How to get started in naturism if you’re under 30, part 6: Congratulations! You’re now a self-confident naturist!

If you’ve been following along with this series of ideas for becoming involved in naturism, by now you’re probably convinced that clothesfree activities should be an important part of your life. Perhaps you already spend a lot of time naked when it’s comfortable and convenient and you’re pretty satisfied with your current naturist activities – yet you’d still like “more of the same”.

On the other hand, quite possibly you want to learn about other naturist activities you may not even be aware of. Or else you’d like to do more things you currently enjoy – except without having to wear any clothes. Either way, you’ll probably still want to explore new ways to enhance your life where clothing simply isn’t necessary.

In either case, you probably want to have more naturist friends – you don’t want the feeling that almost nobody else seems to crave being naked as much as you do.

So let’s think about your current relationship with naturism and then discuss how to expand your participation in it and find other naturist activities to enjoy.

1. Be sure you’re comfortable with your own naked body and the naked bodies of others

The ultimate naturist goal is that there’s no doubt nudity should be regarded as completely normal in your private life. A conviction that there’s nothing “wrong” with nudity shouldn’t be enough. You shouldn’t doubt that nudity is wholesome and good – so you’ll be fully comfortable with your own nudity and the nudity of others. If you’re not, this is an issue you should address.

Perhaps the most important aspect of naturism is body acceptance – of your own naked body and the naked bodies of others. Body acceptance is the most important prerequisite for enjoying naturism to the fullest. At the same time, your body’s health is very important, so you should take the best possible care of it.

Realistically, hardly anyone is completely satisfied with their own body. There’s almost always a desire to have a body that could be somehow different than it currently is. You may feel that your body is either too skinny or else (more likely) not as skinny and svelt as you’d like. That’s normal, but don’t dwell on it. However, if you have health issues, especially if a physician raises concerns, don’t neglect them. You want to remain healthy so you can continue to enjoy naturist activities for a long, long time.

If there are healthy ways to improve your body, fine. Go ahead and work on that. Resolve to get more exercise. (Exercise is generally much more pleasant if you can be naked.) Adopt a diet that’s healthier and conducive to having a body shape more to your liking. But if your health is fine, just accept your body the way it is. Naturism is best when your body’s condition allows you to participate in whatever naturist activities interest you.

2. Decide what changes you may have to make and can accept so that nudity can be a more significant part of your lifestyle

Of course, in no modern society is nudity fully acceptable in most public places, as well as in many private places. So some problems are quite obvious:

• You very likely have close relatives, good friends, or even a significant other who can’t understand that your desire for a more naked lifestyle is reasonable.
• Unless you no longer need to work for a living, employment in a conventional workplace won’t be possible, if you can’t work away from there.
• Many other things simply won’t be possible to do naked – ordinary shopping, most travel for pleasure, participation in most conventional social activities, etc.

Naturists certainly understand all that. There are many unavoidable limitations to having a naked lifestyle. You’ll have to make decisions about what’s more important to you and be clear in your own mind about what trade-offs you can be comfortable with. How much of what you currently do are you willing to forego in order to spend more time naked?

For many people – maybe most – it will be necessary to limit being naked to traditional naturist activities. But there are still plenty of possibilities for nudity even with that constraint – so don’t give up on enjoying nakedness within the limitations of your current lifestyle.

3. The more time you spend naked the more you’ll get used to enjoying nudity and want to increase doing that

By now you’ve probably overcome your initial concerns about doing things completely naked and have realized that being clothesfree when it’s comfortable to do so is pleasant and seems pretty “normal” to you. Making a habit of going naked isn’t especially hard. If nobody around will object, just strip off. The more time you spend naked, the more you’ll regret having to wear any clothes.

It’s great if you can be naked at home whenever that’s comfortable. If people you live with have objections to your nudity, respect their feelings. However, you may be able to change their minds over time, especially if there are satisfying naturist opportunities away from home. People you live with should quickly understand the importance to you of nudity. If you’re still living with your family at home, and there’s a private outdoor swimming pool or spa, you may be able to use those naked, even if you can’t be naked inside.

But if none of that’s easily possible, you can look for naturist activities where you can be naked without hassles. For example, visiting with friends who don’t object to nudity, even if they’re not ready to try it themselves. Or there may be nearby naturist clubs or resorts to visit. Or enjoy nudity outdoors when camping, hiking, or visiting skinny-dipping places.

Don’t let yourself be limited to just naturist activities you already enjoy. There certainly will be additional possibilities to spend even more time naked that you haven’t really explored, seriously considered, or simply aren’t aware of. These may be opportunities that are already out there, or you’ll think of opportunities you make yourself.

