The intersection of nudism and exhibitionism

A distinction is often made between nudism and exhibitionism. Nudism is not about showing off. Exhibitionism often involves a sexual thrill. However, with events such as the World Naked Bike Ride, the point is to be seen, yet it's also meant not to be sexual. So I think the lines are not necessarily as clear cut.

 

Your right, there seems to be a gray area between the two.

 

As I understand that Nudism is not about showing off. Nudism is about enjoy Naturism. Most public venues that allow nudity are outdoors. People go to nude beaches, take nude hikes and nudist resorts really promote their outdoor activities. Why are there not more indoor nudist options? If there are, please share. Honestly, often I try to avoid the sun to minimize my chances of skin cancer. So, more indoor activities would be great. A gaming complex think Dave and Busters in the U.S. is the first thing that comes to mind. A place with bowling, pool, video games, go karts, etc. Maybe a theater could have a nude movie night. States with legalized gambling could have nude casinos. I suspect some savvy entrepreneur could make some money with something like this.

Often "Exhibitionism "does often involves some type of a sexual thrill.
Such as:
Having had sex in the ocean in Mexico, it was sort of secluded area when we started but various people walked by us in the middle of it.
Or having sex in the corner of a bar, she was commando and wearing a mini skirt, so it was somewhat inconspicuous.
Once a girlfriend, was into dressing me up, initially in her clothes and eventually bought my own for me. She also introduced me to pegging, so one night she combined the two, after we went out to dinner, she pegged me in the park on the way home, which was late at night, so I think only one person spotted us walking by. The same girlfriend was very much an exhibitionist too and pegged me in a parking garage after we went out to the bars, and numerous times in the back of her car. She also loved to give blow jobs to me in public settings or have sex too.

 

It also depends on how you define exhibitionism. There are two definitions:
1: a perversion in which sexual gratification is obtained from the indecent exposure of one's genitals
2: the act or practice of behaving so as to attract attention to oneself

For example: sometimes my wife and I set up at the far end of the lake at our resort. There's not a lot of traffic over there, and my wife will sprawl out if there isn't anyone around to see her tanning legs open. One day a friend of ours, who knew we were back there and was going to join us with his wife and our friends, arrived earlier than expected. When my wife saw him she made the decision to remain exactly "as is"; knowing that he would see her "more exposed than usual."

Her objective was not "sexual gratification from the exposure of her genitals." It was to demonstrate to our friend that she had the confidence in herself and trust in him to not hide her genitals from his view when he "caught her." In a way, she was "showing off" and behaving in a way to make an impression, but the intent was to "prove to him" her lack of inhibition and comfort with nudity; not to provoke a "sexual reaction." That being said, in our group and between friends, we have all behaved at some point in a way to "attract attention." Not just by being uninhibited around one another; but sometimes also by just being silly.

So yes; sometimes the lines can get blurry; but not necessarily in the "sexually provocative" way the word "exhibitionism" can be defined as.

 

We feel that many nudists are exhitionionists. I know we are

 

Nudism is the enjoyment of being nude, whether in private or public, usually at places where nudism is legal/accepted.
Exhibitionism is the enjoyment of flaunting yourself nude, in public, whether it's legal/accepted or not, to attract attention.
There is an etiquette to nudism, in public places where nudism is allowed, it's often not wise to be exhibitionist, and we respect that.
Elsewhere, we are full on exhibitionist.

 

The Naked Bike Ride is about the vulnerability of those on the roads not in a car, a protest against car dependency. It's akin to the PETA 'I'd rather be naked than wear fur'. Not nudist and not exhibitionist either.

 

There is exhibitionism, and then there is "being a bit of a ham". The one has a sexual side to it, and the other is just fooling around and maybe being a little outrageous. If you think sexual behavior in public is wrong, then you'd avoid the first of those. But you still might enjoy the second!

 

Thanks for the copy/paste.

 

What about those nude beauty pageants and body painting parties that some nudist communities of France and Eastern Europe occasionally put on? Where would those fit in?

 

Yea nude beauty pageants have always seemed counter to the idea of nudism. If we are all about accepting everyone's body, a beauty pageant is contrary to that. As for body painting I think it all depends.

 

I believe that that is more on the exhibitionist side.

The message that they send is "Look at me and my body and judge it against others."

That's not very nudist friendly.

 

no, but they were fun to see

 

100%

 

Just like every group, there is a range. Purist nudists insist there is no range. Bad news for them… There is, and that’s a fact of life. Purists don’t own the group, to think so is pure fantasy.

 

The lines between exhibitionism and nudism aren't clear cut - and why should they be? Nudity is so much, much more than it seems to be in the eyes of most people - it is a choice, a way of life, a beautiful and all-encompassing thing that should permeate most, if not all, of the activities we partake in on an everyday basis. As such, exhibitionism presents just another way how we can interact with our (an everyone else's) naked body. As human beings, we're all supposed to be naked, to be seen naked by other (naked) people, and to socially interact with other people. Sometimes, those social interactions are sexual in nature - all of this is perfectly natural and should be seen as such.

