It's all context. My wife (albeit extremely rarely) will be naked around total strangers, but hates the idea of being even in underwear around people she knows, even her own sister.

I, on the other hand, strongly prefer to be naked around my close friends and family rather than strangers.

But it's all context. Nude beaches and similar everyone is nude and for their reasons. Biker rallies, fewer are nude and they are for completely different reasons.

It's all about context and control.

My wife is a self-professed prude in every day life. But at the nudist resort, she will unhesitantly get naked in the shower area, walk around, plop down by the pool and start a conversation with whoever happens to be sitting by us; with little concern about the fact that this person can see her completely naked.

There are two things here:
1 - It's a nudist resort (context) and since nudity is encouraged there, she sees no reason to feel any "shame."
2 - She feels in control because she feels safe enough to "choose" being naked as opposed to being "caught" undressed.

When she openly claims to be a "prude" in front of other people I always shrug; especially when just a few days prior she was hanging out naked amongst a bunch of strangers at the resort. But that's women for you.

I will never understand women if I live to be 150. Take my ex; she would turn up at a naturist event, strip off the second she got in, wander around naked all day, talk to anybody, and be among the last to get dressed when it was time to leave.

But one day I took her shopping and she had a panic attack in the supermarket and had to rush out, because she was wearing a slightly shorter dress then usual, and thought everybody was looking at her.

(Still, I suppose I'm no better. I never feel comfortable wearing shorts, or going shirtless, but am quite happy being naked. Go figure!)

Perfect example of context.