Let’s have a look at practical ways to find interesting new opportunities for spending more time being happily naked.

4. To spend increasingly more time naked, you’ll have to actively seek out new opportunities

Being limited to having only a few alternative naturist activities is a common problem among naturists.

If you’re fortunate that others you live with respect your desire to be naked at home, you can enjoy that freedom much or most of the time. Even if that’s possible, ideally you’ve found one or more naturist activities away from home to enjoy. Perhaps there’s someplace outdoors where you can hike or camp clothesfree. Or, maybe even better, there’s a good clothing-optional beach or landed naturist facility nearby, you could be satisfied with that.

Under such circumstances, you have a good start as a naturist. However, you’ll probably realize that being naked is addictive (in a good way). Of course, you don’t want that to interfere with the rest of your life. But you’ll still want to find new ways you can spend time without any clothes. Naturally, the naturist activities you enjoy the most are among those you’ve already found. But either it may be difficult to enjoy those activities as much as you’d like, or else you’re the sort of person who’s often looking for new opportunities. This is especially important if you can’t be naked at home on a regular basis.

You’ll find some ideas for new naturist activities to explore a little further on here. But first, let’s consider how to go about discovering new opportunities on your own for being clothesfree.

Probably the best information source is other naturists you know in real life. Since everyone’s different, other naturists probably can suggest clothesfree activities you haven’t even thought of. So a priority should be getting to know other naturists, especially if they’re about your age.

And probably the best place to start is with people you already know. It’s possible there are a few among them who are, unknown to you, already interested in social nudity to some extent. That’s one reason why you should discuss your interest in naturism with as many other people as seem appropriate.

There will certainly be some you won’t want to discuss the subject with. For example, anyone who happens to have expressed negative views of “nudists”. And it may be best not to discuss the subject with people at your job, unless you have reason to think they’re likely to be open-minded about naturism and not consider your interest as something sexual.

The vast majority aren’t already naturists themselves, of course, and most will have only the vaguest idea of what naturism really is. So the first step is to get some sense of what they know about naturism and their attitudes towards it. You can just drop the subject if you encounter significant negative attitudes or no interest in discussing it.

However, if there’s openness of others to talk about naturism, let them know at least some of what experience you’ve had with it, and why you’ve found it enjoyable. Here are some good outcomes that can come from having the discussion.

• In the best case, you’ll find others who’ve had some naturist experience themselves, maybe just privately at home.
• Almost as good would be finding people who’ll seriously consider trying naturism – perhaps together with you.
• Some may deny a personal interest in naturism but will admit they’re not bothered by nudity and so won’t object if you want to be naked when socializing with them.
• If they have no interest in naturism, they may know one or more others who are interested or involved in naturism. Or others who might at least want to learn more about it.
• Although most people probably can’t imagine trying naturism themselves, they may be persuaded that your interest is reasonable – and possibly encourage you to pursue it.

If you’re fortunate in actually being referred to others who are already naturism, don’t automatically dismiss them if they happen to be somewhat or a lot older than you. They have more years of naturist experience – perhaps many more – so they probably have more and better information to offer. In any event, the chances to establish friendships with current naturists are better if there are interests in common besides naturism. Any naturists you meet could become good friends – and hence the possibility of enjoying naturist activities together.

However, if your discussions about naturism with people you know and trust don’t lead to finding actual naturists, there are other ways to go about it. There’s a long discussion of that topic here.

So as not to repeat much of that article, let’s just say that, usually, the surest way to meet other naturists is to visit landed naturist facilities or join a non-landed naturist club – if there are some not too far from where you live. Hopefully, at least a few naturists there will be about your age. But as already noted, older naturists can be quite helpful. Try to use such venues as often as convenient. And even if you don’t get a lot of useful advice, the ability to enjoy the available naturist activities there without hassles is quite worthwhile in itself.

Here are a few other possible ways to find other naturists:

• The second best (sometimes perhaps the best) way to find other naturists) is to (gently) persuade your non-naturist friends to try going naked themselves. This is a large topic that will have to be addressed some other time. But if any current friends or acquaintances do get into naturism, then you and they can enjoy it together. Perhaps even establish a small coterie of friends who like socializing naked regularly.
• There are a few popular clothing-optional beaches around the country. (Definitely too few.) Some regular users of such beaches are welcoming to others. However, many naturists at these beaches are there just to relax and don’t want to be approached by strangers.
• Join one or both of the U.S. national organizations (AANR and TNS). They offer a few events during the year (both real-world and in cyberspace) that allow for getting acquainted with others.
• Follow blogs that allow comments, like this one. Users may add additional information and have extended discussions.
• Use online social media for personal interactions, such as Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, etc., to find and communicate with active naturists. (But significant problems of these are explained below.)
• There are several social networking sites especially for naturists. But they also have significant drawbacks, such as anonymity, membership fees, low utilization, etc.

