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.
To answer the question in your headline, yes, naturists are a minority group when it comes to civil rights. Collectively, naturists' rights to be nude are limited, and will remain so to greater and lesser degrees around the world. And the day will never come when people will have the right to walk naked down Main St. along with textile folks in the vast majority of cities around the world.
I think naturism has gained some respect in the past decade or two, but on a limited basis. Many people can relate to the freedom of being nude on a beach. But not so many to walking down Main St. naked.
So, the idealists yearning for absolute freedom in naturism are a minority in society, and they do face discrimination, perhaps more than they know (especially older men).
Which is why we write about it, I guess. Rebels with a cause, yes?
A dear friend of mine will not come out of the bedroom without makeup, much less without clothes. She asked why nudity was so important to me. I said that it wasnt necessarily the nudity, but she wasnt buying it.
We were out on my sailboat and had just finished a swim. Me nude, her covered. I asked if she ever skinnydipped. She replied, "of course!" That apparently got her mind going, because over the next several minutes she would reflect back on her skinnydipping experiences with increasing enthusiasm.
She will never identify as a nudist, but I will probably coax her out of her swimsuit next time. Well, "coax" may not be the right word here. We will remain dear friends regardless of what either of us wear, even it that is nothing.
Obtaining an accurate count of nudists is probably an impossible goal for a variety of reasons. First of all the definition of a nudist is not at all clear. People who know little or nothing about nudism don’t really have a firm basis to state whether or not they might qualify. Even among nudists there is debate about what characteristics distinguish a nudist from everyone else. And since nudism is disparaged by most of society many people would be reluctant to admit having an interest in it. Then, there are those who have a general disdain for labels.
Until my first visit to a nude club I didn’t know exactly what a nudist was, but I was pretty sure I was not one. Then I discovered I actually was a nudist.
If asked in a survey about being a nudist, probably no one would claim to be a nudist who is not, meaning that there won’t be any false positive results, but I believe there would be a huge number of false negatives, but is trying to obtain an accurate count of nudists worth pursuing? Is that number important?
I believe it is more important to know how many people choose to be upset or offended by public nudity. Those people are the obstacle preventing wider acceptance of public nudity. Everyone else is either in favor of it or is indifferent to it. And I think those who are actually opposed to public nudity would be easier to count. Currently the least tolerant people in our society determine what is acceptable for the rest of society. That is ridiculous.
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.
Jan 26, 2023·edited Jan 26, 2023Liked by BOPBadger
Good post. I think that now is a good time to foster naturism, as people seem to be accepting that as a possible alternative, rather than as a colony of lepers. I shall try to do my bit.
Hi, thank you for the article. Recent changes in the law in NZ and some other countries have a huge impact on acceptance of Public Nudity. NZ is a good example. However subtle changes will always arise due to population density; demographics; religion and the range of values that each group identifies with. Going forward NZ will be a test case as recent legal precedent and Government Acts provide the basis for broad acceptance.
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.
True. I listened to a naturist podcast earlier and one of the reasons people refuse to wear the label is due to the negative stigmas and possibly rejection by friends and family
To answer the question in your headline, yes, naturists are a minority group when it comes to civil rights. Collectively, naturists' rights to be nude are limited, and will remain so to greater and lesser degrees around the world. And the day will never come when people will have the right to walk naked down Main St. along with textile folks in the vast majority of cities around the world.
I think naturism has gained some respect in the past decade or two, but on a limited basis. Many people can relate to the freedom of being nude on a beach. But not so many to walking down Main St. naked.
So, the idealists yearning for absolute freedom in naturism are a minority in society, and they do face discrimination, perhaps more than they know (especially older men).
Which is why we write about it, I guess. Rebels with a cause, yes?
Cheers
A dear friend of mine will not come out of the bedroom without makeup, much less without clothes. She asked why nudity was so important to me. I said that it wasnt necessarily the nudity, but she wasnt buying it.
We were out on my sailboat and had just finished a swim. Me nude, her covered. I asked if she ever skinnydipped. She replied, "of course!" That apparently got her mind going, because over the next several minutes she would reflect back on her skinnydipping experiences with increasing enthusiasm.
She will never identify as a nudist, but I will probably coax her out of her swimsuit next time. Well, "coax" may not be the right word here. We will remain dear friends regardless of what either of us wear, even it that is nothing.
~Safebare
As with any survey a great deal of thought is required to frame the questions if meaningful answers are expected.
Obtaining an accurate count of nudists is probably an impossible goal for a variety of reasons. First of all the definition of a nudist is not at all clear. People who know little or nothing about nudism don’t really have a firm basis to state whether or not they might qualify. Even among nudists there is debate about what characteristics distinguish a nudist from everyone else. And since nudism is disparaged by most of society many people would be reluctant to admit having an interest in it. Then, there are those who have a general disdain for labels.
Until my first visit to a nude club I didn’t know exactly what a nudist was, but I was pretty sure I was not one. Then I discovered I actually was a nudist.
If asked in a survey about being a nudist, probably no one would claim to be a nudist who is not, meaning that there won’t be any false positive results, but I believe there would be a huge number of false negatives, but is trying to obtain an accurate count of nudists worth pursuing? Is that number important?
I believe it is more important to know how many people choose to be upset or offended by public nudity. Those people are the obstacle preventing wider acceptance of public nudity. Everyone else is either in favor of it or is indifferent to it. And I think those who are actually opposed to public nudity would be easier to count. Currently the least tolerant people in our society determine what is acceptable for the rest of society. That is ridiculous.
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.
Good post. I think that now is a good time to foster naturism, as people seem to be accepting that as a possible alternative, rather than as a colony of lepers. I shall try to do my bit.
Hi, thank you for the article. Recent changes in the law in NZ and some other countries have a huge impact on acceptance of Public Nudity. NZ is a good example. However subtle changes will always arise due to population density; demographics; religion and the range of values that each group identifies with. Going forward NZ will be a test case as recent legal precedent and Government Acts provide the basis for broad acceptance.
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.
True. I listened to a naturist podcast earlier and one of the reasons people refuse to wear the label is due to the negative stigmas and possibly rejection by friends and family