Are we a minority group?
Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth. (Mahatma Gandhi)
In an earlier blog, I did a bit of digging into how many naturists there are. It is not as simple as you might think, as many people are unwilling to admit it publicly, and many people might not consider themselves a naturist, even though they might be naked some of the time.
I did get some numbers from the American Association for Nude Recreation, British Naturism and The New Zealand Naturist Foundation about their membership, but there will be many naturists who are not members of these groups, so affiliated club membership will underrepresent the actual number by some margin.
In a 2011 survey commissioned by BN, nearly 6% of those surveyed identified as naturists. A remarkable increase in the 2% result from 2001 and significantly more than affiliated club membership would suggest. In 2022 BN commissioned a follow-up survey from research company IPSOS and the result was a staggering 14% (6,750,000 people) identified as naturists or nudists. A contact at BN told me that their current membership was around 9,100, so it would appear that there are many more naturists who are not members of naturist clubs.
Some surveys suggest that up to 40% of the population regularly sleeps naked, although other surveys put the number closer to 15%. Whatever the true number, do these naked sleepers count as nudists?
One of the difficulties is that naturism is more of a philosophy than a state of being and is not absolute. I am still a naturist while I am fully dressed, and non-naturists are still not naturists when they are naked.
Naturists wear clothes. We wear clothes when it is cold, to go to work, to go shopping or for any one of many valid reasons. We wear clothes to protect others from embarrassment.
My naturism does not threaten your right to wear whatever you like whenever you like.
While naturist club membership might suggest that naturists are an insignificant minority, the IPSOS survey suggests that there are far more of us out there than you might imagine.
Realising that we are more numerous than we had previously perceived, maybe we need to be more vocal and proud of our lifestyle amongst colleagues, friends and family.
In order to be counted and to have their voices heard naturists should stand up and be proud to identify as such. Hiding our lifestyle behind a veil of secrecy weakens the philosophy and keeps it as a minority fringe group, often not to be taken seriously.
Being proud of the lifestyle is not the same as walking naked through your streets. Just admitting you enjoy naturism is often all it takes to open up the conversation.
I was recently sitting in a cafe tapping away on the keyboard when a woman at the table next to me commented that I looked deep in thought. I said that I was trying to think of the right wording to use in the blog I was writing. She asked me what the blog was about, to which I replied, Naturism, society’s reaction to it and difficulty accepting it.
While she mentioned that she could never go naked in public herself, she did ask if I had been to the local beach, well known to be frequented by naturists. I had been there but not on this trip. Her response to my topic of writing was not shock or disgust, but rather indifference.
My openness in mentioning the topic of naturism was driven by my belief that as naturists we owe it to ourselves and other naturists to help demystify the philosophy. I was able to raise the topic in a non-confrontational and inoffensive way. I have come to terms with my lifestyle choice, and while I am not about to announce it to all and sundry as I walk into a cafe or bar, I will not shy away from the topic if I am asked about it.
The indifference displayed by the woman in the cafe is something that fills me with hope. Hope that someday most of society will consider naturism with indifference rather than outrage or offence. Naturists still have a long way to go before we enjoy the level of acceptance of other minority groups.
It would be nice to live in a world where my naturism is not seen as weird or offensive, but rather part of the tapestry of beliefs or lifestyles that make up the colourful and diverse world that we live in. Perhaps one day, people will regard nudists with the same level of nonchalance that we give to vegetarians.
Never be afraid to stand with the minority when the minority is right, for the minority which is right will one day be the majority. (William Jennings Bryan)
Thank you for reading, have a comfortable day.
People really are indifferent to nudity. I can’t help feeling that the only people perpetuating the idea that nudity isn’t generally accepted are nudists themselves.
I swim naked at a regular beach most days. Yesterday the beach was crowded, the tide was right out so I had to walk quite a few meters to get in and out of the water.
There was a time when this would have put me off. What I’ve come to realise is that people don’t actually care.
They either choose not to see me or totally ignore the fact that I’m clearly naked in very plain sight.
I can’t help feeling that the naturist dialogue over the last decade or more hasn’t really progressed beyond fear mongering and wishful thinking.
As I’ve probably said many times before. It’s not everyone else that needs to change their perceptions of nudity. It’s naturists and nudists themselves that need to reset their perspective.
I go to a resort in the Caribbean with a long naturist beach, maybe 2-3km long. I haven't measured its length, but it takes 90 minutes to walk its length and back. The resort also has a textile beach. Like most vacation resorts one ends up talking to other guests, I mention the naturist beach and then wait for the bombardment of questions. The curiosity is obvious, coupled of course with a disclaimer they could never do that.
Last year I gently talked two retired ladies -- my age too -- into walking with me. With many giggles the tshirts came off after about 500m of walking, and after 1km one shorts came off. We took some pic on the beach and the ladies sent them off to spouses who were not on the trip. Getting a positive response the next day they sent off ones posing with me. At the bar that evening listening to their conversation it seems they shared the pictures with other family members, and found everyone to be encouraging. You go, mom! Way to go , sis!
Will they ever go to a naturist beach or event another time? Who knows, but there is more likely to be a positive comment next time the subject comes up. It's gentle evangelizing.
I also note our home city club is, post covid, back to renting municipal pools 2x a month for naturist swims and are seeing a significant surge in first timers and new members.