User:Wakedream/Sandbox/Naturism

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((mergeto|Naturism and Nudism|Talk:Naturism#Merge to Naturism and Nudism|date=December 2007)) ((Freedom)) ((Portalpar|Nudity))

A naturist sunning herself on a beach in Formentera.
A naturist sunning herself on a beach in Formentera.

Naturism is:

a lifestyle in harmony with nature, expressed through social nudity, and characterised by self-respect of people with different opinions and of the environment. [1] [2]

Naturism can also be:

a cultural and political movement practising, advocating and defending social nudity in private and public spaces.

The naturist philosophy has several sources; many can be traced back to the health and fitness philosophy in Germany in the early twentieth century, though the concept of returning to nature, and creating equality are also cited. Contact with German clubs took the idea to England, Canada and the US where a network of clubs developed. French naturism was organised in a different way, and large holiday complexes developed which in their turn influenced Quebec then and the US. More recently, free beaches and other types of activity have freed naturism from clubs.

Naturism does not condone erotism and blatant sexuality but is associated with this in the public mind and that of media.

Contents

[edit] Naturism today

Sign on the beach at Cap d'Agde
Sign on the beach at Cap d'Agde

The word naturism was used for the first time in 1778 by a French-speaking Belgian, Jean Baptiste Luc Planchon (1734-1781), and was advocated as a means of improving the 'l’hygiène de vie' (natural style of life) and health. [3][4] According to the international definition adopted by the XIV Congress of the International Naturist Federation (Agde, 1974), Naturism is:

"a lifestyle in harmony with nature, expressed through social nudity, and characterised by self-respect of people with different opinions and of the environment."[1][2]

The International Naturist Federation explains:

"Each country has its own kind of naturism, and even each club has its own special character, for we too, human beings, have each our own character which is reflected in our surroundings."[1][5]

The usage and definition of these terms varies geographically and historically.[6] Though in the United States, naturism and nudism have very similar meanings[7], in Britain there is a clear distinction. [8][6][9] Nudism is the act of being naked, while naturism is a lifestyle which at various times embraced nature, environment, respect for others, self-respect, crafts, healthy eating, vegetarianism, teetotalism, non-smoking, yoga, physical exercise and pacifism as well as nudity.[10]

In naturist parlance, the word textilist is used to describe someone who is not a naturist, or the act of not being naturist. e.g.He stayed all week but was textilist all the time. It is also used as an adjective to describe a facility where naturism is not allowed e.g "the textilist beach starts at the flag". Clothing optional and nude optional (US specific) describe a policy or a venue that allows or encourages nudity but tolerates the wearing of clothes. The opposite is clothing compulsory; that is, disallowing nudity, thus requiring the wearing of clothes. Clothes free/clothes-free and clothing free/clothing-free are used as adjectives to describe when naturism is permitted in an otherwise textilist environment.

The social nudity movement includes a large range of variants including "naturism", "nudism", "Freikörperkultur (FKK)", the "free beach movement" as well as generalized "public lands/public nudity" advocacy. There is a large amount of shared history and common themes, issues and philosophy, but differences between these separate movements remain contentious.

See also: labels, associations and terminology for an extended discussion and disambiguation.

[edit] Types of naturism

Naturism is practised in many ways; Marc Alain Descamps, [11] in his study written in French, classified the types as: individual nudism, nudism within family, nudism in the wild, social nudism. To that we can add the militant naturist, campaigning or extreme naturists.

[edit] Social nudism

A naturist club, community, centre, resort or facility is a place where nudity is openly permitted. The terms are loosely defined and there is some regional differences. In the main clothing is optional, except in certain prescribed areas, like the swimming pool or the sunbathing lawns but some more traditional facilities do insist on complete nudity–when practical. This distinction is a source of controversy among some naturists. It is sometimes not possible for all the staff at a naturist facility to remain naked due to prevailing health and safety regulations.[12]

Families enjoying the swimming at Monts de Bussy, Haute Vienne, France.
Families enjoying the swimming at Monts de Bussy, Haute Vienne, France.
  • A landed or members' naturist club is one that owns its own facilities. Non-landed (or travel) clubs meet at various locations, such as private residences, swimming pools, hot springs, landed clubs and resorts, and rented facilities. Landed clubs are run by their members on democratic lines or by one or more owners who make the rules. They have the right to select who becomes members and what the members obligations should be. This usually involves a share of the work necessary to maintain or develop the site. [13]

Many clubs promote frequent social activities. Some of the clubs have stricter entrance requirements than some traditional 'country clubs', including the requirement to supply references, a sponsoring member, a trial membership, committee approval and/or, criminal background checks. UK clubs are now required to have child protection policies in place, and designated child protection officers.

The international naturist organisations were mainly composed of representatives of landed clubs.[1] A nudist colony is no longer a favored term, but it is used by naturists as a term of derision for landed clubs that have rigid non inclusive membership criteria, and in meta-data on naturist websites.

