Nakedness and colonialism

Nakedness and colonialism is about the role of the unclothed bodies of Indigenous peoples in the history of contact with Western cultures and the emergence of concepts of race. In all human societies, bodily adornments of many kinds are part of nonverbal communications, indicating social status, wealth, and individuality. In climates which do not require clothing, Indigenous adornments are more often body paint, modifications such as tattoos and scarification, and jewelry, but they serve the same social functions as clothing.^[2]

Europeans made interpretations of indigenous nakedness based upon their own culture and experiences, which were ambivalent regarding nudity. In classical Greek and Roman cultures, nudity was normal in many situations, which were depicted in art.^[3] In classical antiquity, only the Abrahamic religions viewed the body as shameful, requiring modest dress except in private spaces or when segregated by sex. In post-classical history, public nudity became associated not only with low status, but with moral decay based upon Christian beliefs.^[4] With the rediscovery of Greek culture by the Western world during the Renaissance, the nude in art became idealized, but distinct from nakedness in everyday life.^[5]

In the tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania, responses to encounters between Indigenous and Western cultures varied, and changed during the centuries of colonization, but were generally based upon the assumption of Western peoples and culture being more advanced.^[6] The effects of colonialism continue in contemporary non-Western societies. Outside urban areas, some retain or seek to reestablishing Indigenous cultural practices that include traditional nakedness, while in cities, residents have generally adopted Western concepts of modest dress.