Offended by Nude People?

If you are learning about nude recreation, you may have heard about how nudists come in all shapes, size, colors and ages.   Yes, tou will fit in no matter what you look like.  Yet, some of you may be worried about being offended by what you'll see - by what other people look like.  I can assure you, what other people look like is a non-issue.

Some reasonable questions by someone new to nude recreation:

• Will I see someone much older or younger than I am?
• Will I see someone much larger or smaller than I am?
• Will I be offended by seeing different kinds of people, people different from me, nude?

Yes, you will see people different from you.  The amazing part is that you are unlikely to be offended.  Contrary to everything you imagined you knew about the human body in all its shapes and forms, real life is much different.

Like a doctor, I've now seen most every body type, shape, size and age in natural, nude states.  Like a doctor, I am neither shocked nor offended.  Looking at a body is like looking at a face.  A face "just is".  A face is human.  Except, I'm not a doctor.  I've been a nudist for a handful of years.

The "context" of the environment changes how you see people.  Being younger than 80 or 90% of the people at nudist resorts and beaches, I have been surprised at how normal, natural and un-shocking it is to see someone, say an 80 year old woman, nude in her natural state.  It goes against everything I thought I knew prior to trying nude recreation.

Why is this so?

My guess is that it is human instinct.   I "feel" no different seeing this women nude than I would if I just saw her face while she was clothed.  Strange, isn't it?  

Imagine going to the zoo and seeing all of the different animals naked.  There are zebras and gorillas and tigers and giraffes.  The animals are natural.  Seeing humans in their natural state "feels the same".  Does that make sense?

Take a look at this small picture of a nudist couple's backsides (butts!).  It's a picture on the American Association for Nude Recreation's website.  The couple are no supermodels by any means.  They are real people.  Middle-aged, imperfect, natural.

I have a feeling that if you try nude recreation, you'll have this same experience within minutes after being nude around a lot of other people.

Besides the freedom and comfort of being without clothes in a natural state, the experience of being nude around other people in a safe, non-gawking environment creates a new appreciation of human-ness.  An un-learning happens.

The truth is that how people look is irrelevant.  We all age.  We all have different shapes and sizes and imperfections.  Hiding these imperfections behind cloth seems to be more restrictive than liberating.

Nude recreation frees your body from clothing and at the same time, frees your mind.

You Can Get Naked to Beat Energy Costs

With a long hot summer upon us and ever increasing energy costs, there's one way to beat the heat and surging prices. Get naked!

Getting naked in the comfort of your home is easy. First, be sure the window blinds are closed. Then, just remove your clothing the same way your do when taking a shower.

Simple.



Cloth coverings (clothes) keep heat in, making humans hot and sweaty. The cloth material keeps the heat in and radiates the heat, making you hotter. What do you do when hot? You turn the fans and air conditioners to high. I know you do.

Your hot and sweaty clothes now need to be washed in the washing machine and then dried in a dryer.

Air conditioners, washers and dryers use electricity. Electricity costs more money each year. The washing machine also adds to the water bill.

Being without clothes costs nothing. It's cooler and may keep you from turning on the A/C. You may even need to wash less clothing.

Now, I'm not saying go out and be a nudist and visit nude beaches and the likes. But it sure does seem like a good idea to be naked in the comfort of your own home.

No Pants Day is May 2nd 2008

What's the first thing people take off at nudist resorts and clothing optional beaches?

Pants.

Pants. Who needs them?

To celebrate going without pants, a group has created No Pants Day. Though it has no relation to nudist recreation or the "nudist community", it seems worth mentioning. No Pants Day is a day where "everyone, be they students, respectable businessmen, or cherished community leaders, leave their pants behind. Usually this means wearing thick, appropriately modest boxer shorts, but bloomers, slips, briefs, and boxer-briefs all work as well."

No Pants Day is a fun event not intended to cause harm. There are no profound goals, like nudism, and the goal is just to have fun. As the No Pants Day websites states: "When large groups of people parade around in public without their pants, amazing things are bound to happen. At the very least, you’ll take your drab, wretched life a little less seriously, at least for one day."

Who can argue with that?

Sleeping Naked: the next big thing?

Does sleeping naked lead to nudism?

The Urban Dictionary, a slang community-made dictionary, defines sleeping naked as:

• "A practice that is shunned publicly by the general populace, but privately performed by millions. Particularly enjoyable when you have satin sheets."

Great definition. I've been sleeping naked since a teenager. I enjoy the comfort. I am not alone.