  • A holiday centre is a facility that specialises in providing apartments, chalets and camping pitches for visiting holidaymakers. The centre is run commercially, and visitors are not members and have no say in the management. Most holiday centres expect visitors to hold an INF card, that is be a member of their national organisation, but some have relaxed this restriction, relying on the carrying of a trade card. Holiday centres can be quite small, just a couple of hectares or large occupying over 300 hectares.[14] In a large holiday centre there will be swimming pools, sports pitches, an entertainment program, kid's clubs, restaurants and supermarkets. Some holiday centre's allow regular visitors to purchase their own chalets, and generations of the same families will visit each year.[12] Holiday centres are more relaxed about textilists than members clubs; total nudity is usual in the swimming pools and the beaches, while on the football pitches, or in the restaurants in the evening, it is rare.[12]
  • A naturist resort is, to a European, an essentially urban development where naturism is the norm. Cap d'Agde in France, and Vera Playa in Spain are examples.[15] Here there are apartment blocks, with privately-owned and rented apartments. For some residents this is their year-round home. One finds all the usual facilities of a small town. In the US usage, a naturist resort can mean a holiday centre.[16]
  • A free beach or naturist beach is one where people can be entirely free of clothes. Some beaches have been naturist beyond living memory, and their status has been formalised thus becoming official beaches, others have become official through the policies of the local authority, to meet a perceived need or economic advantage. [17] Other beaches are unofficial but naturism is known to be tolerated. In some European countries, such as Denmark and Norway,[1] all beaches are clothing optional, while in others like Germany there are naturist sunbathing areas in public parks. [18]
Though free beaches developed separately from national naturist bodies, these bodies are taking an interest and helping to protect them legally, and through the publication of guidelines of acceptable behaviour. [19]. In North America, the Free Beach Movement was the name of a group that was opposed to the direction of the official nudist organisation, the ASA, and set up the rival body The Naturist Society.
  • Freikörperkultur (FKK) (see article in German) literally translated as free body culture is the name for the general movement in Germany. The abbreviation is widely recognised all over Europe and often found on informal signs indicating the direction to a remote naturist beach[20].

[edit] Nudism in the wild

Naked hiking in the Alps
Naked hiking in the Alps
  • Skinny dipping is stripping off to swim naked at a remote river, lake, or swimming hole. Ernest Thompson Seton describes skinny dipping as one of the first activities of his Woodcraft Indians, a forerunner of the scouts in 1902.[21] Swimming was done nude at the YMCA until the 1960s in single sex groups [22]. In some English schools, Manchester Grammar School for example, nude swimming was compulsory until the 1970s.[23] This was also the case for some US junior high schools[24]. A Gallup poll in 2000 showed that 25% of all American adults had been skinny dipping at least once. [25]
  • Canuding is the practice of nude canoeing. This is popular in Canada.[13]
  • Free hiking, naked hiking or naked rambling is the practice of hiking in the remote countryside as a social activity while nude.[26] The French term is 'Randonnue'. It happens worldwide even in densely populated areas like South East England. [27]
  • Free riding is the practice of riding in the remote countryside while nude[28]. The German term is 'Nacktreiten'. The term can also be used to refer to naked cycle riding.

[edit] Individual nudism

Individual nudism is nudism inside the home or garden, individually or with members of the family. A Canadian survey showed that 39% of all Canadians would or have walked around the house nude. And in British Columbia this is as high as 51%.[29]

[edit] Campaigning naturism

Nude protests have a long history :Doukhobor. Womens Institute Calendar

[edit] Philosophy

Sauna (1802)
Sauna (1802)
Riding naked
Riding naked

Naturism had many different philosophical sources and means many things to different people. There is no one definition. The INF have framed this definition:

Naturism is a lifestyle in harmony with nature, expressed through social nudity, and characterised by self-respect of people with different opinions and of the environment.[1]

At one end of the spectrum are the nudists who just enjoy a nude life style, and at the other are the naturists, who have deeply held beliefs and see communal nudity as just one of many important principles. The INF definition is a compromise that has held since 1974. In it you can see the elements: lifestyle, harmony with nature, social nudity, self respect, differing opinions, respect for the environment.

[edit] Gymnosophy

see also Gymnosophist

In the fourth century BC, Alexander the Great of Macedonia encountered, in India, wandering groups of naked holy men which he dubbed the naked philosophers. (Gr gymnos: naked; sophist: knowledge ). Onesicritus, the philosopher, investigated their beliefs and lifestyle. Pyrrho, the Sceptic, was impressed and incorporated nudity into his philosophy. The Gymnosophists were Hindus, but Jain and Ajivika monks practised nudity as a statement that they had given up all worldly goods. Nudity was not a new concept to the Greeks as the Olympic Games (founded in 776 BC) were exclusively male and nude events. Gymnastics and gymnasium share the same root word (Gr gymnos).[citation needed]

The first English naturists adopted the name Gymnosophy as a thinly disguised euphemism for their pastime. The English Gymnosophical Society was formed in 1922 and became the New Gymnosophy Society in 1926, they purchased the land at 'Bricketts Wood' to become Britain's first nudist colony. One of the first members was Gerald Gardner, who in 1945, established the 'Five Acres Club' nearby, ostensibly as a nudist club, but as a front for Wiccans[citation needed], as witchcraft was illegal in England until 1951.

The Digambar, one of the two main divisions of the Jain religion of India, remain 'skyclad', or naked, though generally it is practised by males. Digambar means 'clothed with the sky'. Wiccans have adopted this wording and some practise their rituals 'skyclad'.[citation needed]

The Adamites, a Gnostic sect, practised religious nudism.