Exhbitionism as deviant behavior seems to depend on our society's obsession with clothing, where a naked person in public is seen as taboo, and that kind of titillation only serves to further strengthen the fetishistic urge to inappropriately display one's naked body and satisfy one's own lust at the expense of other people's sense of decency. In a world without clothing, exhbitionism becomes just another way of drawing attention to oneself and your own physical attributes - it loses power, and becomes something that could potentially be seen as obnoxious, or perhaps even a bit cute, or simply a form of debauchery - but it loses its potential to scandalize, to make one stand out in the crowd (if they lack the physique to do so, that is). On the other hand, displaying one's naked body before the clothed public may serve as a way of sending an artistic, political, or activist message - or as means of "proselytizing" done by dedicated nudists. The outcome of such action, whether it is approval or consternation, may be desirable or even pleasurable to the person engaging in what may seem as inappropriate public nudity, but the joy received by such actions would not necessarily be sexual in nature.

In short, as nudism grows more commonplace, I'd say exhibitionism would slowly start to disappear as it gets integrated into the usual range of sexual behaviors all people (clothed or not) already exhibit in their regular sex lives. Nudity is a good thing - and so is sexuality, for the most part. We should all be grateful that our naked bodies can serve a much broader purpose than just to act as instruments of sexual intercourse, while also acknowledging that a beautiful, naked human being can indeed be an object of sexual attraction - and not only that a naked body deserves to not have its inherent beauty be denied, but that it is also worthy of being provided with the gratification that passionate, loving sex can bestow upon the greatest of all of nature's creations!

 

I don't think nudism is becoming more commonplace. In part because beaches are open to all and there is the fear of being photographed.

 

I apologize for not knowing how to highlight a specific post I'm responding to. In this case I've been mulling over the beauty pageant comments.

I have a different take. Please understand that it's not a me right you wrong thing. Just a different point of view.

I ran this by a close non-nudist friend, who is nonetheless very understanding and supportive of my nudism. We see freedom as being at or near the "core" of nudism, and see no harm in folks having a "beauty" contest if they want to, for the fun of it. I shared some photos from decades gone by and she agrees that what we see are people having a good time. All of the participants and spectators are voluntary. It seems that all of the contestants are enjoying the shared attention, admiration, applause, etc., with a few "winners" having "bragging rights" for a day, but no losers to go away feeling dejected. At least that's what we sense.

Of course the "contestants" represent the part of the nudist "spectrum" that enjoys being seen and appreciated. I fall into that category, but as a guy didn't have any opportunities like the pageants in question. My "opportunities" we're with female friends that accompanied me to secluded beaches, canoeing ventures, etc.

 

We are need to just come to realize that everyone, no matter how many similarities they may have, also have just as many differences. Nudists and naturists spend way too much time trying to get everyone to conform to “their” ideal of what they think nudism is or at least should be in their mind. I am a bit of a non conformist and being a nudist they essentially are as well. Get over it all and just let people be the way they want to be. Yes that means allowing many things that some may say is over the line, but again, being a nudist for the majority of society is over the line. Just remember that the next time you want to judge another person for whatever they may be doing. Simply ask yourself, is it truly hurting me. If not, then just let them be.

 

"Enjoying being seen and appreciated" is where the lines can get blurry.

I'll refer to my first wife as an example. She was initially riddled with body-acceptance issues; and even though she was willing to accompany me to nudist venues, she had a really hard time working up the nerve to being naked in front of other nudists, and usually ended up defaulting to staying covered. But then, she struck a friendship with a very confident nudist woman, whose "uninhibited attitude" inspired her. She dropped her sarong during a nudist event and made her first naked appearance in front of a crowd. The positive response and accolades surprised her. And it triggered an enjoyment of being seen and appreciated.
It boosted her self-esteem exponentially. The more uninhibited she became, the more attention she got. The more attention she got, the more confident she became. Did she cross some lines into "exhibitionism?" I'm sure some people might have looked at "this woman" socializing "openly naked" in front of people, clearly enjoying the attention, and thought so. But had they known her true motivation behind it, they might have understood that it was much more "nuanced" than her just "exposing herself to everyone."

To circle back to the topic of "nudist pageants", my wife at that time would have certainly participated in one. She would have considered it fun. And a great self-esteem boost.

But the biggest "twist" was the impact she had on other women; particularly newbies. Far from being "put off" by her overt behavior; many actually found it "interesting" and a challenge to their own concepts of modesty. At one club event, an extremely reluctant woman was taken by my wife's "lack of modesty"; befriended her, and eventually decided to be seen naked. At first by my wife, then by me; by sitting in front of me next to my wife in the same "uninhibited manner." Her husband was quite surprised to find his wife lounging next to mine "openly naked." Some may feel that my wife steered her into going the exhibitionist route; but what that really was about was my wife helping her along the path of embracing being socially nude without modesty.

Even when nudism and exhibitionism do "intersect"; it's not as detrimental to the nudist community as the "purists" make it out to be.