An Introduction to Nudism/Naturism
What!
Are you crazy?
Rick's Other
Nudism Pages
How I got started
- How I came to these views
Isn't Nudism Wrong?
- Moral and religious arguments against nudism debunked
What's it like?
- What to expect at beaches and resorts
Where to go?
- A starter guide with links to nude beaches and resorts
Nudism Links
- Where to learn more
The Role of Clothing
People wear clothing to avoid embarrassment and to avoid offending others. Clothing has several practical uses: Protection from the elements, decoration, and it helps us define and recognize roles within society. Clothing hides our animal heritage, allowing us to redefine our shape free of our less attractive features, including those related to body hair, nursing, sexuality, and waste elimination. We're taught from birth that being nude in front of others is offensive, even immoral. Clothing minimizes temptation and promotes modesty. And wouldn't it be boring if we looked the same, day in and day out?
Now let's go over that paragraph again. Why should we be embarrassed about our bodies? The human body is a very practical, beautiful thing. We've celebrated its beauty in art for thousands of years. After all, why shouldn't a social species, such as ours, find its own form pleasing? To feel shame or embarrassment about your body is to feel shame and embarrassment about being yourself and being human. That is a very unhealthy attitude!
To avoid offending others? Fair enough, but why should they be offended? Worse yet, why should you be offended by the sight of someone else's form? We prize freedom of expression, but what about expression of our most basic human right: The right to be ourselves? To appear as we are, and to be what we are. It's strange that you can change your appearance in public in almost any other way, and no matter how offensive your appearance might be, the law protects such expression. But appear in front of others as God created you, and if you're not careful, you can be arrested. Does that make sense?
Clothing can be very practical for the reasons noted above. But for many of the same reasons, being unclothed is at times even more practical. Clothing is uncomfortable when the weather is hot and humid, and people universally despise wet clothing, or clothing with sand or dirt chaffing within. A day lying out in the sun, playing sports, swimming, or visiting a beach while wearing clothing is a much less enjoyable experience. Nudity, too, has its place and time.
We're conditioned to take cues from each other's clothing. Hence, clothing can become a distraction when the only role we wish to play is that of ourselves. We say too many confusing, irrelevant things about ourselves with our clothing. Being nude is like being a blank canvas to others: Inviting them to discover the person within, unencumbered by the external trappings.
And what's wrong with being an animal? Personally, I love animals and I'm proud to be one of them. Do we love our pets any less because we see parts of them that we ourselves hide? No, we see the whole animal and accept them as they are. Why can't we do that with ourselves? If you want to see what our natural reaction to clothing would be if we hadn't become so "civilized", try putting clothing on a dog or cat. That's how many of us feel when we have to wear a swimsuit at a beach.
Immoral? Take some time and try to figure out where that came from. There is nothing immoral about our bodies. We can behave just as saintly or badly, with or without clothing. For more thoughts on this subject, check out my "Isn't Nudism Wrong?" page. Moreover, clothing is anything but modest. Our fashions are designed to call attention to the "forbidden fruit" within and to make statements that we ourselves would not otherwise choose. In the end, clothing causes far more temptation than does casual nudity.
But, wouldn't it be boring if we didn't have clothing? Maybe, but why not add another choice to your wardrobe? You already own it, it fits, it's never out of fashion, and it's definitely the "real you". What else do you have that needs so little maintenance and lasts a lifetime? And talk about a designer label: The Lord God Almighty himself! Not sold in stores, every one is unique, and you're only issued one copy when you enter this world. Talk about exclusive!
What is Nudism and Naturism?
Nudist (noo-dist) n. a person who believes that going unclothed is good for the health.
If you're sitting around the house reading this and you're fully dressed, ask yourself why you aren't nude. You may have already removed your shoes to be more comfortable. Why stop there? Why would anybody want to wear a swimsuit while swimming if they had a choice and had experienced the alternative? Why do people teach their children to be ashamed of their bodies, instead of teaching acceptance of their form, and those of others? Unless still cold after piling on blankets, why would anyone want to wear pajamas or other clothing to bed?
If you think that way, you understand nudism. If not, maybe you should try. The more conventional definition of nudism is that a nudist is someone who goes out of his or her way to be nude as often as possible. There are degrees to just about everything. Some people are just brought up to be more or less "clothing-compulsive" than others. The difference, in my opinion, is that our culture has corrupted and twisted people's views of our natural form to the point that it takes a big leap to realize that the prevailing attitude is not only unhealthy, but that we should do something about it in the way we live our lives.
The general public associates the term "nudist" with a cultural stereotype - a group of secretive wackos who run around naked behind the walls of their "colonies", doing only God knows what. First of all, our demographics are, in fact, quite impressive. We're your neighbor down the street, your coworker, your friend. We're that family who sits next to yours at church. Studies show that we're more likely to be college educated, faithful to our spouses, and have less screwed up kids than the "general public". We aren't nudists because we're screwed up; we're nudists because we aren't screwed up.
