The Nude Life

Hello!

Whether you’re just curious as to what this nude stuff is all about, or maybe you’ve tried it and have some questions, we hope we can help. If you’re like most of us your introduction to this strange idea of ‘nudism’ came from grainy black and white photos of bare people playing volleyball. Or perhaps from the internet with pics of beautiful models basking ‘naturally’ on a page full of ads for porno sites. Let’s explore a bit and see what we find.

The first thing to keep in mind is that, other than being naked, nudists are people just like everyone else with the same feelings and interests, differences and personalities. We do tend to be a bit more open minded, probably because we know what it’s like to be judged unfairly based on stereotypes. That said, we also tend to be rather prudish in some ways. You will find little ‘improper’ behaviour in a socially nude situation. As they say; Be nude, not rude.

Enough of all that, time to move on. Shall we do this in a Q&A format? Ok, lets.

Q: What’s the difference between a nudist and a naturist?

A: Not much, though some would argue. A naturist is generally more into nudity in an outdoorsy setting while a nudist is happy to be nude just about anywhere. That’s simplified but good enough for now. The term ‘clothes free’ is gaining in popularity recently since some people don’t care to be labled ‘nudist’, along with the percieved negative ideas related to the word.

Q: What does ‘Textile” mean?

A: ‘Textile’ is a term referring to the community of those who cover their bodies with clothing most of the time, as opposed to ‘nudists/naturists’ who prefer not to. It is convenient, descriptive, and non-derogatory.

Q: What’s the difference between ‘nudist’ and ‘clothing optional’?

A: Used in descriptions of campgrounds or resorts, ‘nudist’ usually means that full nudity is expected most of the time. ‘Clothing optional’ indicates that nudity is allowed but not required, and may be restricted as to times and places. When booking into a resort be very sure about what you’re getting. It would be a shame to travel a great distance only to find out that you can be nude only at the pool, after 11:00 pm.

Q: Why do people want to be naked?

A: Why not? It’s fun! The breeze, the water, the sand. Grass under your feet (or whatever), it simply feels good! Our skin is a sensory organ, capable of discerning subtle nuances of feeling ranging from temperature to texture. We cover ourselves with clothing and smother most of this ability to percieve and enjoy that which Nature offers for our pleasure. Everything is different nude. Our bodies move and wiggle and bounce differently, our whole world feels brand new. It has to be experienced to be understood.

Q: I was raised to keep my ‘privates’ covered, how could I possibly let someone see me?

A: Nudists don’t view the body as a thing of shame. We all learned body shame from somewhere, you know where you learned yours. Nudists are simply folks that have realized that we learned wrong. Our society equates skin with sex, sex with sin, and sin with evil. Nudists are better able to separate skin from sex. Isn’t it ironic that by covering only ‘private’ parts that those parts become the focus of attention, creating sexual (evil) thoughts. Even more ironic is that by uncovering those parts they lose their mystery and become just another part of a body.

Q: I’m easily aroused, what if I have a ‘physical’ reaction to all those naked bodies?

A: Don’t worry, you probably won’t. It’s an extremely rare sight but if it happens, just wrap in a towel or something. As long as you don’t deliberately create the situation or run around waving it in peoples faces (so to speak) it’s no big thing. Ah, bad choice of words; change that to ‘it just isn’t important’…

Q: It’s beginning to sound like naturists are a bunch of sexless zombies, it that true?

A: Hardly. It’s just that there is a time and a place for everything and a social gathering of nudists is not bar time at a meet-market. Picture it more like a community picnic and behave accordingly.

Q: My body is less than perfect, will I be embarassed to be seen?

A: Maybe, for a few minutes. You may be concious of every wiggle, jiggle, wart and wrinkle. Until you are comfortable enough to look around a bit and realize that (1) no one is paying any attention to you and (2) most of them are nothing special to look at either (from a Textile point of view) and (3) nobody cares. They’re just folks, out for some sun and a nice day. After a little while you may feel at ease enough to move around a bit, maybe even talk to people (Hmm, what do I do with my eyes? What do I look at while talking to them?) and have some perceptions shattered. Why, these are just people like you, who enjoy being naked and nobody cares a lick about appearances! This will cause serious damage to your Textile view of the world. Imagine that: basing your opinion of someone on who they are, not how they look…

Q: I am young and buff, will I feel out place?

