Don't be afraid to discuss your interest in naturism with others

Let's examine how to persuade either yourself or others to become more involved with naturism.

This edition of the newsletter is for two types of people. The first is those who know little about naturism but are curious and may be thinking about it - people interested in learning more. Perhaps naturism has been recommended to them by others - like yourself if you’re a naturist already.

The second type is anyone with some naturist experience who wants to (1) have more friends to enjoy naturism with, and/or (2) help promote naturism in general. They should think about how to let others know of their interest in naturism. The steps after that discuss providing information about naturism to others and encouraging them to try it.

Many things are important in life. For naturists, that includes nudity and freedom from clothes. A naturist’s goals probably include enjoying nudity more often. Beyond that, but closely related, interesting others to experience naturism should also be a goal. The more naturists there are, the more opportunities any of them will have to enjoy naturism. Of course, there’s much more to life than that. So maintaining a balance with other worthwhile goals is also important. That said, let’s consider how to address both those goals.

To begin with, there’s food for thought in this article: Stop Trying to ‘Find’ Your Passion—There’s a Better Way to Love What You Do The article is paywalled, so if you can’t access it, I’ll give the gist.

The article’s about “finding your passion”. That means, roughly, identifying what someone considers very important in their life. (Besides family responsibilities, presumably.) But a problem is assuming there’s only one such thing and their “passion” can be recognized easily. Perhaps someone’s sure about wanting to be an artist or a head chef at a popular restaurant. Even so, considering additional possibilities is a good idea.

What if other possibilities that could be equally or more satisfying aren’t considered? A decision made too quickly that a particular passion is obviously right for them risks discounting other possibilities that could be as good as or better than the “obvious” choice.

The article discusses studies that show “Assuming passions are immutable and essential—rather than something to cultivate and build—can cause people to be less open to different topics, less resilient to challenges in pursuit of new interests and less creative when problem-solving.” They suggest that having a “growth mindset of interest“ can lead to better choices than a “fixed mindset of interest”. People with a fixed mindset will usually stick with their first choice, even if they actually try an alternative.

How this applies to naturism should be apparent. A person with a fixed mindset is unlikely to become involved in naturism, even if it’s explained to them by a good friend - and even if they experience it passively due to a naturist friend’s nudity or visiting a naturist resort. Someone with a growth mindset, however, is more likely to learn about naturism more thoroughly, possibly even experimenting personally with nudity. In the second case, they may still decide naturism isn’t for them, but at least they’ll have a better understanding of it, and they’ll more likely accept someone else’s interest in naturism.

This has implications for naturists who want to interest others in social nudity. Understanding the mindset of others one wants to discuss naturism with is obviously important. This applies mainly in “Step 1” described below, which is about letting others know of your interest in naturism. Suppose you clearly but casually let someone know of your interest in naturism. If there’s no reaction or a negative one., they probably won’t have an open mind on the subject and not proceed further. However, they may consider what you’ve discussed and raise the subject again themselves.

What you’re really looking for is people who won’t dismiss naturism out of hand and at least consider learning more about it, perhaps even giving it a try. They may respect your interest in social nudity. They may even encourage you to be clothesfree in their presence, or at least not mind if you are. You’d certainly want that to be true for good friends or close relatives. Often one person in a relationship will be happy if the other enjoys clothesfreedom, even if that isn’t their own preference.

Anyone can do some things themself to learn more about naturism. With a little knowledge about naturism and curiosity to learn more, simple steps can be taken. If you’re already into naturism to some extent (which is likely if you’ve found this newsletter by yourself) and want to find more friends who are naturists or might consider it, many of the same ideas apply. And if you’re a somewhat experienced naturist these ideas can help explain naturism to others and motivate them to look into naturism more seriously.

People curious about naturism who want to learn about it on their own can start by reading about it online from naturist newsletters, blogs, and websites of naturist organizations, clubs, and resorts. There are, of course, books on the subject, but not many recent ones, so they may be hard to find. And some that are easier to find may not be the best sources.

