I take a very simple view about why younger people do not wish to be involved in organized nudism: They simply don't wish to see their "parents" and "grandparents" naked. Eww! As someone past 70 I'm well aware that my body doesn't meet Instagram appearance standards....and old enough to not care. As young people age they will age into more body acceptance and some will join our ranks.
Actually to post earlier blogs is in fact a very good idea, as it can offer a chance to read it again whoever has missed it. As its being reposted in some context only, it will be more meaningful to read it again even though someone has read it earlier. To conclude as to why young ones are not embracing naturism lifestyle is something which can't be related to only few reasons as it is much complex. However efforts should be continued to welcome the young generations to this wonderful lifestyle.
I appreciate the conversation. I view it pretty simply — younger generations don’t have an issue with nudity. But nudism is a step beyond. They have bigger priorities (dating, marriage, career), they aren’t looking to for a label or a group, it doesn’t have much to offer. Even I, who fell in love with being nude in my youth, being a “card carrying nudist” wasn’t going to happen. It just wasn’t that important to me. I figured I could dive into that more later, which I did. When I think of younger generations and naturism, in the US at least, I see apathy more than anything else. There’s just not a whole lot of interest. For some — it’s on the list. But nowhere near the top.
From having worked in colleges for 15+ years until Covid I can tell you that the under-30 crowd is a good bit more relaxed than those now 30-40 years old.
They're much more live-and-let-live. They tend to see things such has race, sexual orientation, hair style/color, tatoos, piercings, recreational drug use, alcohol, along with leisure activities and a whole slew of other stuff as not too terribly relevant in the overall scheme of things.
I only recall one classroom discussion about 'nudism' and that was when the topic of Gunnison, the closest clothing optional beach briefly came up. NOBODY, not even the ones who said they'd never do that, saw anything the least wrong with being nude on a beach. They were unanimous that anyone who wanted to do so should be able to.
I vote with what others have mentioned briefly. Provide places or events that allow people to swim, sunbathe, socialize, or engage in any other activity without clothing.
How many of the 1500 people having fun naked at Kiwiburn regarded themselves as nudists? Very few, I'd bet. This brings me to another thing I've noticed about this generation. They're very resistant to labelling and foisting (for lack of a better word) of any kind.
Focus on making clothing optional activities easily available without requiring them label themselves or anyone who attends.
Ha! I'd love to. My favorite author lives in Greymouth, on the south island. Her pen name is Awatere Jones. I've no idea what her real name is. My main problem is that at 60 I have the energy/stamina my grandfather had at 80. Among other things I have his low blood pressure and am actually on meds to RAISE it, lol. I barely make it through the day, and that's only because I work at home......
Another reason many young people don't participate in public nudity, including beaches is risk management from the omnipresence of cameras and the ease of anonymous transmission of the images on the Internet.
When I started with public nudity and free beaches. Cameras were not that common, there was no easy way to transmit nude images. If one did try to send out a nude image, that person would find no one to publish it and their identity as a creep would be outed.
Even in the 1960's and 1970's as now, young people were concerned about their nude images appearing before parents, church mates, and especially schoolmates and very, very especially employers and business associates. It was a very low percentage problem then. It's a high percentage problem now.
"The very message that naturism sends is something that many young people are unlikely to identify with or are incapable of hearing. Their whole world revolves around the idea of their value being tied to how they look."
"how they look" - that's one of the strongest factors affecting how a young person judges others. Young people usually enter adulthood without a strong attachment to another (nonfamily) person. They're looking for a mate, hopefully a lifetime one. What do they have to base their choice on? How a potential mate looks is generally at the top of the list, simply because other characteristics (intelligence, kindness, maturity, etc.) can't be judged simply by appearance. And young people don't have the same maturity of judgment as older people - who have years of personal experience.
Time rarely allows me to read your blogs but for some reason this one caught my attention. I also read the "Get the to a Nudist Colony" which is referenced today.