A: Nah. All sorts of people are attracted to the nude lifestyle. Some groups or locations may cater more to a particular clientele, but generally speaking we’re a pretty mixed lot. Fat, skinny, old, young, kids, and, yes, Beautiful People. It’s fair to say that nudists pay less attention to bodies than to the person inside them, but that’s not to say that we’re totally unaware of the standard forms of beauty when we see them. So yeah, pretty’s still pretty, but it’s just not particularly important. If part of your nudist experience is the feeling of being admired, go for it. Just understand that you’re the frosting on the brownie, and most of us are here because we love the brownie. But yeah, frosting’s nice too. You are welcome.

Q: Speaking of kids, how do they fit in?

A: Good question. Kids are natural nudists, it’s we parents who put clothes on them. That said, how a particular kid reacts to social nudity depends on their background, age and personality. Generally speaking, the younger they are the easier it is for them. Elementary school age through high school is tougher if they’ve not been raised with nudity. Ideas and attitudes become fixed, insecurities, hormones and sexuality, what a mess. Personal experience with our kids and friends’ kids, ages 12 through 18 at first exposure was just fine. A little bit of oh-my-god-everybody’s-naked at first, quickly becoming just fine to them. A lot of kids don’t mind being around nudity but prefer to remain clothed. No problem. Don’t push it.

Q: What about women and nudity, the body thing?

A: That’s a whole separate issue. Women have been taught that their physical image is a huge part of who they are. Generally speaking, it seems that most women, once having experienced the nudist lifestyle, find a sense of freedom and comfort they couldn’t have imagined. I’ll leave that to my wife, Angie, to go into more detail later. She’s been there, done it.

Q: What about legality? Can I be accused of being a sex offender or something?

A: You can look up local statutes and ask questions wherever you may be going, but you’ll have a hard time getting a solid answer. And you sure aren’t going to get one here! Different localities interept and enforce laws in a lot of different ways. For the most part you shoudn’t have a problem in public places where nudity is traditional, but no promises. A lot of laws tie nudity to specific body parts or behaviour. One state law I know of prohibits exposure of the female breast below the nipple! Go figure. Private establishments have these things covered, and you pay for it. Fair enough. So, be careful, ask ahead, and mostly try not to offend those poor souls who just don’t get it! Internet around and you’ll find all sorts of sites giving this kind of advice. Explore and adventure, you’ll never regret it!

- Steve

This story on today’s All Things Considered from NPR news struck a chord when I heard it. One of the women quoted in the story about women motorcycle enthusiasts said, “You just get addicted to it.” Another said, “Whoever thought that after 50 you could have a totally different life — a lifestyle?” And the reporter offered the most relavant quote: “The ladies of Harley say they ride because of the sense of freedom and independence they feel on a bike.”

Substitute social nudism for motorcycles, and women of Harley with most of the women nudists we’ve met, and the story would be the same.Nudism brings a freedom, an independence, a self-confidence, a camaraderie not unlike what many people find in motorcycle clubs — but nudism doesn’t require a $10,000 machine or special leather clothing to start enjoying the benefits. No need to dress exactly like everyone else on a Harley, either — all those “rugged individualists” all seem to favor dressing exactly alike in the same black t-shirts, blue jeans and red bandannas.

I love motorcycling and rode a motorcycle for many years. The feeling of freedom they offer is wonderful. But it’s nothing to compare to the simple, perfect pleasure of nudism. And there’s a lot less maintenance required when all you have to do to enjoy it is remove your clothes.

What are your thoughts on the similarities or differences between nudism and motorcycling, or other “freedom” hobbies? Discuss and learn in The Nude Life Forum!

Since joining and being active in our local nudist club, we’ve made more friends among them than we ever made outside of nudist ‘circles.’ It is very true that it’s easier to make friends out of nudists than make nudists out of friends, as one of our (nudist) friends often remarks. And since we spend so much of our leisure time, especially during the long summer, relaxing and partying with our nudist club friends, we feel that our best and closest friends are all nudists.