And, certainly, “naturist friend finder” sites should be strictly avoided. They’re all scams.

5. There are limits to how much you can learn about naturism solely from the Internet

Presumably, by this point, you’ve had enough naturist experience to be pretty sure you enjoy it – and you probably want to find new places and ways to enjoy naturism. In addition to personal experience, you may have learned much of what you know about naturism from the Internet – including from blogs like this one. Unfortunately, blogs aren’t as popular as they used to be, and there seem to be fewer active naturist blogs every year. Furthermore, there’s also a lot of incomplete and misleading information on the Internet.

There’s really no substitute for the real-life experiences of other naturists. A certain amount of that can be gleaned from sources on the Internet. But here are some ways naturist information on the Internet is inadequate.

• Information available on clothing-optional beaches and skinny-dipping spots is incomplete – and often out of date. Other naturists you know in real life can give much better information, especially relevant to the area you live in.
• There’s relatively little information available on local non-landed naturist clubs and groups. Some of the best such groups are members of AANR or TNS. But many others are not. Again, the best information source is other naturists you know.
• Accurate information on the legality of nudity in public, outside of private spaces, or even on your own property, is very hard to find. Even experienced naturists may not know a lot about where it’s legal (or at least tolerated) to be naked, and where it’s not. Other naturists may know places that are “safe”, but be unaware of many others The rules vary a lot from state to state, and usually within states too. The Internet has almost no reliable information on this.
• Although nearly all landed naturist clubs and resorts have a website, their sites are often pretty incomplete. In particular, they usually have almost no information on the demographics of their regular visitors – especially about age and gender profiles. Information on the websites about facilities, amenities, rules, and even prices is often sparse.
• Discussions of naturism on social media – such as Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, etc. – are not especially reliable. You’ll find a lot of personal opinions, but they can be quite variable. A lot is just a matter of personal preferences.
• Pictures of naturists and naturist activities generally show a lot more age and gender balance than you’ll actually find at most naturist places.
• The Internet offers rather little practical information about how to find naturist friends, organize informal naturist groups, plan naturist events in your own home or in outdoor places, etc.
• Major social media sites tend to limit or inhibit information about naturism, since they’re biased by the (erroneous) popular confusion of social nudity with sexuality – and therefore naturist information isn’t considered “family-friendly”.

So the best way to really overcome these limitations is to become personally acquainted with as many active naturists as possible. A number of suggestions for how to do that are here. But the best approach is simply to visit landed naturist clubs or join a nearby non-landed club (if any). Even if people at such venues are older than you, they may still give you good information from personal knowledge, and possibly help you meet naturists closer to your age.

You may know various naturist discussion forums and full-blown naturist social media sites on the Internet. Many of those are legitimate. Of the legitimate naturist social media sites, you’ll often find that the activity level is low. And even for fairly active sites, most people there don’t live close enough to you for getting together in person.

Perhaps surprisingly, however, Facebook can be helpful in finding and communicating with other naturists. There are a small number of reasonably active naturist groups on FB, though they may be hard to find. If you’re already acquainted with other naturists who use FB fairly often, they may be in one of those groups and can inform you of it. Once you’ve joined a group, you’ll become aware of naturists who post in the group. You can make posts of your own just to say “Hi” and tell a little about yourself. That may lead to becoming “friends” with others in the group.

Once you have friends on FB who you know are naturists, there’s a good way for you to make posts on your own FB page that only your naturist friends can see. If you aren’t aware of the facility, here’s what to do. (1) Click the three bars at the top of the page and select “Friends”. (2) Select “Custom lists” from the menu. (3) Select “Create New List” and give it a name. (4) Start adding names of naturist friends to the list (click the 3 dots in the upper right corner). When you make a post you want only those naturist friends to see, click on the button labeled “Public” and select the custom list you’ve created just for naturists. (Be careful not to use any other list if you don’t want anyone in that list to see the post.)

If you do put naturist posts on FB, remember that you’ll get in trouble if you post photos (but not artwork) in which genitals or female nipples are visible. (Yeah, it sucks, but that’s how it is.)

Unless you’re able to use FB effectively as described above, it’s really a cruddy place for naturists. The groups are mostly vapid and boring, and the general policies on FB are hostile to naturism. Reddit is a better place for asking naturist questions and getting reasonable answers. And Twitter isn’t a very good place for decent conversation because of the limits on message length.