However, relatively few people have enough interest and motivation to learn about naturism on their own, especially in countries like the U.S. where naturism is (presently) somewhat of a fringe interest. So it’s up to people already into naturism to share that interest with open-minded people they know who’re at least potentially interested. So what follows are ideas that naturists can suggest to friends who might be interested in learning more about naturism.

If you’re simply curious about naturism but not yet involved in it, you can skip Step 1. Otherwise, here are some ideas for starting to discuss naturism with friends who might consider learning more. You should first let others know of your interest in naturism.

Step 1: Unobtrusively let friends and relatives know you’ve participated in naturism.

Here are some ideas for initiating conversations about naturism with others. These are ways to casually let others know of your involvement with naturism.

• Display in your home art and photography containing nonsexual nudity

• Put naturist-related decals or bumper stickers on your vehicles

• Have naturist publications somewhere they can be seen, and offer to lend them if someone shows an interest

• Let people know you prefer to sleep naked and/or engage in other nonsexual naked activities at home, e.g. in a private spa, sauna, or swimming pool

• Talk about enjoying unclothed activities not strictly naturist, like naked yoga or modeling naked for art classes. (If you’ve modeled naked, have some examples displayed.)

• Mention enjoyable naturist experiences you’ve had or plan to have - nude beaches, hiking or camping naked, visiting a naturist club or resort, etc.

• Mention travel or vacation experiences you’ve enjoyed that include naturism (Example: “Many people were sunbathing naked at a popular beach in Spain, and I tried it myself.”)

• Offer to give interviews about naturism to local or regional news writers

Step 2: Here’s what to do once someone knows about your interest in naturism and wants to learn more. (Just politely drop the subject if they can’t imagine participating in naturist activities or are hostile to the idea.)

• Suggest some good online naturist information sources to examine, such as naturist resort and organization sites, and naturist blogs or newsletters. (But point out that there are diverse views on the subject.)

• Advise caution about social media sites, which tend to censor or block naturist content (due to cultural misunderstandings and prejudices) and may have unreliable information.

• If there’s a concern about a connection between naturism and sexuality, explain that open sexuality is unacceptable in naturist activities, although that’s not understood by the general public.

• Lend naturist books and publications to others for reading. If you don’t have much like that, you could buy some to lend or give as gifts. Fairly recent material is best, since older stuff may not reflect current circumstances.

• If you have a spa, pool, or sauna, use it naked (as long as no one else present will mind).

• Talk about your most enjoyable experiences with naturist activities such as nude beaches, hiking and camping, and visits to naturist clubs and resorts. Provide good details: what you liked best, who else (if any) was with you, etc.

• Invite interested others to join you in naturist activities - nude hiking and camping, visits to naturist clubs and resorts., and trips to nude beaches.

• Suggest ideas and techniques for people to find naturists in their own networks of friends and acquaintances.

Step 3: Whenever someone seems interested in learning more about naturism, suggest things they can do on their own to learn more and (perhaps) become more comfortable with nudity.

• Search for and read online resources, naturist publications, or books about naturism

• Naturist organizations, like British Natutism or TNSF, have interesting, informative magazines. To read them, borrow from naturist friends who are members, or join for a year.

• Naturist organizations like ANW and British Naturism provide online activities, such as discussion forums, blogs, live video sessions, naked yoga classes, etc. that are available to members internationally.

• Be naked at home as long as you feel comfortable, and if family members or living companions won’t mind.

• Try gardening naked at home if you enjoy that and have sufficient privacy.

• Explore naturist activities, such as nude hiking and camping, visiting nude beaches, and visiting naturist clubs and resorts. (Going with a cooperative friend, if possible, will help relieve nervousness.)

• If you’re interested in yoga, find a naked yoga class.

• If you’re interested in art, attend drawing and painting classes with nude models.

• Find and join a nearby World Naked Bike Ride, if possible.

• Live naturist-oriented events, such as dramatic productions, stand-up comedy acts, and museum visits, are somewhat few and far between in the U.S. But when available they’re excellent experiences. Participants usually are expected to be naked.

