex, my identical twin brother and his boyfriend, Dante, are planning to come here just prior to the Christmas holiday and are staying three/four nights.
Ideal for visitors during the winter holiday season, the Smithsonian Museums offer a decorative and interesting series of exhibits and holiday decorations. Conveniently located on the metropolitan underground/subway system, a terrific option for all visiting this area and a solution to the frustrations of traffic congestion!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, November 20, 2023, and the proposed topic is: “A Re-Visiting!”
The above header (photograph) is in no way related to this post entry title. In the picture, they are indeed teenage boys posing and singing “in a band.” The actual title is in reference to the 1970 film, “The Boys In The Band” which is the subject here today. As this particular cinema movie featured actors who kept their clothes on, I felt the vintage image – depicting the teens posing playing musical instruments in the early 1960’s era was appropriate for the title and fitting for ReNude Pride’s theme (nakedness). Sorry if I’ve caused any confusion!
That’s the reason for this introductory explanation. I wanted that apology offered before anyone becomes too irate!
Actual poster: “The Boys In The Band” 1970 film.
Over our years together, Aaron (my spouse) and I have periodically shared that neither one of us has ever seen the movie, “The Boys In The Band.” We both acknowledged that we should view it, but we’ve never done so. My first cousin, Michael, located a copy of the original with excellent closed captioning. He purchased it for he and his partner, Ropati. Aaron and I borrowed the DVD and this past weekend, honouring GLBTQ+ History Month, we saw the show together – a first for us both!
Even though the characters onscreen were fully clothed, Aaron and I were in our typical and usual bare practitioner mode. This was simply one of our 2023 Bare Practitioner History Month observances! Keeping with ReNude Pride’s theme and tradition!
Background:
“The Boys In The Band” was the first major American film to deal directly with the topic of homosexuality (as it was then often called) where the primary characters actually referred to themselves as “homosexuals.” It was released in early 1970, less than a full year after the Stonewall Inn riots. It was directed by William Friedkin and produced by Matt Crowley, Kenneth Lilt, Dominick Dunne and Robert Jiras. The screenplay was written by Matt Crowley and is based on his off-Broadway play by the same name.
The cast consisted of Kenneth Nelson as Michael, Leonard Frey as Harold and Cliff Gorman as Emory. Also featured were Laurence Luckinbill who played Hank, Frederick Combs portraying Donald, Keith Prentice was Larry and Robert LaTourneaux as “Cowboy Tex.” Reuben Greene appeared as Bernard and Peter White featured as Alan, the token heterosexual. The running time for the production was approximately 2 hours.
The cast “The Boys In The Band”
The character’s pathos and self-loathing even in 1970, unfortunately, it was prevalent within the majority of the “homosexual” population at that time. The movie is historically significant as Hollywood’s first explicitly gay-themed film – ever. All the guests are gay and one is presumably “straight” (non-gay, heterosexual). Before the night is over, the conversation turns bitter and ugly – hilarious one minute and excruciatingly painful the next.
The Plot:
The action is set in New York City in the latter-half of the 1960’s decade, It is definitely the post-hippie period and quite obviously pre-Stonewall/gay liberation. Michael is an alcoholic-in-recovery who is hosting a surprise birthday party for his best friend, Harold. As the guests arrive, the atmosphere is upbeat and festive until Alan arrives and the mood dampens and the tensions mount.
Then “Cowboy Tex” a hustler and a “surprise gift” for Harold enters and words are exchanged between Emory and Alan. Michael begins drinking again and the guests continue to argue and to criticize. At this point, Harold makes a classic entrance for the party in his honour and the drama borders on turmoil. As the party ends and the guests depart, the movie ends with Michael sobbing his misery to Donald.
Being same gender loving in the 1960’s was no fun-filled picnic!
Summery:
The film, “The Boys In The Band,” did introduce some positive aspects to the new and growing gay identification for the predominately “closeted” (secretive) homosexual population. It also helped to bring the awareness and discussion of homosexuality into the national dialogue – although not always in the most positive manner.
It also introduced a new film genre into the motion picture industry.
In some ways, it helped to energize and fuel the gay liberation movement. Within the emerging community, it served as an identifiable reminder of the life no one wanted to return to. It also eventually radically changed the way society perceived same gender loving people.
Happy GLBTQ+ Bare History Month!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for tomorrow, Tuesday, October 31, 2023, and the proposed topic is: “Bottoms-Up! 2023 Bare History Month!”
Notation: I’m certain there are some beaches on our planet where it’s conducive to skinny-dip during the month of October!
October’s Bright Blue Weather
by: Helen Hunt Jackson
O suns and skies and clouds of June,
and flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October’s bright blue weather.
When loud the bumble-bee makes haste,
Belated, thriftless, vagrant,
And golden-rod is dying fast,
And lanes with grapes are fragrant;
When gentians roll their fringes tight
to save them for the morning,
And chestnuts fall from satin burrs
Without a sound of warning;
When on the ground red apples lie
In piles like jewels shining,
And redder still on old stone walls
Are leaves of woodbine twining;
When all the lovely wayside things
Their white-winged seeds are sowing,
And in the fields, still green and fair,
Late aftermaths are growing;
When springs run low, and on the brooks,
In idle golden freighting,
Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
Of woods, for winter waiting;
When comrades seek sweet country haunts,
By twos and twos together,
And counts like misers, hour by hour,
October’s bright blue weather.
O suns and skies and flowers of June,
Count all your boasts together,
Love loveth best of all the year
October’s bright blue weather.
End
********************
While my identical twin brother, Alex, and I were students at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind residential school, we had several teachers who had us memorize poetry and then recite the poems using American Sign Language (ASL) in front of our class. Fine. Memorizing wasn’t impossible but the order of the grammar the poets used and the sense it did not make was confusing. Delightful students that we were, we simply committed the poems to our memory and put comprehension to the wayside. After all, our task was simple: complete the job and move on to the next level.
Our teachers always explained to us students and to our parents that this lesson of us reciting poetry helped us to develop comprehension of English as a language, as opposed to ASL. That may have appeared as a valid reasoning for a few but we students understood it for exactly what it was intended to be: busy work! Keep us occupied!
October foliage!
Our teacher who required us to commit this poem, “October’s Bright Blue Weather” was one of my personal favourites of my primary school years. This happened to be the very first of nine poems she assigned us. Even today, I am still able to recall the first opening lines of the poem, without hesitation.
Enjoy “October’s Bright Blue Weather!”
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, October 30, 2023, and the proposed topic is: “The Boys In The Band!”
ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers! 