February 3, 2009
Most Nudists Republicans?: Nudism and Political Party
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!
We, as people, have this inner need to categorize ourselves and others into a minimal number of groups yet vehemently defend our individualities. Movies like The Breakfast Club help illustrate this: Each of the five characters – the athlete, the basket case, the criminal, the nerd and the princess – represent their distinctive clique yet we in the audience easily identify with two or more of them. This is because no one is just one dimensional.
This holds true for the nudist community as well. Many – especially in the textile world – automatically assume that we are all liberals with nudism and conservatism being mutually exclusive. Au contraire. With regards to whether you are a “liberal~” or “conservative nudist,” the two camps (pun intended) break into essentially these perceptions:
To be a conservative nudist means that you believe in conducting yourself with disciplined public behaviour, a dedication to etiquette and actions representative of nudism at large. Another characteristic of the CN is the endorsement of a healthy, non-sexual, family-oriented environment such as a nudist resort or club. Not surprisingly, a large portion of the AANR membership support right-of-centre philosophies.
The liberal nudist, on the other hand, approaches nudism with more self-expression, placing personal happiness and beliefs before those of the community’s, and favours pushing the edge of the envelope in regards to the social boundaries of sexual behaviour. It is easy to say that the LN prefers the unregulated atmosphere of public c/o beaches or parks. In a sense, the TNS membership – especially those within the NAC – lean towards these ideals.
THE LIBERAL NUDIST /vs/ THE CONSERVATIVE NUDIST
Personal well-being /vs/ Community interests
Situation and personal preferences /vs/ Adherence to etiquette
Self-expression, “out of the box” /vs/ Disciplined social behaviour
The line between nudity and sexuality is blurred /vs/ Non-sexuality of nudism emphasized
Conservative or liberal, we all make our contributions to nudism and both viewpoints are necessary for us to be successful. If our community was polarized liberally, it would draw the nakedists and those far too “progressive” to be able to distinguish acceptable levels of decorum; too conservative and younger people will be turned away by the conformity, further aging the demographics. We need input from those who keep the nudist movement in line and focused, and those who bring new ideas and directions.
Our values whilst dressed shouldn’t differ once we disrobe. Remember that our lifestyle is constantly under the scrutiny of outsiders; our ability to shed our clothes without shedding our principles makes us nudists. If not, we are just naked apes.