The most bizarre scene is the physical exams of naked toddlers that were part of the state fair, courtesy of the Illinois Department of Health. If you were one of those kids, you might be scarred for life.I was a member of a Boys' Club when I was a kid, and I remember one day when a doctor came to examine all the boys in order to screen out any potential health problems. There must have been hundreds of us that gathered that day in the locker room, all stripping down completely naked and getting in a long line to see the doctor. I remember a metal spiral staircase packed with nude little boys, with just our membership cards hanging around our necks.
One by one we all coughed obediently as we were felt in the groin for hernias. I also remember a nurse on duty to help the physician. Not once did anything seem out of the ordinary, and I don't think that the group nudity "scarred me for life".
Apparently this efficient and innocent little scenario cannot be played out today. The American people are so afraid of pedophiles and homosexuals that they want to keep their kids covered up and protected all the time. The problem lies with the adults and not with the children - kids can handle a lot more than grown-ups give them credit for.
I grew up swimming nude at the YMCA and the Boys' Club, went skinny-dipping frequently, and took nude gang showers in high school. A couple of years ago my wife and I joined a YMCA to work off some winter fat, and I was surprised to see privacy shower stalls in the men's locker room. There was also a small common area with 4 shower heads. I had not been inside a YMCA in years, so when I finished my workout I stripped down and went to the group shower area. I was there for a minute when a man in his early twenties walked in to shower, and he was wearing his bathing suit. He stood next to me, soaping up and rinsing off quickly and then went back to his locker. I actually began to wonder if nudity was even allowed in the shower at the Y anymore. I was actually relieved when a naked man joined me a minute later.
I think that the man in the shower wearing a bathing suit is the one "scarred for life". We need to get our children back to being comfortable in their own skins. Bring back nude swimming at the Y, get them used to gang showers, and revive the idea of skinny-dipping at the old swimming hole.
EJP over at Gymnophiliac recently posted about marketing nudism to younger people.
My point here is simple: the primary reason that younger people don't participate in nudism has nothing to do with whether we're using pictures of old men or young buxom females. It's pure logistics. The opportunity to participate just isn't there: it's expensive, it's far away, it's inconvenient, and the value of doing it nude has to outweigh the fact that I'm not too interested in doing it in the first place.
Basically this is a lot of whining, and just plain wrongheaded. It's not the logistics, it's the state of society today, where just about anything related to nudity is seen as something sexual. The man in the shower wearing the bathing suit is the problem - he was afraid of his own nudity, and judging by his very brief rinsing, he was also afraid of mine.
Despite hopeful signs in society, such as nude college parties, this generation of kids is "scarred for life" by the right-wing moralists who have turned the nude human body into something to be feared. It's going to take at least another generation or two to bring back a healthier attitude, perhaps more.
Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked
7 comments:
You are using a different angle from him. Why aren't are focusing on society at large and why aren't they all nudists and his focus is on those willing to give it a shot.
The man in the shower with his bathing suit does not explain why there is such an age gap in those practicing nudism.
I'm a nudist, I'm young and there isn't much out there for me.
It's a real problem.
I'm going to have to weigh in with azmodan and EJP on this one. I'm a nudist, I'm a bit older than some, and I often share their view that there isn't always enough out there for any of us. EJP is clearly speaking on behalf of who have overcome the views expressed by bathing-suit-in-the-shower-man.
That aside, I strongly agree with the rest of your post. There's definitely something wrong with the way a many people view nudity, including their own. We had a guy in my platoon in boot camp who would walk into the shower area, not the shower, the shower area, with a towel wrapped around his waist. He would approach the shower, and then turn around and walk back to his rack (bunk) and get dressed without showering. This went on for about a month before the stench became strong enough for us to help him with his problem.
Sadly, It's people like swimsuit-in-the-shower-man and he who walks with towel who would probably benefits the most most from social nudism.
