I was intending to take a poll here at the VC, to see which of us bloggers you’d most like to see pose in a calandar centerfold, just like this poll at Playboy.

But given the recent news that missionary calendar hottie Chad Hardy is now facing church discipline for his shirtless pics, I’m starting to reconsider my intention.

Sure, it’s fun and transgressive and different. It spices up the ol’ commute. It can be a good way to flirt with your significant other, and it gets the attention of truckers. (And really, who doesn’t want truckers’ attention?)

But there’s a downside, too. You might get in an accident; and then a (naked) argument with the other driver; and then a cold, nippy walk home (videotaped by a nosy neighbor); and then you might kick in someone else’s door, get arrested, and ultimately end up in the paper over it all. And you wouldn’t want that, would you?

Moral of the story: Don’t drive naked.

Questions for readers:

Have you tried driving naked? Did you like it? What role does it play in your own sexuality or your relationship? What role does exhibitionism play, more broadly?

Did you get a ticket for it? (On the flip side, have you ever flashed skin to get out of a ticket?)

Also: Meth — any thoughts?

Today’s New York Times has a great article about the rise in “nakations” — hotels, resorts, and cruises for the clothing-optional. The article notes that:

To many, the mention of a nudist resort conjures up images of isolated beach colonies with volleyball courts, hippie-style gatherings in a secluded campground or R.V. parks tucked away in the woods for vacationers who still talk reverently about the Summer of Love.

And while those kinds of offerings still exist for Mr. Massa and his fellow naturalists, as they prefer to be called, the real boom in nude vacations is coming at the high end of the business, as upscale hotels and resorts, and even some luxury cruise lines, have begun to see the economic potential in the no-clothes crowd — particularly those who want to shed their clothes but not their pampered lifestyles.

The $300-a-person all-inclusive Hidden Beach Resort, a nude-only luxury hotel that opened in 2003 along Mexico’s popular Mayan Riviera, greets guests with Champagne upon arrival. Rose petals are tossed on the beds at turndown, and beach butlers hand out towels and reading materials to guests relaxing in the nude, while they themselves walk around in discreet uniforms of buttoned-down shirts and khaki pants.

Sea Mountain Inn, a two-year old nude resort and spa in Desert Hot Springs, Calif., with room rates ranging from $269 to $900 a night, features Asian-influenced rooms with Egyptian bed linens, flat-screen TVs and natural mineral water pumped into the shower. The upscale Occidental Grand Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands has set aside entire blocks of rooms exclusively for nude guests. And several mainstream hotels, including Caesar’s Palace and the Mirage in Las Vegas, have introduced topless pools in the past couple of years.

The trend seems to be a good one. The vacationers suggest that these vacations offer a chance to connect with nature, with oneself, with one’s partner, in a different and exciting environment.

Today, America’s increasing obsession with health and wellness may be contributing to the rise of clothing-optional vacations. “Americans have moralized healthy bodies,” said Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, who has studied moral emotion and judgment. He added that “a case could be made that people are traveling to these places to be pure for moral reasons — to achieve harmony in nature.” It’s really a form of self-expression, he added, that dates back to Walt Whitman and John Muir, as well as Thoreau, all of whom advocated being as true to yourself as possible. “The truest you can be is taking off those clothes,” he said.

It’s enough to make you want to book a vacation.

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What do you think about public nudity? Have you been naked in public before? How do you feel about seeing, or participating in, public nudity? Would you consider going on a nakation with your partner? With friends? By yourself?

On a broader level, what roles do exhibitionism or voyeurism play in your own sexuality? How do you navigate the boundary between nudity as an ideological statement (such as of truth to oneself, connection to nature, or rejection of consumerism), as compared to nudity as a sexual act? Are the two inherently linked?