Aaron and I depart early tomorrow morning with a serious family crisis. His six year old nephew is scheduled for tests and a biopsy this week. He is the first offspring born in Aaron’s family after our wedding in 2015 – he was actually born on our first wedding anniversary. As Aaron’s family is Roman Catholic and I am Greek Orthodox, therefore, I am his “unofficial” and honorary godfather.
” Minds are like parachutes – they only function when open.” ~ Thomas Dewar ~
There’s absolutely nothing that either one of us can honestly do except to be present with the family and to offer our love and support. We will be at Aaron’s parents home in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for at least the week. Hopefully, the emergency will be resolved before we return. If not, we’re able to stay as long as needed.
Prior to learning of Aaron’s nephew’s condition, I had already composed a post for tomorrow, November 22, 2022. After that, the next post is scheduled for November 25th and is an interview with a new friend! Please check him out!
Happy Thanksgiving to all enjoying the holiday!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for tomorrow, Tuesday, November 22, 2022, and the proposed topic: “My Papa and JFK!”
Actually, very few people are absolutely certain of the official proper name for this particular male garment. Every language has both an “official” (proper) name for the garment with many colloquial (unofficial) names used by the general public.
The undisputed label is “athletic supporter.” Although first used for bicyclists, the popularity of athletics for younger people caused the usage to broaden into all areas of sports.
Essentially, the garment – a form of underwear – is masculine and utilized to protect the extended anatomical offerings for that gender. Comparable to the “bra” worn by women. The purpose of this male garment is to offer support and limited protection for the testicles.
Felipe Ferreira rotating in an athletic supporter!
The name first used to promote the style of underwear was “bicycle supporter.” In the 1890’s it was sold primarily to cyclists to be worn while riding (jockey) a bicycle on bumpy, uneven and unpaved roads. The purpose was to prevent damage and/or discomfort to the man in his genitalia.
Soon, the popular garment came to be known as a “jockey strap” until the early 1960’s when the slang name (street name) was shortened to “jock strap.”
The popularity of men being commando (not wearing any underwear) under their shorts or pants has mistakenly been thought as synonymous with wearing an athletic supporter.
It is also referred to as a “genital girdle” or “genitalia girdle” although that is discouraged by the general public.
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry for here is planned for Friday, November 18, 2022, and the proposed topic is: “Friday Footnote: Bullying!”
Today, November 11, 1918, at 11:00 a.m., the armistice (cessation of fighting) went into effect thus ending the bloodshed of the Great War – World War I. Four years of fighting were finally over. Millions of civilians and military were dead in the largest war the world had seen, up to that time.
The agreement to enactment of the armistice only stopped the ballistics. The treaty guaranteeing peace wasn’t signed until the following June 28, 1919 – five years to the day after Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated which triggered the eruption of the war.
This day became known as Armistice Day throughout the world, so named because of the document that ended the hostilities. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth it is designated Remembrance Day in honour of all those who have died in the defence of the Crown. In the USA it is named Veteran’s Day as a tribute to all those who have defended this country.
The poppy bloom!
Because of its profusion in the Flanders region of western Belgium and northern France, where the majority of the battles of the Western Front of the Great War happened, the poppy bloom was convenient to use to lay on the graves of those killed during the conflict. That is the reason for the popular poem commemorating the event and the fallen lives.
In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
we lived, felt dawn, saw sunsets glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
in Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
to you from failing hands we throw
The torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
in Flanders fields.
********************
“No more slaughter, no more maiming, no more mud and blood and no more killing and disemboweling of horses and mules – which was what I found most difficult to bear. No more of those hopeless dawns with the rain chilling the spirits, no more crouching in inadequate dug-outs scooped out of trench walls, no more dodging of sniper bullets, no more of that terrible shell-fire. No more shovelling up bits of men’s bodies and dumping them into sandbags, no more cries of “stretcher – bear – ERS!” No more of those beastly gas-masks and the odious smell of pear-drops which was deadly to the lumps, and no more writing of those dreadfully difficult letters to the next-of-kin of the dead.” ~ Lieutenant R. G. Dixon
“The Wheels of Darkness” by Lt. R. G. Dixon
********************
A day to honour and to pay tribute. A day to remember and to salute. A day to vow never again.
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, November 14, 2022, and the proposed topic is: “What Is It?”
Now that I’ve captured your undivided attention and curiosity with my AKA (also known as) alternate title for today’s posting, Modelling Legacy. Growing up, I’d never even considered modelling while bare as a job option. Our parents always emphasized education, specifically university, which, for a Deaf gay adolescent eliminated posing clothes free as a lifetime career. The sole focus was knowledge, then employment.
