Material Presence and the Detox Delusion: Insights from Social Nudism

Abstract

Tous à Poil! (Everybody Gets Naked!), a book for children, aimed at countering images of the ideal body, often undressed, elicited austere reactions. This study considers the mythic elements of the clothed body as explicative of such austerity. An analysis of clothing absence in the context of social nudism reveals that the myth of the clothed body cannot easily be remythologized or adapted to suit individual preferences. Rather, social interactions in contemporary societies remain largely locked in material presence. This study calls for public policymakers and social marketers to consider dominating myths as possible constraints to anticonsumption and consumer well‐being.

Anticonsumption as Tactical Response to Institutionalized Subordination: The Case of Materially Deprived Anticonsumers

“…By controlling, avoiding, or reducing consumption, self-motivated anticonsumers intend to elaborate a more authentic, self-affirming, and self-generated persona against the dominant ideology of consumption. Self-motivated anticonsumption has been highlighted in studies on simple living (Cherrier and Murray 2007), temporal clothing abstinence (Cherrier 2016), or identity brand avoidance (Lee, Motion, and Conroy 2009).…”

Consume Less and Be Happy? Consume Less to Be Happy! An Introduction to the Special Issue on Anti‐Consumption and Consumer Well‐Being

“…In the paper “Material Presence and the Detox Delusion: Insights from Social Nudism,” Cherrier () utilizes narratives of social nudism to elucidate the mythic construction of the clothed body. In doing so, she challenges us to consider social nudism as one of the most radical forms of anti‐consumption, since the consumption of clothing is so ubiquitous, it has become a routinized, habitual, and taken‐for‐granted component of human civilization.…”