Here are some reasons young people are reluctant to participate in naturism

Many issues need to be addressed for social nudity's popularity to grow among young people

In many Western European countries, young people are more interested in naturism than their U.S. counterparts. However, young people in Europe (women especially) tend to be less interested in naturism than older people. But the discussion here applies primarily to the U.S.

This is a serious problem. That’s no exaggeration. The median age of currently active U.S. naturists is probably somewhere between 50 and 60. Unless many young adults become active in naturism soon, in less than 20 years there may be only half as many people active in naturism as there are now. If so, most existing naturist clubs and resorts won’t be financially viable. In other words, they’ll be gone. And there will be fewer active naturists to support and defend clothing-optional beaches and other places for naturism. Politically motivated culture wars are a serious threat. Naturism is a complex system of interacting parts. Loss of certain key parts can be disastrous.

Many readers may think that’s no big deal. They probably assume naturism will be enjoyed mainly in private homes or outdoor places (hiking and camping areas or beaches). Such places are excellent for naturist activities. But the ongoing loss of dedicated naturist clubs and resorts will mean the loss of important naturist venues, such as:

• Places for naturists to make new naturist acquaintances and friends

• Places that welcome new people with little naturist experience who want to experience naturism themselves somewhere they can feel safe without concerns for harassment or disapproval

• Places to learn more about naturist values and motivations for participation

• Places to learn about naturist organizations, information sources, interesting naturist activities, and safe outdoor locations for enjoying naturism

• Places - where nudity is normal - with extensive and well-maintained facilities like swimming pools, spas, tennis and volleyball courts, gymnasiums, clubhouses, meeting rooms, restaurants, hiking trails, camping areas, RV parking

• Places where groups of naturist friends can get together when meeting in private homes isn’t feasible

There seems to be a widespread misunderstanding that landed naturist clubs exist only for naturists to isolate themselves from the “real world”. However, there are similar dedicated gathering places for groups of people with shared interests - churches, fraternal organizations (e.g. Elks, Moose, Masons), scouting camps and clubhouses, etc. Such places exist for people sharing important common values to gather with others having the same values. This is exactly what naturists do at their clubs and resorts.

Of course, there’s much more to naturism than naturist clubs and resorts. However, it’s mainly in those landed places that the shrinking popularity of naturism is most obvious. The trend is also apparent in the popularity of clothing-optional beaches. Nudity is no longer allowed at many beaches that were clothing-optional 40 or 50 years ago. Hardly any beaches have become clothing-optional in recent decades. And users tend to be fewer and older in the remaining C-O beaches.

It’s impossible to estimate how many people enjoy naturism only in their own homes and yards, or outdoors when hiking or camping in places seldom visited by most of the general public. So the focus here will be on declining interest in naturism and clothesfree activities by young people (Millennials and Gen-Z) at landed facilities and clothing-optional beaches.

Factors related to landed facilities and clothing-optional beaches

• Significant majorities of users of both venues are older - Gen-X and especially Baby Boomers. It’s not so much that younger people have negative opinions of older folks (although many do). People of any particular generation usually have backgrounds, interests, habits, catchphrases, cultural experiences, etc. different from those of other generations. The separate age groups have less in common, so communication is more difficult. Older people tend to have more physical limitations, so preferred activities will also differ. (Just lounging beside the pool instead of strenuous sports, for example.)

• Almost no new landed clubs have opened in recent decades, while remaining clubs frequently show their age. Facilities put in place years ago either need refurbishment or, at least, more modern features. Young people want larger swimming pools, saunas, rooms for practicing yoga, modern gym equipment, high-speed cellular service, wi-fi service throughout the grounds, etc.

• Most landed clubs are far from urban centers where most young people live. The older clubs may have been located in places they could be “close to nature”. Those that are more recent may be located where they are simply because the land was more rural and cheaper. Either way, most clubs are distant from where young people live, so visiting them is less convenient in terms of expense and travel time.

• When older naturists age out and stop visiting naturist clubs, and young people don’t visit because they know little about naturism or are uninterested in it for other reasons, the economic demand for clubs shrinks. As clubs have increasingly fewer visitors, maintaining, updating, and improving their facilities becomes harder to afford. The usual result is having to shut down. Loss of demand leads to loss of supply.