While studying to earn my baccalaureate degree, I learned the both the fine art program and the photography art program at my university employed post-graduate students to pose as naked models for respective under-graduate (baccalaureate) classes. An ideal job for me to begin after being awarded my inaugural degree! Perfect for my bare practitioner (gay nudist) self! I could now be paid to be clothes free all day long on campus!
The summer after my university graduation seemed to me as endless. I was anxious and eager to begin my “career” as a nude model. I wasn’t an art student at university and had almost no interaction with any of those who had posed clothes free prior to me.
Leafy posing!
As the September of my post-graduate student life arrived, my limited (non-existent) contact with the university’s “model” team was solely with a member of the adjunct art faculty also served as the academic advisor to the school’s Lavender Club (at that time, the bisexual, gay and lesbian student group). As the club’s advisor, he knew that I was same gender loving but only aware of my nudist preference upon receipt of my application for the modelling programme.
He immediately acknowledged my enthusiasm for any and all opportunities to pose naked. He inquired of my knowledge of and/or interest in Washington, D.C.’s gay nudist social group, Lambda Soleil. He later introduced me to the organization and sponsored my membership therein.
Leafy prostration!
The Leaf Incident:
My first working day as a bare model was a “double” engagement. In the late morning, I posed inside one of the art studios for a class of first year art students. It wasn’t a surprise job as all it entailed was sitting on a stool in front of the class – totally naked. The major task was remaining still (lifeless) for ninety minutes.
Later that afternoon, with two other nude models, we posed outdoors in a massive pile of leaves for a photography class. This assignment, as explained by our model coordinator, involved us interacting with one another and, of course, with the leaves. The students were expected to capture on film a series of photos depicting autumn play.
Once the class assembled, I realized that all five of the students were gay. Our model advisor had not shared this to any of us before we agreed to this session. As an openly gay man myself, it was no problem for me. None of the other models seemed bothered by this. While the class was taking pictures, it was revealed by our modelling “boss” that the purpose of this photo-shoot was to show gay men in autumn play!
The two others that were modelling with me on this project were both several years older than me and with previous modelling experience at the university. One – whom I recognized – had been a member of the Lavender Club and identified as a bisexual man. The other one I never knew his sexuality.
Our “boss-man” appeared on site just as we were about to start our modelling exercise. He was introduced to the class by the instructor and as he reviewed the university’s guidelines for working with bare models (no personal or intimate contact allowed) he began stripping off his clothes! He was present to “supervise” our photo-shoot!
Receiving directions for a photo-shoot session!
I immediately began asking myself: did he need to be naked in order to supervise us posing nude? Was he going to be at every photo-shoot clothes free? Given all the attention he had given me during the last couple of weeks, the other models let me know that he obviously had an ulterior motive for stripping off his garments!
Once the photography instructor signaled “commence” we became active with our pile (mountain) of leaves. We took dives into leaves, we rolled in the leaves, we buried ourselves in leaves and gave each other leaf “showers!” There were only a small number of activities that we didn’t attempt to engage in. Cameras captured our images as we caroused ourselves in leaves!
After an hour of “playing” and posing in the leaves, I became light-headed and had trouble breathing. Suddenly, I fainted! Down on the ground! The next thing that I was aware was lying on my back after being revived by a nurse from the university clinic. A few minutes later, a mobile trauma unit arrived to transport me to the GWU (George Washington University) hospital. My face and neck were flushed (red) and heavily swollen, I continued to have shortness of breath and a severe bruise and laceration on the back of my head. I was kept overnight in hospital for monitoring and test results.
I have a severe allergy to leaf mold. It had never affected me previously. However, I never remember being that involved with that amount of moldy leaves before for that amount of time – almost 90 minutes.
Shortly after I returned to campus, a notice was displayed on the message board adjacent to the administration offices of the School of Art, Photography and Media:
“Roger does not play well with leaves!”
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry for here is planned for Sunday, November 6, 2022, and the proposed topic is: “Clocks Back!”
Brazilian-born fashion and bare practitioner model Felipe Ferreira is very proud of his pride tattoo and has no qualms about his same gender loving sexuality nor his preference for nudity. As his career has progressed, he is increasingly comfortable about both of those aspects of his private life.
Felipe Ferreira
Unfortunately, sometimes the photography captures the tattoo in reverse but that doesn’t stop our model from continuing to flaunt his pride in being himself! edirP (Pride spelled backwards) is not a recognizable word (spoken or text) in any human language that I am aware.
