Nudity in Russian and Estonian cultures?

[HjUotila]

Right now I'm building up a story that I'll loosely set to the suburban area near Helsinki in the mid-1990s. One of the protagonists would probably be a female Russian or Estonian (I've not quite decided yet) immigrant, whose family moved to Finland when she was a child. I'm not sure if I will ever get anything ready, let alone release it in Literotica, as I've not written anything fictional in 20 years and English is not my language, as I'm from Finland.

Anyway, I want to be a realist and to carefully build up the characters and their backgrounds. If anyone here is familiar with either Russian or Estonian cultures, I'd like to ask how people traditionally have taken nudity there. I know that, like Finland, those countries have a strong sauna tradition. Here in Finland, there's a sauna in almost every house or cabin. Traditionally, it's a place where we take a bath. And also traditionally, the families take a bath there together, moms and dads with sisters and brothers. Nudity in the sauna has been considered as a natural, self-evident thing. However, this doesn't mean that all Finnish are naturists (unlike some foreigners seem to think). There are public saunas, and every swim hall has a sauna, but there are separate rooms for men and women. Sometimes people go to the mixed-gender sauna with friends, but that's not any kind of common habit. Sometimes people cover their bodies with towels, sometimes with swimsuits, but the latter is strongly against traditional Finnish sauna habits.

To give some examples, my mother has a quite natural way of thinking about nudity, and she's always been comfortable to join male family friends in the sauna, without anything sexual in it. Personally, I don't mind either if someone from the opposite sex sees me naked. But I know many women who would be shocked about it. And then, I recall that a woman from my parents' friend's family joined my dad in the sauna, and it was obvious that she was flirting to him.

To put it short, even here in Finland and even in the sauna, it depends on the situation when the nudity is involved with teasing and sexuality and when it's not. But, to build up my story and the characters, how is it in Russia or Estonia?

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Being neither Russian nor Estonian, I cannot answer your basic question. I would however just like to say that, second language or not, your English is excellent; it would be nice if many native-born English speakers were as fluent.

Good luck with the story. It sounds like it has a lot of potential.

 

[HjUotila]

Thanks. I've learned English in school for many years and read many English books. The Grammarly app is also very helpful.

 

[Mnkinkcpl]

I have to agree with Tarnishedpenny your written English is better than mine.

That's coming from a self described Scandinavian American.

As to your question, the only advice I can offer is that most of the readers will know even less about Russian or Estonian custom than you, so you can use "creative license" to make it fit your story.

Ps. When I was very young I spent a lot of time with my Finish grandmother and I am told that I spoke Finish as well as a four year old can. Fifty years later and I remember none of it.

 

[Bodington]

I grew up in Canada with Estonian parents, so my mother tongue is actually Estonian even though English is my primary language. From my point of view, there can’t be any closer affinity between two nations than that which exists between Finland and Estonia. The languages are quite similar such that it is easy to pick up the other language. Hell, I believe the national anthems of each country have a similar tune and although the lyrics are not necessarily exactly the same, the sentiments expressed are essentially the same.

Just as an example of the similarity in language, one of my closest friends had a Finnish ancestry and like me was fluent in his parents’ language. We naturally spoke in English with each other normally but one night in a bar we decided on an experiment especially since there was just the two of us. We decided we would speak no English; he would speak strictly Finnish, and I would speak Estonian in our conversation. And lo and behold we understood each other just as easily had we spoken in English, our mutually primary language.

So, if you choose your protagonist to be Estonian, she would blend in completely with her Finnish friends that there would be no noticeable differences. As to attitude concerning nudity, I believe the Estonian culture would mirror match the Finnish culture.

One of my mother’s favorite anecdotes she loved recounting had to do with a story reported out of Istanbul, Turkey. There was a steam room equivalent to a Finnish sauna which on this occasion was attended by the various wives of foreign diplomats residing in that city. A photographer was able to sneak in and take pictures of the various naked ladies.

What was most amusing to my mother was the reported reaction by the ladies to this unseemly intrusion. The Arab/Muslin ladies covered their eyes and faces. The Western ladies, British and American, tried their best in covering their breasts and pudendum. The Nordic ladies, Swedish, Danish, Finnish just simply laughed, and made no attempt to hide their private parts. One of them has reported to have said they were flattered and amused that someone would be inspired to wish to take a picture of them in the flesh.

Incidentally I’m also in the process of submitting a novel wherein the main protagonist is an American with Estonian roots who visits and then settles in Estonia. I’ll let you know when my novel becomes available.