The strange feeling of daily life without wearing any clothes

Here are some thoughts for open-minded people in the Northern hemisphere at the beginning of summer with its (much) warmer weather – the best time of the year to go naked.

It’s likely that when you were very young – 2 or 3 years old, maybe – your parents occasionally allowed you to play around the house or in the backyard with nothing on. Or after a bath you might have been allowed to stay naked until bedtime. You almost certainly enjoyed the experience at the time. The chances are, however, that you have no clear memory of that – unless your parents thought it was cute and took pictures or videos.
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How to get started in naturism if you’re under 30, part 5: Finding other young naturists

Let’s suppose you’ve already had a little experience with naturist social nudity – and you’ve found it to be comfortable and enjoyable. In fact, you realize that you’d like to actively participate on a more regular basis. But so far you haven’t found good opportunities to do that.

Welcome to the club. Depending on where you live, it’s quite possible there just aren’t any satisfactory nearby places, such as naturist resorts or clothing-optional beaches. Of course, if you’ve been able to find a few other people whose interest in naturism is similar to yours, then you’re all set. Just get together with these others in private homes or outdoor places where it’s possible to be naked without problems.
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How to get started in naturism if you’re under 30, part 4: Initial steps to participating in naturism

Overview: Perhaps you’ve been curious about naturism for a while. You may have seen posts from naturists on Twitter, followed one or more naturist blogs, or checked out some naturist groups on Facebook. But you’re not quite sure what’s the best way to actually try naturist activities for yourself. You may have concerns about being embarrassed for saying or doing the wrong things the first few times you visit a clothing-optional beach or actual naturist facility. Here are some suggestions for how to make your first experiences with naturism enjoyable.
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Here’s something naturists need to think hard about

There have been quite a few interesting comments on a post of mine from about 3 months ago: Gender balance in naturism. I’ll discuss my responses to a couple of the comments on it. But first, it’s necessary to call attention to a post from Alexis, a female naturist blogger: Giving Up Nudism?.

This is a long post, so if you’re short on time you can find a summary of the main points at the end, but you’ll miss the reasoning behind those points. If you do have time, it would be a good idea to read (or re-read) Alexis’ post and the comments on it.

For simplicity, I’ll summarize some of her main points. Only the parts in quotation marks are Alexis’ own remarks.

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Gender balance in naturism

Recently a post here had a comment that brought up the naturist gender balance issue, suggesting it could actually be a matter of gender discrimination (against single men). I wrote a long reply and suspected it should be a regular post. The issue is one of the biggest problems facing U. S. naturism, and has been for a long time (like decades). It’s a very difficult issue to deal with. But the issue hasn’t been discussed much here (except for this and this), so let’s have another look at it.

It’s very wrong and unfair for a naturist club to exclude men entirely for gender balance reasons. There definitely needs to be more flexibility. But the issue is a very tough one. Here’s the main problem: If there are “too many men” at a naturist club, event, or even a clothing-optional beach, then many other men, as well as women, will be considerably less likely to participate.
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Recent articles on nudity and naturism, January 1-15, 2021

  1. A First Summer At Sunfolk

    In March 2020 British Naturism, Britain’s national naturist organization, purchased a small landed naturist club that had been in operation since 1931, as reported here and here. The property, Sunfolk, is conveniently located about 40 km west of London. It’s also about a 5-minure walk from the better-known Spielplatz, which was founded only 2 years earlier.

    Perhaps because the club had been overshadowed by neighboring Spielplatz, club members had difficulty in maintaining the facility. BN’s purchase will allow for needed redevelopment and safety work. Although BN will own the property, BN won’t directly manage it. The pandemic precluded naturist use during the summer of 2020, but it provided an opportunity for necessary work to be done more quickly, so normal operation could resume in 2021.

    Sunfolk will no longer be a private members’ club, but will welcome members of BN and other naturist federations. BN will also use the facilities as a “campaigning” center where “influencers and policymakers” can learn about naturism first-hand and mingle with actual naturists. BN will also be using the property for naturist events and gatherings.

    Unfortunately, naturist organizations in the U. S. haven’t seriously considered doing something similar. In Southern California alone, 4 naturist parks folded during the past couple of decades, as well as a considerable number of others elsewhere in the country. Here in the U. S., we just don’t have any naturist organizations that tried to help.

    Realistically, because of large distances in the U. S., one place like Sunfolk would hardly be enough for the whole country. There should be several such places that could be managed like Sunfolk. There’s a desperate need for “influencers and policymakers” to learn what naturism is really like. But U. S. naturist organizations, apparently, don’t see that as part of their mission, or simply don’t care.

