Becoming a Nudist – Chapter 3. Physical, Psychological, Emotional, Spiritual and Social Nudity – Social Nudity

Previous part – Spiritual Nudity

The day you get naked on a beach, at a resort, for a hike or at home, with other nudists, is a special day. Not only it’s a day when you break a social barrier that has been imposed by society, but it’s a day you break your own intimate barrier and enter a complete new world of freedom.

For many people, getting naked in front of others and seeing others naked is unthinkable. But those who try generally never go back and become lifetime nudist in a few minutes or hours. The reason being that nudism is a social lifestyle. For sure, many are closet nudists, as I call them. They practice nudism in their apartment or house on their own and never venture outside. I not only encourage them to venture out, but I would command them to do so if I could. They would discover a formidable new dimension of nudism that we are going to detail in this final part: social.

The First Encounter

I remember acutely the first time I got naked, as a child, with my parents on that nudist beach. If felt strange at first seeing my parents naked and being naked myself. But a few minutes later, seeing that everybody was also naked and minding their own business, it just felt okay and I forgot I was naked. This was it, I was a nudist. A few years later, as a young adult, who had forgotten nudism as a teenager, I ended up on a clothing-optional beach and nudism hit me with force. I swiftly dropped my swimsuit and jumped into the sea naked. I recalled my childhood, my real passion for nudity and embraced nudism again. It would never leave me.

Although I was almost exclusively going to nude beaches, it was not until I stepped into a nudist resort that nudism struck me as being a social lifestyle. Like my first nude beach experience, I remember acutely my first resort experience. Having been greeted by a friendly nude lady, she called a staff member to walk me around the facility. He told me that if I wanted to stay clothed that was okay. I asked awkwardly if that was okay too if I undressed and he told me he’ll wait. I dropped all my clothes, throw them in the car and walked around the campground with the staff member. He introduced me to other people he knew along the way and we chatted about the grounds, nudism and life in general.

I had a wonderful weekend, had a few drinks with new friends, shared a barbecue and enjoyed a weekend when I did not touch a piece of clothing. That first encounter with social nudism left an imprint that would guide me for the rest of my life. Not only nudists were mostly friendly people, all my inhibitions vanished and I could enjoy what I loved doing, in the best possible way: naked, without the fear of being misjudged or misunderstood. This weekend, I ran, hiked, cooked, had drinks, played volleyball, and many other activities, without any afterthought about my nudity. Nudism had become social and it felt so good!

Look At Me In The Eyes

The first misconception about nudism we often hear about by textiles is that they have a few body flaws they would never dare showing. It’s a misconception because nobody cares in a nudist setting. Nudists look at each other in the eyes. Big breasts, small breasts, big penis, small penis, shaved, trimmed, hairy, nobody really cares.

Of course, our bodies can be a source of discussion, but not a source of judgement or stare. In the latter case, most resorts apply a zero tolerance policies and people are warned then ejected. Nudism is not about showing naked bodies and judging them. Nudism is about being comfortable in our own skin without the fear of being judged. We leave body shame and judgement when we abandon our clothes.

Did I never look at breasts or penises? Of course I did, I’m a human being. But I neither stared at them nor got excited by them. I looked at breasts and penises as normal parts of human beings. I genuinely love nudism and find nude bodies beautiful in their entirety. However, I always look at people, nudists included, in the eye and most nudists do the same. This is one of the reasons, nudism is so relaxing. There’s no competition about clothing and the way I look dressed. I’m just who I am, entirely naked and vulnerable.

The beauty about this habit of looking at people in the eye, is you spot voyeurs immediately and can report them hastily. As said, nudism is not sexual, it’s a social and safe practice of communal nudity. When in such a safe environment where nudity is the norm, you quickly forget that you are nude.

I Did Not Realize You Were Nude

I was preparing the breakfast when my neighbor went to say hello. I offered him a coffee and as he accepted, we sat together and spoke for a while. It was a beautiful day and, while he passed by to say hello, he also conveyed an invite for a friendly barbecue party he was throwing in the evening. I asked him if he wanted me to bring something. Some meat and bear will be found, he replied.

After my breakfast, I went running, crossed the path of a few people. Then I spent some time working on the blog, went swimming at the pool, relaxed a bit and the day was spent lounging and relaxing. As the day was coming to an end, I joined the little troop over a barbecue and spent a wonderful and fun evening. To this description, one may say that it was a pretty normal weekend day. The main difference was that all people involved, including me, my neighbor, and the various people I met along the day and during the barbecue party were all naked!

