Our Daily Bleg: Naked Dreams in Other Cultures?

From a reader named Josh Slavin comes an interesting request for help:

My friend was just telling me about a recent dream in which she was naked at a party and it reminded me of my similar dreams of being naked at school.? It’s such a common trope in American culture that it made me wonder if people in other cultures have it too.? Do more open/less prudish cultures like maybe Brazil have it as a common dream?? What about much more conservative cultures, like in the Middle East — do they have a much more reserved version of it?

I love this question, and I’m hoping some of you can chime in with wisdom. FWIW, here’s a relevant excerpt from Gustavus Hindman Miller‘s Dictionary of Dreams (which does not enjoy good reviews — “pure archaic drivel” — from contemporary readers):

To dream that you are naked, foretells scandal and unwise engagements.
To see others naked, foretells that you will be tempted by designing persons to leave the path of duty. Sickness will be no small factor against your success.
To dream that you suddenly discover your nudity, and are trying to conceal it, denotes that you have sought illicit pleasure contrary to your noblest instincts and are desirous of abandoning those desires.

On the Middle East portion of Josh’s question, I’d suggest everyone read Maureen Dowd‘s recent Vanity Fair article “A Girls’ Guide to Saudi Arabia.” It doesn’t concern dreams, but some of the waking moments might make you think you’re dreaming …