Naked and Really Afraid

So, there’s a new show out on VH1 called Dating Naked. The idea, a man and a woman meet one another on a tropical island, take off their clothes, date one another. Then, they do it again with two other prospective partners. At the end, the original two contestants decide who they want to get naked with from this day forth.

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I think what happened was that the producers got the idea from Naked and Afraid, a program that takes complete strangers, a man and a woman, throws them together naked in on island with a knife and some flint and expects them to survive for three weeks. They said, “What would happen if the two didn’t have to survive, but we kept them on an island with no clothes on?”

So, I’m initially thinking this is just for ratings and the idea of having a date naked with a complete stranger really is not going to help a relationship take off. But, after watching the first episode, I am thinking otherwise.

The original contestants were a Guido from New Jersey and an average looking woman about a decade older than him. Along the way, the Guido gets to date a dark-haired Barbie looking young lady, and I’m thinking he’s going to go for her, but in the end he heads back to his original partner, although she didn’t have the ideal body and cover girl face. Surprise!

So, what happened? I think that, at least in this first episode, after the initial discomfort of being naked with a stranger wears off, there’s no more of that wondering “What’s this person going to look like in bed?” That whole sexual aspect of a first date is stripped away once it’s thrown in your face. There’s nothing to hide, no push-up bras or socks stuffed in skivvies to give false impressions. You can’t flatter your best parts nor hide your less than best with clothes. It’s all out on the table.

Once it’s been thrown in your face, you can get down to really knowing the other person. I would have thought just the opposite, that the nudity would distract from the personality, but Guido proved me wrong.

What does this mean for your relationship? Guess it’s time to mow the lawn, do the dishes and balance the checkbook in the raw… you know, to get to know your partner better.