  2. 8 Incredible Experiences In Valley View Hot Springs

    Here’s another naturist-friendly article from the mainstream travel site Travel Awaits. (Earlier articles were mentioned here.) The subject of the article, Valley View Hot Springs, is a 176-mile drive southwest of Denver, through Colorado’s San Luis Valley. Not only the hot springs, but all the experiences there, and the property itself, are entirely clothing-optional. Even the showers in the toilet building are co-ed. What more could a naturist want?

    Any textiles who happen to visit unaware of the clothing-optional policies may not want to stay long. Yet, as the article notes, you may well find yourself sharing the place with families and their young children, couples of all ages, single men and women, mothers and daughters, and even some teens. In fact, there are about 11,000 visitors annually, so there’s lots of opportunity to chat and enjoy the company of like-minded others. But with over 2000 acres in the property, you can have solitude if you want it.

    What’s there besides the springs? How about, as the article notes, “endless hiking trails”? If hiking naked amid unspoiled natural scenery and vistas appeals to you, this would be the place for it. The springs are located on a 2,200-acre parcel of protected land owned and managed by the Orient Land Trust, which is a non-profit organization, so you won’t have to pay excessively to enjoy your visit. If you do plan to visit, take note of advice in the article about things like making advance reservations, available accommodations, and the fact that there are no hookups or dump stations for RVs.

  3. Love Your Body: Own how you look in 2021

    This article is from the free, “alternative” news magazine Now, of Toronto, Ontario. Being “alternative” means it deals with stories that almost all “mainstream” media would resolutely avoid. “Love Your Body” is actually a once-a-year feature of the magazine, appearing in January.

    Accepting and appreciating the body one has – even if not exactly always “loving” it – is a concept most naturists understand very well. It’s necessary for people who desire to be completely comfortable and at ease being naked, whether or not in the presence of others. But the article isn’t about naturism per se, even though all six individuals profiled are shown fully and explicitly naked – without any image censorship at all.

    The nudity here is totally appropriate, since a major theme (but not the only one) is about how people relate to their bodies. Other themes include feelings concerning gender, ethnic, and life-stage identity. These types of identity are entangled with each other, of course. Physical exposure of one’s body isn’t the only issue here, since emotional and psychological exposure is also involved. These things are often important issues for naturists – especially in the initial stages. However, the physical issues tend to disappear rather quickly the longer one is a naturist. Body acceptance is not only necessary for enjoying naturism, it’s greatly strengthened by naturist activity.

    When naturists recommend trying out naturism to a friend, the usual reaction is negative. Possible excuses typically include a belief that allowing others (except for an intimate partner) to see one’s naked body is “immoral”, forbidden by one’s religion, inappropriately “sexual”, “socially unacceptable”, or something similar. Or maybe they fear being considered “exhibitionists” who get a thrill from “flaunting” their naked bodies. But more likely is that most people assume they’d be embarrassed to go naked, since their body isn’t “perfect” enough.

    The usual – and appropriate – naturist response is that naturists are unconcerned about the appearance of anyone’s naked body. Why? Because physical appearance simply doesn’t matter, since body shame is psychologically unhealthy and needs to be overcome. Bodies come in many colors, shapes, and sizes. So what? Nudity isn’t just something naturists can get “used to”. More often it’s embraced enthusiastically.

    So naturists are able to enjoy nudity’s pleasurable feelings, without concerns that others who respect them – other naturists in particular – might be judgmental about body appearance. Actually participating in naturism may well be the best way to overcome body shame and accept one’s body as it is.

    This article from BuzzFeed News provides, on a single page, a summary (with pictures) of each individual’s take on the subject.

  4. Naturism during lockdown

    Donna Price and her husband John are British naturists who’ve been written about here a few times. (Here, here, and here) Donna is now well-known in British Naturism, since she volunteered to help relaunch BN’s Women in Naturism campaign a little over 2 years ago. She’s been a prominent spokesperson for the effort ever since. John is an equally enthusiastic naturist, and like his wife is naked fulltime at home.

    The news articles cited below seem suspiciously like deliberate PR stories, but that’s OK. Naturism fully deserves fair and accurate coverage in mainstream news media. That’s bound to bring it to the attention of people who’d otherwise have no idea what it’s actually about and may not even recognize the term.

    It’s significant that the first article touches on “nude walks” in the countryside, since the next item after this one gives an example of how such activity doesn’t always go too smoothly. Donna says that “the majority of responses they receive from fellow walkers are ‘actually very encouraging’.” And also, the responses are “not shock horror, majority of the time, I can guarantee that. A lot of people just say ‘good morning’ and carry on.” There’s no mention of what the minority of responses are like. If the couple has encountered serious harassment, let alone threatened arrests, they’re not saying. However, it seems likely that a woman out for a naked walk with her male partner is a lot less at risk from hassles than a naked man by himself.

