http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/waiwai/0301/030110pantiless.html

Girls without panties slip into the groove

By Cheryl Chow
Contributing Writer

January 10, 2003


Take a look around you. Do you see (or not see) how the young women have taken to prancing around the streets of Tokyo braless and pantiless --- and in the privacy of their own homes, buck naked. Or at least according to Spa! (1/14) which can be counted on to maintain the highest journalistic standards of objectivity by accosting nubile maidens and asking them point blank, "Are you wearing any undies?" According to a fashion writer, last summer, three out of ten replied in the negative.

And what's with these dames? Don't they feel any shame? Spa! ferrets out their reasons, however lame. All sorts of benefits were claimed, ranging from boosting creativity to busting the blues.

Take 25-year-old cartoonist Tomoko who wears neither bra nor panty, and regularly spends time naked at home. Ever cool and professional, she'll make statements like, "Yes, the composition here needs to be simplified." But she'll secretly add a tag line, "Yeah, but I ain't wearing panties today." And it gives her an odd sense of pleasure. When she's at a loss for ideas, she knows it's time for her to strip. She swears that it vastly increases her work output. Doesn't it also give her a sense of sexual excitement? asks Spa! Absolutely not, Tomoko scoffs.

But others beg to differ. A 24-year-old likens it to masturbation. "It's thrilling," she titters. "When I go to the convenience store without wearing panties, I get a charge by repeating to myself, 'I'm not wearing panties now, I'm flipping through mags and I'm not wearing panties, I'm getting out change and I'm not wearing panties.'"

Keiko, a 29-year-old, also enjoys the mild sexual titillation. She's been at this for 16 years since high school. Her only regret is that she didn't start -- or rather, stop -- sooner. Today, she goes pantiless to the office twice a week. If she drops something on the floor, she teases the men by bending down so that she almost -- but not quite -- exposes her secret. "It's exciting, my body gets so hot," she trills. She also enjoys taking pictures of herself in the buff. Once she had to report to the office on a Saturday when no one else was there, so she stripped and snapped pictures of herself nude.

She's married today, but the so-called expose continues. Matter of fact, she and hubby like to be naked at home. Sanae, another believer in less is more, recommends going naked for couples who want to experience feelings of security, devotion and happiness. For her, removing her undergarments has been absolutely "healing."

Healing? My ass! chortles gynecologist Dr. Ikuko Ikeshita. She eloquently speaks out against the dangers of getting a chill from over-exposure. She warns that it can lead to stiff shoulders, bloating, disturbance of the parasympathetic nervous system, menstrual irregularity, cramps, fatigue, listlessness -- and should these symptoms continue, they can lead to major depression. Not to mention that it's uncouth from a hygienic point of view. As she explains to Spa!, vaginal discharge functions as a barrier against bacteria. Thus, if a woman leaves her genitals exposed, she'll experience an increase in discharge.

So, are these maidens masochists, narcissists or exhibitionists? None of the above, concludes Spa! They're just girls yearning to be the heroine of their own stories, a drama that doesn't require talent, hard work, or even good looks. What a seductive, utterly under-rated, undie-less pleasure.

-----------

WaiWai stories are transcriptions of articles that originally appeared in Japanese language publications. The Mainichi Daily News cannot be held responsible for the contents of the original articles, nor does it guarantee their accuracy. Views expressed in the WaiWai column are not necessarily those held by the Mainichi Daily News or Mainichi Newspapers Co.