Another religious sect, the Doukhobors, migrated from Russia to western Canada. They practise or practised occasional nudity, such as while working in the farm fields. Members of one of the three subdivisions of Canadian Doukhobors, the small radical Sons of Freedom group, went so far in the 1900s as to publicly strip in mass public demonstrations to protest against government policies which were meant to assimilate them.[33]

Family in Brazil, Praia do Abricó
Family in Brazil, Praia do Abricó

[edit] Naturist ideals

Groups have been formed to live their dreams, and then split up over questions of principles. There are many examples of the differences between various groups, often resulting in two or more national organisations. Here is a non-exclusive list, taken from Descamps[11], of the ideas that have united various naturists and become points of fierce contention for others.

Some of these ideas have become mainstream. Others have been quietly forgotten. It is generally agreed among naturists that erotism and blatant sexuality is a bad thing. There is a clearer interpretation of the limits. Beauty pageants are now deprecated, though still a feature of Naturism in the Czech Republic.

[edit] Naturism and the Romantics

Walt Whitman American writer, A Sun-bathed Nakedness:

Never before did I get so close to Nature; never before did she come so close to me... Nature was naked, and I was also... Sweet, sane, still Nakedness in Nature! - ah if poor, sick, prurient humanity in cities might really know you once more! Is not nakedness indecent? No, not inherently. It is your thought, your sophistication, your fear, your respectability, that is indecent. There come moods when these clothes of ours are not only too irksome to wear, but are themselves indecent.[34]


Henry David Thoreau, Walking, in In wildness is the preservation of the world.

We cannot adequately appreciate this aspect of nature if we approach it with any taint of human pretense. It will elude us if we allow artifacts like clothing to intervene between ourselves and this Other.
To apprehend it, we cannot be naked enough.[35]

Naturism was part of a literary movement in the late 1800s (see the writings of André Gide) which also influenced the art movements of the time specifically Henri Matisse and other Fauve painters. This movement was based on the French concept of joie de vivre, the idea of revelling freely in physical sensations and direct experiences and a spontaneous approach to life. [36] Later this movement became called Naturalism.

[edit] Naturism for health

German naturism came from the Lebensreform movement. The Wandervogel youth movement of 1896, from Steiglitz, Berlin promoted ideas of fitness and vigour inspired by thoughts nationalism, rebelling against the thoughts of their parents. At the same time doctors of the Natural Healing Movement were using heliotherapy, treating diseases such as TB, rheumatism and scrofula with exposure to sunlight.[37] (Sunlight has been shown to be beneficial in some skin conditions and enables the body to make vitamin D)[38].

  • Arnold Rickli in 1853, opened a light bathing clinic in Switzerland.[39]
  • Heinrich Pudor wrote on methods to improve social hygiene in his book Nackende Menchen und Jauchzen der Zukunft (Naked people and the future of Mankind) and then Nacktkultur (The cult of the nude). It precribes an austere lifestyle and nudity.[37]
  • Paul Zimmermann, opened the Freilicht Park in Lübeck which was open to those who subscribed to Nacktkultur principles.[37]
  • Richard Ungewitter wrote Die Nacktheit (Nakedness) which sold 90,000 copies, prescribed a similar Utopian lifestyle, where everyone would be nude, eat only vegetables and abstain from alcohol and tobacco. In his Utopia, everyone was to be Germanic with blue eyes and blonde hair.[37]
  • Adolf Koch, a left wing primary school teacher, sought to use social nudity to free the people from 'authority fixated conditioning which held proletarians in deference of their masters: parental authority, paternalism of the church, the mass media and organs of law and order. He used Organic-Rhythmic exercises in Berlin schools in the 1920s. In 1932 there were about 100,000 Germans involved with Naturism, of which 70,000 were in Koch's Körperschülen schools.[37]
  • Werner Zimmermann, a Swiss, preached against body guilt and encouraged naked education. He souught to eliminate body guilt and encourage openess and end the repression of the human spirit,which he saw as the cause of sexual deviation.[37]
  • Hans Surén taught nude gymnastics to soldiers for five years, and on being forced to leave the army, he wrote in 1924, Mensch und die Sonne (Men and the Sun) which ran to 61 reprints.[37] Later, in 1936, Surén proposed physical exercise and naturism as a means of creating a pure German race and of beauty. [40]. In the early 1940s he was out of favour and arrested. By 1945, he had turned full circle and was writing religious texts. Though never a member of any FKK club he was awarded honorary membership of the DFK in 1952.
  • Nudists became a large element in German Left Wing Politics. The Proletarische Freikörperkulturbewegung subsection of the Workers Sports Organisation had 60000 members.[37]

With the increased awareness of skin cancer, wearing of sunscreen is now part of the culture.[41][38]

[edit] Naturism and equality

Many people say that being nude in groups makes them feel more accepted for their entire being — physical, intellectual and emotional. They say that they tend to be more accepted, in spite of differences in age, body shape, fitness, and health. Without clothing, one's social rank is generally obscured. They report feeling more united with humanity, with less regard to a person's wealth, position, nationality, race, and sex.[42]

[edit] History of social nudity

Max Koch, Freilicht, 1897.
Max Koch, Freilicht, 1897.

