Naked Attraction

I live in the states, and I applaud this show for being so open. When it comes to attractions for life partners or leisure encounters the majority of people first look at gender and then physical attraction. We can lie to ourselves and other people and say we look for personality, hair, teeth, etc... first, but the former is ALWAYS one of first 2 things we look for in a partner.

This show is the opposite of "The Dating Game" where contestants were questioned as they sat behind a curtain and then revealed at the end. If you remember that show (or YT it), you will see that most of those contestants where hand picked (for that era) before being presented. I'm sure we have some of that going on here, but there is much more diversity then usually allowed which is a good thing.

Another reviewer said their are too many tats and piercings to give this a good rating and while I somewhat disagree, it can be a little much in the sense that all contestants feel like they may have been pulled from the same district/burrough/providence based on appearance. I am not familiar with the different regions the contestants come from (based on the different accents), and although it is trendy for the younger generation to "bedazzle" their bodies it seams there is not a lot of diversity in that area. It could be that perhaps these type of people are more open towards nudity and that's why they don't mind showing their bodies off. Or it could just be that they want to be on tv... I don't claim to know.

If HBO wasn't trying to rid itself of the stigma "It's not porn, it's HBO", then perhaps we could get the series off the ground to other areas of the world. I don't usually write reviews, but I felt a little sad that this show only had 5 reviews and has gone on for 4 seasons which just shows that we still have a ways to go before being an open society. If I had any critique for the show, it would be to interview the contestants separately afterwards to find how the dates actually went, if there were any further dates, and give their perspective. It could even be a separate web based interview if it where to salacious for tv (like Big Brother etc...). Weather Hipster, Business Man, or Country Bumpkin, one thing stands true... I want a beer and see something naked.

The concept is novel: Normalize regular bodies and start with sexual attraction first. Unfortunately it is anything but. This is still a TV show, which means all the people featured had to have the desire to appear naked on the show, they had to audition for these parts, and then casting directors still hand selected each and every one of these people to ensure they were screen-ready candidates with the right personalities (and bodies). This is all pretty evident by the fact the average penis size of the men appearing in the show are above the national UK/US average penis size. This is also evident by the fact the average woman's BMI (body mass index) on this show is substantially lower than the UK/US national average BMI. There a few exceptions here or there, but let's be honest: if there were six naked, ugly, and morbidly obese people in every selection round, no one would watch this show. At best, this show is low brow fodder to make us not feel the same guilt as watching porn guised as normalizing that everyone of us has a different body.

Living in Europe, in East Germany, I have no moral qualms about full nudity. I go FKK all the way! I am sex-positive, and I have no problem with gendered or agendered sexed beings giving each other joy with their bodies in between. But this is different! A lookist 'meat market' of vulnerable human flesh sold on air for sex?! Really This is degrading to all humanity and all forms of life! This is what Confederate and Nazi and Apartheid dreams are made of!

I think that this show, although probably originally intended to be purely exploitative, has accidentally served as a healthy antidote to the unrealistic bodily expectations fostered by Hollywood and the fashion industry. There is indeed 'someone for everyone'. But there is one irritating factual error which is made in every show. The presenter repeatedly asks what a contestant 'thinks of the vagina'. That question cannot be answered unless that contestant has access to stirrups and a speculum! All that can be seen are the vulva.

Its a show where a contestant gets to see naked parts of other people, and slowly eliminates those he or she does not feel attracted to, hoping to end with someone he feels totally attracted to, naked.

First! Can you IMAGINE the COURAGE it takes to appear on national TV nude!!! I have nothing but RESPECT for the people taking part in this show. I could NOT do it, because I am too shy, and self conscious.

Secondly, it is incredibly educational, so people can see how others are nude. Something not all of us have the privilege to do without all sorts of costs and complications. Anyone who has dated, knows that... but imagine being able to SEE the body of the person before you commit. That is a bonus many of us would love to have.

The only negative thing I feel about this show, hence "only" 7/10 from me... is that understandably the people taking part... are not the most "beautiful" out there, but then again, THOSE people would not want you to see them naked on national TV, unless they were acting, and the role required nudity. Of course in movies, there are ways around it, like Angie Dickinson, who had a body double, in a shower scene, or CGI, as in "the shaming" in "Game of Thrones". So there are solutions.

But this show has real people, with real bodies, and could be very interesting to those who do not know what NORMAL people's bodies look like. NOT all people have gym hard bodies. So maybe this really deserves at least an 8. So be it.

PS. My GUESS of why the low reviews: ENVY. That someone else gets to do a show they would love to be on. Hah.

I can't resist a joke to end... Its hilarious every time the guys refer to the decision they say: "Its SOOO hard!" ... *ahem* Its doesn't look very hard! :-D Sorry! Sorry! I HAD to. (Just watching one of the shows, right now. Great stuff.)