• Naturist parks and resorts (and private beaches) have varying policies. Some may seem unnecessary or annoying, especially to young people, but they should be known and respected when visiting. The policies can be checked from a place’s website or by phoning ahead. Personal identification is usually necessary, but a driver’s license should suffice. For everyone’s safety, first-time visitors may have to allow a background check, and sometimes “take a tour” (which may be available only at limited times). In the past, single men unaccompanied by a woman often weren’t allowed. That’s now uncommon but should be checked. Bringing pets may be a problem. Some naturist places are member-owned and may have stricter rules. For instance, non-members may visit only on certain days or times of the year. only a limited number of times per season, or only as a member’s guest. Other places are ordinary businesses, but they typically admit visitors only when the office is staffed. Such places may have full-time members with more privileges than other visitors.

Factors related to younger people themselves

• Younger people tend to socialize with each other in different ways from older ones. Older people are much more accustomed to socializing in person with others (especially others near their age). Younger people are much more likely to interact with each other using electronic media - via cell phones, video calls, and online social media.

• Nudity itself is more problematic for young people. The younger a person is (beginning in adolescence), the more likely they are to be concerned about their appearance - especially when naked. That’s usually even more of a problem for young women - making participation in naturism harder still. Older naturists have generally gotten used to the appearance of their unclothed bodies. Being overweight and/or having physical defects like scars, disfigurations, hair loss, etc. is common. Although “all bodies are good bodies” is a naturist mantra, it doesn’t fly well for younger people. Consequently, even in locker rooms now, nudity is carefully avoided.

• Except for the oldest naturists (mainly Boomers), most young adults have had little or no experience with nudity in their families. In the late 1950s and into the 1970s if one parent was a naturist, the other probably was also (to some extent). So children in such families were likely to be as comfortable wearing nothing as their parents. The families probably visited naturist camps and clubs together, and even as adolescents and young adults, many remained comfortable with nudity - especially as more clothing-optional beaches became available. However, nudity within families has been increasingly less common, so almost no young people these days have any such experience.

• Even in non-naturist families, nudity of both adults and children was normal in (single-sex) locker rooms and communal shower facilities in schools, gymnasia, YMCA/YWCA pools, and youth campgrounds. That sort of experience hardly exists for teenagers and young adults today. So the taboo on being naked around others is very strong.

• Young people usually earn the least of all age groups for various reasons, such as working at entry-level jobs, lacking necessary skills and experience, or having other commitments (e. g. parenting young children, taking care of their own parents, or continuing their education). Consequently, they generally have little free time to visit naturist clubs or beaches, or can’t afford the expense of travel and club fees. Non-landed clubs may be closer and more convenient, but they generally have dues to cover costs and may expect time commitments for planning, publicity, hosting activities, and managing Facebook or Meetup groups. TANSTAAFL.

• Since the earliest days of naturism, women have usually participated less than men. Women, especially young women, have become increasingly less inclined to engage in naturist activities. So women who do participate are generally older, and usually with a partner near their age. A few younger women participate, but even less than young men. This reluctance of young women to enjoy naturism also deters young men. This isn’t unique to the U.S. either. Even in France and Germany, young women increasingly less often go topfree (let alone fully naked) at clothing-optional beaches and in public parks. Victoria Bateman, who’s frequently naked herself, is a professor at Cambridge University and has written an excellent recent book that explains this in terms of what she calls a “female modesty cult”. (Her book thoroughly explores the topic, and I’ll write about it soon.)

• Even aside from the female modesty cult, young women have reasonable concerns about open nudity leading to sexual harassment, predation, or merely the discomfort of being stared at. Naturist clubs and resorts usually have no tolerance for such things happening and are likely to eject anyone (especially men) suspected of behavior that makes women uncomfortable. To some extent, young men also have similar concerns about other’s behavior towards them - especially from other men.

• Most young adults live in rented homes or apartments, since they don’t own their homes. Apartment buildings and many inexpensive rented homes have little or no privacy outdoors. Consequently, opportunities are scant for doing anything naked outside, such as sunbathing or using an outdoor swimming pool or hot tub (if any). So even if a young person is tempted to try nudity outdoors, that isn’t an option.

