Nudists

My 12-year old daughter came home from school the other today and was clearly upset. She couldn't wait to talk to me about something. Sensing her anxiety, I casually asked, "What's up?" She said, "Somebody at school today said that when I go to Junior High next year, I'll have to change my clothes, shower, and be naked in front of my friends. Is that true?" Where does this "teaching" come from? It surely is difficult to avoid. She is clearly aware that I don't hide from her, and probably assumes (correctly) I'm not bothered in a locker room, which she knows I visit daily. In fact, we've talked about that quite directly before, when I've taken her swimming at the same place. Too bad that unless I miss my guess, there will be an expectation of no nudity when she does get to Junior High, thus reinforcing the developing attitude. No doubt the unenlightened concept of absolute "modesty in dress" will follow. I'm left to conclude that my own very intentional example of common nudity around the house is insufficient to prevent my children from acquiring society's commonplace "body shame." I have been nude often in my own home, so much so that the other morning, as I was getting ready to leave for work, not having dressed yet, I was nude and my daughter seemed to not even notice. At least around bathtime and such, my children are also openly nude around the house. Yet the body shame has developed to a clearly unhealthy degree in my daughter, despite my efforts. The messages of the world have overwhelmed the message I have tried to teach by example.

I am a nudist, and this is an article about what, in my mind, nudism is all about, and what's so great about it. I’ve been a nudist for about 3 years now, since the spring when was 15. My sister Kat is also a nudist, she’s only been into it for less than 2 years though. Our mum isn’t a nudist, but she does go nude sometimes and is pretty open-minded and is cool with me and Kat leading this lifestyle. So what is nudism, and why am I a nudist? Well, I’ll answer the first question first. Nudism is a lot of different things to different people. It even gets called different things. Some people call it nudism, other people, who don’t like the use of the word “nude” and want to make more of the natural aspects of the lifestyle, call it naturism, and some people just call it clothes-free or clothing-optional living. Basically though what it all comes down to is doing stuff without clothes on. Naked. Nude. In the buff, etc. etc. It could mean going to stay at resorts or camps where people can go nude freely. It could mean going to beaches or parks where people are allowed to be nude. Or it could just be doing whatever you normally do at home or out in the garden, just without clothes on. It could be all or some of these things together. Or it could be that you have completely your own ideas as to what it is.

Anyone who has observed children knows that they are enthusiastic naturists. We have never seen young children who are self-conscious when nude. In fact, you may observe them squeal with delight when they are allowed to run around nude. It is only in their later years that they are pressured into being self-conscious and adopt older people's phobias about the body. We believe that it is healthier for children to grow up comfortable with their own bodies. We don't think there is any advantage in teaching them to be ashamed and embarrassed by certain parts of their young bodies.

Welcome to the lifestyle and experience. Nudism is a wonderful and healthy freedom to enjoy. It is however not for everyone. It is common that women have skepticism, especially with male partners, but it is overcome with time and understanding. Don't push, let your wife, girlfriend or a friend digest it as she wants and can. Pamphlets and information are available from a multitude of locations on and off of the internet. You might even contact one of your local or national nudist associations for literature and info. I highly don't suggest you go around her and partake in the pleasures of nudism, in her current understanding and opinion, alone if you value your relationship with her. Enjoy!

Progressively, over the centuries, society has developed the use of clothing as a mask. Clothing was originally used and designed to protect people from the elements of heat and cold, to stop themselves from getting burned or frozen. It was also used as a method of adornment to enhance attractiveness and for ritual and ceremonial reasons. In the latter centuries, people developed a cultural dependency on clothing. Clothes became a mask and a prop for perceived personality and character deficiencies. We frequently see people who would not be seen "dead" without their clothing on. Clothing is often used to portray an image that is different from the person's perceived inner deficiencies. It is a form of artificiality or masking that they outwardly project to cover up any personality or emotional defects they think they have. People tend to feel that by hiding behind clothing they can metaphorically cover themselves and deny others exposure to the inner-self they perceive to be crippled. The need to do this most commonly occurs in people with low self-esteem. This process is being encouraged by the cultural excesses of fashion magazines in an industry with a very strong monetary interest in the promotion of clothing. These special interest industries create the belief that clothing is an essential to life itself, rather than a practical and fun auxiliary. The tragedy is that many have blindly accepted this. The average person thinks of clothing as one of the necessities of life that transcends mere protection and expands into the realm of personality, character and self-worth.

