Previous part – Nude is not lewd
Do you want to be with other nudists and be able to share your nudism with others? Great! Get naked and go grab the hand of somebody to walk with you to the wonderful land of social nudity.
I may sound like a broken record but nudism is an incredible lifestyle on many fronts, as we have seen in the previous pages of this book. It’s also highly controversial, as nudity is an integral part of it. For some, nudity remains something that needs to be kept totally private, for others even in privacy, it’s something that needs to be avoided at all costs.
Those beliefs against nudity are ingrained into culture, society and religion. I have a simple classification for textiles: open, respectful, firmly against and enemies. “Open” are textiles who may become nudists and some will. “Respectful” are textiles who won’t become nudists but respect the right to nudism and some even accept to be mixed with nudists. “Totally against” are those who are totally against nudism but will allow nudism to happen behind closed doors and fenced grounds. “Ennemies” are those who consider nudists heretics and would imprison them if they could.
In our quest to share nudism, open textiles are the one to convince to join us or accept our nudity while they’re with us. My experience, at least in European, America and some African countries, is open people are more common than we may think, and nudity is often just “one question away”. Here’s a list of question to probe the openness of our counterpart to nudism and potentially open an opportunity to be nude and share nudity:
- Do you mind nudity? I’m a naturist and enjoy being naked, with no sexual intention.
- Have you ever met nudists? If not, I’m one of them and enjoy being naked, with no sexual intention.
- Are you a nudist? I’m one and enjoy being naked, with no sexual intention.
- Do you know the many benefits of nudism? I’m a nudist and enjoy those benefits as often as I can.
- Have you ever tried nudism? I’m a nudist and will happily share the many benefits nudism have.
There may be many others, but those are the ones I’m using to break the ice and I have been successful with, to get naked most of the time. All is required is a little bit of courage and a ton of respect.
Two Is a Party
It’s a beautiful warm day when nudity would be an obvious option and you meet a friend at a place, yours, hers/his, or anywhere you could be naked. Seize the opportunity to ask one of the questions above. If, to the first question, the answer is no, then jump into another one, which is “Then, do you mind if I get naked as the temperature is really calling for nudity?” The answer is generally no and half of the battle is won. If the answer is yes, you then need to probe the reasons she/he doesn’t mind nudity, but minds your nudity right now. It happened a couple of times and is always linked to the presence of children or the risk of being seen. The second depends on the jurisdiction and may pose a real legal risk. The first is more of a convention and lies in education, but is often a blocker that you may want to respect. You may want to respect those factors and ask a clarifying question, “So, next time when no children are present and being seen isn’t an issue, I’ll be able to be naked?” If it’s a yes, you’ve won your case.
Now, if your friend is OK with your nudity and you get naked, ask him/her to join you. She/he may disagree as she/he may never have done that before, then you can enter a discussion about nudism and share its many benefits. However, as we’ve seen in the first chapter, nudity is deeply tied to emotions and those are often not friends with rational explanations. You’re entering an emotional world that may require time but may be rewarded by a new nudist friend.
Whether it’s going to a nude beach, nude hiking or just chilling nude, having a friend whom you can share nudism with makes a complete change. Here’s what it looks like. Nudity isn’t something to be discussed anymore, it just happens. Nudity may become the first choice for many activities. No awkward discussion anymore will happen about nudists and nudity. However, something unexpected will happen: a sensation of levity will invade your space and life. It will create a lighter, funnier and lovier life.
Having at least one nudist friend will create something very important: a safe space where you, not only, can be nude, but can also enjoy your own nudity fully without fear. The moment you experience this, a new world open in front of you. A world where nudity is normal, what it is and should be. A world where you can really be your own self. A world that accepts nudism not as something that is tolerated but as a natural way to be. A world where you can now accept more people to join.
Together Stronger
If two is a party, three or more is a crowd. The first nudist friend you will make will multiply the opportunities to have many more. At the same time, once you’ve opened your heart to somebody about nudism, and that somebody accepted to join you, will strengthen your will to embrace nudism fully and to open it to all friends and family. I’m not saying that all your friends and family will become nudist, but will know that you’re a nudist because you will have the resolve and courage to tell them and open the opportunity to join.
And one day, you will meet more than one friend, but many, in a nudist setting where everybody will not only be nude but will accept a new nudist, you, as part of the larger community of nudists. You often read or hear that nudists are friendlier than textiles. I second this because I’ve experienced it numerous times. I would say it’s simply because we all share one passion: simple nudity. It’s like, if you love fishing for instance, you will find all people passionate about fishing interesting and friendly. The same happens with nudists.
Look at what happens around social networks. There are tons of nudists social networks, from Naturist Go to Naktiv, from Naturist Hub to Just Nudism, to name just a few. A majority of users of those networks are genuine nudists who want to talk and exchange about their passion, nudism. Of course, some will come for voyeurism or exhibitionism, but they will be spotted quickly and either banned or expelled.
The same happen in real life nudist communities. Enter a nudist resort and you will meet friendly people who share their passion of enjoying simple nudity. Chat with nudists and you will discover normal people, living normal lives, and enjoying nudity, like you are. This drives us to nudist and naturist federations and associations. Joining forces makes us stronger. It links individuals from various origins, holding various degrees, having different professional and personal backgrounds and experiences, some being ready to put their skills at play for their nudist groups.
There are many nudist communities around the world, that are waiting for you to join or for you to create one. Joining a nudist group or creating one allows you not only to share and enjoy time in the buff with like-minded people, it makes nudism, as a social movement, stronger and alive. It also allows to bring nudism to the world.
Inside and Outside Walls Nudists
We often hear the term closet nudist to define nudists who don’t come out of the confinement of their home. Some nudists think they aren’t “true” nudists, as “true” nudists go out. However, each individual is different, his or her situation may just not allow him or her to go out. I come to believe that when you enjoy being naked for the comfort and well-being it provides, you’re a nudist, whether inside or outside walls.
There are also other walls, which are the ones of nudist resorts. In many countries where naturism exists, it’s limited to naturist zones, resorts or beaches. In other countries, like the UK, Spain or Austria, it’s legal to be naked in nature, outside of those naturist zones, as long as you aren’t causing distress to others.
Some nudists believe nudism should stay inside those walls, some, like me, believe nudism should be allowed everywhere and simple nudity should be an inalienable right. It’s a long-winding debate that has gone over years in nudist communities. However, if you agree with the postulate that a naked body is just a naked body, you should be able to be naked without that your state of nudity be interpreted for something other than just a naked body. You can go back to the first chapter to find thoughts about this.
However, my position is to always respect divergence of opinions and points of view. Nudists are diverse and this reflects life. The most important aspect is to decide who you are as a nudist and live your life, this will be the purpose of the last chapter. There’s no good or bad when it comes to nudism, there’s who you are as a nudist and there’s the joy of nudity alone, with others, in nature, inside and outside walls, totally respectful of yourself, others and the environment, as the definition goes.
Next part – Chapter 9 – Nudism in everyday life – The Holiday Nudist
Strip Nude, Stay Nude, Live Nude and Share the Nude Love!
Image by Luisella Planeta Leoni from Pixabay
