What is it to be a nudist in a clothed world?

This is a question that I’m often asked by people who are not naturists and do not understand the need to be socially naked. Here’s a tentative of answer this question.

Note: for the sake of this post, I do not make any difference between the terms nudist and naturist. Both, in my view, describe the fact of being socially naked without any intention of sexual behavior.

Nudism is a choice

Being a nudist is a personal choice. Nobody forces anybody to become one. Many nudists were textilists before embracing naturism. One day, they were confronted with the choice of getting rid of their clothes, they chose so and they found it was to their liking. Some others were exposed to nudism when they were kids and raised in a nudist family. The interesting fact is being raised in a nudist family does not make you a nudist. I know some people who are not nudist anymore despite their parents still being ones.

So, as a matter of fact, you choose to be a nudist because you find the lifestyle pleasant, comfortable and inline with your beliefs. One of the interesting facts about nudism is the more you get naked in personal and social settings, the more you need to get naked in personal and social settings. What I mean is that getting naked makes the nudist. Up to a point, that nudity become the new normal as I described in a previous post.

Nudism is a lifestyle

Then, nudism is not a hobby, as I described in a previous article. Nudism is about accepting the fact to be naked to live a normal life with other like-minded people. Nudists go swimming, hiking, barbecuing or playing petanque. The difference? They do all this withour clothing, but sometimes a pair of shoes and a hat.

This all means that nudism is a lifestyle that you can share with others. There is nothing inherently sexual in naturism and nudism. Being socially naked with others is not about being an exhibitionist or a voyeur. It’s just being naked, enjoying the sun and the fresh air our one bare skin.

A lot of people find this weird, at least at the beginning, before they get used to being naked. Nudism is not something you can really describe. You need to live nudism. You need to get beyond your ingrained beliefs and cultural/social/religious norms. This may require time. Some people comes to the total acceptance of being naked after years of practice. Some never! The main point is to transform social nudity from being a way to be during holiday to a lifestyle that you embrace on a daily basis. Not everybody is prepared, not everybody will subscribe, but anybody can accept that nudism is a real lifestyle with enormous benefits and almost no negative side effects, except the below.

Nudism can be misunderstood

Unfortunately, nudists form a minority. A strong one, but still a minority. Therefore and because nudism means nudity, it’s often misunderstood and misinterpreted. Open a browser, type nudism in a search engine and you end with tons of porn references. Porn and naturism are two different things. Porn is sex, naturism is simple nudity. Even Google is confused and confuses many.

Therefore, education is critical. Education about the naked body, education about social nudity, education about respect. The preamble to any answer to the question asked in the title is another question: what is nudism for you? Ask the question to non-naturist and wait for the answer. You will get giggles, blushes and condemnation, but not so often a clear answer of what nudism is really is.

This is because the naked body is badmouthed in most cultures, religions and societies. We can always say this is an hypocritical position by those cultures, religions and societies, but we are not advancing the cause. The way to advance the cause and help nudism to be more accepted is to take the time to explain what it is: a choice and a lifestyle, nothing more!

It will not make everybody a nudist, but it will explain what naturism means to naturists, how it contributes to peace and harmony in society and it will help in increasing the acceptance of the naked body, in and out of naturist settings.

It’s not easy but it’s worth the effort

Being a nudist in a clothed world is not easy, let’s not get confused by the difficulties, particularly in places where nudity is a crime. But being a nudist is well worth those difficulties. It creates a unique bond with people of different origins, genders, sexual orientations, social backgrounds and cultures. The one word that summarizes the best nudism is respect.

Respect is core to the official definition of naturism. Respect is at the heart of naturism. Respect for all oneself, others and the environment. Stepping into the lifestyle will make you encounter others who share this unique freedom of being naked all day long without shame and with so much satisfaction. The moment you step into a naturist resort, you will be welcomed and will enter a unique world of real and tangible freedom.

So it’s true that being a nudist in a clothed world is not easy. It’s becoming more and more though. Local federations fight to get more naturist beaches, encourage more naturist resort to open, and support naturist activities. I would encourage any of you who want to really move their naturist lifestyle one step further to take your membership of your national naturist federation and become an active member. You will meet many other nudists and you will find easier every day to embrace nudism as your preferred lifestyle. And you will see that, in the end, it’s not that hard to be a nudist in a clothed world!

Get Naked, Stay Naked, Live Naked and Share the Naked Love.

Photo by form PxHere