INTERNATIONAL NUDIST

Are nudists mostly Democrats or Republicans? Right wing or left? Socialiist or capitalist? While there are no comprehensive statistics on the matter, at least a couple surveys in the U.S. showed actually a slightly higher number of Republican nudists vs. Democrat nudists. This is a surprise to many, who imagine all nudists as distinctly liberal in all views in their life. The thing is, Republicans value freedom too, just prioritize other types of freedoms than Democrats stand for. Though Republicans are often stereotyped as consisting soley of the religious right, there is actually a large portion that aren’t particularly religious and think more like Libertarians - that people should be as free as reasonably possible without harming others. There is also the growing Christian Nudist movement, which tends to be a little more Republican as well.

Whatever your political orientations, know that nudists are roughly the same proportions as the rest of society. Indeed, the only single thing you can expect to agree with all nudists on is that we ought to be free to have places where we can be without clothes!

Comments(1)

Amazon Best Sellers

Is nudism good and healthy for the environment? You bet!

As global warming and other results of human civilization threaten the environment, the nudist lifestyle could have a real effect for the better!

Air conditioning
This is a biggie. Enormous amounts of electricity, and therefore more fossils fuels, are used to run our air conditioners every summer or even all year in warmer climates. If the earth warms further, air conditioners will be used even more. But nudists can tolerate a few more degrees in temperature increase without the use of air conditioning, especially with a little air movement generated by a fan (which uses much less energy than an air conditioner). If more people went nude when it is warm, it could significantly help with energy costs, environmental impact and your own pocketbook! The flip-side is that nudists could use more energy in the winter to stay warm, so nudists might need to clothe when it is cold to save on energy, but at least nudists have the option to remove clothing when it is warm. Nudists, therefore, have more potential for environmental friendliness than a non-nudist overall.

Laundry
The more you go nude, the less laundry to have to do, thereby saving more energy, water and soap (which can take more energy to produce and can pollute the environment).

Nature-Consciousness
Nudism, especially outdoor nudity can give you a more intimate awareness of nature. In fact the term “Naturist” or “Naturism” alludes to the nature-centric principles of naturism and nudism. The lifestyle, thought, natural surroundings, are all more conducive to greater appreciation of the envionment, and nudists less often require the concrete and steel world of textiles. Outdoor-intensive activity such as hiking provides even further awareness of the environment, often leading to greater concerns for it.

Indeed it seems the whole mindset of nudism/naturism goes hand-in-hand with being green, and nudists, as a group, tend to be concerned for the environment, so you have a social network that agrees with you. There are so many things connected to nudism, such as good health, working from home, and living simply, that are also great for the environment. So now you know what to do - save the planet by living nude!

More Links:
How Nudism Can Save You Money

Comments(8)

Is a nudist / naturist utopia possible? It depends on your definition of utopia. A utopia, as defined by many, is a place where there is some ideal environment and people and where people behave in some ideal way (i.e. there are never any behavioral problems or violations of the rules). The problem is that, when you’re dealing with humans, you’re dealing with human nature and issues do arise in reality. However, human behavior can be improved with rules or laws that have consequences upon violation. In this more realistic approximation of a utopia, nudist utopias already exist, in the form of nudist resorts. Modern nudist resorts work because there is a basic code of conduct that must be followed. Nudist places where you have no rules are also where you can have more behavior problems, such as public nude beaches.

So if nudist resorts are our real-world nudist utopias, why do some nudists yearn for more? I think for many, it’s because they want a more complete society. While a nudist resort might be a nice little utopia, members may never be able to shop, bank, work or do other everyday, “civilized” activities nude. To live a life within a nudist resort eventually becomes claustrophic and limiting to some. So maybe scale is the issue. Cap d’Agde, France is considered the largest clothing-optional complex in the world, many calling it a “nudist city”. Here, people can indeed buy groceries and bank in the nude. There is no good reason something even bigger (a more complete nudist society) doesn’t exist somewhere, and it’s only a matter of time before it does.

There have been many conceptions of nudist utopias in the past and present. Many have envisioned a nudist island, while others, an area within their own country. Some even dream of a nudist colony on mars or other extraterrestrial destinations!

It’s interesting that many general ideas of a utopia and paradise include nudity. These ideas may be of religious sources, myths, legends, real-life groups. These accounts and conceptions of paradise include the Garden of Eden, at the introduction to Judeo-Christian scripture, and the Greek’s Golden Age. Modern dreams of a utopia often include nudity or nudity-tolerance.

Whatever nudist utopias may exist or have existed, the future is bound to provide even better possibilities.

The Golden Age by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1530

Comments(2)

Did prehistoric man tan? It seems quite likley that they would have taken at least short breaks from their clothing to dry out, clean up and feel refreshed. Genetic studies of the human body louse indicate at least some humans started wearing clothing about 72,000 years ago. I say some, because there are still remote ethnicities that live their lives nude today (not even counting us nudists of western society)!

