The Huffington Post reported Friday that Hilary Swank sleeps in the nude, and doesn't throw on clothes the minute her boyfriend's 6-year-old walks in the room, citing this excerpt from the actress's interview with Joanna Coles in November's Marie Claire:
JC: What do you sleep in?
HS: I don't sleep in anything. Do you sleep in a nightgown?
JC: I sleep in pj's. I have two young sons, so I have to be conscious of that.
HS: Well, my boyfriend's son is 6 years old, and you wonder at what age you should stop walking around nude. Every morning he comes into the bedroom, and you're just nude. But he doesn't look twice; he doesn't think about it yet. I just toss and turn too much when I sleep, and if I'm in clothes, I get all twisted up.
I'm not entirely sure which problem the Huffington Post is trying to point out here, as they've basically just lifted the paragraph and offered zero insight beyond the provocative headline, "Hilary Swank Sleeps Naked, Stays Naked in front of Boyfriend's Six-Year-Old." Is the issue that she doesn't pull her clothes on in front of a six-year-old, or that she doesn't pull on her clothes in front of a six-year-old who is not hers biologically? And is there anything deeply wrong, either way?
Given the excerpt, I'm not seeing it. First off, Swank says that the child in question doesn't look twice. That's a reasonable observation to make, and just the fact that she has made it makes me think she'll change her behavior when he does. Second, while she's not his mother, she's not just a random, naked adult making pancakes with her privates exposed. She's his dad's longtime girlfriend (three years and counting), and she's naked in context.
There are adults who sleep naked. I don't think that kind of knowledge on its own makes a kid's brain explode, but then again, I'm also of the opinion that there are a lot of situations in the world that don't cater to children specifically, and navigating them is part of what makes kids become good adults. I'm not saying parents should lounge naked in the living room, but nakedness is a natural state, and as long as it comes in context and without sexual implications, is there really anything wrong with a kid seeing it?
As a person who strangles herself sleeping in clothes (and therefore doesn't), I'm genuinely curious about what other parents think. So far, my son, LBZ, hasn't seemed to grasp the difference between naked and clothed, but he's just a baby, and hasn't grasped the difference between many things--hot and cold, toy and butcher knife, Fran Drescher and Debbie Mazar. So what do you think, parents? Have I scarred LBZ for life already? What's the cut off point for nakedness in front of children? Should I find my way to the nearest Rainbow Gathering?
