Can someone explain nudism to me?

I know this may seem close-minded, but I don't really understand why people would want to go nude.

I know that technically, it's natural not to wear clothes, but that's only true of other animals and primates, most humans don't have coarse hair covering their bodies to protect from UV rays and stuff.

Or is it less of an "it's natural" thing and more of a psychological preference of being naked?

Could someone please enlighten me? Also, I'm sorry if this is against the rules, I'm just curious.

 

Probably all of those things

 

Go to the website for the Naturist Society, http://www.naturistsociety.com/ and follow the link for "FAQs". There are a few paragraphs there on the topic of what it's all about.

There's a Federation of Canadian Naturists, too:
http://www.fcn.ca/

 

Maybe it has to be experienced... Nakedness isn't about partying, flashing, and looking at ti**s if you forgive my language.
Now,this is my 2c: Two ways of looking at it. One, the pleasure of feeling the sun warming all of your body and the wind gently cooling it down. It's very very relaxing. Also, it's much more convenient to swim naked and dry up naked on the beach because the swimwear always stay wet much longer that the skin.

Two. Maybe the most important aspect of beeing naked with friends from school or work -from the opposite sex of course... When naked, one is kind of exposed and vonourable. Think of a bunch of young people in the pool or at a beach playing beach-volley -naked. One guy has a slightly crooked xx, another one with a small one. One girl with her breasts not exactly same shape or size, another has big nipples or whatever. Just imagine what comments could be said about young mr x and young miss y. For the people involved, the nakedness is sort of proof of trust that bonds them together. To be exposed but be -and feel- perectly safe. That is a very very very healthy feeling.

This require some self-restraint from all involved. To know the other's will protect but won't take advantage of you. If you find this kind of people, stick with them!

Another thing. This all goes for all of us normal people that aren't 'perfect'. Some 'perfect' and self-obsessed people tend to go naked in a more agressive fashion just to proove their own perfection. (In reallity, they most often go almost naked and brag about it...) I wouldn't hang out with them, it's just not worth it...

 

for me, its about physical comfort and physical sensations which give me positive feelings and feelings of well being.

its hard to explain but, when i take of my clothes, i just feel... better.

 

I completely agree, I love sleeping nude... I feel like my skin can "breathe" in a sense... it just feels better... however in some situations, such as weather conditions or work needs like construction, clothing would definately be appropriate, but really, it should be left to the individual Being clothed and being nude are perfectly natural in their own ways.

 

I look at this the other way. I do not understand why people would want to wear clothes. Feeling the warmth the sun or the tingle of a cool breeze really makes you feel alive. No sweaty clothes the sweat just evaporates so you smell better. Exercise (in my case I teach yoga) is easier without restrictive clothes. A naked girl is pretty but put cloths on and she seems kinky. There is nothing shameful about any part of the human body. Try it and see, you have never lived until you have experienced the world, the world is here to set you free.
Love and light.

 

yeah, i belive choice is an important thing to have. given the choice, i would choose to be naked. but if someone else would chose to be clothed, thats all good with me.

i reckon everyone should try it at least once. just spend some time at home naked, on their own if thats as far as their comfort goes, and see how they feel about it.

 

Hi,

i guess there are almost as much explanations for nudidm as nudists exist, and maybe even some more *lol*.

I think there are some major groups:

- practicing nudism as a part of a whole life attitude or conviction (sometimes quite dogmatic people).
- practicing nudism as a (maybe parttime) comfortable "leisure suit".
- practising nudism because it feels good, or some would say it's a turn-on.
- practising nudism by following standards in a certain (peer-) group.
- practising nudis as a kind of self-staging (or showing-off sometimes)

I think every nudist has his own motivation resulting of a variable mix of these basic intentions. For me i would say it's 5% - 50% - 25% - 10% - 10%

One of the most important historic basic idea of nudism is "if people are nude, all are equal". All status symbols go off, and you encounter the "pure" human being, without any "facade front". I think this is still a great idea, though today many show status on their naked body too, for example by expensive tattoos or dimamond fitted piercings.

I think there should be no urge to try it out if you don't like. But probably you could get a better understanding if you have chances to approach some facettes, for examply try out skinnydipping or nude sunning. I do like the feeling of sunbeams and breeze on my whole skin, but of course there is no garantee that you feel the same.

 

It seems to me that there are two kinds of nudism that we are talking about here, which can be confusing to the inexperienced. What I call Nudism with a capital "N" is the kind that you are talking about, thebfswede. It isn't sexual and never will be, partly because there are people like you who have strong feelings that it should not be that way. That's fine. No problem.

Then there is nudism with the small "n", which usually is sexual. Nobody is in charge of defining that. It is simply a group of naked people, letting their hormones run the show. Usually they are young and horny. These people don't read websites about Nudism.

When nudists and Nudists end up on the same beach (not unusual), things don't always go so well. The Nudists whisper to each other things like, "He's got an erection! That's so wrong!"; while the nudists say things like, "Doesn't she know she's too old to go naked at the beach?"

Neither group is right or wrong, just different.

The real problem is that neither group fully understands the other, and thinks that their "rules" should prevail. Kind of funny, since most of American society would think that none of us are following the rules. We all just need to be tolerant of each other, because wherever somebody puts up a "swimsuits optional" sign on a public beach, both nudists and Nudists are probably going to show up.

I think about this situation more often now, because I am at an age (46) where I know that I'm not too many years away from not having anything to show that will give the younger guys erections. Will I become a Nudist when that time comes? I guess I'll have to wait and see.

 

Saying "they don't understand each other" makes it seem like a symmetrical situation, and it's not. It's more like smokers and non-smokers sharing the same space. Do the smokers object to the non-smokers? No. Do the non-smokers abject to the smokers? Very likely yes. So, people using a space for sexual activity (including ogling, strutting and preening and so forth) may well be ruining the place for people who just want a nice day at the beach. But people just sitting and thinking how nice life is, don't present any kind of a problem to horny folks out looking for a thrill.