The issue of bringing younger people into our lifestyle is a challenge not only for naturists but for many disparate groups. In my own experience this issue has been discussed among square dancers, and Tall Clubs International. Yes, there is a social club for tall people.
I believe that one aspect of this issue is that young people don't want to do their parent's thing. From what I've seen in both square dancing and Tall Clubs, multi-generation members is uncommon, perhaps even rare.
In your earlier blog you wrote "Children bought up with access to naturist venues often have a better sense of self-image, a better appreciation for diversity and a healthier attitude to the human body." I have heard this claim before and have begun to wonder: Is this anecdotal? What studies have been published and peer reviewed?
Your earlier article spoke of the non-sexual nature of nudism and the rules of etiquette at a nudist colony. For a few years now I've been saying that the body goes where the mind goes. That is, if you aren't fantasizing about sex your body won't give you away. Recently while discussing nude cruises I was asked by an older friend (a retired doctor) "But what happens if you see a really hot, sexy woman". Initially, my response was similar to the above. A week or so later, after considering this periodically, I came up with what I think is a better response. Which is "when you stop treating women primarily as sex objects this won't be a problem."
Finally, the idea of naturism being non-sexual is getting strained at many resorts. A general rule I have heard among family oriented resorts is "if you wouldn't discuss something in front of your non-adult children or your parents/grandparents then don't discuss it publicly here". I find many 'naturists' I meet are actually swingers who want to be totally open about their lifestyle and activities. They take any opportunity to expound on their lifestyle; often dominating the conversation. I'm not against their lifestyle, but I visit clothing optional resorts to experience the comfort of being nude not to hear about some guy's wife's exploits with charter boat hands in Mexico.
Sorry, this got so long. It almost feels like a blog of its own.
Yes, the whole "nudism is asexual" drives away many young horny men and women. Why waste time being lonely at a nudist resort? Instead they flock to popular resorts where they can meet people and participate in "love."
Nude doesn't mean sexual, but people are sexual, especially young people. Organized nudism need to come to terms with human emotional motivations.
The situation reminds me of the dynamic in churches—odd as that analogy may seem.
As churches/naturists skew older, it becomes harder for them to attract young people. If young people consider it, they think “This isn’t for me and my peers—it’s for ‘old’ folks.”
And that becomes a vicious circle—the older the community gets, the harder it is to attract young people, which means the community gets older….
The naturist world needs to move beyond static sunbathing to dynamic nakedness whether it be daily living, sports or just recreation. Naked freedom only exists when you can do everything naked that you can do when wrapped in textiles.
While I can relate only to the situation here in the USA, I believe that generally nudism, or naturism if you like, has a terrible public image and therefore doesn’t appeal to people who might be inclined to skinny dip, sunbathe nude, or otherwise shed their clothes. The average American is woefully ignorant about nudism, which means their imaginations provide the basis of their understanding. Instead of trying to educate and thereby attract the general public to our lifestyle, most nudists hide their nudism from all but a few like-minded people. We claim that there is nothing shameful or embarrassing about nudism, but we certainly don’t act like it. We do almost nothing to improve our image and then wonder why others don’t want to join us. We need to come out of our closets, like the gay/lesbian community did, if we expect to gain acceptance.
Good insight. The club model promotes a belief that our bodies have to be hidden in some far off place, and nudists do not really believe that human bodies are acceptable at home or in public. Their "no camera" rule affirms their belief that their body has to be hidden from public view. Their actions shout so loud that their words aren't heard.
Young people today want to post their images on Tic-Tok or Instagram, and would respond a lot more favorably if "nudists" were all over taking pictures and posting images from groups of nudists.
When nudists say "body acceptance" and then go hide somewhere, that's not an honest message.
GBW, you wrote: "Young people today want to post their images on Tic-Tok or Instagram, and would respond a lot more favorably if "nudists" were all over taking pictures and posting images from groups of nudists".
