I recently indulged myself and went to a day spa, which ended up being more disturbing than relaxing.

While changing in the bathroom I turned around to find all of my friends dashing off into private cubicles. I was utterly confused: we were in a bathroom – reserved for people to change in – and yet it was almost unacceptable to do just that.

Australia is known as the ‘land of the free’, and there is no doubt that we are a country full of opportunities.  As my friend so nicely put it: ‘if you’re born in Australia, you’ve won the jackpot’.

Yet I think Australia has one big problem that few have noticed: nudity.

And so I put the question to you – how do you feel about nudity?

You probably haven’t even thought much about it in the past, which is exactly where the issue lies. We have grown up with and continue to shape the social norms that associate nudity with negative connotations. And I’m curious as to why.

If you think about it, our perception of nudity within society has a deeper effect on our lives than we even care to realise.

While visiting Sweden, I spoke to a woman about her childhood. Throughout her life nudity was accepted and never given a second thought.  When I compared this to my childhood memories at the local pool or beach of awkwardly changing behind a towel that was being held up by mum to shield onlookers, I started questioning why we have such a negative view of nudity.

Comparing Australia to other countries, it’s clear that we really struggle to portray nudity in a non-negative way. In European countries, the natural body is celebrated, in the Moulin Rouge, burlesque bars, nude baths, by public displays of affection and naked sunbaking to name a few.  Australia, on the other hand, seems to boast a strip club or nothing. Yes, we do have the occasional nudist beach, but even that doesn’t have the best connotations attached to it. Which makes me wonder; why are we so ashamed?

We’re constantly told that everyone has a different body which is natural and something we shouldn’t be ashamed about, and yet our actions say the opposite.

So what’s the big deal, Aussies? Why is there so much stigma attached to being naked? It seems to me that we don’t even really understand why we feel so uncomfortable around nudity.

Maybe we need a big change in the way we think – instead of wearing our wet saggy bathers all the way back home and dealing with the discomfort in the car, we should ditch our ‘acceptable’ behaviour, take a leaf out of the Europeans’ books and change on the beach.

So are Australians really as free and open as we think we are? From the looks I got in the change room, I’m going to say not at all.

Next time you’re covering up ask yourself what you’re ashamed of, and why you’re teaching others to feel ashamed too.

Cat Brooke is a final-year Bachelor of Creative Arts student at La Trobe University and is part of upstart‘s editorial team. You can follow her on Twitter: @CathrynBrooke