Issues in social nudity

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Social nudity is nudity in private and public spaces. It is sometimes controversial for addressing, challenging and exploring a myriad of sometimes taboo subjects, stereotypes and mores relating to the nude appearance of the human body, mixed gender nudity, personal space, human sexuality, gymnophobia, modesty, physical attractiveness, vanity, objectification, exploitation and consent.

See also Criticism of the clothes free movement.

Contents 1 Labels, associations and terminology 1.1 Social nudity without labels or with alternative terminology 2 Nudity in public 3 Sexuality 4 Manners 4.1 Appropriate dress 4.2 Hygiene 4.3 Documentation 4.4 Venue-specific restrictions 4.5 Staring 4.6 Dining 5 Controversial activities 5.1 Beauty pageants 5.2 Lingerie parties 5.3 Massage 6 Diversity 6.1 Gender 6.2 Ethnicity 6.3 Age 6.4 Sexual Orientation 7 Children 8 Handling incidents of sexual abuse and exploitation 9 Further reading 10 References 11 Footnotes

[edit] Labels, associations and terminology

For other terminology relating to social nudity, see Naturism#Terminology

The terms naturism, nudism and social nudity are generally defined as the practice of going nude, especially in a mixed social setting. The terms naturism and nudism generally also mean that the activities are done in non-sexualized, family-friendly contexts.

The usage and definition of these terms varies^[1] geographically and historically^[2]. Those who practice naturism are called naturists, those who practice nudism are called nudists. The term nudist is more widely familiar in North America, however naturism is also widely used. A naturist is sometimes defined as an individual who prefers a more natural setting for their nude or clothing-optional activities--such as a beach, a lake, the woods, or the mountains.

Within the naturist and nudist movements, many people prefer to adopt only one label or the other. Others do not bother or like adopting labels. In the traditional view, the nudist in the U.S. is a person who seeks out organized social settings for the practice of the nudist philosophy. That usually takes the form of membership in a landed or nonlanded^[3] nudist club, with a well-defined system of conduct and social structure. It is believed to be a predictable environment which offers the participants the safety that comes with facilities for secluded, lawful nudity (without the threat of legal action or observation by outsiders seeking to view them for prurient purposes).

Some political contention exists between the traditional nudist and the naturist within the national organizations that represent clothing optional recreation for lobbying purposes. The former seek to maintain the status quo while the later push for expansion of beaches and other outdoor facilities and their designation as clothing optional. It has been said that naturists tend to be more supportive of public nudity than do nudists, who generally focus more on landed and non-landed clubs. On the one hand in America there appears to be more support for mass-nudity, as in the photography/art of Spencer Tunick, and in Europe there are extended naked walks by individuals and small groups of like-minded people.

[edit] Social nudity without labels or with alternative terminology

Many people casually enjoy social nudity without adhering to any term and without associating with any traditional naturist, nudist or FKK organization or any other groups or movements.^[4] That is common, for example on nude beaches and other forms of public nudity, such as seen at cultural events like Burning Man or clothing-optional bike rides.

Several activists, such as Vincent Bethell, claim that associations to promote naturism or nudism are unnecessary, leading only to "nudity in tolerated ghettoes". Activist Daniel Johnson believes that labels and affiliations overly complicate a relatively simple phenomenon, alienate others from a fear of over-commitment or undesireable stereotypes, and thus get in the way of integrating nudity into everday life.^[5] Naturists and nudists counter that associating with established terms and philosophies such as nudism and naturism makes it easier to understand a common set of principles and values.

[edit] Nudity in public

See: Public nudity

[edit] Sexuality

See Nudity and sexuality.

[edit] Manners

Participants in social nudity say that the attendees are generally very well-behaved, as well or better than in non-nudist or non-naturist settings. Because some problems are discussed in these articles does not mean that they occur frequently.

[edit] Appropriate dress

Nudists will wear clothes if the weather or indoor temperature demands it. Naturists generally consider themselves to be accepting people, the general idea being simply to do things nude that one would normally do clothed. However, nudist culture has its own rules of etiquette, though they vary among the groups and sites.

Generally, nude groups accept people of all races, ages, sizes, and shapes, including those with amputations, scars, tattoos or trimmed (or absence of) hair. Recently some "smoothie" organizations have expressed a preference for members to completely shave or remove all pubic hair, as some believe that having pubic hair does not leave that body completety nude. For them, facial and head hair are acceptable. Such an official suggestion is, however, rare.

Some nudist resorts, clubs, or beaches have the "undress code" of full nudity at all times (with exceptions, such as cold weather, a woman experiencing menstruation, or certain days or hours for new visitors). Most have that policy only for the swimming pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, hot tub bath, etc., with clothing optional elsewhere.

If a visitor encourages another visitor to be nude, that might give rise to suspicion that nudity is desired for visual satisfaction, which might not be tolerated.

Yet another issue for nudists and Naturists alike is genital jewellry. Items such as rings in the penis, labia or nipples are sometimes claimed to be "calling attention to the genitals" (or "erogenous zones" in the case of nipples) and are therefore sometimes viewed as overtly sexual. It can also be said, though, that the central naturist belief is that there are no "bad" body parts, and if earrings innocuously call attention to ears, it would be unfair to forbid doing the same to genitals.

[edit] Hygiene

Some individuals and Naturist clubs consider it essential for reasons of hygiene to sit on a towel whenever sitting on a chair, bench, or any other place where others might sit and they consider it very poor etiquette to do otherwise. Many clubs encourage members or guests to bring their own chairs. Likewise, sitting on someone else's towel is also a breach of etiquette. Similar etiquette would also be followed in clothing-optional bike rides. Often in situations involving shared use of pools or tubs, people are asked to shower first to minimize contamination and prolong the amount of time water can be used without replacing and/or changing the chemistry--this, however, is common in "textile" pools also.