Social nudity in less extreme forms has been practised in many cultures during all time periods, especially in the contexts of social bathing, swimming and saunas sometimes in single sex groups, sometimes within the family or with mixed sex friends. Naturism however started with the rise of the formal groups - and if one is pressed to give a fixed date it would be 1903 when Paul Zimmermann opened the first club, Freilichtpark near Hamburg.[43] In 1951, the national federations united to form the International Naturist Federation or INF [11]. Others preferred not to join clubs, and post 1945, pressure was put to designate beaches for naturist use. The two groups did not immediately cooperate, but by 2000 did. In the twenty-first century, leisure patterns had changed, and commercial organisations opened naturist holiday resorts attracting a different clientele who expected a standard of comfort and amenity equal to, or exceeding, that found at a textilist resort.[43]



[edit] Historical era

See main article Nudity in History

[edit] The spread of philosophy and the rise of formal communities

The earliest known naturist club in the "western" sense of the word was established in British India in 1891. It was founded by Charles Edward Gordon Crawford, a widower, who was a District and Sessions Judge for the Bombay Civil Service at Thana. Evidence for its existence is only known by a few letters he sent to friends, and the club which had three members, reportedly closed in 1892.[44]

In the early 1900s, a series of philosophical papers was published in Germany. Dr. Heinrich Pudor, under the pseudonym Heinrich Scham, wrote a book titled Nacktkultur, which discussed the benefits of nudity in co-education and advocated participating in sports while being free of cumbersome clothing. [43]Richard Ungewitter ( Nacktheit, 1906, Nackt, 1908, etc.) proposed that combining physical fitness, sunlight, and fresh air bathing, and then adding the nudist philosophy, contributed to mental and psychological fitness, good health, and an improved moral-life view. [43]

The wide publication of those papers and others, contributed to an explosive worldwide growth of nudism, in which nudists participated in various social, recreational, and physical fitness activities in the nude.

The first known organized club for nudists, Freilichtpark (Free-Light Park), was opened near Hamburg in 1903 by Paul Zimmerman. [43]

[edit] Germany

See also: Freikörperkultur

The nudist movement gained prominence in Germany in the 1920s, but was suppressed during the Nazi Gleichschaltung after Adolf Hitler came to power. The state-controlled leisure organization of the Nazis, Kraft durch Freude, refused to recognize it. However, it was later discovered that Luftwaffe (Air Force) head Hermann Göring had single-handedly written his own strict anti-nudity views into the Gleichschaltung, thereby imposing his views on everyone. (He had been one of its main authors.) Many in the Nazi party thought he had gone too far, so after nearly a decade, the rules were eventually softened in July 1942.[45] Nevertheless, all naturism clubs had to register with Kraft durch Freude, which meant excluding Jews and Communists. Also, they had to keep all activities well out in the countryside so there would be virtually no chance of being seen by others.

After the war, East Germans enjoyed nudism as one the few freedoms they had under the communist government, chiefly at beaches rather than clubs (private organizations being regarded as potentially subversive by the regime). It quickly rebounded in the west also, and today, united Germany has many clubs, parks and beaches for nudism. [1] Since German reunification, however, nudity is said to have become rare at some locations in the former eastern zone. Vacationing in Mediterranean France at the large Cap d'Agde resort also became popular for Germans when it opened in the late 1960s, and Germans are typically the most commonly-seen foreigners at nude beaches all around Europe.

[edit] France

Naturist beach at Port Leucate (Aude),France, which illustrates the mixed clothing habits on leading French beaches
Naturist beach at Port Leucate (Aude),France, which illustrates the mixed clothing habits on leading French beaches

From 1857 Dr. Duhamel spoke of the importance of Heliotherapy, she worked with children suffering from tuberculosis on the beach at Berck. In 1903 S. Gay created a naturist community at Bois-Fourgon. In 1908, supported by his superiors, Abbé Legrée encouraged the students at his catholic college to bathe nude on the rocky beaches near Marseille. A report on German naturism was published in la Revue des deux mondes.

Marcel Kienné de Mongeot, who came from a noble family and who was an aviator in the Great War, is credited with starting naturism in France in 1920. By then he was a journalist who wrote a defense of the dancer, Malkowski, in the journal Vouloir. His family had suffered from tuberculosis, and he saw naturism as a cure and a continuation of the traditions of the ancient Greeks. In 1926, he started the magazine Vivre intégralement (later called Vivre) and the first French naturist club, Sparta Club at Garambouville, near Evreux. Others quickly followed as did local opposition. His victory in court established that: nudism was legal on private property that was fenced and screened. [11] Drs. André and Gaston Durville opened a naturist health centre, edited the La vie sage(1924) and bought a 70 hectare site, Héliopolis on the Île du Levant. The village was open to the public. Dr François Fougerat de David de Lastours was gassed in the Great War and was saved by exposure to the sun. In 1925 wrote a thesis on heliotherapy and in 1925 opened the Club gymnique de France. Jacque de Marquette wrote on naturism and vegetarianism. In 1936, government minister Léo Lagrange recognised the naturist movement.[11]

Albert and Christine Lecocq were active members of many of these clubs, but after disagreements left and 1944 founded their own travel club Club du Soleil. It was popular and had adherents in 84 cities, becoming the worlds largest naturist club. In 1948 they founded the FFN. In 1949 there was a magazine, Vie au Soleil then in 1950 they opened Montalivet the worlds first naturist holiday centre. In 1951 they assisted in the formation of the INF.[11]

The Quartier Naturiste at Agde opened offering a different form of social nudity. In 1975, Euronat, the largest holiday centre (335ha) opened 10 km north of Montalivet which was running at capacity. In 1983 the FFN was accepted as an official tourist and youth movement. SOCNAT provided the management and financial stability to the movement and runs 5 centres in France and one in Spain. [46] Holiday centres started to form cooperative marketing groups and aim for 5 star status. Publicity material was of a quality indistinguishable from textile holiday companies.

