Back in the early days of blogging – only a little more than 15 years ago – it was customary for blogs to have a “blogroll”. That is a list of other blogs – dealing with subjects similar to the blogger’s own site – that the blogger respects and follows. But now that custom seems to have waned. The most popular blogs on almost any topic are now elaborate, flashy, and crafted for their appearance as well as their content – but with no blogrolls. Even if there is a blogroll, it’s often not well maintained to delete inactive older blogs and add new ones.
This is unfortunate, since different bloggers offer different points of view, diverse experiences, and stories that would otherwise be overlooked. Bloggers need to help each other, and especially to draw attention to new blogs on the same or similar topics. There used to be extensive directories to help people find blogs dealing with a particular topic, but those are mostly gone now, too. So I’m trying to do a little bit to uphold tradition by keeping a blogroll that’s up-to-date. Especially with a topic like naturism, that’s important, because the mainstream media do such a terrible job of providing an accurate picture of non-mainstream lifestyles and ways of thinking.
Note that traditional blogs, unlike other social media (such as Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc.) are at most lightly censored, and usually not at all. Responsible naturist blogs show only wholesome nudity – and the visual content is an essential part of communicating about naturism. Yes! Naturists enjoy many of the same things others do – they just do those things without wearing clothes. Sometimes mundane things like gardening or fixing dinner. But sometimes really challenging things, like sky-diving or climbing El Capitan.
So I’ve added several new blogs I’ve found interesting to my blogroll. You’ll find a brief description of them following this introduction. I hope that will help them gain a wider audience, even if only in a small way. Naturism – a lifestyle that includes naked activities and naked living – is so poorly understood that naturists who blog (or communicate in other ways, like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, or podcasts) should do what they can to improve public understanding of naturism.
This blog is not really new. One version of it has been active since 2016. I say “one version”, since the blog has another location: here. The reason for the two locations isn’t clear, but posts seem to alternate between them. The second location began in 2018. But what both have in common is an amazing amount of content.
There are (at least) four types of material. There are short posts called “Sunwalkerism”. In these the blogger makes an assertion, such as “Being totally naked makes you feel much more alive.” Readers are invited to respond with their own opinions on the topic. A second type of post, which often appears on the same day is a “Naturist View”, which is an uncensored photo of a naturist or a group of naturists doing typical naturist things. As I remarked above, visual content is as essential as the written word in communicating what naturism is about. (“A picture is worth a thousand words.”)
Then there are many quotes relevant to naturism gathered from all over the Internet – other blogs, news articles, naturist discussion forums, and many other sources. For the most part, these are the words of “ordinary” naturists, not famous artists and thinkers (as in my recent list). And finally, there are longer posts by Ken on events in his own life, opinions on naturism, etc.
As the blog’s name suggests, nude hiking (or “freehiking”) is one of the blogger’s main interests. It’s a topic that’s well worth anything informative that can be said about it.
The amount of content here is overwhelming. It must take hours a day to gather and prepare the blog posts. Readers should be prepared to spend as much time as they can afford to peruse what’s here.
Do you now – or do you aspire to – live your life totally naked as much as possible? If so, this blog may give you good information on how to do it: Just sell your present home (if you own one and can’t afford to keep it), buy a well-equipped RV or travel trailer, get all the guides to nudist/naturist places you can drive to, and hit the road.
This blog is brought to you by a couple who followed the plan just described, and so far have “been to 33 nudist resorts, eight clothing optional beaches, one clothing optional bar, 44 U.S. states, 16 countries and one (ugh) Bob Evans restaurant.” The blog is entertaining, as Scott (an experienced writer with a sense of humor) presumably authors most of the material). As he writes,
“We are travel lovers who hate wearing clothes. We hate wearing clothes so much that when we get home from an excursion, we undress before turning on the lights, looking for intruders or taking the dog out for a pee. If we’re not in a nudist resort, that can be a problem because you have to dress again to take the dog out. One time Scott wrapped himself in a trash bag.”
There’s not much content in the blog yet, as the first post is dated April 23, 2019. Let’s hope the blog eventually describes many of the couple’s adventures enjoying a mobile naked lifestyle.
The blog describes itself as “An exploration of nudism/naturism in the Green Mountain State”. It is that, among other things, so should be useful to naturists in Vermont and nearby states. Vermont seems to have the best naturist opportunities in the area.
But you’ll also find interesting reflections on naturism in general. In the post titled A Modern Dad’s Role there are wise words for parents on teaching their kids about naturism and body acceptance, such as:
“Our house models self-acceptance. We are not a “nudist” family, per se, because we don’t prescribe a way of being. If one doesn’t want to wear clothes, so be it. If one does, that’s fine, too. We accept each other for who we are. And we demonstrate that being “as is” is good enough. There are many pressures in this world, and promoting the value of self-acceptance and love can be an important shield for the upcoming generations from the well-funded purveyors of body shame.”
The bloggers here describe themselves as a “younger nudist couple (ages 25 and 34)” – and they say they’ve “been part of the nudist movement for 6-8 years now”. So they definitely have the right perspective. They describe the blog’s purpose as “The understanding and acceptance of nudism in the younger generation”. There’s certainly a great need for that, so we should all hope they can make a difference.
In their About statement they say
“We promote body freedom as a life philosophy, the mindset that enjoying the world free from clothes will help “encourage self respect, respect for others as well as the environment””
Thanks for the write-up. Ken Sunwalker