Why I am a Nudist

Clothes are armor. People wearing similar armor belong to a group. That group competes in friendly ways with each other, though there are real consequences in the business world. However, that group competes in a very serious way with people who wear different armor. For example, people who wear three piece suits seek to dominate people who wear two piece suits, who seek to dominate people who don't wear suits.
This is an over-simplification, but the point is that our clothes identify us as members of some group that only exists because we wear similar clothes. We are playing a huge game, no different from Monopoly. We pretend that little green pieces of paper have value. We take the game so seriously that people can live or die because of how many, or how few pieces of paper they have. Clothes are part of that vicious, evil game that separates us and destroys the natural human tribe.
When the clothes come off, the tribe is easy to recognize. It may take a while to realize it. When we first start exploring social nudity, we feel self-conscious. We aren't used to seeing the skin of other people very often, so we are used to focusing completely on our own skin. Once we get past that self-absorption, we see that all the people-- the tall ones, short ones, fat ones, skinny ones, pale ones, brown ones, young ones, old ones-- even the male ones and the female ones --we're all very, very similar...Much more similar to each other than we'd ever have recognized, had we kept our clothes on.
It's all just skin. It comes in all different shapes, sizes and colors...But it's all basically the same.
That's when the feeling of family, of tribe sets in. We're all just human. There's nothing, really, that divides us. We're all blood-relatives. We just play this game most of the time that keeps us from realizing it.

This is why young children take so naturally to nudism. They aren't so caught up in the game of artificial reality that is our adult world.

When I spend my day nude, with other nude friends and strangers and family, I forget all about that game. I become like a child again. I feel very free.

This is also why nudism has nothing to do with sex, for those who really are nudists. I see so many people who claim to be nudists, but they have no idea what it's about. That's why they post about incest and all kinds of perversions. They're caught up in taboos, which are thrilling to break only for people who live unnaturally constricted lives.

I have no taboo against incest or pedophilia or any sort of perversion. I'm in a natural state. My natural state includes the ability to think, and to care. I won't have sex with my family members or with children because I understand how powerful a force sexuality is, and how carefully it must be treated-- especially with the people you love most and with those unable to understand it. Because I have no taboo, there's no thrill in the idea of breaking it. There's only the concern for my own feelings and the feelings of others, and how we will live our lives.

I would imagine that incest and pedophilia were very rare when humanity was in a primitive state. I believe people are drawn to fantasies of incest because they need so much to be able to identify with those around them. They are missing intimacy, and a sense of belonging to an extended family of humanity. I believe people are drawn to fantasies of pedophilia or ephebophilia because they wish to identify with a simpler, purer state and because they feel they have so little control over how their lives are actually lived.
In a primitive state, these psychological conditions just wouldn't exist.

Social nudity, for those who can leave the artiface of modern life behind for a few hours, is about as sexual an experience as Thanksgiving dinner at Grandpa and Grandma's (for most people). Yes, every one there has sexual organs and sexual desires...But it's not what anyone is thinking about. We're there to connect with our family, to deepen our bonds of love and understanding. With social nudity, that family includes all humanity.

If you ever get the chance to visit an established nude recreation area, approved by the AANR, please do it! Clothes are not the prison, but they symbolize it. You can't even know you're in this prison until after you've stepped out of it.

 

best post this forums seen in a long long time
very well said
i loved your lil thing about the people who wear the most try to control those who wear just a lil less
but when it comes down to those whop wear nothing, we freak them out too much to even try

we maybe bettter at looking eachother in the eye (as oposed to trying to develop x ray vission and stare thru the armor) but when they come in with 1 or 2 peice suites its not theyre armour protecting them its our lack of ptrotecting us as they cant even bring themselves to meet the eyes of a fello man

 

That is very true. And thank you for the compliment!

I've never had random people make such steady and expressive eye contact with me in the textiled world.

 

or had such free and easy interaction and conversation..

 

duplicate

 

You're right, soaringeagle. I've thought about it...and my nudity identifies me as part of a group just as much as any other uniform. I think the main difference between the group of nudists and the group of, say, CEOs, is that everyone is born nude. My nudity is not just me living in a natural state...It's also a symbolic rejection of modern society.
Thanks for showing me this!

 

standingseatd...you have some good points there but i don't know if I agree with it all. What if we except the nudism does have a lot to do with sex. Let's just except it. I think one area we will both agree on; Nudism is health IMO.