6. Don’t be concerned about finding that “too many” others at clothing-optional beaches and naturist clubs and resorts are older than you

It’s true that the age distribution at naturist parks and resorts (and many non-landed clubs too) tends to skew towards older people. Some of those individuals originally discovered naturism in the 1960s, 70s, or 80s. That means they can tell very interesting stories of what they’ve experienced as naturists over the years and how it’s changed (or hasn’t).

But it’s a big mistake for young people who might be interested in naturism to avoid participating on account of the existing age distribution. Missing out on the enjoyment of social nudity is a huge loss.

Yes, of course, there are great differences in the interests and preferences of people in different age groups. But a significant interest in social nudity is something very important to have in common. Older naturists can provide a wealth of information on the plusses (and minuses) of the variety of naturist places they know about.

And also, these older naturists often have children (and grandchildren!) who may have been exposed to naturism from an early age – perhaps even raised as naturists themselves. The older generation quite possibly can put you in touch with some of these younger people who live nearby and are close to your age.

The most important fact is that non-participation by younger people in naturism is a “self-fulfilling prophecy”. That is, young people who might otherwise want to participate in naturism don’t do so – because they expect that too few others their age participate. That’s a vicious circle, but it can be broken if enough young people make efforts to do so.

If you’re still worried about the lack of people close to your age at naturist places, there’s one important – and obvious – thing you can probably do about that. Invite open-minded friends with you when you visit naturist places! They need not have any intention of getting naked themselves. These will be people, of course, who already know of your interest in naturism. They’ve probably become comfortable with your nudity in their presence – and may have even suggested that you get naked if you aren’t already. If you know other young naturists already, be sure to invite them along too if you think they’ll be interested. The more the merrier. And you’ll be sure to have friends around so you won’t feel “all alone”.

Most landed naturist parks and resorts can use the revenue from additional visitors. And usually these days, visitors aren’t required to be fully naked, except around swimming pools and spas. All that’s required from visitors is an open mind and understanding of basic naturist etiquette – such as respect for others present, no gawking, and no picture-taking without permission. (Note that many clubs require first-time visitors to take a “tour” of the facilities, and such tours are only scheduled at specific times – so some advance planning may be necessary.)

Your payoff for bringing friends along, obviously, is having people close to your age to spend time with at naturist places. And if they get fully or partially naked themselves when visiting naturist places, so much the better! Quite possibly they’ll begin to try naturism themselves and participate with you in other naturist activities.

The main idea here is to enlarge the number of people you know (especially those near your age) who aren’t bothered by nudity – and may seriously consider becoming active naturists. The more nudity-positive people and practicing naturists you know (even if they’re older), the more diverse opportunities you will have to be naked.

It’s really up to young naturists themselves to promote social nudity by participating actively and by bringing more young people into naturism. If that doesn’t happen, naturism itself will silently fade away.

7. Be proud of your enjoyment of naturism

• Don’t be secretive and hide your interest in naturism. Discuss naturism with as many open-minded people you know who you think will respect your opinion.
• Place some naturist publications, personal (naturist) pictures, artworks, flags, or signs around your home (or at least in your room) where visitors will see them.
• Obtain naturist-themed clothing, such as T-shirts or hats, that you can wear when it’s not possible to be naked.
• Explain in detail what you enjoy about naturism to open-minded others who indicate an interest in knowing more about it.
• If others you live with are tolerant of your nudity, be naked with them if you want to be, and even if there are visitors you expect also to be tolerant of nudity.
• Promote the idea of naturism to open-minded friends and family members with the objective of interesting them to try it themselves
• Invite others who’re tolerant of nudity to participate with you in naturist activities – especially hiking, camping, skinny-dipping, or visiting naturist parks and resorts – even if they’re unsure about getting naked themselves.
• Socialize naked whenever possible with others who’re tolerant of nudity.
• Arrange private occasions – parties or simple gatherings – where you live so that invited guests can meet naturists besides yourself and possibly get naked themselves.
• Use the ways on social media such as Facebook to discuss your enjoyment of naturism only with selected others you know are open-minded.

8. Previous articles in this series

1. How to get started in naturism if you’re under 30, part 1: The naturist landscape
2. How to get started in naturism if you’re under 30, part 2: The good things about naturism
3. How to get started in naturism if you’re under 30, part 3: Naked and afraid?
4. How to get started in naturism if you’re under 30, part 4: Initial steps to participating in naturism
5. How to get started in naturism if you’re under 30, part 5: Finding other young naturists