Felipe adjusting his purple underwear briefs!
Felipe initially attracted my attention in 2017, when his employment as a model for men’s underwear launched. At the time, he garnered celebrity status as a bold and honest openly bisexual man with his pride tattoo proclaiming his sexuality.
Two years later, in 2019, Felipe publicly announced himself as an exclusively same gender loving (gay) man. In his interview, he credited his bisexual “cover” as the work of a modeling agency’s public relations expert intent on advancement in his career.
Underwear and GLBTQ+ Rainbow flag!
At that time, the publicity person’s deception was labelled a falsehood with the goal of keeping Felipe as appealing to both men and women. He readily admitted to his discomfort and regret with the duplicity regarding his sexual nature. In his interview he stated:
“The reason for my having the pride tattoo is my confidence in being a same gender loving man! We all know that pride in who we are is not just limited to the month of June. A tattoo is one way to show our pride to all 365 days every year.” ~ Felipe Ferreira ~ gay model, 2019
Of course, we all know that the wearing of a pride tattoo is no guarantee that we automatically experience the confidence we desire. The tattoo itself doesn’t bestow pride – it is merely symbolic of what we achieve through self-acceptance, effort and hard work. Ferreira understands this and by his example – the pride tattoo and being the man he truly is – is showing others his self-acceptance and reminding us all of his pride!
Modeling his jock-strap (athletic supporter)!
Aside from his modelling men’s underwear, his professional engagements have expanded into music as well. He is a professional DJ promoting popular and progressive house, hip-hop and reggae. In this industrial field, being clothes free and same gender loving is not a concern or a problem.
Felipe’s pride isn’t restricted to just his sexuality. Some of his more recent photography assignments openly depict his confidence and self-acceptance of his nakedness. He’s never personally felt any conflict or discomfort whenever he privately engaged in a social nudity situation although with his modelling career he has been “encouraged” by industry publicists to pursue – at the very least – appearing underwear.
Felipe Ferreira (buttocks) with openly gay Raphael Horst!
Clarification:
Felipe Ferreira does not publicly self-identify with the label: bare practitioner. Probably because many people misunderstand the distinction. He does openly acknowledge himself as a gay nudist – which qualifies himself for that identity.
Now, as his celebrity and professionalism has increased and soared, his recognition and his same gender loving status is no longer considered a major issue. He now appears in male only scenes on camera and video with other openly gay and bare entertainers (soft pornography). In the image directly above with Raphael Horst and below with Shabazz, he promotes his bare practitioner comfort and pride!
Felipe kissing Shabazz with pride!
“Gay and naked is who and what I am as a man. It is not a problem or a reason for shame. It is me and my tattoo!” ~ Felipe Ferreira ~ gay model, 2021
Obviously, he needs no more for a Halloween costume than his pride tattoo! As a bare practitioner, do we require any better endorsement? In my humble opinion, Felipe Ferreira’s company is enough example and recommendation!
Happy Halloween!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry for here is planned for Monday, October 31, 2022, and the proposed topic is: “Bottoms-Up! Happy Halloween!”
There have been times in our lives when we have looked upon a picture and wondered: What is the meaning of this? Either the subject or the actual photographer (or perhaps both) are communicating but…what is the message?
Is he bidding farewell?
Is he expressing sorrow?
Gratitude?
Remorse?
Humility?
Sometimes, communicating using body language (expressions, body positioning) is very similar to using sign language (the communication language for us Deaf persons). Body language may not have the grammar and syntax that sign language does but both are visual instead of hearing.
Task:
With the popularity of today’s “selfie” photography, think of a message that you would like to convey to others. Consider your options for posing and then capture your pose in a photo. Share your images with friends – fellow bare practitioners if you posed naked – and ask if they understand your meaning or purpose.
Have fun engaging in your body language assignment!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, October 28, 2022, and the proposed topic is: “Felipe: Tattoo Costume!”
The significance of this date and designation is based on the design of the original Rainbow Flag for the entire gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer + (GLBTQ+) communities and our shared culture! It is also a feature of our history!
Original GLBTQ+ Rainbow flag and colour representations!
Spirit may be described as a very strong loyalty and/or dedication. Basically it is a vital principle or animating force traditionally believed to be within living beings (humans). It also is considered the aspect of a human being associated with the mind and feelings as distinguished from the physical body – a particular mood or emotional state characterized by animation and vigor.
Rainbow/peace design framed in purple!