• Understanding naturist etiquette is important. Non-naturists expect everyone to cover certain body parts all the time in public. For men those parts are the buttocks, penis, and scrotum; for women those parts are the buttocks, vulva, and breasts (nipples at least). Naturists, of course, seldom mind those parts being uncovered. Opinions vary among naturists over the degree that such parts must be uncovered. At most clothing-optional beaches everyone can decide for themselves - that’s what optional means. Policies at naturist clubs and resorts vary, but usually full nudity is expected only around swimming pools and spas. A few places, however, may expect full nudity whenever feasible. (Covering to avoid sunburn should always be OK if sunscreen isn’t sufficient.) Unnecessary touching of the “sensitive” parts is usually frowned upon. (If males tend to experience involuntary erections (“priapism”), a physician should be consulted.) New visitors to a specific place shouldn’t feel embarrassed to ask staff or other visitors what the local norms are about the amount of coverage.

• Younger people typically worry more about how others perceive them than older people do. (Hardly anyone is as self-confident as the physicist Richard Feynman, who wrote a book entitled “What Do You Care What Other People Think?”) Open nudity is heavily stigmatized in U.S. society - so much so that popular social media enforce strong restrictions on most “explicit” depictions of nonsexual social nudity that might be considered “offensive”. So young people may realistically worry about an interest in naturism affecting their relationships with others - especially friends, relatives, and actual or potential employers. These fears resemble anxieties associated with unfamiliar situations, like public speaking or the “stage fright” of inexperienced actors. In unfamiliar settings like naturist places, there may be concerns about inadvertently violating norms of the place. Almost nobody (except maybe Feynman) enjoys being perceived as “weird” or “ridiculous” by others who learn of their interest in things contrary to general norms - like social nudity. This should be no problem among other naturists, although there may be a remote possibility of one’s naturist activities “leaking out” somehow. But it might be a problem at a clothing-optional beach near where one lives.

Other factors

• Many people of all ages enjoy outdoor activities like beachgoing, hiking, camping, river rafting, etc. Most naturist clubs and resorts can’t feature such activities to more than a limited extent, if at all, because much of what makes them enjoyable is being in natural places rather than private clubs and resorts. But U.S. laws prohibiting public nudity severely limit the number of such places - beaches especially - that can be enjoyed clothesfree. This situation affects people of all ages, but the effect on young people is especially problematic. That’s because the lack of convenient places for nude socializing and recreation means that young people have few opportunities other than in private homes to experience naturist nudity with trusted friends. As a result, they’re unlikely to have any interest in naturism - especially at naturist clubs and resorts. To use a different metaphor, young people have few “gateway drugs” for naturism.

• Finding good information about naturism and nonsexual social nudity isn’t especially easy - for non-naturists of any age. Using a search engine to find information will turn up many things - but generally not the best and most reliable ones. Amazon has a few introductory books on naturism (both printed and electronic) - if an information-seeker happens to look there. These books may be the best sources. Major social media like Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter have plenty of naturist content - but finding useful information is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Naturist information on Reddit is slightly better - but sparse. A few social media sites specifically for naturists exist, but the better ones have membership fees, and finding useful information there is still difficult. Mainstream media, either printed or online are virtually useless.

• Information for the general public on naturism from national and regional naturist organizations (AANR, TNSF) is limited. AANR does list member clubs and resorts, with an online map of locations, including club contact information, website addresses, and even directions via Google Maps. Membership in AANR isn’t required, because AANR’s main purpose is to promote its affiliated clubs. Some of AANR’s regional organizations provide additional information. TNSF has an excellent quarterly magazine. But it exists only in printed form, not online, and is sent only to members. Neither organization does much in the form of outreach to members of the general public who might be interested. The organizations have limited public relations operations, and that’s a problem, because most mainstream media have almost no interest in naturism. So, for example, WNBR events seldom are covered in advance, and afterward may be mentioned only in a critical way - if at all.

• Even if accurate and helpful information can be found, not much of it deals with the history of naturism in the U.S. or elsewhere. (The TNSF magazine is good for this, but requires membership.) When naturism first arrived in the U.S. (around 1930) there were several good books on the topic (long out of print and not very relevant to contemporary naturism). The thing about history is that it provides perspective on a subject in a particular time period. That enables a better understanding of current circumstances in light of what has gone before. For example, more young people, women, and families participated in naturism 40 or 50 years ago, and that suggests they still could, given the right conditions.