It’s the classic tale of boy meets girl, but here’s the twist: they’re both naked.
“Dating Naked” will premiere on VH1 on July 17th and make viewers all across the country feel like Peeping Toms. The premise of the show is for a naked man and naked woman to date two other naked suitors in some exotic location and then decide which person should move onto another date.
This is not the first time network television has left nothing to the imagination. “Naked and Afraid” is now in its third season on the Discovery network, averaging 1.17 million viewers an episode. The show takes a man and a woman survivalist and sets them out into the jungle in their birthday suits to survive for 21 days.
After the 21 days have passed, the contestants are usually dehydrated and malnourished and must be taken to the hospital. However, probably the funniest part of the show is not the fact that these people signed up to do this, but the look on the driver’s face after he drops them off. Usually a native to the country, the look of disbelief on the driver’s face as the person hops out into the jungle then strips down is priceless – a look that says, “Is this really what Americans do for entertainment?”
Sadly it is. Networks are hopping on the naked bandwagon, and TLC has just released its new show, “Buying Naked,” which follows Jackie Youngblood, the top nudist community realtor in the country. Youngblood helps clients find the perfect home in Pasco County, Florida, which is the “Nudist Capital of America.”
Each show does follow FCC regulations, but even through blurred bars, there isn’t much left unseen. The show’s goal is to show viewers what happens when we strip everything away and have nothing to hide behind when we first meet someone.
In a Tinder society of hookups and OkCupid dates, have we stopped taking the time to know someone before taking everything else off? Twenty years ago, television was just breaking new ground on the nudity front. There was one lady who changed the game: Monica Lewinsky. She lit the fire not only in Bill Clinton’s loins, but ignited a conversation around the country about sex and politics that had never before been discussed in such a ?public manner.
The FCC may have a long way to go with its risque regulations, but if nudist communities, naked dating and marriage proposals based on computer data are any indication of things to come, then it won’t be long till those rules come ?crumbling down.