Observation and Background:
Spirit Day is an annual GLBTQ+ awareness day of recent development. It is currently held on the third Thursday in October in conjunction with GLBTQ+ History Month and in synchronization with Unity Day for younger children. The occasion began in 2010 by Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan in response to a significant number of bullying-related suicides of same gender loving students – the most notorious being Tyler Clementi: a student at Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA, who jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge – at the age of 18 – on September 22, 2010. On September 19, of that year, Tyler’s collegiate roommate, Dharun Ravi, had posted on Twitter a clip showing Clementi kissing another man in their dormitory room. Neither Tyler nor his partner had knowledge or given permission for the Twitter posting. Ravi and another student were both convicted in court.
Purple Spirit Day Awareness Ribbon!
Promoted by the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) from the inaugural Spirit Day, participants wear the colour purple as a visible sign of awareness and support for the campaign. This program is now pursued by many as a move against all bullying in general during what is now determined to be National Bullying Prevention Month (October).
The very first Spirit Day was held on Wednesday, October 20, 2010. It was followed by a Thursday observance on Thursday, October 20, 2011, and then on Friday, October 19, 2012. In 2013, GLAAD made the decision to move the occasion from the actual date to the third Thursday of the month. Since then, it has adhered to the Thursday designation.
Purple “outsider!”
The above graphic demonstrates the popularity of the Spirit Day awareness among those of the population (especially teenagers) who strive for conformity. Hopefully, the ideals of freedom from bullying will progress forward from now and into the future.
Wrapped in purple for Spirit Day!
Personal experience:
I remember my very first Spirit Day. Aaron, my spouse, and I had just moved in together – marriage equality in 2010 was just a hope at that time – and when we learned of the event, we together made almost 500 purple awareness ribbons in honour of the occasion. The plan was to evenly divide the ribbons for distribution at his worksite (hospital) and my workplace (university).
We were both uncertain as to the response from our coworkers. Using our home computers, we created an information invitation announcing the free purple ribbon availability for Spirit Day (to combat bullying against GLBTQ+ people – real or suspected). That morning, October, 20, 2010, while we were getting ready to leave for work, before we dressed we both body-painted a purple awareness ribbon on one another’s chests. (This suggestion can be used by bare practitioners everywhere to comply and participate!)
We were both impressed with the reactions at our jobs! Every single ribbon that we had created was taken! This despite the fact that a large number of students at my university and staff at Aaron’s hospital were already wearing the colour purple!
An awesome revolution against sexual orientation bullying!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry for here is planned for Monday, October 24, 2022, and the proposed topic is: “Purpose?”
National Coming Out Day is a gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer+ (GLBTQ+) awareness day that is observed annually on October 11. Since the inception in 1988, it encourages all GLBTQ+ to take steps on this occasion to “come out” of the closet and not to be ashamed of who and what you are. The original concept was to make the personal acknowledgement into a political statement in support of GLBTQ+ civil rights.
The emphasis of this day is on the basic form of activism which is being openly and proudly who you are and sharing this reality with family, friends and colleagues. The goal is to live your life as a confident bisexual, gay or lesbian person without any guilt or retribution. Those of us who are bare practitioners have supplemented this qualification with being an “out” naturist/nudist.
The term “in the closet” refers to the custom or habit of life before the Stonewall Inn riots of 1969, when practically all GLBTQ+ people lived “in the closet” (secretive) lives in order to keep their jobs, the love of their family and their social place in general society.
Brock Bradley: openly “out” – gay and naked!
What inspired the first observation of Coming Out Day is the fact that homophobia thrives in an atmosphere of bigotry, ignorance and silence. Once people realize that they have a loved one or an acquaintance who is bisexual, gay or lesbian, they are less willing to remain with homophobic or repressive inclinations. That’s reason for encouraging people to “come out of the closet” and let the world know your true identity. There is simply “no shame” in being who we are!
The October 11, date was selected because it was the anniversary of the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. This was the first national gathering in support of GLBTQ+ equality observed in the USA.
National Coming Out Day!
The early events of Coming Out Day often coincided with celebrities and/or other persons of note openly and publicly acknowledging their GLBTQ+ identity. Later, the practice of the tabloid media disclosing a person as being bisexual, gay or lesbian – often without their permission. This publicly “outing” someone was very controversial and usually accompanied by negative attacks on the disclosing media.
The involuntary coming out process was short-lived as the rapidly expanding HIV/AIDS crisis soon replaced the newsworthiness of sexual orientation exposure. For many, an AIDS diagnosis was synonymous with the the coming out announcement.