I don't use those vehicles because of their policies (and other reasons) on posting pictures involving nakedness; you don't see those pictures because social media censor them and then exclude the posters.
I'm aware of censorship on social media platforms.
Other groups demanded acceptance, and sued when not accepted. Organized nudism prefers to remain hidden in obscure retreats and hidden beaches. They act as if they have something to hide.
The cure is to be seen in public everywhere until it no long ir uncommon or rare to see an uncovered human body.
Further to the above, I learned today YouPrude banned Naked Wanderings latest video in which three people sit in conversation in a sailboat off the Croatian coast, wearing only multiple black censor panels - or perhaps it is because they drank a beer? :-(
Not surprising. Our entire PrudeTube channel was taken down, Mark, even though we'd gone to great lengths to ensure no body parts that they think are offensive were visible. What is frustrating is that there are videos on YT far more explicit than ours were. There is just no way to figure out what is or isn't safe.
Some interesting thoughts, Steve, but I'm not so sure that you really can generalise the current attitudes of young people to fit your hypothesis quite so easily.
Yes, it's true that young folk are driven to some extent by what is trendy in clothes, hairstyles, and general appearance. But there is also a growing culture of inclusion among them - probably driven in part by "wokeism" and all the weirdness that narrative entails. Inclusion and acceptance is trendy at the moment. I'm certainly not a fan of the rise of "gender ideology" and the stupidity of even our most respected institutions such as Health NZ and even the Judiciary for pandering to such nonsense, but if kids are learning to see and accept other human beings as individuals with individual likes and dislikes, and that every person is valid, then good on them!
So why aren't they engaging in naturism? Ok, so here's another question: What has naturism got to offer that simply being naked doesn't? Kids have no problem getting naked when the occasion is right. I may have mentioned before that at Kiwiburn 2024 our camp hosted an afternoon "Naked Rave" where more than 600 people - mostly young folk - danced naked over the course of the 3 hour event. And on the penultimate night - the burning of the effigy - probably upwards of 1500 people danced and ran naked around the dying embers! It was an amazing experience to be part of! And I'd encourage anyone to experience at least one Kiwiburn in their lifetime! The average age of Burners is probably around 30, but many early teens and up.
If the core tenet of naturism is "respect for others, self, and the environment", then young folk are generally on board with that (with some exceptions, obviously). But they simply don't relate to the term 'naturism". The vast majority probably don't even know what that is! And they certainly don't see the need to follow some philosophy in order to run around naked when they want to.
Another conundrum I've noticed here in New Zealand is that the naturist community appears to have two opposing factions. There are those who want to engage in reaching out to society at large to promote the acceptability of clothes-free living. And there are those who cherish club life and and happy with the status quo - sitting around the spa pools and playing petanque. If anyone thinks for a moment that young folks today are into petanque and miniten, then they're in a fantasy world! Until the clubs and the NZNF can find a way to break free of their in-house, closed door mentality, you'll never find young people joining them.
Perhaps young people are more likely to accept diversity and they may be more inclusive, but I believe that they still live and operate in a very judgemental world. I look at my kids and grandkids and they all understand the concept of self-worth, but they all live by their phones and by the likes and interactions that their friends and peers dish out. Their reality is focused on superficial interactions and short-term dopamine hits.
Oh, absolutely, Steve. But I think their judgementalism and self-worth has become more to do with stuff you own or are interested in, rather than who you are. Yes - all superficial stuff that means very little in reality, but appears very important in their world. They still go through that period of discovering where exactly they fit in society, how to be accepted, and what does and doesn't matter. I don't think that's changed much from when we were kids - just that it's all a lot more hi-tech now.
I take a very simple view about why younger people do not wish to be involved in organized nudism: They simply don't wish to see their "parents" and "grandparents" naked. Eww! As someone past 70 I'm well aware that my body doesn't meet Instagram appearance standards....and old enough to not care. As young people age they will age into more body acceptance and some will join our ranks.