 

Very good thread and post 8), was a nice read

 

I'm going to bump this. I'm proud of it.

Would anyone like to comment on it? Describe your ideas about nudism, please. What is it to you?

 

So very well said

I have to pick up on something though, I dont think paedophilia and other perversions would be totally wiped out by getting rid of covers and taboos and all the rest of it though. I think a LOT of the average persons sexual frustrations and issues would be cleared up...but paedophiles, thats a different case entirely. Theyre sick in the head and I truly think many are just made that way. They dont consider others, they cant see that its wrong. Theyre not like you and cant see the power it has to damage...either that or they just dont care. And even if we were all comfortable being bare and free and without shame, they would still prey on kids unfortunately

Otherwise I completely agree with what youre saying. Theres so much confusion about sexuality and nudity in the world today. I do think a majority of nudism would help clear up things like porn addictions, sexual compulsion and degredation...naked people wouldnt be objectified because being naked would be usual. As sexual beings, of course we want to see other bodies, so its no wonder whats happening now is happening

Nudism would also educate children, so that theres not all this massive deal, embarassing puberty "little talks" nonsense...Kids would know what theyre going to go through in puberty, because theyd have seen it. There wont be all this ignorance or false rumours about our sexual organs...I remember when I was growing up I heard some ridiculous things, and worried I wasnt "normal" down there for example. Now if I had grown up around nudists, Id have known full well I WAS normal and that people come in all shapes and sizes, and I wouldnt have wasted my time worrying, unable to ask anyone as it was all a big secret

For me, nudism is about the fact that theres nothing wrong in not putting bits of material on your body. You shouldnt have to cover up, there is nothing sexual, private or shameful about a naked body on its own, its just a body. Infact not just a body, a beautiful work of art, one that needs to breathe and feel...Putting clothes on when the temperature is high enough anyway isnt something to pride ourselves on...it doesnt put us "above" other animals or make us more sophisticated...its a shame. Its covering for no good reason and creating those ridiculous taboos and confusions and hangups

I like the feeling of freedom when I can take all my clothes off in warm weather, and feel the breeze on my skin, or take a dip in a lake as nature intended without the discomfort and overheating you get with clothes. Its just like-this is me. Im not hiding, I have no reason to hide

 

Why does it have to be approved by the AANR? Certainly this doesn't apply for those not in the USA. And even for those in the USA, why should they have to check with the AANR roster first? I go to nude areas outdoors and I have no idea whether they're approved or not by the AANR (and nor do I care).

 

I think you're probably right. I was trying to make a point that nudism and pedophilia are incompatible, but I think I was overreaching. It would be like saying nudism and depression are incompatible. Just because nudism is a healthy lifestyle doesn't mean that unhealthy people can't be nudists.

It's just so frustrating to see (and there's not as much of it now as there was when I wrote the original post) all this talk of incest and pedophilia in nudist forums. There are other websites devoted to nudism where almost all the talk is about families masturbating together. It really bothers me, because it makes even me (and I've been a nudist for years) feel hesitant to go take my family to nudist resorts-- just on the off chance that we might run into one of the seemingly hundreds of perverts from the net. I can only imagine it must have the effect of ensuring someone who hasn't tried it never will. And that's very sad. People have so much to benefit from trying it!

You are so right!

I grew up in a very conservative household. We didn't even go barefoot around the house. I was also a year or so younger than everyone in my class. So, when shower time came around in 6th grade, it was a genuinely terrifying experience for me. The fact that I was so embarrassed and reluctant just brought more attention to the fact that I was less developed than most of the other kids, and that led to teasing and it was just a truly, truly awful experience. It was a kind of torture. And, looking back on it, it was inevitable under the circumstances of the way I was raised. But it was completely avoidable, had I been raised in a nudist family that had spent time at nudist resorts. I would not only have been comfortable with my own body, but I would have understood the changes that bodies go through. I would have had confidence that other kids wouldn't have had as much of-- and that confidence would have been enough to make being less developed no problem at all. In fact, I could have taught the other boys something about accepting their bodies, too, just by my example.

But I'm not upset at my parents for the choices they made. I just feel really sorry for them. It couldn't have been easy or fun for them to live their whole lives with so much shame and fear about their own bodies. I don't know how I eventually broke with that pattern. Most of my brothers and sisters haven't been able to, though I've tried to encourage them. They even see my encouragement as kinda creepy, though they envy my freedom at the same time.

