Sitting in my inbox recently, was a message from John Lowe, the editor of the NZ Naturist Federation newsletter, Go-Natural. John and I have communicated a number of times on several issues, and I always enjoy our conversations.
John was responding to one of my blogs about Landed clubs and their relevance. In his note, talking about a perceived decline in club membership, John said:
“I have observed, over the years, both the slow, apparent decline in official numbers and the gentle rise in feral naturism."
I had not heard the term “feral naturism” before, and I found it interesting and also quite appealing.
The rebel in me likes the phrase, it’s a bit subversive, although upon reflection it does have brutal and animalistic overtones. The negative connotations of the word feral are greater than the name suggests. Perhaps the terms “Free-Range” or “Independent” are more in line with my attitudes and feelings around my role in the wider naturist community.
I don’t belong to a landed club. I would have to drive for an hour to make it to my nearest club, and closer to home we have naturist-friendly beaches and a privately owned naturist park, which welcomes day visitors and does not require membership. The distance that I need to travel to access a landed club and the time commitments of being a club member do not fit in with my busy lifestyle. I work full-time and travel a lot as part of my job. The spare time that I do have is precious to me. My partner and I are lucky to live on a property that has a small but private outdoor area that gets all-day sun. We can spend the day naked as much as we like, and are not overlooked by our neighbours. It is true that we do not have the numerous and frequent social connections that an organised naturist venue offer, but we do have a group of friends locally that we occasionally get together with and it appears that a monthly get-together for a meal and swim at a thermally heated pool might be back on the schedule after a 2-year hiatus.
I am an independent naturist, a free agent. I live in an environment that allows me to be naked as much as I want. I will happily pay a fee as a day visitor to a club, but at this stage of life, I don’t see much advantage in full club membership.
I accept that a portion of club fees go to support local Naturist Foundations and in turn the World Naturist Foundation, but for me, that is not reason enough to join a club that I would otherwise not use. I once tried to find out how a non-member could contribute to the NZ Naturist Federation, as I value the work that they do, however it seems that their organisation is funded only through club membership and does not have the capacity to receive funds from individual naturists. Addressing this anomaly may go some way to reducing the “us and them” perception that naturist organisations seem to easily adopt.
For many people, the act of enjoying normal and everyday activities clothes-free is more important than the need to interact with others in a naturist setting. Sure, most of us want connections with other people, it is a basic human need, but for a large number of busy people, online connections are an easy way to supplement those needs when we are pressed for time.
While online connections are not really an adequate substitution for real-life face-to-face friendships or even just acquaintances, they do give a sense of community and belonging to people who can feel isolated and alone due to their lifestyle choice.
It is interesting that as I write this blog, there are conflicting reports about the popularity of naturism. Some reports are suggesting that numbers are dwindling, while other reports suggest that numbers are growing, significantly, amongst younger people.
My hope is that recent world events, the consequences of lockdowns and working from home, combined with a higher awareness of the true costs to the environment of some clothing manufacturing methods in our highly consumerist world, may have caused some people to reflect. Perhaps considering naturism as something that they can do to contribute to a better world and save money, they may have discovered the added bonus of improved body confidence and well-being. This discovery is something that naturists have known all along.
I am a naturist, and while I am not a member of any landed clubs, some might call me a feral naturist.
I do not identify as a feral naturist, but I am an independent, free-range one.
There are more of us than you might think, and our voices count.
Thank you for reading, have a comfortable day.
Also, some people form nudist groups because they are not accepted in traditional nudist settings. I live in Louisville, KY and I belong to two mens/gay nudist social clubs that meet at least once a week. I also attend a men's nude yoga class. Single men are viewed as pariahs in the nudist community and gay nudists even more so. Sex at the parties? One group allows it after a certain point but one social group and the yoga class are nonsexual. And there is nothing disparaging is said about the groups. As a gay nudist I enjoy socializing naked with other naked men. And I might be considered a "feral nudist" since I will be nude anywhere/anytime I can.
That being said, I think that many traditional nudist clubs are their own worst enemies. When a gay person isn't made to feel welcome or the first thing we see are racist/homophobic political displays, we know we are not welcome.
A feral animal is one that has escaped domestication (or is descended from such) and is living in the wild. It has bad connotations in the US. Feral dogs destroy wildlife and livestick and can be a danger to people. Feral cats decimate the local bird populations. Feral burros eat everything in sight and leave nothing for the native wildlife. Feral pigs do the same and are a serious problem in some areas.
I don't know what the connotations are in New Zealand but in the US, feral things are often trapped, hunted or otherwise put down because they are obnoxious to the natural order. He might just have a very negative view of feral nudists.
If one must be labeled, I prefer "free-range nudist" or simply "nudie."