  5. False arrest for nudity in England

    Half the stories here have been from Britain, and that could be since naturism gets considerably more respect there than in the U. S. (or most countries outside Western Europe, for that matter). The stories, however, aren’t entirely positive. Apparently there are still some British folks who haven’t yet been clued in that public nudity usually is legal in Britain, as long as it’s not sexual or intentionally offensive to others.

    Officers became involved only “after receiving several reports of a naked pedestrian”. A search eventually located the “offender”, an elderly bloke who was strolling naked around rural Waldridge Fell in September, about a mile outside the market town of Chester-le-Street. Police then arrested him “on suspicion of outraging public decency”. Although detained and questioned, he was cooperative and was subsequently released with no further action. The Fell is uninhabited open space. It’s close to, but not visible from, a residential area.

    The incident, however, didn’t make the news until three and a half months later, when the naturist Three Rivers Outdoor Club, based in nearby Newcastle, objected to a police Facebook post that summarized the incident but negligently failed to make clear that public nudity was generally legal in Britain. The group maintained that the post had put “them at risk after wrongly suggesting it was illegal to walk around naked.”

    A spokesperson for the group told the local newspaper “Our events are usually a liberating and joyful experience, but during one walk last summer, one of the ramblers had water thrown over them, whilst the assailant told the group that they shouldn’t be walking naked in public. It is wrong for Durham police to post misleading reports that suggest that public nudity is illegal, and it puts us at greater risk of harassment in future.”

    It’s interesting to read the comments on that Facebook post. Most are supportive of the naturist position. But a few are from the usual dimwits who agonize “but think about the innocent children who might see any naked people!” Even in Britain there are still some who are ignorant of both naturism and the country’s laws.

  6. 10 Benefits of Sleeping Nude You Should Know


    Last, but not least, here’s yet another article on the benefits of sleeping naked. The concept hardly comes as a surprise to almost all naturists. But it’s interesting how often it’s mentioned in more-or-less mainstream media. (See here for more references.) As noted in those references, sleeping naked can be a “gateway” to naturism. Perhaps naturist organizations should focus more on that and other gateways, such as naked yoga, naked hiking, naked exercise, naked life modeling, skinny-dipping in remote places, body painting, etc.

    All these things (mostly) encourage full nudity, but usually outside of traditional naturist venues or in private homes. Naturists, of course, probably enjoy some or many of these things. People who have no problems participating in such activities ought to be comfortable with at least some forms of organized naturism. But it would be good if individual naturists and naturist organizations made more efforts for outreach via gateways to others who know little if anything about traditional naturism.

Recent articles on nudity and naturism, December 16-31, 2020



  1. Naturist travel and vacations

    The website TravelAwaits seems to offer good information on a popular topic: travel and vacations. One nice feature is that it deals separately with a number of different types of travel, such as weekend getaways, family vacations, cruises, RVing and camping, budget travel, and a few others. Rather unusually for a travel website for the general public, naturist travel is also one of the types covered.

    Although December is not exactly the best month for naturist travel in the northern hemisphere, there are 3 articles offered in that month:

    • 8 Best European Nude Beaches
      Lists of “best” clothing-optional beaches are common, of course. But this list is a good one. As the article says, “You’ve got to hand it to the Europeans. When it comes to vacationing, they know how to do it properly. They don’t think twice about taking off for three weeks in the summer, nor leaving their clothes behind with their laptops.” Three of the beaches are in France, which has long been a top naturist destination, as explained here. The article’s first choice is Montalivet, for good reasons. (It’s the beach pictured above.)

    • The Ultimate Naturist Vacation Packing List: Things You Must Bring And What To Leave Behind
      Frequent travelers know pretty well what they need to bring with them. But there are a few additions (and deletions) to consider for a naturist vacation. You will need just a few clothes (at least for getting to the location), as few as possible. Depending on exactly what type of vacation you’re considering – camping, nude resort, or cruise – there may be some additional things to include.

    • 6 Reasons Nude Vacations Are Becoming More Popular
      If you’re an experienced naturist you know how good being naked feels (when done in a nudity-friendly environment). And lots of fun activities are even more fun without clothes. Once you’ve discovered this, you’ll know why nude vacations are becoming more popular.