As I was at a nudist resort, nudity was, of course, the norm. It was not a topic of discussion, although I remember we discussed nudism during the party, because we expect people to wear whatever they want including nothing, which the case for a vast majority of people on nudist grounds. As I could remember, there were a few ladies who had just sarongs around their waist during the party, but it was not really noticeable.

When nudity becomes the de facto norm, you don’t “see” it. However, it has a very special benefit: it makes people friendlier and more open. When you’re naked, you’ve nothing to hide, you don’t have a role to play. You are who you are, as you are, and it’s an extraordinary feeling. Every time I’m meeting new nudists, I keep being amazed at how friendly and welcoming they are. We may not become friends, but we mingle with ease. Nudity is a wonderful social enabled, that makes relationship fun, simple and relaxed.

Fun, Simple, Relaxed

“First time, here?” Yes, I replied to the man who came by me as I was soaking in the sun by the swimming pool. Conversation went on, and sooner than later, I was dragged into a swimming pool volleyball game, which proved to be really fun.

After the volley, it was time for a beer with a bunch of other guys and girls. We chatted for a while and agreed to meet later for a drink at the bar. The remainder of the weekend spent so fast that it was difficult to recall all of its details. What I can remember though was I met many friendly people and I spent a fun, simple and relaxed weekend.

You may have guessed that it was a nudist weekend and that none of the people that I interacted with were wearing any form of clothing, except shoes and hats, at least for some, and some sarongs for one or two women. Some ladies were wearing jewellery, including belly chains and anklets, a few men had PA and genital piercings, and overall, the naturist spirit was high the whole weekend. I will come back to jewellery in a later chapter as it’s sometimes a controversial topic in nudist settings. 

However, there was not a single embarrassing moment and some nudists were parents who were there with their kids of all ages. Was nudity a topic to discuss? Of course not. Did it feel awkward? Not a single second. Actually, quite the opposite! People were having fun, they enjoyed their time in a relaxed atmosphere.

Nudity was the way to be, full stop. We were in a nudist resort, everybody was naked. Early in the morning, when the atmosphere was still chilly, some men were wearing a t-shirt and some women had a sarong tied around their neck. But as soon as the temperature went up, nudity came back. I think this is one of the ideas that I really loved about nudist and nudist settings. You’re cold or get a little bit sunburned? Wear something to get some protection. Temperatures are comfortable or you’re in the shade, drop everything and get naked. Nobody will ask you anything or judge because you are naked. This is one of those moments you tell yourself there’s no way you come back to the textile world.

No Coming Back

I say that once you tasted and enjoy nudism, you never go back to textilism. Of course, the world is not nudist and there are occasions when clothes are enjoyable. But the simple fact of knowing that you can get rid of all your clothes and enjoy life with friends in the simplest of the suits, your birthday one, brings levity to life.

The moment you discover nudism, you feel imprisoned by even the smallest piece of clothing. The moment you discover nudism, you realize swimsuits are totally useless, even stupid. The moment you discover nudism, you get rid of some physical and psychological inhibitions and feel lighter. The moment you discover nudism, you start noticing some sensations that were tucked away for so long. The moment you discover nudism, you want to share with the world how nudism is awesome. The moment you discover nudism, you wonder why not everybody is a nudist. The moment you discover nudism, you want all your friends and family to be come nudist too.

Once a nudist, always a nudist. There’s no coming back. I met a lot of nudists who discovered nudism a long time ago, then remained textile for many years due to family or life situations, and finally went back to nudism. They all told me that the minute they dropped their clothes on a beach or in a resort, they felt like being born again. And they added they will never accept to drop nudism completely as they did in the past.

As we have seen in the previous pages, nudism has so many benefits that it seems weird to discard it. There are strong cultural, societal and religious forces that force people to consider nudity as bad. No rational arguments will pull them into considering social and communal nudity. As long as, they leave nudists enjoying simple and plain nudity, I respect their choices. Respect is a two-way path. I believe it’s the only way to live peacefully all together.

But beyond all the many benefits of nudism, I also believe that nudism can help us achieve a higher objective. Not all people are outspoken and confident. Lack of confidence can have detrimental consequences in life. By embracing nudism, we learn to feel better, look at others in a different way and ultimately be better. By embracing nudism, we can wash away shame from our lives, as we will see in the next chapter.

Next part – Chapter 4. The End of Shame – What Is Shame

Strip Nude, Stay Nude, Live Nude and Share the Nude Love!

Image by Jackson David from Pixabay