This survey, though terribly unscientific, also found that 53% of people sleep naked all of the time. Another 26% sleep naked only sometimes.

The heat gets to another 7% of the participants who admit to sleeping naked only when its hot. A weird survey choice, 6% sleep naked just with their friends. This may mean only during intimate relations with partners. Who knows? I told you the survey was unscientific.

Surprisingly, only 6% of people have never slept naked. Are you one of them?

And over on 43Things and again here, sleeping naked is one of the "43 things" people want to do. One naked sleeper says "I feel so free when I sleep in the nude. It’s best when it’s hot and you sleep naked without any blankets to cover you up."

And this person on 43Things goes explained how overcoming her fears of sleeping naked were worth it:

"Ok, I have to say that I am a very paranoid person at times, and it took me a while to be able to do this. I kept thinking, “what if the house catches on fire or something horrible happens and I have to run outside!”... But then I came to this realization… SO What>>> It’s just a body>> It’s not that Serious! So I tried it, and loved it. It’s even more spectacular with someone you love lying next to you."

Right on! It's just a body. Clothes seems extraneous, don't they?

But you are still confused, right? Your mom still dresses you and tells you how to think, doesn't she? If you want to sleep naked, but don't know how, I can point you in the right direction. Here's detailed instructions that tell you everything you need to know about how to sleep naked.

Be careful though. Elsewhere on the 'net, someone jokingly says that sleeping naked leads to nudism. The horror!

"I hear sleeping naked is a 'gateway activity' that leads to nudism. Once you’re naked in the bed, what’s next? Naked in the yard?"

Yes, sleep naked and you may realize that being naked is not always about sex. You might even want to learn more about nudism. The MSN Encarta definition of nudism (naturism) is this:

"wearing no clothes as custom: the practice of going without clothes, usually in a communal setting or in designated areas, in the belief that nudity is a healthy natural state"

Next thing you know, you'll wonder what else you could do naked. You may even end up reading more on this Nudist Beginnings blog or visiting a nudist travel blog like this. Soon, you'll consider swimming naked and then visiting nude beaches or maybe even a nude resort.

You may even end up as one of those people playing naked volleyball on the beach. That's what happened to me. It ain't so bad.

Complete list of reasons to wear clothes

After hours of research on this April 1st, I am pleased to present the Complete List of Reasons to Wear Clothes:

1. Clothes are good when the weather is too cold to be comfortable.

2. Clothes are good for the safety of construction workers, race car drivers, etc.

3. Clothes are good for sterile environments like hospitals, medical labs, and research centers.

4. Clothes are good for graduation ceremonies (with nothing under the "cap and gown" required).

5. Clothes are good for religious ceremonies for symbolism.

There you have it, the complete list of 5 reasons. This was more difficult than I originally thought.

Competing with the 205 Arguments in Favor of Naturism appearing in The Naturist Society's (TNS) N magazine in 1996 is just not possible. The list of arguments was compiled by K. Bacher from various sources.

Here's a sample of the arguments:

15. Children are not born with any shame about nudity. They learn to be ashamed of their own nudity.

21. Many indigenous tribes go completely naked without shame, even today. It is only through extended contact with the "modern" world that they learn to be "modest."

29. Nudity is not, by itself, erotic, and nudity in mixed groups is not inherently sexual. These are myths propagated by a clothes -obsessed society. Sexuality is a matter of intent rather than state of dress.

33. Studies have demonstrated that countries with fewer hangups about nudity have lower teen pregnancy and abortion rates.

45. Naturism is the antithesis of pornography.

101. Clothing is produced by environmentally irresponsible processes from environmentally irresponsible sources.

205. One of the most important arguments in support of nudism is personal experience.

Nudist Myth Busting: Clothing is Required

Humans need clothing, don't they? Let's dispel the myth of clothing. A brief sampling of works by other authors makes it clear that living nude is more common than you may think.

In the recent and recommended book "The Complete Guide to Nudism and Naturism" by Liz and James Egger, the husband and wife nudist authors of 30 years provide some interesting facts and evidence why clothing is not a physical requirement for survival.

They point out that the natives in Tierra del Fuego in South America's southernmost region have lived nude in a climate with 43F (6C) degree average weather. Charles Darwin is among the people to document this.

The Egger's go on to say "The difference is that [the natives] had never felt the need for clothing, and so their bodies had adapted to the cold."