    Previous articles on that site were: 8 Top Naturist Resorts In France and Everything You Wanted To Know About Being A Naturist But Were Afraid To Ask



  2. Growing up with nudists


    If you haven’t experienced being a child in a family in which it was normal, or at least not unusual, to wear nothing, you may well be envious of anyone who’s had that good fortune. Here’s an article from someone who had that experience – in a naturist camp, no less – until he was an adult. He kept a cottage there, which he used off and on for 30 years after he left.

    Michael Ruehle writes about the 25-acre naturist camp in Canada, where he spent his childhood living with his family. The camp, Sun Valley Gardens, has been closed for the last 15 years. At its peak in the 1960s and 70s, “there were about 500 adult members, and it was one of the largest nudist clubs in North America, with members coming from as far as Toronto, Montreal, Boston, and Cleveland,” according to Michael. This was in spite of its relatively small physical size.

    The camp was started around 1956 by his father, Karl, who had immigrated from Germany. He had been inspired by naturism in his own youth and wanted to continue after moving to Canada. Unlike many naturists in the 1950s (and even up to now), Karl was not secretive about naturism. He occasionally invited neighbors, local politicians, and news media to visit. As a result, “instead of being harassed, the place was quite quickly accepted by the authorities.”

    Michael goes on to write a lot more about the camp during the time it was most successful, but he says only a little about his own childhood experiences, except to note that
    We never concealed where we lived, so it was the subject of a lot of curiosity among the other kids. But most of my friends, male or female, were permitted to come visit me — another benefit of the “open house” policy, because their parents had presumably visited. I had another large group of friends at Sun Valley Gardens as well, who would be there either on weekends or for two or three weeks at a time, and I would see them every summer.

    Related information:

    • Nudists bare all for journalist June Callwood
      An actual 13-minute video from a 1961 TV interview of Michael’s parents.

    • SLIDESHOW SPECIAL | Naturism in Niagara
      A set of 40 slides, some in restored color, of historical views of Sun Valley Gardens in the early years. (The property has not been maintained and is now decrepit, as some recent pictures show.) There’s also a long recent article on the camp’s history.

  3. Local Opportunities for Naturism

    Rye is a town in the southeast of England, about 75 miles and slightly less than 2 hours from London. It’s on the coast and has a population of about 9000. The article here appeared in the local newspaper and could easily serve as a glowing advertisement for naturism. For example, here’s how it describes the activities of the local naturist group:

    East Sussex Naturists is a loose social group of naturists who, until 2020 closed most things down, were arranging visits to local art galleries, pub meals, yoga classes, regular weekly swims at local facilities, countryside walks and cycle rides in Kent and Sussex, ten-pin bowling and more – yes, and all without wearing clothes!

    Right there you have a variety of activities whose extent far surpasses that of most local groups in the U. S. – of which there are actually rather few anyway. Why aren’t there more? Part of the answer probably is that very few local news media these days would publish such a favorable report on naturism in their area. (Obvious, very likely reason: local naturists groups these days are not media savvy, and make little, if any, effort to cultivate good relations with their community and local media, unlike what Sun Valley Gardens did way back in the 1950s.)

    So, given the poor public relations efforts of most local naturist groups in the U. S. now, why should non-naturists have a positive opinion of naturism, let alone consider participating in a naturist activity? Why would any U. S. naturist (except for maybe a few in Florida living close to a naturist resort) think – even in their wildest imagination – that local media might offer such a positive take on naturism?

    General U. S. attitudes towards naturism are still, relatively speaking, in the stone age. And, if anything, only becoming less favorable as time goes on. Local news media (such as still exist, anyhow) simply reflect cluelessness, because, in the absence of outreach from naturist groups, the media just perpetuate existing uninformed attitudes. And that only magnifies the failure of the public to understand naturism.

  4. One in 10 employees enjoy working from home in the nude


    That finding is rather surprising – but what it really means depends on the details. It’s from a survey by Kaspersky Lab, a multinational cybersecurity company – whose headquarters is in Moscow. Hmmm. Its main product is antivirus software. The company has been suspected, according to Wikipedia, of including malware in some of its software. But that’s not the issue here, whether or not the suspicion is correct.

    Why would an antivirus software company have made such a finding, or even asked about it in a survey? The answer is that, because of the pandemic, a large percentage of company employees have been working at home instead of in an office. And so those employees don’t obviously need to wear customary office attire – or anything at all, for that matter. If the finding is correct, then there’s a good reason for many workers to want protection against malware on their computers from using the computer camera to spy on them.

