Nude Is the New Black: Are Naked Reality Shows Exposing Too Much?
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Discovery Channel(NEW YORK) — Just when you thought reality television couldn’t shock you any more, naked reality TV shows, where contestants bear their souls and their bodies, are rising in popularity.
Initially when Ky Furneaux, a stunt woman, was approached about being on Discovery Channel’s Naked and Afraid, she said no.
“They’re like, ‘Look, just bear with us. The title is Naked and Afraid. I was like, No, no way,” Furneaux told ABC News’ Nightline. “They explained to me ‘You’ll be pixilated.’”
But for the contestants of Naked and Afraid, the lack of clothing is the least of their worries as they struggle to survive for 21 days in the wilderness.
“I’ve always wondered if I could survive by myself from scratch with absolutely nothing. It’s sort of a dream of mine to put myself to that kind of challenge with my survival skills,” said Furneaux.
Naked reality television is even popping up on shows about real estate. TLC’s Buying Naked follows real estate broker Jackie Youngblood in Pasco County, Florida, which calls itself the nudist capital of America. Youngblood’s clients are the area’s nudists.
“There’s naked Survivor and naked dating. There is this sense that anything goes,” psychiatrist Dr. Janet Taylor told Nightline.
On VH1’s Dating Naked, the concept is for contestants to remove their clothes and expose their real selves in hopes of finding true love. They pack their dates with activities, such as archery, and but do it all in the buff.
“It’s a different ball game and meeting people is so hard, so there’s barriers like the Internet and cellphones and all of these things that get in the way of communication,” Dating Naked host Amy Paffrath told Nightline.
“Getting rid of all of that and getting rid of the clothing that we hide behind really brings out different parts of peoples’ personalities.”
But now Jessie Nizewitz, 28, who appeared on the show, is suing Viacom, VH1’s parent company, for $10 million for allegedly showing her too naked.
Nizewitz claimed she was humiliated after producers assured her that certain parts of her body would be covered during a wrestling scene. However, when the show aired, she said viewers saw a lot more than she expected.
“Obviously, I did not expect the whole world to see my private parts,” Nizewitz said in a statement.
But the lawsuit hasn’t put a damper on the show’s popularity, with 4 million people tuning into the premiere of Dating Naked.
With big audiences tuning in, naked reality shows are creating a lot of buzz.
“In terms of exposure and what we see in terms of images and certainly in television now, there is this sense that anything goes,” Taylor said. “We live in a permissive culture where we need new ideas, and we need to be exposed,”
To Furneaux, the overexposure from being on Naked and Afraid was a good thing.
“I think over 130 million people have now seen my naked butt now, so you know,” said Furneaux.
“I definitely don’t regret doing the show.”
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