Actually to post earlier blogs is in fact a very good idea, as it can offer a chance to read it again whoever has missed it. As its being reposted in some context only, it will be more meaningful to read it again even though someone has read it earlier. To conclude as to why young ones are not embracing naturism lifestyle is something which can't be related to only few reasons as it is much complex. However efforts should be continued to welcome the young generations to this wonderful lifestyle.
I appreciate the conversation. I view it pretty simply — younger generations don’t have an issue with nudity. But nudism is a step beyond. They have bigger priorities (dating, marriage, career), they aren’t looking to for a label or a group, it doesn’t have much to offer. Even I, who fell in love with being nude in my youth, being a “card carrying nudist” wasn’t going to happen. It just wasn’t that important to me. I figured I could dive into that more later, which I did. When I think of younger generations and naturism, in the US at least, I see apathy more than anything else. There’s just not a whole lot of interest. For some — it’s on the list. But nowhere near the top.
From having worked in colleges for 15+ years until Covid I can tell you that the under-30 crowd is a good bit more relaxed than those now 30-40 years old.
They're much more live-and-let-live. They tend to see things such has race, sexual orientation, hair style/color, tatoos, piercings, recreational drug use, alcohol, along with leisure activities and a whole slew of other stuff as not too terribly relevant in the overall scheme of things.
I only recall one classroom discussion about 'nudism' and that was when the topic of Gunnison, the closest clothing optional beach briefly came up. NOBODY, not even the ones who said they'd never do that, saw anything the least wrong with being nude on a beach. They were unanimous that anyone who wanted to do so should be able to.
I vote with what others have mentioned briefly. Provide places or events that allow people to swim, sunbathe, socialize, or engage in any other activity without clothing.
How many of the 1500 people having fun naked at Kiwiburn regarded themselves as nudists? Very few, I'd bet. This brings me to another thing I've noticed about this generation. They're very resistant to labelling and foisting (for lack of a better word) of any kind.
Focus on making clothing optional activities easily available without requiring them label themselves or anyone who attends.
Totally agree, Anton. Yes, Kiwiburn certainly demonstrated your point. Look us up if you go in 2025!
Ha! I'd love to. My favorite author lives in Greymouth, on the south island. Her pen name is Awatere Jones. I've no idea what her real name is. My main problem is that at 60 I have the energy/stamina my grandfather had at 80. Among other things I have his low blood pressure and am actually on meds to RAISE it, lol. I barely make it through the day, and that's only because I work at home......
Another reason many young people don't participate in public nudity, including beaches is risk management from the omnipresence of cameras and the ease of anonymous transmission of the images on the Internet.
When I started with public nudity and free beaches. Cameras were not that common, there was no easy way to transmit nude images. If one did try to send out a nude image, that person would find no one to publish it and their identity as a creep would be outed.
Even in the 1960's and 1970's as now, young people were concerned about their nude images appearing before parents, church mates, and especially schoolmates and very, very especially employers and business associates. It was a very low percentage problem then. It's a high percentage problem now.
"The very message that naturism sends is something that many young people are unlikely to identify with or are incapable of hearing. Their whole world revolves around the idea of their value being tied to how they look."
"how they look" - that's one of the strongest factors affecting how a young person judges others. Young people usually enter adulthood without a strong attachment to another (nonfamily) person. They're looking for a mate, hopefully a lifetime one. What do they have to base their choice on? How a potential mate looks is generally at the top of the list, simply because other characteristics (intelligence, kindness, maturity, etc.) can't be judged simply by appearance. And young people don't have the same maturity of judgment as older people - who have years of personal experience.
There are many other factors (see https://naturistplace.substack.com/p/here-are-some-reasons-young-people) - but appearance is the biggie. Older people (most naturists) aren't in the running.
Time rarely allows me to read your blogs but for some reason this one caught my attention. I also read the "Get the to a Nudist Colony" which is referenced today.
