I just added a bunch of Rocky people to my friends list– certainly not all of my friends from Rocky, but a start. So here’s a question that I’ve been pondering for all the Rocky’s.

Rocky parties are great hives of debauchery, with plenty of drinking, drugs, and some intimate contact. And a little public nudity, but not so much. In fact, I’ve noticed a real hesitancy from people to be fully unclothed at parties, and it seems so at odds with the stated norms of the group that I have to ask: am I missing something?

I think that most people, even some of the solidly gay ones, would agree that naked women are nicer to look at than naked men. Most men just look a little silly naked. But some guy has gotten publicly naked at the majority of the Rocky parties I’ve attended, while women almost never do. Sometimes that guy has been me, and the comments I get usually aren’t compliments (Variations on “Wow you’re hairy.” are most common), but people seem to appreciate that someone has gotten naked anyway. Wouldn’t naked women be even better? What’s discouraging them?

I understand that a lot of Rocky people are pretty young, and maybe haven’t come to terms with their bodies, but I don’t think that’s the issue– public nudity is just outside the culture in a way that surprises me. I happen to think that most people are more beautiful naked than in even the most becoming outfits, although I could understand people thinking otherwise. Is it that you’re concerned about being objectified or misunderstood if you get naked to quickly?

I’m also surprised at this because it seems more conservative that what I’m used to at MIT. At least in the groups that I frequent, when we have a play sex games (which admittedly isn’t often), sooner or later we’re all playing the game naked. And when we call shirtless’o’clock, it means topless’o’clock, and bras go too. Are MIT students just more sexually liberated then Rocky people?