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Peter Stokes's avatar

I think the whole nudity=sex thing is one that can be culturally laid at religion’s door, specifically monotheistic religions. A monotheistic god (or its priesthood) demands total devotion from its followers, but the human race, like most creatures, has an innate primary concern - procreation, continuation of the species (ie sex).

Look through any newspaper/news website or news programme and it is quickly obvious how large a role sex plays in society.

To stop the people thinking about sex instead of the god, we had to cover up; the more extreme monotheistic religions still demand high levels of body covering to this day. It is inevitable that over centuries of conditioning society equates uncovered flesh with sex.

Of course a corollary to that is that clothing makers and “fashion” hold a whip hand in modern society, the number of clothes shops and websites, the influence of fashion in every strand of society simply dominates modern life. We, the unclothed, are their worst nightmare.

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Bill Bowser's avatar

Since becoming involved in social nudity I have given considerable thought to exactly what it is that makes me a nudist or a naturist. (For me the terms are interchangeable.) I believe that nudism is not something you do, like a hobby. It is something you are, like an introvert, which influences your behavior. In addition to being a nudist I can also have numerous other interests and pursuits, but my wardrobe preference is the primary trait that distinguishes me from textiles.

Of course it’s nice to want to live in harmony with nature and respect for yourself and others, but that’s really irrelevant. As a relatively small minority with a serious image problem we shouldn’t be spending our time debating the meaning of naturist and nudist; no one outside our group cares about what difference there may be. We should be educating the outsiders, so they don’t think we’re a bunch of perverts who get together to engage in promiscuous sexual activities.

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