Disclaimer: this text is not meant to offend any religion or belief. The explanations described below are derived from observations from the world around us.

Humans are the only creatures on earth that are born naked. All other creatures of the world come to life with some sort of skin/layer that helps them throughout their lives to withstand their environment and surrounding conditions. We are the only species that cannot endure living anywhere on this planet without some kind of a cover or protection!

Can we survive without clothes?
The answer is simply: No. The early inhabitants of earth used plant leaves or animal skins to cover their bodies. Depending on the conditions they had to endure, they needed to protect all or parts of their anatomy.

Why do we need to cover parts of our bodies?

Nature’s conditions:
Our skin is so thin; it cannot handle temperature variations.
It cannot protect our bodies from the cold: A naked human body exposed to low temperatures can succumb to death in a very amount of short time.
It can be easily damaged by the sun: Exposure to the sun can be fatal in extremely hot climates.
Our bare feet can be damaged and harmed if we walk on uneven, edgy or sharp surfaces such as rocks, stones, thorns or other obstacles. It is true that through thousands of years people moved bare foot. Over time, they built a thick skin which helped them walk with fewer injuries.

Human sexual factors:
The human mating instigators are different from those of other species particularly those of other mammals. Mammal males are aroused when their female counterparts are in heat. In other time periods, males are not interested in copulation with very few exceptions.
The conditions are different for humans:
1. When a woman is ovulating, no one notices it, not even herself.
2. Men could be sexually attracted to women any time of the day or night.
3. Men could be aroused by one or more woman displaying any of the following features:
a) Traits beauty: eyes, lips, cheeks…
b) Body curves.
c) Skin softness or particular color.
d) Hair color or style.
e) Body part shapes: legs, bottom, breasts…
f) Particular walks, gestures…
g) And many other appealing features…
Alternately, a man’s body is less likely to trigger a spontaneous attraction on a woman. Moreover the exposed male private parts can be disgusting especially in manifested mood variation.

Men’s dilemma:
• On one hand they enjoy looking at women uncovered or naked body parts and on the other they forbid their own women, be it their wife, daughter, sister, mother… to expose the same body parts which could be seen by other men.

Women’s dilemma:
• On one hand they enjoy being viewed as beautiful and attractive, and in some instances by other women, by showing uncovered parts of their skin and body, and the other hand, they fear the reactions. The consequences might vary from being verbally teased to attracting proposals from men that refuse to take a NO as an answer to their advances to attracting aggressive or sometimes pervert men. Furthermore by not abiding to the rules of their societies, social groups or families, they have to beware the retaliations of their own.

Clothing evolution:
o In cold climates, animals were skinned so their furs could serve as body protectors.
o In mild and warm climates, the early inhabitants used plant leaves to cover themselves.
o Wool, cotton and silk were subsequently discovered and from threading to knitting to garment manufacturing, a new era began.
o Colors dyes started to be used starting with purple found by the Phoenicians. Other colors and color variations followed.
o Fashion was born. Covered bodies became sexier than naked ones!

Conclusion:
Contrary to popular belief, I do not believe our clothing patterns have been dictated by religion. Instead it has been God’s will, by purely bringing us to earth with nothing else but our skin to protect us, as naturally, we managed to find ways to protect and cover ourselves. As intelligent beings, it is up to us to evolve and continuously adapt to our surroundings. But no matter what, unlike animals, at the end of the day, we must cleanse our skin and the dress we wear in order to renew ourselves on a daily basis. Possibly both physically and mentally.