Step 4: Use simple techniques for finding additional naturist friends

• Have current naturist friends suggest other naturists to become acquainted with.

• Visit (or join, if required) naturist clubs and resorts, or join non-landed naturist clubs. You can be certain of meeting naturists there.

• Search Meetup.com for possible naturist groups nearby. They’re usually eager to have new members.

• Let naturist friends know you’d be interested in home clothing-optional events with other naturists - maybe even hold one yourself. Examples include dinner parties, pool parties, card or board games, or simply watching streamed movies.

• Develop friendships with naturists already known (if any) or recommended by others - and if possible invite them for visits or shared naturist activities.

• It’s possible to make friends at clothing-optional beaches, but don’t approach random folks unless you’re invited or they’re clearly open to new acquaintances (perhaps in a volleyball game or similar group activity).

If you find naturism interesting but haven’t yet participated to a significant extent, this isn’t the place to enumerate the pleasures and benefits of naturism. To learn about those, the best way is simply to pick a few activities that most appeal to you and join in (be naked at home, go naked when hiking or camping, visit a naturist club or resort, etc.)

How do you discover the best places away from home to get started? There’s a copious amount of information on the Web. AANR has a large (but incomplete) list of U.S. clubs and resorts to help find the ones closest to you. Other sites cover countries besides the U.S. Some even the whole world. GetNakedGermany provides a worldwide map of naturist places that’s not complete but still useful, even for the U.S. (Browsers can translate from German to other common languages.) Finding nude beaches or places to hike or camp naked is trickier, and depends a lot on where you live. In the U.S. nudity is often legal in units of the U.S. Forest Service (except in developed campgrounds), but that depends on local laws. Get information and maps from a nearby FS office (or order by mail from the website).

Usually, however, the best way to learn about the best naturist places is from other naturists. If you’re just a home naturist or are only starting to explore organized naturism, finding and joining a landed or non-landed naturist club is easily the best way to meet other naturists. This is a function that the clubs serve very well, so it’s especially unfortunate that too many of them have closed in recent years.

How can other naturists be found if visiting a club is inconvenient? The best way is simply discussing naturism with others you respect. There’ll be many no-thank-yous, since naturism isn’t well understood or appealing to many, but keep trying. Whether you already have some naturist experience, even only at home, or have no experience at all the answer’s the same: talk to as many open-minded people about naturism as possible. Perhaps someone you know is secretly a naturist. But if not, they just might have one or more naturist acquaintances who’d happily meet you. I’ve already written about finding others interested or active in naturism here and here - so check the details there.

There are immediate benefits to meeting other naturists, since the more naturists you know nearby the more opportunities there will be for enjoying naturist activities together - home parties, naked hiking and camping, going to nude beaches, and visits to naturist clubs and resorts. An important additional benefit is that naturists who live relatively close to each other can save a little money by carpooling to naturist places that aren’t nearby.

But that’s just the start of the benefits. There are other things that small groups of naturists (maybe just half a dozen or more) can do. For example, reserving a private room at a restaurant or hotel for a clothesfree group meal may be possible. If there are nearby museums or art galleries with nude artwork, special events for naturist groups could be arranged. Various clothesfree outdoor activities, typically organized by specialized businesses, can also be arranged. Horseback rides, houseboating, scuba diving, river-rafting or canoe trips, rock climbing, sky diving, hot air balloon rides, and pack-animal trips are just some of the possibilities. The nudity of participants in such things is often no problem for guides and operators of such activities.

Aside from benefits to you, the most important thing about discussing naturism with others - regardless of your current level of participation - is that everyone who becomes an active naturist from talking with naturists helps strengthen naturism itself. Active naturists who explain their enjoyment of clothesfreedom help increase their numbers for two reasons: (1) Personally encouraging others to participate in naturism, and consequently (2) Enabling more naturist landed and non-landed clubs to form or continue existing so the declining numbers of such venues will be reversed.