Dreadfree, there isn't "enough out there" because there are not enough people who have overcome the nudity thing. That's the point. Anyone who is a nudist can be a nudist anytime, all you have to do is remove your clothes. EJP is whining about how it's too far to drive, it costs too much, etc. Hell, most things worth doing in life are difficult to achieve. You can complain that there are no Ethiopian restaurants near where you live, but maybe it's simply because not enough people like Ethiopian food.
There's a local nude swim in my area twice a month and I have yet to make it. It's not the admission fee or the driving distance, it's simply that Saturday nights are usually taken up by family and/or friends. But the inconvenience of the swims does not change the fact that I am a nudist.
Younger people are finding ways to be naked, such as college parties, protests, spring break, etc. Not all of these activities are consistent with nudist philosphies, but it is encouraging that some kids are less hung up. I think a lot of the new body freedom has more to do with rebellion than a true naturist spirit.
If EJP finds nudist activities lacking, he should invite some similarly minded friends over for a nude evening of dinner and fun. One can be a social nudist without leaving the house. If EJP is unable to find enough friends for a nude evening, then my point is proven - the lack of organized nudist activities is due simply to a lack of interest.
I really need to proofread my comments before I post. That last comment is a mess.
I agree that what's out there is limited by a lack of participation and acceptance. Supply and demand is king. However, I think that you and EJP are addressing separate issues. True, a nudist is a nudist no matter where he chooses to be nude, but home nudity won't bring back Mystic Oaks or any other club that has closed in recent years. In my opinion, EJP is speaking for young people who are otherwise interested in social nudism, but don't always feel that social nudism provides an appropriate return on their investment of time, money, and effort.
Dreadfree wrote: EJP is speaking for young people who are otherwise interested in social nudism, but don't always feel that social nudism provides an appropriate return on their investment of time, money, and effort.
It's still a matter of supply and demand. There is apparently no market in catering social nudism to younger people. EJP complains about spending $40 for a night of social nudity, but it costs my wife and I that much to go out to eat, and two to three times as much for an evening out at a concert or play. If you want something badly enough, you will find a way.
Most nudist groups spring from very small circles of people, who join up with other small circles of people. EJP needs to organize his own group, if he can find anybody to join, to create a non-landed club to visit resorts or plan their own events. It takes time, effort and money to so that, nothing comes easily.
What I'm saying is that complaining about a lack of activities for younger people is rather pointless, it's far better to try and so something about it. Look, nudity is something that is shunned by the vast majority of the American people. Women are free to remove their tops in New York but you are not likely to see that happen except when someone is working on an art project. Same is true for Ohio where it's legal for women to be topfree, but you only see this happen at the annual hippie Comfest in the middle of Summer. If it's legal, why don't you see more topfree women? The problem is in our heads, it's not a matter of logistics.
It wasn't long ago that you and I were in apparent agreement regarding the situation in Brattleboro, Vermont. The teenagers who decided to strip down in a downtown parking lot were fully within their legal rights. I may be mistaken, but I believe that you and I agreed that having the right was not the same as it being the right thing to do. The same thing may apply in the case of top-freedom in NY. While women may have a legal right to bare their breasts in Central Park, it might not be the safest thing to do.
You're right; complaining about the lack of activities for young people is pointless if we're not willing to do something about it. However, complaining about the lack of youth participation unless we're willing to create activities that they find inviting is almost as pointless burden of creating those activities to the very people we are trying to attract. We need to stop asking why they won't join us if we're not willing to meet them half way.
It could be that social nudism as practiced in US is a flawed institution. Maybe we're just not social enough as a group to ensure our own future. We already have EJP. Apparently he's willing to put up with the bullshit just as I did when I was a young man. Is EJP saying that we need to make changes to ensure his future participation, or is he saying that we need to make changes if we would like to attract more young men and women his age?
Btw, I didn't mean to imply that you're one of the folks running around asking why young adults aren't participating in social nudism. I can't recall one example of your asking that question on this blog.
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