Will "Gen-X" naturists be most able to promote naturism?

These are the people best situated to increase the popularity of naturism

Many younger people who are already naturists or potentially interested in it are uncomfortable with visiting naturist clubs and resorts because many (or even most) of the people there are older. That doesn’t mean the younger people are “ageists” who prefer not to socialize with older people. It’s simply that younger people have interests and preferences that differ from those of people older than themselves. That older naturists tend to spend more time on lounge chairs beside the pool - while younger people usually prefer more vigorous activities - is hardly surprising.

Beginning in the 1960s and for about three decades people in the U.S. born after WW2 were the strongest force behind naturism. But that force crested and then subsided around the turn of the century and generally has declined ever since. U.S. naturism continues to show weakness, and could well experience further decline - unless younger people who do or could enjoy social nudity step up and make an effort to reverse the trend.

I’ve previously written some posts examining how U. S. naturism has been affected by transitions between recent social generations. They were:

• How serious has U.S. naturism's decline been in the past several decades?

• Participation in naturism has followed a pattern of increase and decline like many other social trends

• What explains the way participation in naturism rose from 1930 until around 1990, but has declined since then?

I won’t repeat most of the details here, but the third of those posts provides a good summary.

The concept of differing social generations is by now pretty familiar to most people. There are slight differences of opinion as to what years correspond to which generations. For the present purpose, however, here is the list as provided by Wikipedia, giving the dates of birth and age (by the end of this year) of people in recent generations:

1. Baby Boomers - born in 1946 to 1964 - age range 60 to 78

2. Generation X - born in 1965 to 1980 - age range 44 to 59

3. Millenials/Generation Y - born in 1981 to 1996 - age range 28 to 43

4. Zoomers/Generation Z - born in 1997 to 2012 - age range 12 to 27

Of course, people in any particular range might identify more with others in the preceding or later generations. People sometimes identify themselves in ways that don’t seem most “natural”. But for simplicity, we have to stick with generalities.

Interestingly, Gen-X people don’t have a specific title for themselves like the others do. Why that’s true isn’t very clear. Wikipedia suggests some possible stereotypes. For example, they may be known as the “MTV generation” (referring to a music video channel). Sometimes they were characterized as “slackers”, “cynical”, or “disaffected”. But more recently some research has suggested that, currently in midlife, Gen-Xers may be described as “active”, “happy”, and “having a work-life balance”. However, since individuals in any particular generation have many differences among themselves, dependence on stereotypes isn’t a good idea.

Nevertheless, what is true is that simply because of their current age range (44 to 59) the most successful Gen-Xers tend to be near the top of the hierarchy in various fields like corporate management, politics, science, higher education, etc. So, while they may not yet be at the pinnacle of success, among them are the people who have the most influence over the direction of society in general.

Younger people, however, seem more influential in realms like entertainment, fashion preferences, “lifestyles”, and other “cultural” domains. This was absolutely true of “Boomers” when they were young. Perhaps that’s because young people are more interested in what is “trendy”. They want to focus on whatever seems most popular with their peers. That may be part of the reason that, unfortunately, they have little interest in social nudity. But I’m not a sociologist and can’t claim to be authoritative on this.

Here are some of the advantages that Gen-X naturists have for promoting naturism:

1. They are closest in age to older naturists, so they are most likely to share at least some of their values and preferences - the enjoyment of social nudity, in particular.

2. They are also relatively close in age to younger people (“Millennials”), so they have a reasonable chance of interesting the following generation in social nudity.

3. They are mostly still in good health, so they’re more likely to participate in moderately strenuous activities like sports, hiking, and camping that may be more difficult for older naturists.

4. After several decades of employment, many individuals and couples are now financially secure and more likely to own their homes. So they may more

   easily engage in leisure activities than younger people.

5. More naturist activities are available to them because of having sufficient free time and financial means. For example: clothing-optional cruises, vacations in warmer climates during colder seasons, and travel to places in Western Europe and elsewhere with more vibrant naturist cultures than their home country.

6. They may have more free time without parental responsibilities, since often all of their children are now adults and living on their own. They also don’t have to worry about including younger children in naturist activities.

Now, given these factors, what sorts of things should Gen-X naturists be doing to promote naturism? Although the advantages just listed are important, the number of things they could be doing to promote naturism isn’t very different from what any other adult naturist could do. But having more free time and financial security allows Gen-Xers to engage in a wider range of activities, or to spend more effort on a selected few.

Here are some examples:

• Work with existing landed naturist clubs and resorts to provide members and visitors with more recreational activities, such as hiking trails, sports facilities, and availability of the latest technology (e. g. reliable cell phone service and wi-fi).

• Organize outdoor naturist activities in National Forests and other state and federal land where nudity is acceptable - camping, hiking, canoeing and kayaking, trail building and maintenance, rock climbing, etc. Part of the necessary effort is figuring out how to publicize the activities so that as many current and potential naturists as possible will learn of the opportunities.

• Identify local restaurants that would be willing to allow clothesfree dinner events (in private rooms) for local naturists to socialize and enjoy a great meal.

• Arrange for and publicize educational presentations for community members who might be interested in naturism to learn about what naturism is, what’s enjoyable about it, and why it isn’t a front for sexual activities. Hotels and some restaurants may provide private meeting rooms for the sessions at a reasonable price.

• Organize new non-landed clubs where none currently exist in locations that are convenient for a reasonable number of people to join. Such clubs can arrange various events for their members - from traditional outdoor activities to more exotic possibilities like hot-air balloon rides or even sky-diving.

• Work with local authorities where potential clothing-optional beaches exist to allow nude use in certain parts of the beach. Arrange for proper signage and periodic clean-ups to keep the beach neat and tidy.

• Bring one or more open-minded friends when enjoying naturist activities, such as visits to a naturist club or resort or clothing-optional beach, a naked group hike, a naked camping trip, or anything else that can be enjoyed without clothes. Just be clear that getting naked isn’t required if someone you bring doesn’t feel ready to try it.

Although younger people can also help with most of these things, people who are a little older are likely to have more individual connections with business owners and local authorities to smooth the way for actually putting these ideas into practice.

All of these ideas help fulfill the vision of “grassroots naturism” - which is insufficiently promoted by most current regional and national naturist organizations.