Naturism needs YOU to fight groundless nudity taboos

There are many ways to do it - take your pick (at least one to begin with!)

Let's start with reasons you might not want to help promote naturism. We need to get that out of the way, since if these reasons were left to the end, you might abandon taking action after considering the difficulties. By putting these concerns first, you can avoid wasting time reading about what could and should be done to interest others in naturism. If you stay with this despite the problems, you’re more likely to be a persuader for naturism.

Common reasons given for not encouraging others to enjoy naturism

• My spouse/partner or other important family members might object.

  How strong is your relationship? This could be a valid reason if your relationship is weaker than you’d like. But if your relationship is strong, you have a good chance of changing their mind. Of course, it would be best if the person in question already knows of your involvement in naturism and accepts it. But if not, you’ll have to reveal it and ask for understanding. Don’t think you can do it behind their back. That probably wouldn’t work out well.

• Engaging in naturist activism could affect my young children.

  Young children (not yet in their teens) often have no real problem with seeing people naked - in pictures or real life - and they might try going naked (if they haven’t already). Parents should let their kids know there’s nothing wrong with nudity if it’s enjoyed for itself with reasonable discretion. You’d need to explain that nudity is controversial in our society and has to be handled cautiously. But youngsters (hopefully) trust their parents to do nothing that could be problematic.

• I might risk losing my job if it’s known that I participate in naturism.

  This, certainly, is a very common fear that deters people from even participating in naturism, let alone working to promote it. A lot depends on the nature of your job (and maybe your partner’s too). Jobs that involve working with children (teachers, nurses, pediatricians, coaches, etc.) are the main concern. But potentially any job could be at risk if supervisors or others in positions of power are opposed to controversial activities of employees (outside the work environment). This could be a serious concern, as you have much less influence with them than with good friends or people in your family.

• I might lose some good friends if it’s known that I participate in naturism.

  This is similar to problems you might encounter with employers. Much depends on the strength of each relationship. If the relationship is strong, there may be little problem - unless the other person has some deep-seated animus towards nudity (because of religion, for example). You might be able to persuade them to accept your participation in naturism - or even try it themselves. But if the friendship is only casual, should potential problems be a deterrent?

• Being known openly as a person who enjoys naturism and social nudity could negatively affect many people’s opinions of me.

  This is almost assured - especially with controversial things like naturism and the nudity taboos. The issue here is whether you’re free to live your life as you prefer - if your choices don’t harm others. More succinctly, according to the “Wiccan Rede” - “An it harm none do what ye will.” This certainly applies to what may affect your family, your friends, and many others you sometimes interact with. But should you have to yield to the preferences of various others in your community? That would be absurd, since people have such widely varying opinions.

  This last issue is far more complex than the others above. No matter how you choose to live, many others will disapprove. It’s your right to live differently, as long as it conforms with the “rede”. That may disadvantage you in various ways - but the tradeoff of living your life as you wish can be worthwhile. Nobel Prize-winning philosopher Bertrand Russell provides one of the best expositions of this in Chapter Nine of his book, The Conquest of Happiness. The chapter is entitled “Fear of Public Opinion”. Here’s the gist: “Owing to all these differences of outlook a person of given tastes and convictions may find himself practically an outcast while he lives in one set, although in another set he would be accepted as an entirely ordinary human being.” So what if the vast majority want to wear clothes? Naturists want to be naked. To heck with clothes!

Here’s what you could do to change people’s minds about naturism and potentially participate in it.

• Things you can do with a friend or a small group of friends

  • Discuss what naturism is really about and why you enjoy it.

  • Lend naturist books or magazines to friends. Or purchase the books or magazine subscriptions as gifts.

  • Acquire and display artistic nudity in your home - photos, paintings, and sculptures. Copies of such artistic works also make fine gifts.

  • Invite friends to visit naturist clubs and resorts with you.

  • Bring friends with you to clothing-optional beaches, skinny-dipping places, hot springs, and the like, if there are any nearby.

  • Show naturist-related films/movies to friends at home.

