Being Naked on TV is (Apparently) Quite Liberating

Naked Attraction takes dating and reality television to new and interesting places

My husband James and I first decided to watch the British dating show Naked Attraction (now streaming on Max) for the novelty. We’re neither of us much into reality TV and I loathe dating programs in particular, but this was just so, well, out there, we thought we’d give it a try — and now, we’re hooked! Not only is the premise outrageous by American television standards, but the naked authenticity of this show keeps us coming back for more.

Warning: Minor spoilers below.

In case you’ve never seen it, Naked Attraction presents a (clothed) contestant with six potential matches. Each one is encased in a colorful rectangle with an opaque sliding glass panel that slowly reveals them — from the bottom up. And, all the potential matches are naked. Within minutes of an episode kicking off, we’re presented with 6 sets of genitals and bums. The presenter and the contestant then proceed to discuss them in very frank detail.

“Let’s go have a look, shall we”

“What do you think of his willy? Are you worried that it’s going to be too big?”

“That’s a lot of pubic hair. How do you feel about that?”

“You’ve said you’re a bum man. Which one do you find most attractive?”

The contestant then has to select one person to eliminate and to say why they chose them. Most of the contestants are tactful and say things that are simply a matter of taste like, “That tattoo he’s got on his leg (of a bound woman with a ball gag) is a bit aggressive for me, I think.” But sometimes they are more personal, like, “I’m generally drawn more to women with bigger boobs,” — something that one of the lesbian contestants stated.

Then the ousted person is revealed and has a brief chat with the contestant and the presenter on his or her way out the door. Sometimes the contestant finds that person quite attractive when revealed in full, and the contestant regrets their choice, and sometimes there’s just a bit of an “oh, well” vibe, but it’s certainly a unique way to run a dating game. We’re then treated to a 30-second statement from the still-naked former-potential match talking about their experience with the show back in the locker room.

Pretty uniformly, these people report coming away feeling more confident, and more happy with their bodies for having had the courage to bare them on television. Perhaps they already were quite confident, or they wouldn’t have signed up to go on the program in the first place, but it is still refreshing nonetheless because they seem to have found it really liberating. All of the people on this show have a fairly decent level of conventional attractiveness, but nobody is flawless, and there is a wide range of face types, body types, and “attributes.”

For Americans not used to seeing so much male frontal nudity, and not used to so many uncircumcised penises, it can take a bit of getting used to, but it’s also cool to see how matter-o-fact most people are about it all. I also enjoy that this show is not only straight men and women but gay folks, as well as a pansexual female contestant who was given two transgender choices. In the last episode we watched, there was a very cute guy in a wheelchair who made it to the final round.

Once the field has been whittled down to 5, the full bodies below the face are next to be revealed. The presenter and the contestant discuss torsos, pecs, breasts, tattoos, scars, or whatever else is now on display and then another person is eliminated. In the third round, we finally get to see their faces, and in the 4th, we get to hear their voices. Brits seem to have a preoccupation with guessing where someone’s accent is from, although some of them aren’t very good at it. The presenter often asks what the contestant thinks the potential matches are going to sound like, and that frequently adds a comic element as well.

Once the choices are whittled down to the last 2, the contestant goes off-stage and takes off their clothes. Then the remaining options get to talk a bit about that person’s body and how they present themselves, which is only fair. Once the contestant chooses the person they want to go on a date with, the nudity comes to an end and next we see them, they are out at a bar or a restaurant having a more conventional opportunity to get to know each other.

A few of them really hit it off and have great chemistry, but for some, there just clearly are no sparks. One young woman was really excited about her choice for a date until he showed up with bloodshot eyes and admitted that he’d been up all night drinking until 6 am, which she interpreted as not taking her or the date very seriously. Nobody was happy at the end of that episode.

The last thing we see is the couple getting together in the studio 2–4 weeks after their date to talk about how it went and what is going on with them now. Some were still seeing each other, some agreed it was a fun experience but there just ended up not really being a connection. Some were clearly mismatched in their expectations, and a few just couldn’t make it work due to living too far apart. Two different participants just completely ghosted and refused to even come back to the studio at all.

But all in all, most of the people on the show seemed to feel that it was a positive experience and it certainly goes a long way toward normalizing that people have bodies, and that not all nudity is sexual, even if you find yourself attracted to somebody with no clothes on. I found it really refreshing to just hear discussions about things like body hair and different shapes of labia in a matter-of-fact kind of way. Americans are both so prudish and so prurient at the same time that I really enjoy a program that isn’t that.

I also liked the idea of normalizing that you don’t have to look like a movie star in order to be comfortable in your body. Having spent a fair amount of time in clothing-reduced or clothing-optional spaces, I can attest that it really is healing and healthy to just embrace the skin we’re in. I don’t know how many episodes we’ve got left to watch, but the show is currently in its seventh season on Britain’s Channel 4 and has been a huge hit for Max, so I imagine we’ve still got plenty. I look forward to seeing what’s next in this highly unusual program.

Here’s the censored and blurred trailer, but it gives you a feel for the show, in case you’re interested. I have no affiliation with Naked Attraction and received no compensation from them for this story.

© Copyright Elle Beau 2023