Today, the observance is another day of proudly reminding others of both what and who we essentially are. There is no longer the absolute necessity to remain “closeted” throughout much of the world.
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, October 14, 2022, and the proposed topic is: “Breaking Bare-iers #3!”
The headline photograph is the current Progress version of the GLBTQ+ pride flag that represents our community and our culture. Despite our novelty among the numerous movements in the civil rights world, we do have a history of different banners and what they symbolize waving above us. This “first Friday” of the 2022 GLBTQ+ History Month will examine and share images of these and briefly offer a story of the respective flag.
The Pink Triangle Flag:
The Pink Triangle flag!
The downward-pointing pink triangle was used by Nazi Germany as a badge of shame. It was sewn onto the shirts of homosexual (gay) men in concentration camps to identify and dehumanize them.
Homosexuality was made illegal in Germany in 1871, but it was rarely enforced. When the Nazi Party assumed control in 1933, it was made a priority in order to culturally and racially “purify” Germany. The Nazis arrested tens of thousands of GLBTQ+ individuals, the majority whom were homosexual men, whom they viewed as degenerate.
The early 1970s was when the gay rights movement began to emerge worldwide (after the 1969 Stonewall Inn riots) and various organizations reclaimed the pink triangle as an empowering symbol. It also serves as a reminder to remember the past – and to recognize the persecution GLBTQ+ people continue to suffer around the world.
The Lambda Flag:
Greek letter Lambda flag!
The Greek letter, lambda, was first chosen as a gay symbol when, in 1970, for the first anniversary of the Stonewall Inn Riots (SIR), it was adopted by New York City’s local chapter of Gay Activist Alliance as the emblem of their growing movement of gay liberation. Some identified the Greek letter with the representation of the word “liberation.”
In 1974, lambda was subsequently adopted by the International Gay Rights Congress meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, as their official symbol designating gay, bisexual and lesbian civil rights. Following this selection, lambda became internationally popular and recognized as representing the growing movement for civil rights for all people, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation.
Lambda was first designated in December, 1969, as representative of the new gay liberation movement by the graphic artist and one of the Gay Activist Alliance’s founding members, Tom Doerr. Doerr chose the letter because in chemistry it was a sign for catalyst. Others argue that lambda denoted the synergy of the growing gay movement: the idea of the whole being greater than the sum of all its parts.
Some view the lambda as being synonymous with males exclusively.
The Rainbow Flag:
The Rainbow flag!
First publicly raised on June 25, 1978, in San Francisco, California, USA, the flag flew over the United Nations Plaza in honour of then-gay pride at the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. The original flag consisted of eight coloured stripes and was designed by Gilbert Baker and hand-stitched and dyed with the help of friends and volunteers Lynn Segerblom, James McNamara, Glenne McElhinney, Joe Duran, and Paul Langlotz.
The eight-stripe original rainbow flag was soon revised to six stripes with pink (symbolizing “sex”) and turquoise (symbolizing “art and magic”) eliminated as the colours and dyes were unavailable in flag fabric. Baker conceived the flag would empower his “tribe” and a “rainbow of humanity” motif would represent the movement’s diversity.
The six stripes and what the colours represent:
Rainbow flag and symbolic colours!
The six stripes on the revised rainbow flag symbolize values held dear and not the various people comprising the community and culture.
The Progress Pride Flag:
The Progress Pride flag!
The Progress Pride flag was developed by non-binary artist and designer Daniel Quasar in 2018. Based on Gilbert Baker’s 1978 Rainbow flag, Quasar’s redesign celebrates the diversity of the GLBTQ+ community and culture worldwide and encourages a more inclusive general society. The redesigned banner has increased the representation of discriminated minority identities covered by the GLBTQ+ umbrella.
Quasar’s creation placed black and brown stripes (emblems representing peoples of colour) and light blue, pink and white stripes (representing transgender, non-binary and intersex persons) in the shape of an arrow on the left of the Progress Pride flag. In Daniel Quasar’s words “…the arrow points to the right to show forward movement and illustrates that progress towards inclusivity still needs to be made.”
The black stripe has a double meaning as it is also intended for “those living with HIV/AIDS and the stigma and prejudice surrounding them and those who have died from the disease.”
Progress Pride body painted design!
The Progress Pride flag has been immediately an international success. On the evening of June 6, 2018, Quasar posted the design on social media and woke up the next morning to find that it had gone viral. It has been enthusiastically received by the GLBTQ+ community and culture all around the globe!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, October 10, 2022, and the proposed topic is: “Coming Out Day!”
ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers! 