In this benign climate, Randonue, an unauthorised form of naturisme sauvage has become popular, and areas traditionally known for discrete sunbathing have been revisited. Naturist is accepted and can even be practised on many popular textilist beaches.[46]

As of 2007, France has 150 members clubs offering holiday accommodation, 50 holiday centres, official naturist beaches, unofficial beaches and many homes where naturist swimming and sunbathing is normal.[46][1] Naturism employs more than 3000 people, and is estimated to be worth 250 million Euro to the French economy.

France is represented on the INF by the FFN.

[edit] United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the first nudist club was established in Wickford, Essex in 1924. According to Michael Farrar, writing for British Naturism the club adopted the name "Moonella Group" from the name of the owner of the ground, Moonella, and called its site The Camp. Moonella, who was still living in 1965 but whose identity remains to be discovered, had inherited a house with land in 1923 and made it available to certain members of the New Gymnosophy Society. This society had been founded a few years before by H.C. Booth, M.H. Sorensen and Rex Wellbye under the name of the English Gymnosophical Society. It met for discussions at the Minerva Cafe at 144 High Holborn in London, the headquarters of the Women's Freedom League. Those who were permitted to join the Moonella Group were carefully selected, and the club was run by an "aristocracy" of the original members, all of whom had "club names" to preserve their anonymity. The club closed in 1926 because of building on adjacent land.[47] [48]

By 1943 there were a number of these so-called "sun clubs" and together they formed the British Sunbathers Association or BSBA. In 1954 a group of clubs unhappy with the way the BSBA was being run split off to form the Federation of British Sun Clubs or FBSC. These two organisations rivalled each other for a while before eventually coming together again in 1964 as the Central Council for British Naturism or CCBN. This organisation has remained much the same but is now more commonly known simply as British Naturism or BN.[47]

In 1961, the BSBA Annual Conference agreed that the term nudist was inappropriate and should be discarded in favour of naturist.[47]

The first official naturist beach was opened at Fairlight Cove, Hastings in 1978, the beaches at Brighton and Fraisthorpe, Bridlington opened in April 1980.[47]

[edit] United States

In the United States, German immigrant Kurt Barthel organized the first nudist event in 1929 in the woods just outside of New York City (NYC) and founded the American League for Physical Culture (ALPC). Social nudism in the form of private clubs and campgrounds began appearing in the 1930s. In 1931, according to a history, a Baptist minister named Ilsley Boone was elected vice president of the ALPC and gained the nickname "The Dictator."[49] He also began the American Sunbathing Association (ASA), which, according to a decision in Roberts v. Clement, posted on the Naturist Education Foundation site, was organized in 1939 as a successor to the ALPC.[50] Boone created his idea of a family atmosphere by prohibiting alcohol at all member clubs. According to the Federation of Canadian Naturists history and the Lupin Naturist Club history, Boone was toppled in 1951 by members dissatisfied with his autocratic style.[51][52] This, together with Boone's desire to open a new club closer to NYC than others had wanted, led him to form the National Nudist Council.

Elsewhere in the USA, a 1935 advertisement claims Sea Island Sanctuary, South Carolina, was the "largest and oldest" resort where nudism could be practised year-round. Rock Lodge Club, in Stockholm, New Jersey, about 40 miles (65 km) from New York City, started in 1932 and is still in operation today. Nudism first began appearing on the west coast of the U.S. and Canada about 1939. In that year, the first club in Canada, the Van Tan Club, formed and continues today in North Vancouver, BC.[13] Kaniksu Ranch, about 45 miles (70 km) north of Spokane, Washington, opened the same year and is still in operation. [31]

In 1980 The Naturist Society (TNS) was founded by Lee Baxandall as a successor to the Free Beach Movement. The emphasis of TNS is on nudity in public locations rather than on private premises, though it also sponsors several annual gatherings held at private resorts.[31]

In 1995, the ASA renamed itself, becoming the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR). The AANR represents over 270 clubs and resorts, and is the US representative on the INF.[1]

[edit] Canada

In Canada, individuals around the country became interested in nudism, skinny-dipping, and physical culture in the early part of the 20th century. After 1940 they had their own Canadian magazine, Sunbathing & Health, which occasionally carried local news. Canadians had scattered groups in several cities during the 1930s and 1940s, and some of these groups attracted enough interest to form clubs on private land.[13] The most significant clubs were the Van Tan Club and, in Ontario, the Sun Air Club.

Canadians who served in the military during the Second World War met like-minded souls from across the country, and often visited clubs while in Europe. They were a ready pool of recruits for post-war organizers. A few years later the wave of post-war immigration brought many Europeans with their own extensive experience, and they not only swelled the ranks of membership, but often formed their own clubs, helping to expand nudism from coast to coast.[13]

Most of those clubs united in the Canadian Sunbathing Association, which affiliated with the American Sunbathing Association in 1954. Several disagreements between eastern and western members of the CSA resulted in the breakup of CSA into the Western Canadian Sunbathing Association (WCSA) and the Eastern Canadian Sunbathing Association (ECSA) in 1960. The ECSA endured much in-fighting over the next decade and a half, leading to its official demise in 1978. The WCSA continues today as the Western Canadian Association for Nude Recreation (WCANR), a region of the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) which itself was formerly known as the ASA.[13]

In 1977 the Fédération québécoise de naturisme (FQN) was founded in Québec, by Michael Vaïs, who had experienced European naturism at Montalivet. In 1986 the Federation of Canadian Naturists(FCN) was formed with the support of the FQN. The FQN and FCN joined to be the official Canadian representatives in the International Naturist Federation (INF).[13]

[edit] Free beaches

Many people get their first exposure to the clothes free movement through an informal approach (e.g. a clothing optional beach, a friend's place in the woods, a party on the shore or skinny dipping).[29]

[edit] Festival naturism

From Woodstock to Edinburgh, and Nambassa 1981 in the southern hemisphere communal nudity is commonly recorded at music festivals.