In fact, since it's pretty rare for any of us to be honest about sex, the fact that there are non-sexual nudists in the area makes it more attractive to people wanting sex. They provide camouflage, a way to deny that the only reason to go to that particular place is something sexual.

 

Do you mean that this is your actual goal when you show up on a 'clothing optional' beach now???

Are you implying that right now, you're a nudist???

 

I haven't been to a clothing-optional beach lately, and I have only been to them on islands outside the USA. The guys who picked the destinations chose beaches with more of an anything-goes reputation. There was a lot of wild stuff going on, and there was always a lot more Europeans than Americans on the beaches, except for Jamaica.

Back when I was in college about a million years ago, students couldn't afford to fly to tropical islands for spring break. We used to drive to Fort Lauderdale, and families knew to avoid the place during that week. Everybody knew it was all going to be about sex, 24 hours a day.

 

That's why most nude beaches and resorts have rules. If you think the rules at one beach are too liberal, just don't go there.

At one resort in Saint Martin, there seemed to be an unwritten rule that the family beach was the part closest to the main building. As you walked down the beach, things got progressively wilder. That arrangement seemed work out well, since there was plenty of beach for everybody.

Remember how this thread got started? Someone just wanted to understand the basics. If you look up nudity or nudism in the dictionary, it doesn't say anything about a person's reasons for doing it. There are two groups that do this, for very different reasons, and they don't get along well. That is just a fact. You just proved it.

Not for me. I would avoid a situation like that, if at all possible. That is a formula for ugly confrontation.

If you think that sexually liberal people want to hide their motives, you obviously haven't been to Cancun in the spring. It is even too wild for my taste, based on what some friends have told me. I could go if I wanted to. I have stayed in shape, but lost some degree of interest in a lot of the activities that go on. I don't judge or criticize the Cancun hedonist crowd for doing more than I do. I simply choose not to participate.

For the record, let me say one last thing. There is no such thing as a perfect body. To be nude, you have to accept your flaws, no matter who you are. We all have that in common.

 

ive given this some thought and in a lot of ways... i agree

if you have gone to visit a beach which is known for sex n hedonism, and you dont agree with that way of doing things, you dont i think really have much right to complain. just dont go.

but if its a "family" beach, one which is meant to just be a cool place to get naked, sun, swim, play ball etc (which is the sort i would choose), and people are fucking, well then you are within your rights to be upset.

me, personally, i wish the sex n hedonism crowd wasnt mixed up with the nudist world as for me it makes it a lot harder to explain to non-nudists what i believe in, and probably leaves a lot of thim thinking i am some sort of weird sex pervert!

but i do believe in live and let live and if thats what people are into i cant condemn them for it.

but for me, nudism is non sexual. not nudity - nudity for me can be sexual or non-sexual. but nudism is non-sexual. and for me, when it starts being sexual, it stops being nudism.

sexual isn't wrong, its just not nudism, for me.

 

It isn’t good for either group. If you are looking for one kind of nude beach and mistakenly end up at the other kind, you aren’t going to have a very good time. I’m sure it happens both ways.

When you explain your interest to people, you can start by saying it is the complete opposite of everything they have seen on MTV or the Playboy Channel. That is, assuming that you can get those channels where you live.

It is funny how people’s perceptions of things are so strongly influenced by where we grow up. Until I became an adult, I thought that everybody was either a wild party person or a prude who would never be seen naked anywhere. I was not exposed (pardon the pun!) to other points of view on the subject. Now, the internet has changed all that.

What happens if you go to a nude beach with a guy that you are strongly attracted to? How much does that change the experience for you?

 

yeah we have them. ive not seen Playboy tv but i dont remember ever seeing nudism on Mtv.

ive talked to a lot of my friends about my nudism, with good results. theyre pretty open minded, they arent really fussed if they come over here and im butt nekkid lol.

but i do feel that it would be easier to talk about nudism generally if there werent people who seem determined to make it out to be a sexual thing. itd be nice to just be accepted for enjoying nudity without people reading more into it than there is.

well for the most part ive only ever been to nude beaches with my sister, or with bfs.

with a guy im seeing, youre right, it is a different experience. there is a feeling of pleasure from seeing someone you are attracted to being free and relaxed and it is different to seeing a stranger.

but for me, just seeing them naked isnt gonna get me feeling in a sexual mood. it has to be more than that... and when that extra something is there, it isnt, for me, a nudist experience any more.

im not gonna lie, i have had sex on a nude beach before, but that was us fooling around taking advantage of the fact the beach was deserted.

normally my reasons for being naked, even with my partner, arent sexual. i guess thats how i seperate them, its the reason behind it. the thought that prompts you to take off your clothes in the first place.

 

Humans have evolved not to have hair because of our extremely intelligent cooling system. When we sweat, the air dries the sweat hence cooling our skin. If we had fur, the air would not get to our skin and sweat efficiently enough.

We are the only animals to stand on two feet. Therefore, our bodies do not get as much UV exposure as our 4 legged friends. Think about it, we have the most hair on our head, where we are closest to the sun, to protect our heads.

We have only been wearing clothes for so many hundreds of thousands of years: compared to the 6 million years there have been human ancestors.

Its crazy to think that there is a clothes lice. It has evolved so quickly in comparison to other animals.

I have to thank the BBC for making such an awesome documentary named 'Whats the problem with being naked?'

I like to be naked because I feel free. Clothes are so restricting. I love to touch things, and I love the way when I sleep naked I get so many different sensations from the duvet cover. Its so simple xD

 

Oh? And what about birds, and kangooroos?