Imagine something like ice age clothing. You’d need multiple layers, and you would start sweating with the everyday activities such as hunting, gathering, and grinding food. This was way before washing machines, underwear, swim trunks, inexpensive clothing at Old Navy, private bedrooms, soap and showers. On top of this, notice I mention the study of lice. Yes, body lice had been a consistent scourge of humanity since we invented clothing, until more modern hygienic times. Now imagine all the itching and how all sorts of things, from lice, to fungus, to smelly bacteria could breed under a caveman’s clothes. What would be the only real solution? Get naked - and often! Getting nude in the sun for a few minutes would have help to dry and cleanse the skin and clothing, and would have provided more vitamin D absorption through the skin. In fact, it’s the human body’s physiological “desperation” for vitamin D that led to the evolution of lighter skin tones of some races. By the fire at night would have been another good place to get nude, with similar drying-out effects to sunlight.

And remember… the study said that some humans started wearing clothing 72,000 years ago, which indicates everyone was pretty much nude, all the time and everywhere, before that!

Comments(1)

Christian nudism is a flourishing movement which has taken root in recent years. While there have always been nudists who were Christians, there are now many websites, groups, and even locations dedicated to the idea that Christianity is quite compatible with nudism. Of course the Bible has been interpreted through the ages to say what leaders at the time wanted it to say, and sometimes what were considered “Christian” principles were not actually biblical in origin at all. Many Christian nudists now point out that there is no commandment in the Bible that says it is wrong to be nude, in front of others, or otherwise. In fact, some of the mentions of “shame” in association with nudity in the Bible should be taken in cultural context. Nudity was more of a symbol of poverty or humility than immorality (with possible exception for things such as the Israelites-and-golden-calf episode). In fact, the association of immorality with nudity seems to have been made by medieval church leaders, who of course did many other things to supress people’s pusuit of happiness in life. American Christianity seems to have often associated nudity with immorality, with sexual meaning assumed, though this varies by religious sect and even region of the country.

Even the story of the Garden of Eden implies that nudity should be idealized as a part of a state of paradise.

Not many Christians know that there was an unusual Christian sect, the Adamites, that flourished in North Africa through the 4th century AD (with similar, later revivals in Europe) that practiced nudism. Perhaps it is the earliest known western case of nudism as a conscious movement to  be nude.

Christian nudism helps the nudism as a whole, to maintain a non-sexual, disciplined, well-principled image. And whatever the future of Christian nudism, it’s sure to add some balance to some beliefs that had become biased with agenda-driven interpretations though the ages.

More to See
Christian naturism on Wikipedia - A great article that about covers it all.
The Naturist-Christians Organization
Fig Leaf Forum - “For Christian nudists and naturists”.
Christian Nudist… at Our Sun Home
Christian Nudist Convocation
Boyd Allen’s Christian Naturism
Christian Nudist Sites List 

Comments(2)

One of the most compelling principles of modern nudism is the ideal of body acceptance. While crude mainstream society and mass media makes harsh judgement and discriminates against those who don’t match their unrealistic ideal, mosts nudists and naturists make you feel welcome no matter what you look like. It hasn’t always been so much this way, but over the decades nudists have developed some very positive ideas about what nudism should be about. It’s hard to criticize a group that preaches acceptance, but some haters desperately try to find a way.

At a nudist location (nude beach, resort, etc.) you will see all types, young and old, black and white, tan and pale, fat and skinny, fit and saggy. It shows a barbaric arrogance to look down on others just because your age, genetics or other luck that happens to make your appearance more acceptable to mainstream society. Thankfully, nudism tends to attract individuals with a higher level of intelligence and sophistication in this regard. Although nudists might superficially resemble primitive stone age people in their attire (or lack thereof), they are actually more mentally “civilized” than the average person. Those who have the craziest ideas of what nudism is have never tried it themselves. A nudist location or event is not a pagent, it’s a place to feel free, be comfortable, and healthy. You should not see it as getting nude for others, but getting nude for yourself. In this way, it is a dignified form of nudity in the Western world, just as nudity should not be regarded as “dirty” in medicine or art. Therefore, what you look like should not be a concern one way or another. If you are not acceptable in the mainstream, who cares? If you are found very attractive in the mainstream, who cares? Nudist activities may be one of Western society’s few escapes from worsening, narrowing and unrealistic idea of what the body should look like.

Now, as in decades past, women are put to shame by unrealistic ideals of the body. Now, many younger men are feeling insecure because they don’t match up to similarly unrealistic ideals. In addition to general body form, Hollywood and the media make people feel inferior for having the “wrong” type of breasts, hips, buttocks, stomach, penis, legs or body hair patterns. Real nudists don’t pay attention to such things anyway and accept you as you are.

Will it ever stop? Probably not before it gets worse. In the meantime, get nude more for a dose of sanity and relief!

Body Diversity Links to See:
FeminineBeauty.info - Blog promoting feminine beauty.
007b.com Normal Breasts Gallery - Website promotes breastfeeding and the non-sexualization of breasts.
The Shape of a Mother - Celebrates the beauty and diversity of what real moms look like.
Women En Large and Familiar Men Projects - Photograph books of real women and men.

Comments(0)

The Daily Mail reports on a (British?) survey showing a 1/3 of women won’t be seen nude by their partner around the house. The Daily Mail reports “Images of stick-thin models and digitally-slimmed celebrities are convincing a whole generation to keep their clothes on at all times.”

Is this the world we want to live in? Reject body shame today!

Comments(7)