19 Comments

WRT the internet, if I were running a resort and had poor internet connectivity, I'd install Starlink. I cannot conceive of running any kind of business without a data connection. I'd provide a few cheap laptops and the camera would be disabled in some way. Lots of ways to do that ranging from disabling the software to scouring the lens window to make a sharp image impossible. And then a dab of bright fingernail polish over it to make people feel more secure.

Personally, I don't care if my naked body gets broadcast on the CBS Evening News. Not everyone feels that way and the market rules a business. One thing many resorts do is to require that all phones have brightly colored stickers placed over the camera lenses. Get caught with no sticker or not over all lenses? You get ejected. Not impossible to sneak around but it is enough for most people to feel secure.

Every hotel has a business center and a nudie resort should be no different. A *private* room with a couple of fixed desktop computers with substantial processing capacity fixed in place. There would also be a scanner/printer/fax and enough AV resources for a decent Zoom meeting. Because of physical privacy, no need to cover the cameras. If our guest has need of videoconferencing or a work from home option, they'd schedule it. You could also stream video to any monitor in the resort for parties and special events.

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Dec 2, 2022Liked by BOPBadger

your point of the network & devices is a very valid one. if we really wish to expand our nudist tribe with more focus on young people, connectivity & allowing devices can be a deciding factor. No doubt.

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The true naturist does not really care who takes pictures and how they use them. Naturist is comfortable in own skin. Youngsters are mostly perfect, no blemishes. As we age we collect battle scars including man made by operations. It would be a sad life if we were to be ashamed of our bodies no matter how it develops. There will be ALWAYS people with more imperfections and people with less imperfections than we have. We all age and grow imperfections, deposit fat and cellulite.

Another aspect may be that some people hide that they enjoy activities nude no matter if alone or if in a company. Why to hide it? My attitude is that I do not do anything I would have to hide or be ashamed of therefore I do not hide my activities without textile wrap.

At the same vein, we have one body the nature gave us to use and enjoy as much as we desire. The "as much as" depends on the mixture of hormones the nature bestow us with. O partake life by gulps and invite others to celebrate the evolution also. After we are incinerated it is just too late. Our ship sailed.

In summary: I do not engage in anything unnatural and enjoy everything natural. I am not ashamed of what I do or I would refrain from doing it and I do not care who knows and photograph my life.

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Dec 2, 2022Liked by BOPBadger

hi Steve

im not sure where you get the idea the phones are band at landed clubs. i have been to many in NZ and have not seen this. Sure if someone is seen taking photos this would be delt with. At my club ( not far from where you live ) there is many charging cables supplied in the club house.

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Dec 1, 2022Liked by BOPBadger

Not being able to use a phone could be a good reason younger people don't visit naturist venues. That's a good point you bring up. For many, a cell phone is almost like an extra appendage and won't be left behind. The policy about banning cell phones is wrong-headed. If you suspect someone is taking photos of others, confiscate their phone and take a look at the photos. I for one like to take selfies at nudist venues. That activity often makes other nudists angry.

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Dec 1, 2022Liked by BOPBadger

I think this raises a great point and kind of reflects how much the world has moved on and organised naturism has failed to keep up. In actuality this is a symptom of many volunteer organisations. Older people are typically the only ones with time and inclination to contribute to these things and often they’re utterly out of touch with current trends and technology.

As to photos and consent, I have had photos posted to Twitter without consent. The nudity didn’t bother me because my personal stance is that nudity is irrelevant.

There is an element of privacy at stake here, but the privacy shouldn’t have anything to do with nudity if we’re to assert that nudity is okay.

Looking at the whole aspect of accessibility, this is where public acceptance of nudity should arguably be the primary focus of effort and attention.

For those that like to surf, kayak, cycle etc. It should be possible to do these things in a public context.

Technically in NZ and the UK such activities are possible if one has the bravado to do so.

Photos in the public domain are fairly inevitable. I think people would only refrain from taking photos out of common courtesy.

Coming full circle to your initial point, if organised naturism wants to get with the program, they need to stop acting with a police state mentality. That is, assuming nobody will obey the rules, therefore a draconian approach is needed. That in and of itself is out of step with the more modern mindset of inclusion, diversity and acceptance.

Will it take another 2-3 generations to reach the current 21st century mindset within the broader Naturist community?

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Dec 1, 2022Liked by BOPBadger

Rokker's comment is based on logic; the fear of being seen/embarrassed is emotional.

But it is true that we live in a digitally connected world. When I am down south on a naturist beach I have my tablet with me, to read the daily newspaper from back home, and all those substacks I subscribe to, and some online newsmagazines. To say nothing of the ebooks from the library. So I am on my chaise on a naturist beach and doing what I do at home, plus conversations with folks who sit nearby or that i meet there, or take long walks down the beach for 90 minutes (or longer, as I get into conversations with other beachwalkers, mostly naturists but some not). And I have my phone in hand to snap a memory of pelicans or occasionally someone I chat to, for the photo frame back home on the kitchen counter.

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A great topic and interesting thoughts there, Steve. It's something I hadn't even considered, mostly because, I suppose, my clothes-free life doesn't involve private naturist venues, and therefore I've never given a second thought to carrying my phone (and often my camera) along with me.

You are so right, of course - kids today are glued to their devices! And adults, too, find it a PITA to be disconnected for any significant length of time. But I'm not sure that the "no phones or cameras" rule is justified, even within naturist clubs. The thing is, members of those clubs know full well the rules! And they should know the rules around photography. It should be treated the same as any other behavioural matter within a club - flout the rules and you're out.

For me, personally, I find great freedom in being open about my clothes-free options - not looking over my shoulder every five minutes to see who might notice me naked or who might find out. But I do appreciate the concerns of those who discovered the joy of being naked later in life when they had already established themselves in a career or profession, which could be compromised if their bosses found out. In reality though, in my decades of wandering around naked in the outdoors, I've not once noticed myself being photographed without my knowledge. That's not to say I haven't been, of course, but I've never seen evidence of it having happened.

When you think about it, and apply a bit of logic, given the amount of readily available highly erotic pornography on line and elsewhere that is available to those who want to be turned on by a naked body, any photo of me sitting on a beach or wandering through a forest is going to be pretty lame by comparison, don't you think?!

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