[edit] Demographics

  • The Federation of Canadian Naturist commissioned a national survey on Canadian Attitudes Towards Nudity in 1999. [29]

They found the 8.9% of Canadian have or would visit a naturist facility. A further 11.6% have or would go skinny dipping in mixed company. 39% go naked in their own homes. Naturists tend to have above average incomes. Urban dwellers are more likely to be naturist than country dwellers. The under 25s are the most likely to go naturist.

  • In 1983 the Naturist Society in the USA sponsored a Gallup poll, which was repeated in 2000.[25]
USA: 1983/2000 Gallup poll
Year 1983 2000
Question Yes No Yes No
Do you believe that people who enjoy nude sunbathing should be able to do so without interference from officials as long as they do so at a beach that is accepted for that purpose? 72 24 80 17
Local and state governments now set aside public land for special types of recreation such as snow- mobiling, surfing and hunting. Do you think special and secluded areas should be set aside for people who enjoy nude sunbathing 39 54 48 48
Have you, personally, ever gone "skinny dipping" or nude sunbathing in a mixed group of men and women at a beach, at a pool, or somewhere else? 15 83 25 73
  • The British CCBN commissioned a survey of members in 2005.[53]
How we discovered Naturism
Beach abroad 29%
Beach in UK 20%
Newspaper 15%
Friend 9%
Parents 8%
Conviction 6%
TV/Radio 5%
The Web 3%
H&E 3%
Other 2%
Ever been member of a club
Yes 58.5%
No 41.5%
Do you use UK Naturist Beaches
Often 22.4%
Sometimes 40.1%
Rarely 18.7%
Never 18.7%
If you use a naturist holiday facility abroad
Self-catering 58.5%
Hotel 41.5%
Own Tent 12.7%
Hire Caravan 10%
Own Caravan 8.7%
Bed and Breakfast 6.6%
Friends 4.4%
Motorhome 4.2%
Own accommodation 3.1%
Hire Tent 2.4%
Other 3.3%

[edit] Economics

Peng travel, a UK naturist holiday travel agent was valued at 1.8m GBP when it was sold in 2005.[54]

[edit] Issues in social nudity

See Issues in social nudity

Naturism addresses, challenges and explores 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. It can thus be controversial.

[edit] Problems for the naturist community

Any social group is said to go through four phase Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing. wrote Bruce Tuckman in 1965. In this context we can understand some of the current pressures on various aspects of Naturism.

  • Naturist ghetto- established clubs excluding new members and rejecting new ideas.[11]
  • A family movement in a time of social change - a change in needs and expectations, away from one of a permanent commitment towards one of change and choice
  • Youth take up- each generation is a new social group and needs to set its own norms
  • Clubs v Holiday Centres- organisations with different roots find it difficult to establish common norms. It is an issue between those espousing a year round commitment to an ideal, and those who see it as summer recreation. Club naturism is in decline, while the number of people for assume that naturist facilities will be available at any holiday resort is on the rise. The users of free beaches exceeds the number of people who wish to join a club.
  • Paid staff and volunteers- many clubs were established as cooperatives but the values changes when a few members put in the capital needed, or the work. [13] This became more difficult when some members were paid to act as site managers.[11]
  • Infiltration by other groups- for many years clubs had strict "No singles" policies to maintain the family nature of the club.[11] Many other social groups practice non family nudism, whether it be gay naturists or swingers.
  • Exhibitionists and voyeurs are as unwelcome in a naturist community as in a textile community. [19]
  • Relations with 'Naturist Magazines'.
  • A movement that is growing too fast
  • Militant naturism occurs outside the club scene, though they will also visit clubs.

[edit] Naturist and nudist magazines

Nudist and naturist magazines can be categorised in four ways.

  • Magazines published by the official national organisation, such as BN (CCBN), Going Natural(FCN).
  • Magazines that are published for naturists such as Go Naturally.
  • Independent magazines, such as Health and Efficiency, that claim to be naturist but print an abnormally large percentage of pictures of young female professional models. They do however carry columns eg Sunny Trails in Sunbathing for Health and advertisements for genuine naturist clubs and societies, when no other newspaper would carry them. Many clubs and groups were indebted to them for that.[13]
  • Magazines that just print photographs of young female professional models, which are disapproved of by naturists and their opponents alike.

This has been a dilemma for naturists, who needed the small amount of editorial content in some magazines while thoroughly disapproving of the photographic content.[13] Writers who produced copy for these magazines are not respected by many naturists though often quoted as authoritative sources by the textilist press.

Naturist clubs were willing to allow film shoots on their grounds, though the content proved not to be naturist and naturism ended up being parodied.[54]

Analysis of the Internet shows the trends. Naturist and nudist websites shows that pages fall into the same categories. There are many pages displaying titillating photographs, and even pornagraphic images which are totally alien to the naturist ideal that use the word naturist or naturism on their pages and metatags. These are then harvested by journalists or pro-censorship campaigners to create a false image of naturism. [55]

Today there are high quality naturist magazines in many European countries that reflect the gender and age groups found at clubs and resorts.


