UPDATED: Let Erykah Badu Be Great….And Half Naked!!!! Should Nudity Ever Be Accepted In Mainstream Society?

I recently saw the new Erykah Badu video and must say I loved it. I am one of those art house people. I am the type that would have gone to see Andy Warhol films in questionable parts of New Yorks meat-packing district if I was back in the sexual heyday of the 70s. I think nudity as an art form is beautiful and revel in the naked body. That’s not to say I don’t  like to see naked bodies without the art context behind it, but for the most part I enjoy the naked arts. Nikki Ransom, a certified life and sex coach who is awesome, posted this video on her facebook of Erykah Badu with fellow Oklahomans The Flaming Lips. I carry my Erykah Badu stan card on a regular basis and after watching this video I will go get it laminated so that it may never rip or tear. I loved it. Not only because I can now listen to my fave Roberta Flack song without the guilt of watching dying puppies in commercials, but the video is just freakin dopeness!!!

What prompted this post was the comments I read on youtube. Most people were offended by the nudity

Man fuck that.Erikah need her ass beat for this nasty ass mess.I’ve liked her artistic vision up until this vid,her music too.But she done FAWKED Roberta’s song up,it sounds like something CHARLES MANSON nim listened to before they did LSD &went on that killing spree.Then the video itself….I dont know whats more disgusting/sick…..The chick bathing in PERIOD BLOOD,rubbin it on her vagina mouth &body…OR Doing the same thing with the MAN SNOT (aka semen) WTF!?!? Art is Art but this is FUCKED.

Some went into a “I’m more enlightened” mode and tried to break down each visual.

Brilliant artistic integrity Erykah. Only esoteric intellectuals will understand the symbology of this video. Ascension is beautiful in 2012. Venus is passing on June 5, with no Blood sacrifices to the Queen. Enough is enough. ASHE

Others just didn’t like it!

WTH??

I sometimes wonder if it’s the fear of the black woman’s sexuality as a whole is what has people in an uproar. Let me explain before you call me a racist.

Madonna can make Erotica, stand on a busy street naked while  hitchhiking and its considered cutting edge. Janet Jackson’s breast pops out on accident and a riot almost ensues. Erykah Badu is no stranger naked controversy. When she released her single Window Seat the video showed her stripping down to nothing then being shot in the street. I was more disturb by the shooting part than the nudity. That didn’t stop people from protesting the video and making harsh judgements about Badu’s character. I can’t help but to wonder if it was Katy Perry making that same video would people be quick to be pissed off? When do we get to celebrate the black body without it being shunned?

Now on to a more general question. Can nudity ever be accepted in mainstream culture? Why is it bad to show the naked body. In the video above there is no graphic sexual behavior. No “booty talk porn” like essence. It was done in taste and yet people damn near closing their eyes at the site of a nipple. We all are naked under our clothes why not accept it? I personally believe that if we were more accepting of nakedom in America there wouldn’t be as much body and sex shaming as there is now. If you one thing today towards moving in a sex positive way it would be to watch this video and appreciate the beauty in the nudity!

UPDATE: Miss Badu is not happy about the finished product! http://pigeonsandplanes.com/2012/06/erykah-badu-calls-out-the-flaming-lips-wayne-coyne-you-are-an-ass.html has the full story!