    What’s not clear, however, is where the people who were surveyed actually live – and at what time of the year. If the finding is correct, then maybe something like 10% of the workers preferred being naked at home – hence are actual or at least potential naturists. But if the survey was done mostly in the summer, perhaps many who answered simply didn’t have air conditioning or want to use it. How many survey respondents were at home without others around? And were many of the respondents in Western Europe, where naturism is much more popular than in the U. S.? That would seem likely. But it’s an interesting finding anyway. When there’s no reason to wear any clothes – except the force of habit – why bother?

  5. 57 Reasons to get naked

    My own list, with more detailed explanations, is here. However, if anyone thinks they need several good reasons to get naked, they’re missing the point, which is that anytime it’s safe and comfortable to be naked, no other reasons are necessary. Most people who already enjoy nudity already understand this. They know that being naked just feels really good. However, almost everyone else will need extra reasons, and the more the better. So the article offers 57 good ones to choose from. Most of the reasons are in one of these categories:

    • Frequent nudity has a variety of health and emotional benefits.
    • If you seldom wear anything you’ll save money by less often washing clothes or buying new ones.
    • Becoming comfortable naked improves self-confidence and body acceptance.
    • Going naked promotes a sense of freedom from unreasonable social conventions.
    • Wearing nothing lets you just be yourself without needing clothes to project a particular image.
    • Socializing naked with others promotes better relationships.


    Many of these benefits are aspects of good mental health.

  6. Nudist New Year’s resolutions to make

    I’ve already compiled one detailed list here. It’s divided into sections based on how much naturist experience you’ve had. But the list in the present article has a large number of suggestions (in no particular order). Some of the items are things you may already do, but can just as well usually be done… naked, such as reading a book or watching a movie. Others involve more extensive effort.

    An especially important one that’s worth doing often is: “contact governments and nudist organizations to help with advancing nudism.” That should be done frequently! Include public officials at all levels – from your local community all the way up to state and federal officeholders. Those officials need to learn that naturists need smarter, less restrictive laws affecting naturist activities. They should also be reminded that naturism is good for the local tourist industry.


  7. Sleeping nude

    It’s kind of funny how often this topic is written about – as if it were a new idea to most people, who’ve never even considered it. Yes, there are very good reasons to sleep naked, as we’ve noted before. (Here and here.) But possibly one of the best reasons – which is almost never mentioned, except among naturists – is that sleeping naked all or most of the time is a “gateway” to naturism. If you go to bed naked often enough, you’ll realize that nudity is really comfortable. So you’ll have more motivation to be naked at other times besides when you lie down for the night.

Book review: Au Naturel

This is an (almost) incredibly good history of naturism in France, from its cautious beginnings in the later 1920s up to the incipience of its present state in the 1970s – a 50-year span. What makes it so excellent is that the author must have found and examined literally thousands of contemporary documents – news articles, public records, naturist magazines, etc. Today, France is probably the country with the most vital and flourishing naturist culture in the world. In part, this is due to the favorable climate of southern France on and near the Mediterranean coast, as well as a still decent climate (for Europe) on the Atlantic coast west of Bordeaux. But it’s also due to the prior existence, for roughly 25 years, of naturism in Germany. In spite of the conflict between France and Germany in WW I, many of the earliest naturists in France were visitors from Germany. Given Germany’s less agreeable climate for outdoor nudity, German nudists’ interest in French locales is less surprising.
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How to get started in naturism if you’re under 30, part 3: Naked and afraid?

Let’s face it. There are many excellent reasons for socializing naked. (A much briefer list is here.) Yet most people don’t actually know any naturists, or at least aren’t aware that anyone they know is a naturist. As a result, most people are likely to have some – or many – misconceptions about what naturism really is. So there’s a real chance that misunderstandings about naturism could cause you to miss out on something great.

This is a vicious circle. Naturists are too often secretive about their enjoyment of nudity, because others may judge them unfairly. So it’s difficult to dispel the erroneous beliefs about naturism, because naturists are afraid to reveal their interest in it. Consequently, the misconceptions fail to be corrected. It would help a lot if naturists would be more open about their enjoyment of nudity. Young naturists, especially, should become more comfortable discussing naturism with their peers.
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Get more out of naturism – try something new!

Probably most readers will agree that naturism is already pretty darn good. But are there ways to enjoy it even more? Sure, of course there are. Just use a little imagination. Yes, “Variety is the spice of life” is a well-worn cliché. But it’s true. Read on to think about new things to try out by yourself or (especially) with naturist friends.

Here are some reasons you might want to try new things in the way you enjoy naturism:

  • You might be getting a little tired of the “same old, same old”
  • You can meet new and interesting people
  • You’ll learn about new naturist experiences from others
  • You’ll discover new activities for enjoying naturist nudity you’d never thought of

Continue reading “Get more out of naturism – try something new!”