Interview 7

At this point, we ended the interview. (Click here

to find out what happened next.) Much later, as I headed back for San Diego, I understood Andrew’s message: Real men don’t wear clothes. Going nude in a nude-phobic society is a test of manhood: do you have the courage to do the right thing? Are you willing to take the medicine society will dish out to you if you break their rules?

A stripper intrigues you as he strips down to a g-string. But he only mesmerizes you if he’s permitted to step out of the g-string and really break the final taboo against exposing the penis. Likewise with a skimpy bathing suit: intriguing when you see it, but mesmerizing on a nude beach when removed.

A few nights later I awoke in the middle of the night with an incredible fantasy. What if there were a superhero who only could access his super powers when he was totally nude? Superheros typically exercise their powers when they put on a special costume -- typically something involving dorky tights. What if you were a superhero who got your powers only when you removed your clothes? What if he had a radical bod and wanted to do good: fight homophobia, sexism, right-wing censorship, and sexual uptightness?

This superhero would put on Clark Kent glasses to disguise his face, of course -- but he’d also wear a costume with a padded pot belly to cover up his radical bod. When the world needed him, he’d strip naked and confound the enemies of sexual awakening by leading them astray with their stares! A man walking around in shorts no longer has the power to shock us in the late 20th century. But a man walking around in his birthday suit acquires incredible power -- over friends and enemies alike.

Marvel Comics, are you listening? Naked Dude is ready to fight -- and he looks a lot like Andrew Martinez!

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Real Men Don’t Wear Clothes

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