COLUMNIST — JONNY WOO
Naked truth
I fi rst started getting naked in about 2000.
I’d moved to NYC, I was dabbling in a drag performance art cabaret kind of thing in the East Village and found the “Chelsea” gay scene’s muscles, white teeth and preppy- style conformist and oppressive. My response was to join the NYC Gay Pride parade in a thong and red $ 10 stilettos, with a smear of lipstick and a smudge of eye- liner. Oh and a silver belt. The drag element was as much a part of my fuck- you to the plastic mafi a as my skinny frame pounding the asphalt. Nearly, but not yet totally naked.
A buddy and I would shimmy around the Slipper Room, the Lower East side cabaret joint, in satin slips that slipped off to nothing. Squawking like chickens on any stage we could fi nd, we performed on the new burlesque scene, where women stripped to nothing, laying eggs and singing from their vaginas.
Nudity was often the apex of our performance; the fi nal thrill,. It became a staple of my performance. In London, anyone who came to the gay bingo events in 2004- ish will know I often rocked up, with no costumes as such — just body paint and a bottle of wine. At club night Radio Egypt, I stripped, mounted a fl uorescent tube and covered myself in paint and feathers. At Dirty Fairy, I climbed a pile of suitcases and
fi red a butt plug from my arse.
I’d just fi nished dance training back then.
I’m not saying that I was necessarily happy with my body but I felt strong and confi dent, and often fi red up by booze and the remains of the previous night’s ecstasy. I loved the recklessness of being naked on stage. The feeling that societal rules were being broken.
Since sobering up, and almost 20 years after my fi rst naked forays, I fi nd myself stripping off again. My venue, The Glory, is probably one of the only places where it’s acceptable for the staff to note that their boss has got his knob out, again!
I had to re- fi nd that confi dence in my body. Years of booze, drugs, and gravity had taken their toll. I started working out.
Being sober, I had the energy and the money to train. I don’t know if I’ll ever get the body I really want but I feel I’m happier now in the body that I’m in.
I fi nd meeting guys in bars tricky and I’m insecure about getting older. The apps can get you down, so often I’ll strip off at a naked night and meet guys there. It feels more honest. That and I’ve got a pert new arse!
Oh, and last year, a naked beach selfi e helped boost my Instagram following.
Pushing 50, I want to feel good about myself, and how I feel about my body is important. I still thrill at seeing other performers get their kit off , too.
“I love the recklessness of being naked on stage”