[edit] Criticism

Descamps[11] assembles a list of criticisms of naturism: it is too cold[56]; normal bodies look ugly—it is only for the physically beautiful; it is too embarrassing; it is against the laws of nature, against the law, or against religion; "nudism makes me think of sex"; it is for primitive people or animals. Those appear to be mostly subjective points of view of the critic which can be factually disproved when relevant research is accessed, or they reveal more about the critic than about the subject.

Most popular criticisms for naturism arise from:

  • situations of inaccurate usage of the term, criticisms of situations where naturists and textilists would share the same concerns. For example, naturism is often added as a tag to titillating websites that have no naturist content.
  • criticisms of activitites which are imagined to be naturist by a writer who has not researched it in the relevant libraries.


[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i 2002-2003 World Naturist Handbook, pub International Naturist Federation INF-FNI, Sint Hubertusstraat, B-2600 Berchem(Antwerpen) ISBN 9055838330 The Agde definition. The INF is made up of representative of the Naturist Organisations in 32 countries, with 7 more having correspondent status. The current edition is * Naturisme, The INF World Handbook (2006) [1] ISBN 90-5062-080-9
  2. ^ a b http://www.inf-fni.org/index_e.htm| INF web page
  3. ^ , <http://www.chm-montalivet.com/>. Retrieved on 29/11/2007 
  4. ^ "Le naturisme est la doctrine qui consiste à laisser agir la nature plutot que d'intervenir de manière artificielle". Dr Jean Baptiste Luc Planchon (1734-1781) Il sera publié en 1778 sous le titre :Le Naturisme ou la nature considérée dans les maladies et leur traitement conforme à la doctrine et à la pratique d'Hippocrate et ses sectateurs".
  5. ^ The Hannover based Bund für freies Lebensgestaltung Hannover wrote "Naturism is a new lifestyle caring for the body, the soul and the spirit in society.We live the ideal of freedom, conscious of its limits, taking up our responsibility. The expression of our will is nudity, our admission of sincerity. In 2002-2003 World Guide as above.
  6. ^ a b In his book, Cinema Au Naturel (Introduction on page 11), author Mark Storey states "two related terms that we will continually run across are nudist and naturist. Although, the meanings of the two terms are virtually identical, they often have different connotations for those who prefer one to the other. In America people who believe that it is physically, socially, emotionally, and perhaps spiritually healthy to go about fully nude individually and in groups of mixed sex whenever weather permits and others are not offended generally refer to themselves as "nudists". In Europe such people more often than not refer to themselves as "naturists."
  7. ^ Montana Naturist website
  8. ^ 1996-1997 World Naturist Handbook, pub International Naturist Federation INF-FNI, Sint Hubertusstraat, B-2600 Berchem(Antwerpen) ISBN 9067168335 Here the English version of the Agde definition was translated differently. Naturism (American "nudism") is a way of life in harmony with nature characterised by the practice of communal nudity with the intention of encouraging self-respect, respect for others and the environment.
  9. ^ Presently, Mark Storey is authoring an article detailing historical use of the terms naturism and nudism and how they differ between different cultures, countries, and time periods in history. In a telephone interview by Daniel Johnson on 15 Apr 2006 with Storey he stated that "a draft of the piece was posted on the "References" page of the The Naturist Society web site for a few weeks". At the time of its former release in October 2004 it was titled Naturism, Nudism, or Nameless? A History of Terms He is planning on publishing a revised article as soon as additional information and errors are corrected.
  10. ^ Ray Connett, Sunny Trails, in Sunbathing for Health Sept 1947 p 8, July 1957 p 14 writes that Naturism is a weasel word that can mean anything
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Vivre Nu: Psychosociologie du Naturisme, Marc-Alain Descamps, Edition Trismégiste, 1987, ISBN 2-86509-026-4
  12. ^ a b c Histoire de Montalivet et des Naturistes du Medoc, Marc-Alain Deschamps, pub. Editions Publimag ISBN 2-952420-0-4
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Au naturel, the History of Nudism in Canada, James Woycke Ph.D, pub 2003, Federation of Canadian Naturists, ISBN 0-9682332-3-6
  14. ^ The three biggest Centres on the Medoc are Euronat 335ha, CHM 175ha with a 3km beach, and La Jenny 127ha
  15. ^ , <http://www.veraplaya.info/history.html>. Retrieved on 22/11/2007 
  16. ^ [a relaxed explanation]
  17. ^ Buzzy, Gordon, 10 great places to leave the swimsuit at home, <http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/10great/2007-05-31-nude-beaches_N.htm>. Retrieved on 27/11/2007 AANR John Kinman refers to ten beaches
  18. ^ , <http://www.ganz-muenchen.de/freizeitfitness/baden/fkk.html>. Retrieved on 27/11/2007 