The issue of bringing younger people into our lifestyle is a challenge not only for naturists but for many disparate groups. In my own experience this issue has been discussed among square dancers, and Tall Clubs International. Yes, there is a social club for tall people.
I believe that one aspect of this issue is that young people don't want to do their parent's thing. From what I've seen in both square dancing and Tall Clubs, multi-generation members is uncommon, perhaps even rare.
In your earlier blog you wrote "Children bought up with access to naturist venues often have a better sense of self-image, a better appreciation for diversity and a healthier attitude to the human body." I have heard this claim before and have begun to wonder: Is this anecdotal? What studies have been published and peer reviewed?
Your earlier article spoke of the non-sexual nature of nudism and the rules of etiquette at a nudist colony. For a few years now I've been saying that the body goes where the mind goes. That is, if you aren't fantasizing about sex your body won't give you away. Recently while discussing nude cruises I was asked by an older friend (a retired doctor) "But what happens if you see a really hot, sexy woman". Initially, my response was similar to the above. A week or so later, after considering this periodically, I came up with what I think is a better response. Which is "when you stop treating women primarily as sex objects this won't be a problem."
Finally, the idea of naturism being non-sexual is getting strained at many resorts. A general rule I have heard among family oriented resorts is "if you wouldn't discuss something in front of your non-adult children or your parents/grandparents then don't discuss it publicly here". I find many 'naturists' I meet are actually swingers who want to be totally open about their lifestyle and activities. They take any opportunity to expound on their lifestyle; often dominating the conversation. I'm not against their lifestyle, but I visit clothing optional resorts to experience the comfort of being nude not to hear about some guy's wife's exploits with charter boat hands in Mexico.
Sorry, this got so long. It almost feels like a blog of its own.
Yes, the whole "nudism is asexual" drives away many young horny men and women. Why waste time being lonely at a nudist resort? Instead they flock to popular resorts where they can meet people and participate in "love."
Nude doesn't mean sexual, but people are sexual, especially young people. Organized nudism need to come to terms with human emotional motivations.
The situation reminds me of the dynamic in churches—odd as that analogy may seem.
As churches/naturists skew older, it becomes harder for them to attract young people. If young people consider it, they think “This isn’t for me and my peers—it’s for ‘old’ folks.”
And that becomes a vicious circle—the older the community gets, the harder it is to attract young people, which means the community gets older….
The naturist world needs to move beyond static sunbathing to dynamic nakedness whether it be daily living, sports or just recreation. Naked freedom only exists when you can do everything naked that you can do when wrapped in textiles.
Good answer. My experiences at nudist resorts usually meant boredom. I manage to "sunbathe" for about 2 minutes before being bored.
Instead I do "free range" nudism, hiking public trails, driving my car, bicycling, doing normal activities without body covering.
While I can relate only to the situation here in the USA, I believe that generally nudism, or naturism if you like, has a terrible public image and therefore doesn’t appeal to people who might be inclined to skinny dip, sunbathe nude, or otherwise shed their clothes. The average American is woefully ignorant about nudism, which means their imaginations provide the basis of their understanding. Instead of trying to educate and thereby attract the general public to our lifestyle, most nudists hide their nudism from all but a few like-minded people. We claim that there is nothing shameful or embarrassing about nudism, but we certainly don’t act like it. We do almost nothing to improve our image and then wonder why others don’t want to join us. We need to come out of our closets, like the gay/lesbian community did, if we expect to gain acceptance.
Good insight. The club model promotes a belief that our bodies have to be hidden in some far off place, and nudists do not really believe that human bodies are acceptable at home or in public. Their "no camera" rule affirms their belief that their body has to be hidden from public view. Their actions shout so loud that their words aren't heard.
Young people today want to post their images on Tic-Tok or Instagram, and would respond a lot more favorably if "nudists" were all over taking pictures and posting images from groups of nudists.