  • Bring friends with you for naked hiking or camping in places such as National Forests or BLM land (in the U.S.) where nudity is generally allowed.

  • Invite friends for informal clothing-optional parties at your home for dinners, watching movies or TV, swimming or hot-tubbing (if you have either), playing board games, etc.

  • Have a body painting session in your own (or a friend’s) garage. You need to supply only brushes, washable paints, showers (or garden hoses) for participants afterward, and plenty of paper to lay down for easy clean-up at the end.

• Things that generally require some planning, expense, and possibly larger groups

  • Reserve state or local group campgrounds that can be used for private clothing-optional camping on a weekend (or longer).

  • Make arrangements with restaurants that have private dining rooms to allow naturists and potential naturists to get together and enjoy clothing-optional meals (at agreed-upon prices). Remind everyone who might be naked to bring a towel to sit on.

  • Find local hotels or motels that will rent meeting rooms for two or three hours so that naturists can explain naturism to others who might be interested - and allow participants to be naked if they wish. (And have a towel to sit on if they might be naked.)

  • Arrange for clothing-optional drawing, painting, or photography classes with nude models and experienced teachers. Suggest participants be partly or fully naked too, if they wish. Some might enjoy being nude models.

  • If there are one or more yoga studios nearby, enquire whether they will hold naked yoga classes on request - or even regularly.

  • Find out whether local public or private swimming pools will allow naked use outside of normal facility hours.

  • Arrange clothing-optional canoeing or river-rafting trips from businesses that can provide such trips with experienced guides.

  • Schedule clothing-optional hot air balloon rides if such are available relatively nearby and the operators are willing.

  • Rent one (or more) houseboats from providers on lakes sufficiently large for reasonable privacy.

  • Arrange clothing-optional bungee-jumping sessions if there are businesses relatively nearby that provide such and are amenable to nudity.

• Other miscellaneous possibilities

  • Start a local naturist group of your own. This works best in areas with a sufficiently large population to form a group of reasonable size. The group may be either independent or affiliated with an established naturist resort or a larger organization such as AANR or TNSF. You might find that using the Meetup service is helpful, although it requires extra work on your part.

  • Locate nearby beaches, skinny-dipping places, hot springs, etc., on private or public land - provided the owners or managers will allow nude use.

  • If you might be interested in mule-packing trips of several days or a week in remote areas, there may be outfitters that can supply the mules and experienced guides (for a price, of course).

  • State and Federal lands are always in need of people to maintain existing trails and develop new ones. (Especially when land managers are unable to arrange this by themselves.) Small groups of naturists who enjoy clothing-optional hiking would be natural to work on building and maintaining trails. (They might even work naked, unless sturdy shoes or other protection is needed.)

  • In rural or semi-rural areas, local private landowners may be willing to allow use of parts of their property for naturist gatherings lasting one or more days.

  • If a landed naturist club or resort is nearby, arrange for special occasions where people potentially interested in naturism can gather to learn about the place (at specially reduced prices).

  • If you’re associated with a nearby college or university, consider starting a naturist group on campus.

So, what can reasonably be expected if you’re willing to take up some of these suggestions?

I think the results could be very good. You’ll benefit immediately by confirming that naturism deserves to be an important part of your life. And, less directly, you’ll benefit by influencing others to enjoy naturism along with you. Humans are inherently social. Group experiences are usually more rewarding than solitary ones.

It’s unfortunately true that young people these days are considerably less interested in naturism than people of their parents’ generation, and that of their grandparents’ even less so. Older naturists can help younger people understand naturism much better and appreciate the fine experiences it has to offer. But younger people who already understand and enjoy naturism are in the best position to influence others close to their age towards participation in naturism.

My previous article about the nudity taboo makes the general point that this taboo is mainly why persuading others to participate in naturism is difficult. Probably the best way to overcome any unreasonable taboo is to realize that there are situations where it clearly is unreasonable. This is the message that - in the case of naturism - needs to be communicated to others you’d like to participate with you.