Does our society have so big problems with sex and with nudity that we always need such things as "designated innocents" and "designated perverts"? Are there some things almost all of us have such extreme emotions about that we just can't see them straight?

Read David Steinberg's article Art and the eroticism of puberty.

Letters of the week, from Kimberly:

Dear DOMAI,

I am writing with something that should not come as news to those who visit your website. The female body truly is a delight to observe. What some may not have considered, however, is how beautiful it is to other women.

I am a student in my second year of college. I live off-campus in a rented room that is in a big house that is shared by six students. All of us are women. Recently, I have had the opportunity to discover that I am deeply moved by the sight of another woman's naked body. I know that I am able to enjoy this beauty more than many others might, because my housemates have no reason to fear me, and because we are often together in situations where nudity is quite natural. Often we sunbathe together in our fenced yard. Frequently, we leave the house wrapped in towels that we shed as we lie on blankets together in the warm sun. Sometimes we find ourselves in the bathroom together, and if one of us is entering or leaving the shower, we will be naked. My roommate and I are quite comfortable with our bodies, and we often find ourselves naked together -- before we turn off the lights at night, when we are getting dressed and undressed. Sometimes, when it is very warm in our upstairs room, we will study partially nude, trying to be comfortable. I have had countless opportunities to observe her without her awareness when she was absorbed in some task.

My roommate is a wonderful person, and I admire and adore her apart from her truly astonishing beauty. But her beauty is undeniable. Her lips are full. Her eyes are the wildest green. Her thick, wavy, reddish-blonde hair washes around her face and shoulders in cascades. She is tall, and fit; truly beautiful, but most beautiful of all, she moves through the world as if she has no idea how lovely she really is. It is this innocence and lack of self-consciousness that make her especially lovely.

Sometimes, when I have been in the room studying, when she has come back from being out, she takes off her clothes to get ready for bed. I talk with her. Unselfconsciously, she pulls her jeans down, and tosses them onto a chair. She pulls her tee-shirt over her head. Her breasts are small, but very round. Her nipples are quite large and protruding. Often, she showers before going to bed. Removing her panties, she walks down the hall to the bathroom, naked. I sometimes go with her, to wash my face, brush my teeth.

The shower door is sliding glass. It allows me to watch her as she puts soap on a loofa, then scrubs her lovely body. The curve where her neck joins her shoulders; beneath her raised arm; gently around her breasts; bending, her legs and feet.

We are the best of friends. I will probably never tell her how lovely she is to look at. I fear it might frighten her. Pity. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we could speak freely about the loveliness of the naked female body? It appears in our art as a thing of beauty, not lust. So, too, it lives in our thoughts. How fortunate I feel to have this opportunity to view it with such pleasure.

Kimberly

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"The young women portrayed are absolutely beautiful,tasteful and honor the beauty of the female form. [...] The membership, affordable -- the images... outstanding. There is so much filth on the internet, it is truly rewarding to find a site that treats women with dignity and respect. Each time I view your offerings, I sit back in awe of the beauty of a woman, and the artist that captures it on film." - Respectfully, R. J. Pine