The habitual use of clothing is one of the changes that mark the end of the Neolithic and the beginning of civilization, between 7,000 and 9,000 years ago. Much of what is known about the early history of clothing is from depictions of the higher classes, there being few surviving artifacts. Everyday behaviors are rarely represented in historical records. Clothing and adornment became part of the symbolic communication that marked a person's membership in their society, thus nakedness meant being at the bottom of the social scale, lacking in dignity and status. In each culture, ornamentation represented the wearer's place in society; position of authority, economic class, gender role, and marital status. From the beginning of civilization, there was ambiguity regarding everyday nakedness and the nudity in depictions of deities and heroes indicating positive meanings of the unclothed body. Among ancient civilizations only Abrahamic societies associated nakedness primarily with sin or shame regarding sexuality.
Ancient and classical history For millennia from Mesopotamia to the Middle Kingdom of Egypt the majority of men and women wore a cloth wrapped or tied to cover the lower part of the body. Both men and women would be bare-chested and barefoot. Complete nakedness was embarrassing due to the social connotations of low status and deprivation rather than shame regarding sexuality. Slaves might not be provided with clothing. Other workers would be naked while performing many tasks, particularly if hot, dirty, or wet; farmers, fishermen, herders, and those working close to fires or ovens. Only the upper classes were habitually dressed. It was not until the later periods, in particular the New Kingdom of Egypt (1550–1069 BCE), that functionaries in the households of the wealthy began wearing refined dress, and upper-class women wore elaborate dresses and ornamentation which covered their breasts. These later styles are often shown in film and television as representing Ancient Egypt in all periods.
Male nudity was celebrated in ancient Greece to a greater degree than any culture before or since. The status of freedom, maleness, privilege, and physical virtues were asserted by discarding everyday clothing for athletic nudity. Nudity became a ritual costume by association of the naked body with the beauty and power of the gods who were depicted as perfect naked humans. In Etruscan and early Roman athletics, in which masculinity involved prudishness and paranoia about effeminacy, the Greek traditions were not maintained because public nudity became associated with homoeroticism. In the Roman Empire (27 BCE – 476 CE), the status of the upper classes was such that nudity was of no concern for men, and for women only if seen by their social superiors. At the Roman baths (thermae), which had social functions similar to a modern beach, mixed nude bathing may have been the norm up to the fourth century CE.
Colonialism and racism The encounter between the Indigenous cultures of Africa, the Americas and Oceania with Europeans had a significant effect on all cultures. Because clothing and body adornments are such an important part of nonverbal communications, the relative lack of body coverings was one of the first things explorers noticed when they encountered Indigenous peoples of the tropics. Non-western cultures during the period were naked only by comparison to Western norms. The genitals or entire lower body of adults were covered by garments in most situations, while the upper body of both men and women might be unclothed. However, lacking the western concept of shame regarding the body, such garments might be removed in public for practical or ceremonial purposes. Children until puberty and sometimes women until marriage might be naked.
All humans lived in hunter-gatherer societies until 20,000 years ago, and they were naked. In the tropical regions of Africa, Australia, the Americas and Southeast Asia, this way of life continued until a few hundred years ago. Perhaps the last uncontacted hunter-gatherers are the community of a few hundred individuals on one of the Andaman Islands. The Europeans who first contacted tropical peoples reported that they were unashamedly naked, only occasionally wrapping themselves in capes in colder weather. Many pastoral societies in warmer climates are also minimally clothed or naked while working. This practice continued when western clothing was first introduced; for example, Aboriginal Australians in 1819 wore only the jackets they were given, but not pants. Western ambivalence could be expressed by responding to the nakedness of natives as either a sign of rampant sexuality or of the innocence that preceded the "fall of man".
Cultural differences Norms related to nudity are associated with norms regarding personal freedom, human sexuality, and gender roles, which vary widely among contemporary societies. Situations where private or public nudity is accepted vary. Indigenous peoples retain pre-colonial norms to varying degrees. People in Western cultures may practice social nudity within the confines of semi-private facilities such as naturist resorts, while other seek more open acceptance of nudity in everyday life and in public spaces designated as clothing-optional.