NUFF, the Naturist UK Fact File, is compiling a list of many existing and extinct nude cultures around the world. The list is surprising. Did you know that the peoples of the indigenous tribes of the Caribbean, the Caribs, were usually nude at the time of discovery by Christopher Colombus?

In a 1927 book entitled "Studies in the Psychology of Sex: Vol. 1" by Havelock Ellis, the author examines many cultures whose people do not normally cover themselves with fabric. The book is dated and relative, but points out many cultures where nudity has been the norm:

"The Mandurucu women of Brazil... are completely naked, but they are careful to avoid any postures which might be considered indecorous..."

"The semi-nude natives of the island of Nias in the Indian Ocean are "modest by nature," paying no attention to their own nudity or that of others,..."

And then there are cultures where clothing is restrictive:

"In [1927] England, the regulations of the Swimming Clubs affiliated to the Amateur Swimming Association, require that the male swimmer's costume shall extend not less than eight inches from the bifurcation downward, and that the female swimmer's costume shall extend to within not more than three inches from the knee."

Living naked is a way of life in many cultures. Myth busted.

Clothing, nudists and the self

How does colored fabric change who we are? Researchers says clothing has an impact on how you perceive yourself.

In a University of Michigan study entitled "Clothing in the Self-System of Adolescents" (1997 - view), researchers explored the cultural impact of clothing in relation to the self during those developmentally important adoloescent years.

The researchers explain how clothing and the self are linked:

"If adolescents regard clothing as a tool for validation of the self or inclusion in social interaction through which the self can be established, they may value clothing more than other objects as part of the self. They may perceive clothing as central to the self and psychologically become linked to clothing. The centrality and psychological linkage of the person to clothing is what is meant by the psychological closeness or proximity of clothing to self."

What does this mean to nudists? Well, except for the lucky few who live on nudist resorts, most nudists I know wear clothing for work, for shopping, and even around the house. During these times, clothing may impact our self perception.

When we finally are in a nude, we have no fabric to define us. We have the freedom of our own skin.

The impact of clothing

John Veltheim wrote an interesting article called "Naked beneath your clothing" a while back. I won't claim to agree with every last point, but he presents a lot of good thoughts.

Here, he provides an argument about the negative impact of clothing on our body and mind:

"When people use clothing as a means of shutting out the world and covering up to stop the world from seeing their distorted inner self image, they create a tragedy of immense proportions. When hiding behind clothes, people are closing down their body energically and psychologically. A healthy body has its energy, nervous system, and life forces flowing freely throughout it. When shut down psychologically and physically, the body energy shuts down, distorts and flows abnormally. This manifests major kinks in spiritual, emotional, mental and physical growth."

He seems to be saying that clothing is preventing humans from reaching their full potential.

Nudist Myth Busting: Nudist beaches are full of naked people with perfect bodies

When I used to go to "bathing suit required" beaches, much time was spent worrying about appearance. I usually ended up skipping the beach because I didn't look as good as the guy on the cover of Men's Fitness magazine.

America, land of the free, Paris Hilton idolatry, and millions of bathing-suit-wearing beachgoers worried about how they look.

Enter nudists.

...naked on a beach..., originally uploaded by Marco Ammannati.

Most nudists see the beach as much more comfortable and natural without clothing. Looks are not going to stop an experienced nudist from returning to the beach.

"Without clothing, you are who you are," they say.

Nudists are people in every shape and size. Nudists are real people - representative of the population at large. Real people - without shame. (I have yet to see a supermodel though.)

I'm sure there are real people "on the fence" about trying nude beaches and nudist resorts. When I first learned about nudism, I was on the fence too. But perfect bodies at nude beaches turned out to be a myth.

In fact, body imperfections are ignored and seem to be irrelevant in a nudist environment. No one stares at a scar.

I saw a nudist amputee about 30 minutes into my first time trying social nudism. I was surprised that no one paid any attention. That proved to me that body acceptance among nudists really is the norm. Years later, this still seems true.

Myth Busted. Nudists are in every shape and size.

Do nudists have a word for people who wear clothes?

Yes, anyone who is not a nudist is called a "textile". The word textile refers to the non-nude person being clothed with textile materials (i.e., cloth is a textile).

As I understand it, textile is not a derogatory word in any way. Nudists are the most accepting groups of people on the planet.  The nudist may even have remorse when using the word.  "Those poor textiles, they do not know what they are missing."

Sometimes, when nudists are not nude, they may call themselves "textile" as in "While at work, I am a textile, but at home I an a nudist."   Or, "When the weather is too chilly to be nude, I am happy to be a warm textile."

Make sense?