One thing I’ve discovered visiting nudist websites and message boards is that when teenagers discover nudism and decide that it’s something that they wanna do more of, it’s often the girls that have a much easier time getting their family and friends to accept the idea that they like to go around nude. A lot of guys in their first time stories say how they are still closet nudists, but many girls have already told their parents and got their permission to go nude at home whenever they like. That’s certainly how my story works out and it’s the same for a lot of other girls too I think. More than that, I think that generally nudity for girls is more acceptable for most people than for guys. For example, if I was sunbathing nude in my back yard and the neighbours happened to look out of their window and see me, I very much doubt that they would complain about it. My female neighbours would probably not be bothered by it, and my male neigbours would probably be delighted! But somehow I think that if I was a guy, both male and female neighbours might get a bit offended at the sight of me naked. Not that it really matters, my view would be that they shouldn’t be looking in the first place, wether they like what they see or not! But its still seems really strange to me that that would probably be what would happen, I mean, why is a naked guy a problem but not a naked girl?

I haven’t always been a nudist, I wasn’t raised in a nudist family. I haven’t always had this liking of being nude. OK, when I was very little I used to play on the beach and in the garden with no clothes on, which my parents let me do cuz I refused to wear a swimsuit, but that stopped when I was about 3. When I was growing up, I never thought about being naked. It wasn’t that my parents brought me up to believe nudity was wrong in any way – it was just something that regular people didn’t do. I was a person, so i had to wear clothes. It wasn’t bad to be nude, it just wasn’t the done thing! One time, when I was about 11, I slept nude on a really hot and sticky summer night, but even though I enjoyed that, I never really repeated it for a long time after that. I just didn’t realise I could repeat it for fun! Then, when I was 15, there was a TV programme about nudists that I saw which made me really curious. I also saw an episode of Friends which had one of the characters, Rachel, going nude when she was home alone, and I was amazed to think that this was something some people did all the time. These shows put some ideas in my head so the next time I had the house to myself I decided I would give it a try.

To understand why I prefer to be clothes-free, you have to understand a little about me, my past, what I like to call my enlightening, and the way I am now. First off, as far back as can remember, no one in my home while I was growing up was a nudist, naturist, exhibitionist, or anything along those lines. I grew up in pretty much a Scouting family, with my Dad, Mom, and four brothers. (I had no sisters) Because of our involvement with Scouting, we were brought up with a respect for nature and the environment. One of the things I remember was on warm nights at summer camp, some of my friends and I used to go "skinny dipping" down at the river. I remember thinking it seemed easier to swim without the suit we had to wear normally but we could only do that at night. In high school, the boys always showered together in the "shower room" at the end of gym class. Often, we would sit around after our showers, before getting dressed (if we had time) and just talk about school, girls, cars, and other things normal teenage boys talk about. The air coming from the air vents after the steamy shower always felt good on bare skin. Things changed after a while. In my teenage years and a little beyond, I remember looking through magazines like Playboy and Penthouse and thinking that many of the women pictured in them were pretty but it was shameful the photographers positioned them in such irreverent poses.