[edit] Documentation

For privacy reasons, photographing anyone without consent is restricted at many nude venues by law or custom. Many such restrictions require that parents must be consulted regarding documenting of their minor children.

[edit] Venue-specific restrictions

As with all resorts, rules can include a prohibition on pets, weapons, loud music, etc. Such policies vary between nude sites, so attendees are advised to learn them prior to a visit.

[edit] Staring

Gawking is often discouraged, if not by rule, then by social pressure.

[edit] Dining

(See Nyotaimori)

[edit] Controversial activities

[edit] Beauty pageants

Naturist/nudist beauty pageants are no longer as common as they were in the 1950's and 1960's in mainstream naturist/nudist venues, as some claim they counter the body-acceptance message that many believe in, that says all bodies are equally beautiful and should be equally accepted. Also, the idea of a beauty contest appears to endorse the idea that women are there to be looked at.

[edit] Lingerie parties

Some naturist/nudist venues sponsor "lingerie parties", which many in the movement frown upon. They feel that this kind of activity strays outside of the non-sexualized, family friendly environments/contexts they wish to maintain. It is noteworthy here that although nudity is regarded as non-sexual, certain forms of clothing are seen as sexualized, and wearing this clothing in public is thought to make the occasion a sexual one.

[edit] Massage

Massage or group touch activities, even when done in non-sexualized contexts, make some feel uncomfortable because they are inherently sensual and involve physical contact that some are not accustomed to. Nevertheless, a massage Special Interest Group has been part of The Naturist Society since its earliest days and remains fairly popular.

[edit] Diversity

[edit] Gender

Social nudity usually attracts more men than women. Many of those organizations which want more of a balance, therefore, do not allow unaccompanied men, and might even encourage unaccompanied women. Some venues avoid the accusation of discrimination by banning all single people and accepting only families and male/female couples. Other groups have quotas. Whether that is hypocritical of a subculture which promotes acceptance is a topic often debated. Some organizations say that they do not discriminate based on gender, but merely require a balance in the numbers of men and women. The increasing acceptance of homosexuality in western society, up to and including same-sex marriage in some places, adds an additional factor in discussing the appropriateness of gender restrictions in social nudity.

[edit] Ethnicity

Social nudity usually attracts more people of European ethnic backgrounds than those of Native American and West African ethnic groups. This may be due to the fact that social nudity became a social movement in Europe, before spreading to other parts of the world.

[edit] Age

It has been noted that many naturist and nudist clubs have a noticeable lack of young members in their ranks.^[1] Some feel the issue of involuntary erections may be keeping young males away, while same-aged females would be uncomfortable joining unilaterally. Since young people have often been crucial for social movements (as they have more spare time and fewer commitments), this may be hindering naturism a great deal. However, growing participation in public nudity activities such as clothing-optional bike rides offer some hope that younger generations are increasing becoming interested in at least one aspect of social nudity.

[edit] Sexual Orientation

In the early 1980's, gay men began to carve their own niche within the realm of organized naturism. By the mid-80's, local naturist clubs for gay men had been established in major cities across the United States and Canada, and today over 100 such clubs exist, along with two international organizations that promote gay naturism. The reasons for the emergence of gay naturism as a distinct stratum of the naturist movement may include the discriminatory policies of some landed naturist clubs (specifically, disallowing single men or male couples), fear of encountering homophobia within the naturist realm at large, and a willingness to self-segregate in order to experience naturism more in line with the norms of gay culture (as opposed to the family friendly mode of naturism promoted by many naturist advocates). Gay naturism as a social phenomenon invariably refers to gay male naturism. Lesbian counterparts to gay male naturist clubs and organizations have never emerged.

[edit] Children

See Nudity and children

[edit] Handling incidents of sexual abuse and exploitation

Nikki Craft, a political activist, artist and writer, has been involved in a major project researching and publishing reports of pedophilia and child molestation within the nudist/naturist movement and what she contends is their leadership's failure to address those issues. She contends that the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) and The Naturist Society (TNS) have not done enough to investigate offenders, remove offenders, report offenders to law enforcement, establish even one single national policy, or modify club procedures for dealing with problem behaviors and abuse. An example she cites is William D. Peckenpaugh who was charged with multiple sex crimes with a child. This reporting was initially published in her newsletter "The Iconoclast". While many naturists and nudists acknowledge problems in the community, many believe Nikki Craft seems bent on inciting an unnecessary amount of fear into peoples' minds about what they believe is a safe, family-friendly activity. Her critics contend that many private clubs do check the criminal histories of visitors to make sure they do not have documented histories of criminal activity that would be of concern in a family-oriented community. They also point out that sexual predators are everywhere in society and all must be equally vigilant to making sure that both individuals and organizations take initiative in establishing protections against abuse and exploitation. Craft counters that the fact that sexual predators exist elsewhere in society is no excuse for the fact that nudist/naturist leadership fail to take easy and common sense measures to protect the children in the movement.

[edit] Further reading

• Storey, Mark Social Nudity, Sexual Attraction, and Respect Nude & Natural magazine, 24.3 Spring 2005.
• Storey, Mark Children, Social Nudity and Academic Research Nude & Natural magazine, 23.4 Summer 2004.
• Storey, Mark Children, Social Nudity and Scholarly Study

[edit] References

1. ^ Daney, Charles. Why Don't More Young Adults Try Social Nudity?. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.

[edit] Footnotes