So when we are chatting with our non-nudist friends (all of whom have no idea of our other, ’secret life’ of nudism), they are always astonished by both the vitality other activities we are always busy doing (pool parties, vacation trips, out-of-town outings to visit friends, etc.), as well as with the number of friends we refer to in conversation. It was quite evident, for example, that our non-nudist friends and co-workers were astonished when we said we were going on a group trip to Cancun with 20 other friends…they simply cannot imagine how people can have so many good friends and feel so comfortable with them to spend a week’s vacation together with them.

Friendships among nudists are true, deep and genuine, I think, because as nudists, we see all of each other, with all our blemishes and imperfections, and relate to each other as people, not because of social status, possessions, and other outward materialistic markings. Being nude together with others in a purely social setting is really a great equalizer, and has brought us (and everyone we know who has tried it) many great friendships because of the barriers and artificiality that disappear when we see ourselves and each other in the natural state.

How has being a nudist changed your circle of friends — and what effect has your nudist participation had on your non-nudist social life? Discuss it in The Nude Life Forum!

The long string of horrible, rainy, cloudy weather here in North Texas broke clear for this weekend, giving all of us pale nudists a glorious couple of days to get back out into the sunshine.

Saturday was wonderful. As mentioned earlier, we visited a local resort to celebrate the wedding of two nudist friends. The weather for their special day could not have been better, and the warm sun brought out a big crowd of friends to help them celebrate late into the night. Everyone was delighted to be back outside, soaking up the warmth of the Texas sunshine, and relaxing with our nudist friends once again as we should be doing all through the hot Texas summer.

It turns out that the bride is a relative newcomer to social nudism, having just discovered it less than three years ago. Needless to say, she loves it, and found a sweetheart who also loves the pleasure, friendship and freedom that nudism brings to everyone who tries it. They love it so much that they wanted to spend their wedding day with all of us, nude and enjoying the beauty of Nature in all its forms.

We are lucky to know such fine people, who share our love for this simple pleasure, and who aren’t afraid to enjoy life in the nude, unashamed and free of the hang-ups and pretensions society tries to burden us with.

We nudists have found something special. Saturday’s nude wedding day celebration is just another example of what a great life-changer it can be when people discover all the delights that social nudism brings.

After the wedding, Sunday was another fine day and there was no reason to get dressed all day, save for a short run on errands in the early afternoon. Aside from those 90 clothed minutes, we were able to return to the typical weekend mode here of sunning, swimming, relaxing outdoors and indoors, without the bother of clothing to disrupt the pleasure of a beautiful day.

Two days of perfect weather, spent in the nude and with friends and loved ones, is like two weeks of vacation for the clothed set. Now let’s just hope the sun stays with us for the balance of the summer so this wonderful feeling can continue — and we can keep our tans in shape!

Happy Independence Day!

Today is the day our local club usually celebrates the American July 4th holiday with a pool party, which we dub the “Clothing Independence Day Party,” offering our members a few hours of freedom from textiles, a release from the tyranny of tan lines, and other such frilly language as a way to justify another excuse to get naked and enjoy life with friends on a hot summer’s day.

Because of the mid-week date of July 4th this year, we don’t have a full-blown party planned, but there is an informal “sun and loaf” invitation from one of our members to relax by her pool and soak up some rays, without all the usual party attributes of a big catered meal and so on. But with the dismal rainy weather we’ve had in the Dallas area for the last six weeks, even that might not happen as it seems the clouds and rain will be with us again today.

However, the term “Clothing Independence” is worth contemplating for a moment, on this day or any other, as it affords a chance to think of the freedom that nudism brings to nearly everyone who tries it: freedom from pretentiousness, freedom from hang-ups over class and status, freedom from bad self-esteem, freedom from judging people because of immutable attributes such as age, size or shape.

Those are the freedoms we have found in social nudism, along with many more benefits large and small, and we wish the same to all our fellow nudists and those many millions who will follow us into the wonderful, liberating lifestyle.