Secretive? If so, only to the extent needed to protect ourselves. We don't form "colonies". Clubs, resorts, and campgrounds, maybe. There's the Windjammers, and we do sell out several large cruise ships a year. OK, there is that city in France... But most of us live and work in the real world. The "God only knows" things we do behind our walls are games of tennis or volleyball, family picnics, strolls through the woods, laying out by the pool, and other "day at the park" stuff. No public sex. No on-going strip tease shows. Nothing to be ashamed of. People are as well behaved, and the environment is as family friendly, as you'd expect at a church social.
Many nudists feel comfortable in these protected environments and believe that what the rest of the world thinks of it is the world's problem, and that its none of the world's damn business. These people more commonly use the term "nudist" than "naturist".
OK, then what's a naturist? Most nudists/naturists don't get hung up on one term or another. A "naturist" is more likely someone who believes the world ought to wake up and get a healthier attitude. A naturist is more likely to visit nude beaches and other publicly owned areas. They fight to have nude use of public lands accepted, and have additional lands designated for nude use. They resent the fact that just being themselves in their natural form is sometimes illegal. An activist nudist, if you will.
Personally, I prefer the term "nudist" since most people here in the USA know what the term means (though few understand it). Most nudists and naturists fit both descriptions to some degree, and don't differentiate between the two labels.
Why might you find nudism/naturism interesting? (also see "205 Arguments" for more)
It can drastically change your
attitude about your body and your self-image.
There is a lot bad baggage associated with compulsively hiding one's self behind a veil of cloth day in and day out. Advertisers constantly shout that we don't look good enough, and that their product will help you become, if not beautiful, at least tolerable in "polite company". Magazines constantly show us what our bodies "should" look like, if only we had the right genes (or wore "their" jeans). Clothing imprisons us in various roles, depending how we're dressed. Our clothes tell others more about how response we are to fashion, than about who we are as people.
Feeling good about yourself and accepting your
body is a huge step forward. Feeling comfortable while nude in a mixed
company of like-minded strangers is the next step. They accept your
appearance, and you accept theirs. God provided each of us with a
perfectly good uniform for the role of being human. Lighten up and just
be yourself!
It feels great!
You'll love the unbroken feel of the sun, wind, and water on your skin. You'll feel immersed in your surroundings, instead of being artificially cut off from them. Get used to going to a nude beach, and you'll curse the invention of the swimsuit. Feel the sun on your entire body, and you'll taste freedom. You'll never know how badly clothing can get in the way of enjoying life, if you don't free yourself of it every once in a while. Something inside will say, I like this, keep doing it! Listen to it. It's a cry of relief.
You'll run into some of the
most interesting, friendly, people you'll ever meet.
Because social nudity isn't a mainstream activity, being open-minded and having the guts to thumb one's nose at cultural stupidity is a prerequisite in this group. That alone would insure an interesting mix. Moreover, much of the baggage that our culture entangles with clothing seems to come off with the clothes. People tend to be more open and themselves when they're nude. Maybe it's because it is such a special thing. Maybe it wouldn't be so special if the world wasn't so screwed up.
You'll meet men and women of all ages from
children to grandparents. You won't know or care if you're talking with a
janitor or a doctor. You'll meet interesting people who you might
otherwise never meet. For many, that is the primary attraction.
It
has nothing to do with sex.
I might have lost you on that one. Contrary to popular myth, the mere sight of naked bodies is not by itself arousing. Arousal is a function of context and behavior. Even with a lifetime of cultural conditioning that associates nudity with sex, therefore arousal, you'll find that it doesn't work that way. You'll have no problem enjoying yourself without getting "turned on". First time anxiety and the sensuous nature of the situation is balanced by natural social instinct. Your subconscious will know that this isn't the time or place for sexual feelings. Calm down, and you'll quickly find the situation quite "normal" (because, of course, it is).
Don't worry, your brain doesn't forget when it is the right time and place. But a day at a nude beach or at a nudist resort is neither. That's not why people come, and sex is not what we want to see. Nudist clubs are not "swingers clubs" and any reputation to that effect would tend to empty a club faster than a hive of angry bees. There are other places for that sort of thing.
So why did I write these pages? Like most engineers, I'm in information addict. As the Web matured, I wondered about looking for more information on nudism and found that at most sites, people merely stated that they were nudists, provided links to others doing likewise, and/or provided social interaction for the initiated. There seemed to be a lack of personal testimony and thought about why people on the "outside" might be find nudism interesting for themselves. There's still a pretty dense cloud of ignorance amongst the general population on the subject. Not helped, I'm afraid, by the stereotypes the media propagates about it for entertainment.
My goal is to stimulate thought and promote discussion. Geocities' policies are pretty open-minded, but nudity is prohibited on member's pages. That's OK. Newcomers might find it distracting until they learn more about it, and nudists see it all the time. Not a bad deal, given that I get more space than I need, and they don't charge a dime for the space for pages, or use of their server.
Feedback would be appreciated. I'm an engineer, not a writer, so bear (bare?) with me. Please feel free to leave a message in my guestbook, or E-mail me with questions or comments. I apologize for the infrequent updates to these pages. Let me know if I backside as I strive to improve them.
Rick
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Last Modified October 8, 2000. 
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