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MystrD's avatar

You’ve covered some good points of view here Steve.

I find myself reflecting on labels often because I’m not a great fan of them. For many of the reasons you outline.

I think first and foremost it’s because labels are typically so misrepresentative and misleading.

There’s a great deal of nonsense claims associated with naturism that have nothing to do with being naked and everything to do with just being a decent, if not humble, human being. Nudity is certainly a catalyst towards humility because it creates physical vulnerability.

People tend to use the term textiles the same way jihadists use the term infidels. You could exchange the word and the sentence would retain its meaning.

Here’s a random quote from Twitter as an example: “naturists are mostly friendly, welcoming, encouraging, accepting, body positive, free of societal norms! Can most infidels say the same?” (https://twitter.com/j068downsouth/status/1488337031973453828?s=21&t=BxddgyB_krrCFnKusl7zhA)

The answer is yes. Many people could say the same.

Naturists envision themselves as a marginalised fringe minority that don’t fit within social norms. So long as they see themselves that way, nudity will never be a common everyday occurrence people accept.

As things stand, naturists are actively alienating themselves from wider society. What they should be striving towards is integration within society.

Get naked, be friendly.

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David's avatar

The difference with the “textile” label is that virtually no one chooses to use that term to describe themselves.

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