Why go naked-2

Why go naked? That is the wrong question. To answer the wrong question may still be important as those yet to be convinced need to know. If you asked naturists why they do it, answers will include the words freedom, comfort, feeling good, feeling better about yourself, better health, better body acceptance, relaxation and a general sense of well-being. Many, including me, lead a nude life simply because it feels good, the resulting ideas of naturist philosophy come later.

A very common experience, especially for those new to naturism, is "what was all the fuss about?". What they feared did not come to pass. No ridicule, no looks "in the wrong places", just people going about their lives, nude. As Caroline Walker1 said in a report on her first experience of a nude beach, "As I was starting to feel more and more out of place with my clothes on than without, I just striped off and threw my clothes down. To be honest it was all a bit of an anti-climax at this point, and you start to wonder why you were making such a big fuss of it: it felt so natural and normal I just resumed the usual business of applying plenty of sun cream." Non naturists seem to focus on what they would call "private parts", questions such as "where do I look" seem to crop up. In fact, in a naturist environment, one behaves as one would anywhere else, nowhere do people like being stared at, especially in countries like Britain or the USA, so people don't do it in naturist places. Being nude, genitals are visible, but so what? There is nothing special about genitals, they are no better nor worse than any other part of the body. If you look for "a naughty part", you will find it inside the head.

Being naked, especially in the open air or in the water provides a wonderful feeling. It is certainly hard to understand the fear of nudity that is clearly felt by some of those who have not tried it. Simply being nude is harmless, what delineates good from bad is the intention in the mind of the doer. Apart from some of the silly attitudes sometimes perpetuated in the press, it seems the majority of people do not feel too bothered about naturism, even if they don't take part. This view is well supported by a series of surveys such as those carried out in Britain, Canada and in the USA . Surveys should always be treated with some circumspection as the questions asked and how they are asked are not always well controlled, but those carried out as professionally as possible always seem to show the same result. Most people when asked specifically what they thought of naturism give a positive or neutral answer. This does not mean they would join in, but they would be happy for others to follow the lifestyle without interference. The problem for naturists is that a few vociferous objectors react in ways that are out of all proportion to simple non sexual public nudity.

1. Caroline Walker, British Naturism BN161, Autumn 2004
2. 1999 National Survey on Canadian Attitudes Towards Nudity, http://www.fcn.ca/survey.html
3. Survey of opinion towards nudity in the USA, www.nef.oshkosh.net