When nudists say "body acceptance" and then go hide somewhere, that's not an honest message.
GBW, you wrote: "Young people today want to post their images on Tic-Tok or Instagram, and would respond a lot more favorably if "nudists" were all over taking pictures and posting images from groups of nudists".
I don't use those vehicles because of their policies (and other reasons) on posting pictures involving nakedness; you don't see those pictures because social media censor them and then exclude the posters.
I'm aware of censorship on social media platforms.
Other groups demanded acceptance, and sued when not accepted. Organized nudism prefers to remain hidden in obscure retreats and hidden beaches. They act as if they have something to hide.
The cure is to be seen in public everywhere until it no long ir uncommon or rare to see an uncovered human body.
Further to the above, I learned today YouPrude banned Naked Wanderings latest video in which three people sit in conversation in a sailboat off the Croatian coast, wearing only multiple black censor panels - or perhaps it is because they drank a beer? :-(
Not surprising. Our entire PrudeTube channel was taken down, Mark, even though we'd gone to great lengths to ensure no body parts that they think are offensive were visible. What is frustrating is that there are videos on YT far more explicit than ours were. There is just no way to figure out what is or isn't safe.
We've now taken our business to Dailymotion.
Some interesting thoughts, Steve, but I'm not so sure that you really can generalise the current attitudes of young people to fit your hypothesis quite so easily.
Yes, it's true that young folk are driven to some extent by what is trendy in clothes, hairstyles, and general appearance. But there is also a growing culture of inclusion among them - probably driven in part by "wokeism" and all the weirdness that narrative entails. Inclusion and acceptance is trendy at the moment. I'm certainly not a fan of the rise of "gender ideology" and the stupidity of even our most respected institutions such as Health NZ and even the Judiciary for pandering to such nonsense, but if kids are learning to see and accept other human beings as individuals with individual likes and dislikes, and that every person is valid, then good on them!
So why aren't they engaging in naturism? Ok, so here's another question: What has naturism got to offer that simply being naked doesn't? Kids have no problem getting naked when the occasion is right. I may have mentioned before that at Kiwiburn 2024 our camp hosted an afternoon "Naked Rave" where more than 600 people - mostly young folk - danced naked over the course of the 3 hour event. And on the penultimate night - the burning of the effigy - probably upwards of 1500 people danced and ran naked around the dying embers! It was an amazing experience to be part of! And I'd encourage anyone to experience at least one Kiwiburn in their lifetime! The average age of Burners is probably around 30, but many early teens and up.
If the core tenet of naturism is "respect for others, self, and the environment", then young folk are generally on board with that (with some exceptions, obviously). But they simply don't relate to the term 'naturism". The vast majority probably don't even know what that is! And they certainly don't see the need to follow some philosophy in order to run around naked when they want to.
Another conundrum I've noticed here in New Zealand is that the naturist community appears to have two opposing factions. There are those who want to engage in reaching out to society at large to promote the acceptability of clothes-free living. And there are those who cherish club life and and happy with the status quo - sitting around the spa pools and playing petanque. If anyone thinks for a moment that young folks today are into petanque and miniten, then they're in a fantasy world! Until the clubs and the NZNF can find a way to break free of their in-house, closed door mentality, you'll never find young people joining them.
Perhaps young people are more likely to accept diversity and they may be more inclusive, but I believe that they still live and operate in a very judgemental world. I look at my kids and grandkids and they all understand the concept of self-worth, but they all live by their phones and by the likes and interactions that their friends and peers dish out. Their reality is focused on superficial interactions and short-term dopamine hits.
Oh, absolutely, Steve. But I think their judgementalism and self-worth has become more to do with stuff you own or are interested in, rather than who you are. Yes - all superficial stuff that means very little in reality, but appears very important in their world. They still go through that period of discovering where exactly they fit in society, how to be accepted, and what does and doesn't matter. I don't think that's changed much from when we were kids - just that it's all a lot more hi-tech now.