Africa In the Islamic societies of Africa, nudity is forbidden, while in sub-Saharan countries that never abandoned—or are reasserting—pre-colonial norms, partial or complete nudity is accepted as natural. In contemporary rural villages, both boys and girls are allowed to play totally nude, and women bare their breasts in the belief that the meaning of naked bodies is not limited to sexuality. Full or partial nudity is observed among some Burkinabese and Nilo-Saharan (e.g. Nuba and Surma people)—during particular occasions; for example, stick-fighting tournaments in Ethiopia. In Lagos, Nigeria, some parents continue to allow children to be naked until puberty. There is now an issue with strangers taking photographs, and they worry about pedophiles, but want kids to grow up with a positive body image and have the same freedom they remember from their own childhood. The upper torso of women is not sexual due to the general acceptance of breastfeeding in Africa, while their legs are covered by skirts to a greater extent than by Western clothing.
The revival of pre-colonial culture is asserted in the adoption of traditional dress—young women wearing only beaded skirts and jewelry—in the Umkhosi Womhlanga (Reed Dance) by the Zulu and Swazi. Other examples of cultural tourism reflect the visitor's desire to experience what they imagine being an exotic culture, which includes nudity.
Asia In Asian countries, rather than always being immoral or shameful, not being properly dressed is perceived as a breach of etiquette (loss of face) in most situations, while nakedness may be part of maintaining purity by public bathing, or expressing rejection of worldliness including clothes.
China In contemporary China, while maintaining the traditions of modest dress in everyday life, the use of nudity in magazine advertising indicates the effect of globalization. In much of Asia, traditional dress covers the entire body, similar to Western dress. In stories written in China as early as the fourth century BCE, nudity is presented as an affront to human dignity, reflecting the belief that "humanness" in Chinese society is not innate, but is earned by correct behavior. However, nakedness could also be used by an individual to express contempt for others in their presence. In other stories, the nudity of women, emanating the power of yin, could nullify the yang of aggressive forces.
India In India, the conventions regarding proper dress do not apply to monks in some Hindu and Jain sects who reject clothing as worldly. Although overwhelmingly male, there have been female ascetics such as Akka Mahadevi who also renounced clothing. Although naked, Mahadevi is generally depicted as entirely covered by her long hair.
Bangladesh In Bangladesh, the Mru people have resisted centuries of Muslim and Christian pressure to clothe their nakedness as part of religious conversion. Most retain their own religion, which includes elements of Buddhism and Animism, as well as traditional clothing: a loincloth for men and a skirt for women.
Japan The Tokugawa period in Japan (1603–1868) was defined by the social dominance of hereditary classes, with clothing a regulated marker of status and little nudity among the upper classes. However, working populations in both rural and urban areas often dressed only in fundoshi (similar to a loincloth), including women in hot weather and while nursing. Lacking baths in their homes, everyone frequented public bathhouses where they were unclothed together. This communal nudity might extend to other activities in rural villages.
With the opening of Japan to European visitors in the Meiji era (1868–1912), the previously normal states of undress, and the custom of mixed public bathing, became an issue for leaders concerned with Japan's international reputation. A law was established with fines for those that violated the ban on undress. Although often ignored or circumvented, the law had the effect of sexualizing the naked body in situations that had not previously been erotic.
Public bathing for purification as well as cleanliness is part of both Shintoism and Buddhism in Japan. Purification in the bath is not only for the body, but the heart or spirit (kokoro). Public baths (sentō) were once common, but became less so with the addition of bathtubs in homes. Sentō were mixed gender (konyoku) until the arrival of Western influences, but became segregated by gender in cities. Nudity is required at Japanese hot spring resorts (onsen). Some resorts continue to be mixed gender, but the number is declining as they cease to be supported by local communities.
Korea In Korea, bathhouses are known as jjimjilbang. Such facilities may include mixed-sex sauna areas where clothing is worn, but bathing areas where nudity is required are gender segregated.
Russia In Russia, communal banyas have been used for over a thousand years, serving both hygienic and social functions. Nudity and mixed sex usage was typical for much of this history. Bathing facilities in homes threatened the existence of public banyas, but social functions maintained their popularity.