There's a better world just waiting for us to relax and let it happen.

 

I have been to places that are not AANR approved, and I won't be back. There were people who were obviously there to get their kicks-- men openly masturbating or showing off erections, even people having oral sex right out in the open. I'm not opposed to such places. I think they can be fun, if that's your thing and you're taking precautions. However, that sort of thing is not nudism. It's something else that happens to be conducted in the nude. Nudism is for families and friends.

 

Some of the AANR places do not like when single men show up. So I did avoid them.

But why would pedophilia be such a problem in the nudist community. If you see someone hanging around the kids with a hard on, there is your pedo. It's the places where you can't see the erection that you could have problems.

 

Single men tend to create more problems than other guests. They generally have different preconceived notions. However, AANR does allow single men to become members, and single male AANR members are always allowed at every club I've been to.

 

I lived in the jungle on the big island of Hawaii and there was a community of folks that went without clothing almost all of the time.I had never been around such nudity before and I found it most interesting that after the initial impression of being around many naked women,that it became very natural and soon I did not notice if they were naked or not.I found myself just dealing/talking with them as people and not objects of desire.It was a liberating situation for me and seemed entirely natural and mentally healthy.

 

I enjoy a swim or sauna nude, and probably to many nudists I am not a nudist as I am clothed except when showering in almost all other situations. What I have found at spas, saunas and on beaches is that the lack of clothes in many ways makes us more equal and removes some of the class and other barriers that clothing can bring. It also affects how I have viewed the human body (of either sexes) and in particular what I find attractive.

I'm inclined to agree that some of the problems in this world would be reduced if there was not such a fuss made over nudity, even if everyone just had the approach that Germans and Scandanavians seem to have.

 

I'd say you sound like a nudist to me, nldn. I don't think a nudist is necessarily someone who is always more comfortable nude (situation depending), but someone who can and does feel more comfortable nude when they find it appropriate. How did the time you've spent at spas, saunas and beaches affect what you find attractive?

Also, I'll bet left out that you sleep nude.

 

This past weekend I had the opportunity to do some hiking with my wife out "away from everyone". After about 90 minutes in, and a brief 400 yard bushwhack down to a beautiful river, it was clear that we were by ourselves. So, we stripped down, went for a swim and had the chance to lay out on the warm rocks in the sun for an hour. At one point she asked "what if some kayakers come drifting down, should we cover up? Without even thinking, I replied, "Maybe they might get the same idea as us." I don't think it really made any difference to me if anyone else saw us, and I was just content being there with her. It was certainly a wonderful experience being naked out in nature, but I have to say that I get a similar feeling just being at home without clothes. It's unbearably hot in the Pacific Northwest this week, and last night I just sat out on our deck naked between 9:30 and 11:00 PM sipping on a couple of glasses of wine...contentment!

There are always a lot of discussions and debates about the separation (or not) of nudism and sexuality. For me, nudism is certainly part of my sexuality, but is not a sexual thing. We all probably have some exhibitionist tendencies that give us a certain level of pleasure or satisfaction knowing that others see us naked. Likewise, similar voyeuristic tendencies in all of us contribute towards our enjoyment seeing others naked at nudist beaches, resorts, or just being with friends. But, the older I get, the more "seeing or being seen" just isn't as important or significant as it perhaps was when I was in my twenties.

Being a nudist to me is just a state of being happy with who I am and what I look like. There will always be someone out there with a "greater looking body", and we all have physical features that we're not completely happy with. But, when you can get to a level of comfort and understanding that it's really not that important what your body looks like, I believe your enjoyment and acceptance of nudism goes to a whole new level. There is physical beauty in all of us, no matter what our size or shape. Being a nudist gives me the opportunity to rid my self of the "armor of clothes" and experience my own inherent physical beauty with myself and my wife. If others are present, I hope they can pick up on my level of comfort and enjoyment of being naked.

Thanks to all of you who have contributed to this wonderful posting. There have been a lot of great comments, and it's postings like this that keep me coming back to this forum... for about a year as a silent reader and most recently as a poster.

 

It may surprise you that I don't sleep nude. After years of visiting saunas and nude beaches I have come to prefer natural hair colour in women, realise that women can remain attractive well beyond the age where society, tv and the media consider them old.