I have recently completed research on issues facing the naturist community for a university project. In this article I will share my finding with you. You may associate these findings with your own naturist experiences and feelings. Naturism, all you have to do is take your clothes off and your worries get thrown aside along with your clothes. Is this accurate? Maybe not! Although we still enjoy the time that we spend being nude, there are still many problems and issues involved with being a naturist. There is a lot more to naturism than taking your clothes off in a public setting. This lifestyle that we participate in is relaxing and stress free but can be problematic at the same time. Many naturists are not able to integrate this lifestyle into everyday life, and may lead two lives. Few naturists are able to integrate this lifestyle into their everyday life, where all of their friends and family participates or has knowledge of their lifestyle. Many non-naturists believe that taking your clothing off is sinful and immoral, and teach this to their children. It's from this type of thinking that misconceptions are formed that equate nudism with sex and a corrupt mind. As naturists these types of beliefs are offensive and harmful. A good example is a teacher who is a naturist is terrified that her job will be in jeopardy if anyone finds out that she is a naturist because the school board would regard naturism activity of having loose moral character. Equating loose moral character with nudity is preposterous to naturists but makes sense to many other people because they equate nudity with sex.

Gee, what a concept! I didn't think about it until I was getting ready to go. What does one take to a Nudist Facility? I obviously wasn't going to need changes of pants, shirts, underwear, socks, or shoes. So what did I need? Well, here's some things I discovered after I got there: Clothing - Keep it simple and use common sense. Nudists may be nude, but they generally aren't nude to fanatical lengths. You don't need clothing per se, but you do need to keep the weather and activities in mind. Check the weather report before you go. If it's going to be chilly, bring a jacket or a zipper-front parka, maybe even sweat shorts or pants. During the day, if it's supposed to be sunny, bring maybe a hat and lots of suntan lotion. If it's supposed to rain and you don't like getting wet, bring an umbrella or a raincoat. If you are going outside, especially traipsing around the woods, you will need shoes or maybe sandals. Towels - bring a few for each day. You'll need them to sit/lay on and to dry off. (pool, hot tub, rain, shower, etc.) Make sure you bring enough and they're adequate to do the job. Quality (plush) beach towels seem to do the best for most things.

We have never met, but I am taking the liberty to write you because I understand that your significant other has become interested in nudism or clothes-free recreation. You are wondering whether or not to share in this. My husband and I are nudists, and like you, we both experienced all the concerns and uncertainties the first time we tried it. All the vague fears and worries I fretted about proved groundless. I would like to help you experience and become comfortable with this lifestyle. I hope you will let me try. Perhaps telling about my first experience with nude recreation will lead you to that end. I was vacationing at a resort in the Caribbean. The first two days were spent on the beach sitting in a soggy swimsuit and being chafed by sand. I signed up for a day boat trip and picnic at a beach on an island away from the resort. As we were leaving, I discovered that the excursion was to an island with a nude beach! I decided to go anyway, thinking no way was anybody getting me out of my suit. I stood firm, and in fact, was the last person to give in and shed my swimsuit - I was the last one to get dressed to return to the resort. Why hadn't someone told me about this sooner? I was hooked, and that was over 30 years ago. The phrase, "nude when possible, clothed when practical," definitely describes me. I do wear at least shoes when vacuuming the house though as I have a habit of running over my toes with the vacuum cleaner.

"Indecency, vulgarity, obscenity - these are strictly confined to man; he invented them. Among the higher animals there is no trace of them. They hide nothing. They are not ashamed."
Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth

"We are ashamed of everything that is real about us; ashamed of ourselves, of our relatives, of our incomes, of our accents, of our opinions, of our experience, just as we are ashamed of our naked skins."
George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman

"Adam and Eve entered the world naked and unashamed - naked and pure-minded. And no descendant of theirs has ever entered it otherwise. All have entered it naked, unashamed, and clean in mind. They entered it modest. They had to acquire immodesty in the soiled mind, there was no other way to get it. ... The convention mis-called "modesty" has no standard, and cannot have one, because it is opposed to nature and reason and is therefore an artificiality and subject to anyone's whim - anyone's diseased caprice."
Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth

"There are one hundred and ninety-three living species of monkeys and apes. One hundred and ninety-two of them are covered with hair. The exception is a naked ape self-named Homo sapiens. The zoologist now has to start making comparisons. Where else is nudity at a premium."
Desmond Morris, The Naked Ape