  19. ^ a b Boura, Malcolm (Summer), “Campaigning”, British Naturism BN 172: 31, ISSN 0406 0264 0406 
  20. ^ Croatia's best naturist / Nudist / FKK beaches, <http://www.croatia-beaches.com/naturist_nudist_FKK/best_naturist_beaches_croatia.htm>. Retrieved on 27/11/2007 
  21. ^ Seton, Ernest Thompson (1951), Trail of an Artist Naturalist, London: Hodder and Stoughton 
  22. ^ Saul, Andrew, <http://www.doctoryourself.com/exercise_avoid.html>. Retrieved on 27/11/2007 
  23. ^ Cohen, Michael (December), “[[2] Swimming Naked at MGS]”, The Mancunian, <[3]>. Retrieved on 27/11/2007  From about 1930 until at least the 1970s (this contributor left MGS in 1973)
  24. ^ [[4] Nude Swimming at Johnston JHS, 1959 to 61], October 15th December, <[5]>. Retrieved on 27/11/2007  From about 1951 to 1970?
  25. ^ a b anderson, howard, Why be a naturist:Statistics 1983/2000 Gallup poll, <http://anderh.com/fkk/book/stats.htm>. Retrieved on 30/11/2007 
  26. ^ [[6] NEWT2007], <[7]>. Retrieved on 27/11/2007 
  27. ^ SOC Walks- Introduction, <http://www.socwalks.fsnet.co.uk/>. Retrieved on 27/11/2007 
  28. ^ , <http://www.nakedeurope.org/riding.html>. Retrieved on 27/11/2007 
  29. ^ a b c National Survey on Canadian Attitudes Towards Nudity:, <http://www.fcn.ca/survey.html>. Retrieved on 28/11/2007 
  30. ^ Moss, Stephen (August 6th), Now which way back to the car?, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/britain/article/0,2763,1013239,00.html>. Retrieved on 27/11/2007 
  31. ^ a b c [[http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/116207_nude07.shtml Monday, April 7, 2003, Exposed and stark naked -- on purpose,Kathy George, accessed 15/01/2008 Seattle Post article on Nudity in Washington State]] Seattle Post article on Nudity in Washington State
  32. ^ In October 2006, the party was dissolved, as announced by party Secretary and parliamentary candidate Sylvia Else: "NLP winding up." (Topic), in aus.culture.naturist at Google Groups
  33. ^ * Jim Hamm Productions Limited Spirit Wrestlers, a 2002 documentary video and DVD about the Russian Christian sect called Freedomite Doukhobors,
  34. ^ , <http://www.naturistplace.com/nudity19.htm> 
  35. ^ , <http://www.naturistplace.com/nudity19.htm> 
  36. ^ (see Gill Perry's writing on The Decorative, The Expressive and The Primitive in Primitivism, Cubism, Abstraction: The Early Twentieth Century)
  37. ^ a b c d e f g h anderson, howard, Why be a naturist:A brief history of modern naturism, <http://anderh.com/fkk/book/history.htm>. Retrieved on 30/11/2007 
  38. ^ a b BUPA's Health Information Team (24 March), Hot topic - Vitamin D, sunlight and cancer, <http://www.bupa.co.uk/health_information/html/health_news/261103vitd.html>. Retrieved on 12 February 2007 
  39. ^ , <http://www.amadelio.de/vlog/2007/06/26/vlog-videoblog-bodo-niemann-gerhard-riebicke-und-die-freikoerperkultur/>. Retrieved on 12 February 2007 
  40. ^ fr:Naturisme
  41. ^ Local knowledge
  42. ^ Discussed in:Veltheim, Andrew (2000), Naturism: Naked Beneath Your Clothing, <http://www.parama.com/html/naturism.html>. Retrieved on 12 February 2007 
  43. ^ a b c d e Buchy, Philip Edward, [www.ohiolink.edu/etd/send-pdf.cgi?acc_num=miami1114115398 A Nudist Resort, thesis for MA], Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, Department of Architecture, <www.ohiolink.edu/etd/send-pdf.cgi?acc_num=miami1114115398> 
  44. ^ Farrer, Michael, ISSN 0406 0264 0406, <http://www.british-naturism.org.uk/pages/pages.asp?page_ID=44>. Retrieved on 27/11/2007 
  45. ^ Freikörperkultur Geschichte
  46. ^ a b c French wikipedia
  47. ^ a b c d Farrar, Michael, The history of naturism - a timeline, <http://www.british-naturism.org.uk/pages/pages.asp?page_ID=50>. Retrieved on 1 February 2008 
  48. ^ Farrar, Michael, The Moonella Group, <http://www.british-naturism.org.uk/pages/pages.asp?page_ID=42>. Retrieved on 1 February 2008 
  49. ^ The History of Social Nudism - Nudist History
  50. ^ Roberts v. Clement
  51. ^ History of Naturism
  52. ^ Body Acceptance: A Brief History of Social Nudity
  53. ^ “[www.british-naturism.org BN Members Questionaire]”, British Naturism 164: 26, Summer, ISSN 0264-0406, <www.british-naturism.org>  and two next issue.
  54. ^ a b Edwards, Adam (10 May), Stark naked ambition, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/05/10/ftnude10.xml&sSheet=/arts/2006/05/10/ixartright.html>. Retrieved on 12 February 2007  gives a history of naturism, written in a personal style that attemps to use this type of humour.
  55. ^ Examples of these sites have been deliberately ommitted- as they are mainly commercial spam
  56. ^ The Inuit of the Arctic went nude in their igloos. This features in the Inuit film Atanarjuat. The indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego went almost naked under conditions of snow and bitingly cold wind. (In chapter 10 of The Voyage of the Beagle, Charles Darwin commented on the hardiness of these people[8]).

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[edit] External links

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