Naked Nudism has now posted part 2 of his essay on "The Political Dimension of Nudism". I am much more in agreement with his latest thoughts, particularly when it comes to topfree equality and the importance of maintaining current and adding new nude venues.
I still have a problem with his contention that we have a "natural right to be nude". Certainly we are all born naked and it is the natural state of man, but society through the millennia has developed the generally accepted attitude that people should be clothed. Any nudist or naturist must accept this fact, it's the reality of the modern world. Humans also have a "natural right" to defecate, but doing so in public is considered highly offensive by what has to be 100% of the people on the planet. I hate to equate nudity and defecation to make a point, but I'm sure that many religious fundamentalists would consider the nude body to be the more offensive of the two.
The problem that I see with the future of nudism lies with the current younger generation. Kids are no longer required to participate in gang showers, so there is really no social nudity whatsoever. These children are being taught that they are never to be nude with others unless it's with a marriage partner. Young boys are so homophobic that they are afraid to let other males see their genitals lest there be some sort of gay attack - the political demonization of gay people contributes to this common misconception. Just last year I was showering naked at the YMCA when a young man in his twenties showered beside me wearing his swim trunks.
When I was a kid growing up in the sixties there were many times that I was nude with other boys. We swam naked at the Y, and at Y camp we all changed into our swim trunks in front of each other. At the Boys Club, in order to have swimming privileges, I stood in line with scores of other bare naked boys to be examined by a doctor. Living near a lake in New England, my friends and I went skinny-dipping all the time - it was the ultimate in summer fun. In high school, a naked gang shower was REQUIRED after each gym class. Unless parents are nudist minded, or European, it's not likely that kids these days are having these normal experiences in America today.
Naked Nudism writes, "The real problem that nudists face now is that our system is geared to address the grievances of a single complainer." Sure, sometimes one squeaky wheel can be the one who gets the grease, but in our society we have huge religious and political watchdog groups that lobby, petition and write to legislators and government agencies whenever something "offensive" is observed. With an evangelical in the White House who recently proclaimed that there is a religious "Awakening" happening in America today, this is far more than the work of a "single complainer".
On the subject of topfree equality, NakedNudism writes, "There's no rational reason that women should keep covered where men don't have to, and honestly I don't believe the vast majority of the population is offended by them". Perhaps there is no rationale for the lack of equality, but to state that the majority of the population is not offended by nude female breasts is naive. A recent study by Baylor University reported by The Washington Post shows that only about 11% of the population in the United States has no religious affiliation, which means that while some might argue that we are a secular society, in actuality we are a religious people. And while there is probably no poll out there that asks people how they would feel if women were free to take off their shirts in any public area, I'll bet that the majority of people would oppose that, mostly "for the sake of the children". Female breasts are viewed in America as sexual objects.
Now if you ask people if they would object to designated nude beaches or other areas, there are examples out there where most people are accepting of this. It seems to me that the best chance we have of growing the nudism/naturism movement in America is to keep adding more public places to the list of legal nude areas, and this will require a lot of organization and political action. It's important for anyone who seriously believes in naturism to join an organization, or if so inclined, form a local group. Talking about "natural rights" when it comes to nudity is good, but action is better. Get together people.
Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked
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