Caliente Referred to as "Naturist" and "Nudist" Resort

A news article about extending hours for alcohol service in Pasco County, Florida, refers to Caliente Clothing Optional Resort as being both "naturist" and "nudist".

This is precisely the reason I argued in my post "Nudism and Naturism at a Crossroads" that organizations like AANR are probably making a mistake by disassociating themselves with adult-oriented resorts like Caliente, simply because it doesn't solve the problem of public perceptions.

Better to implement a rating system and recognize that both family and adult resorts are viable forms of nude recreation. AANR already has many adults-only venues in its network, and accepts advertising from Castaways Travel which books cruises for adult couples only.

The longer these "clothing-optional" adult-oriented venues are allowed to define themselves as nudist and naturist, the harder it will be for TNS and AANR to convince anybody that nudism can be family-friendly, too.

You don't need to belong to AANR or TNS to go to Caliente, or to take a Castaways Cruise. All you need is email or a phone to book a room.

Making Asses Out of Nudists

Still being referred to as a "nudist resort", even after breaking from AANR, Caliente hosted a bikini-less bikini contest with porn stars, in front of "half-drunk nudists and overenthusiastic dudes with cameras." Article with plenty of photos here. Take note of the many people who appear to be typical nudists mixed in with the others wearing clothes and gawking at the gyrating adult entertainers. I really don't have an answer how TNS and AANR can get these sexed-up resorts to disassociate from the nudist label, because this ain't nudism. One thing for sure - ignoring this problem is not going to make it go away.

Mark my words - the next big push by moralists and politicians will be to try and bar anyone under 18 from nudist resorts. Read this letter to the editor from a woman who asks, "If a photo of a nude child is against the law, why in the world are children allowed in nudist camps?"

Photos of nude children are NOT against the law, but sexualized images of children are. It now seems that the majority of the public believes that any image of a nude child, even in a museum, or taken by parents to record childhood innocence, is somehow pornographic, and a magnet for pedophiles.

Now throw in the image being put forth by Caliente, which is being mistaken for nudism, and you have a potentially fatal problem. You want nude beaches? You want public lands set aside for nude recreation? Well, the hysteria over pedophilia, the sexed-up image of nudism, and teens being prosecuted for taking nude photos of themselves, all add up to trouble, and you have a growing opposition to anything involving nudity for people under the age of 18.

Trying to separate sex from nudity in this society seems to be an impossible task, but we cannot, and must not, give in to this pornification of the nudist and naturist lifestyle.

Laura Leyrer Recommends Hedonism

In a disappointing move, Detroit Nudist Adventures Examiner Laura Leyrer has recommended the adult lifestyle resorts Hedonism II and III as viable travel options. These are not nudist venues, they are clothing-optional couples clubs which attract swingers. I have nothing against these adult resorts, just don't call then "nudist."

AANR has just recently lost two Florida resorts, Caliente and Paradise Lakes, because those venues crossed the line into overt sexual activities, exploiting the human body instead of celebrating it.

AANR President John Kinman writes:

This past summer, AANR sponsored The AANR World Record Skinny-Dip. Club owners and beach organizers reported that many people participated who had never before been nude in mixed company. The press reports were the greatest we have ever seen for an event. Clubs signed up new members. The event portrayed wholesome family nude recreation. No one confused it with a strip show or a swinger convention. The event told me that, with focused marketing, our resorts and AANR can grow in membership without a sexual tone.

AANR has drawn a line in the sand. Good for them, and good for nudism. We cannot allow the adult lifestyle folks to hijack family-friendly nudist resorts and turn them into outdoor strip clubs.

Writers like Laura Leyrer need to be more responsible when throwing around the word "nudist" when referring to swinger resorts. The public is confused enough already without being subjected to even more misinformation from supposed "experts."