The look of other people can undress, judge and denigrate. It can also be benevolent, smiling and enjoyable. Nudity is the ultimate test of self-confidence we sometimes think. If I am confident enough to remain naked, others are knowing that I am, it is not necessary to shock or surprise, then this confidence will be the basis of many other actions. It is not the glance of others that is annoying; it is what one does with it. Of course, an insistent and voyeuristic look can quickly become unbearable. It should not be tolerated. Voyeurs and exhibitionists have no place, neither in public places in general nor in naturist places in particular.
A little parenthesis on voyeurism. I do not condemn or judge here. There are voyeurs because there are exhibitionists. Everyone finds pleasure in personal sexual practices. Where the line is crossed is when it is not consenting people. If I tan naked, I may not want one or more people to take sexual pleasure in my nudity. If I am an exhibitionist, I might enjoy it, but simple nudity is not sexual, and amalgam should not be done. Closed parenthesis.
Nobody looks
This question of the glance of others is often simpler, initially, in a club or a naturist hotel. In such an environment, kindness is the rule, and voyeurs are excluded. The gaze of the other is then turned towards the being and not towards the body. Everybody is naked. And even when a person is not (And yes, sometimes we go to the resort’s office while dressed before leaving or arriving), she knows that she is in a naturist environment and that the body is naked.
This is often what amazes the neo-naturist. Nobody’s looking at him. No one watches him from head to toe. No one laughs at his flaws. What then surprises is the diversity of bodies. Little perfection, a lot of humanity. After a few moments, one forgets ones nudity to embrace only well-being and comfort. This is the culmination of this process of getting accustomed to nudity. One is comfortable in his body; then this ease becomes total comfort when nudity becomes shared. It is then impossible to usually go back. Not that it will be impossible to wear clothes or swimsuits in other circumstances, but this comfort and the well-being associated with nudity do not leave us anymore, and we seek it as soon as possible.
Me naked, the other dressed
It then becomes possible to get along with dressed people while one is naked. I experienced it recently at the beach. It was not a nudist beach, although since there were very few scattered people, some were naked, as I was. At one point, a dressed man came to ask a question. I stood up and we discussed normally. It was a casual conversation with a fully dressed gentleman while I was stark naked. Some people do not support it easily in the beginning. Some discomfort is created. But it only remains if it is shared. From the moment the dressed person makes no case of your nudity, the discomfort disappears, and you can live naked In the midst of textiles without realizing it. Living this, for example, during a naked hike is a unique and precious moment. The naked body then becomes normal and natural, which it would never have ceased to be.
The look of others loses all its importance. Well-being can be settled sustainably.
Photo by Palon Youth on Unsplash
[…] can be reached only when there is nothing to be afraid of and when we are detached from the others looking at us. If you are afraid of being seen naked, your wellbeing will not be complete. You may be naked, but […]