What is naturism

What is naturism

N is for naturism - If you ask anyone these days what is naturism? You'd be hard pressed to get a single answer, you will likely get a host of different answers. Some will point to the Wikipedia or dictionary definition. Others like me will quote the International Naturist Federation definition. Many just make up their own. Some common responses in that last category are

• No clothes ever anywhere

  • Non sexual social nudity

  • Nakations

  • Nakedness

  • All who enjoy being naked without getting sexual, call themselves a naturist (Top 5 problems naturism faces in 2021)

The problem with the definitions above is they all lean towards the lowest common denominator. Their proponents avoid, omit and in some cases deride the idea of naturism as having any purpose beyond nakedness and comfort. There is no sense of higher purpose that can inspire and motivate participation in a movement. Higher purposes like this

Never intentionally harming others or environment

Naturism offers an art of living by weaving new human relationships based on openness and trust. It is one of the chances of the 21st century, because it is a movement of the future. … Naturism reintroduces the explosive force of Nature to transform both man and society. To be a naturist, live nature.

I recently came across this about the purpose of naturism on the cover of a 1986 volume of Go Natural the Canadian Naturist Federation Magazine.

The purpose of naturism is to foster belief in the wholesomeness of the human body and the stability of mind and spirit which grows in those accustomed to seeing and respecting the human body as created. ln addition, naturism seeks to promote optimum health through complete contact of the body with the natural elements of sun, air and water .

This is accompanied by a holistic approach to enlightened nutrition, physical activity, mental stimulation and social interaction in environments kept as free as possible from the pollutants and stressrul components of modern society. Naturism has been founded on family participatton wherein children can grow up with wholesooe concepts and can also learn to accept the physical nature of both sexes and all a6eS as a part of their native en vi romnent .

Nude living effectively removes a major barrier that has been created between the human species and the natural environment that will always be essential foe its survival. Naturism is a process devised to secure a simpler, healthier and more human life; one with an ample sense of joy and freedom.

Historic purpose and definition

Modern naturism had a higher purpose. The Freikörperkultur (Free Body Culture) . “Nacktkultur” and Lebensreform (Life Reform) movements all defined themselves through the lens of a higher purpose. They sought to facilitate a better life for participants to embrace. Health, wholeness, physical and mental well being, community were all embedded in this higher purpose. When Americans adopted naturism from the Europeans who brought it across the Atlantic and rebranded it as nudism they omitted the higher collective purpose. Instead, individual relaxation and recreation became nudism's raison d'etre. We see the logical conclusion of that in the nudist spaces online today.

Europeans like Marc Alain Descamps continued to build on the original purpose of naturism, proposing the naturist social project. He rejected the idea that naturism was not a philosophy and "everyone lives their naturism as they see fit". Instead he promoted a non moralistic naturist ethic supported by a system of shared values. [ref]Naturism and ethics[/ref]

It is therefore necessary to understand naturism as a new system of production of values. [ref]Naturism and ethics[/ref]

1. The rehabilitation of the human body

2. The vital need for close contact with nature

3. The ability to self-control

4. The management of looks (the gaze)

5. Non-discrimination

6. Naturism as a laboratory of democracy

Descamps saw naturism as participating is a larger social project designed to bring about a richer more evolved civilization. He believed naturism was a precursor to environmentalism. He was prescient is saying naturists should be thinking about protecting the environment in order to protect humanity from the effects of climate change. Descamps believed ecology could not be fully expressed if naturism was not involved. [ref]NATURISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION [/ref]

Some Americans did see the value in a more collectivist approach to naturism. Lee Baxandall founder of the Naturist Society and leader of the the free beaches movement espoused such an approach. Baxandall saw naturism as more than just getting naked but as a social and civic movement.

“Naturism is an antidote to urban crowding .. it restores us to ourselves to a human being” -Lee Baxandall [ref]Experience the Freedom of the Naturist Lifestyle[/ref]

Baxandall's vision for naturism was non discriminatory, non misogynistic, non sexual, egalitarian community that advocated for access to nude recreation opportunities for everyone.

Lee Baxandall moved U.S. naturism from merely a casual naked experience, to a civic movement raising awareness and changing laws and policies for the benefit of the public through understanding the body and expanding freedom of expression. Naturally, Carl and Vicki Hild [ref] The History of the Naturist Society[/ref]

Current challenges

In March of this year the International Naturist Federation held it EuNat (the European arm of INF-FNI) meeting in Bonn, Germany. The host of the meeting was the German Association for Freikörperkultur One of the participants Sönke Reise of Get Naked Germany, made a presentation on the challenges faces naturism globally. Read a full report of the meeting here

A result of the meeting was a list of the challenges in the presentation, by Reise. The top challenges for naturism identified by Reise were:

1. The shame caused by being naked, caused by religion, tradition, education or culture.

2. Body shaming: pointing out that body shaming could be counteracted by agreeing to be naked, and that being naked also built confidence.

3. The false perception that nudity = sex. This is compounded by the habit of hiding behind the title “naturist” on some pornographic websites.

4. Voyeuristic public media: the media's habit of presenting nudism in a voyeuristic manner; serious work with the media is required.

5. Visibility of naturist federations: people do not understand enough what national naturist federations do.

6. Volunteers – There are advantages and disadvantages to federations being run primarily by volunteers. Bringing in some professionals can make federations more effective. Better coordination of the messages of the national federations and the INF-FNI would allow naturists from all over the world to speak with one voice. You could create a private Facebook group for the federations' social media and marketing managers to help with this.

7. Age of Naturists: Many of the decision makers in the world of naturism are in an older generation; there is a need to attract more young people and to understand and meet their needs.

8. Gender balance: in many countries there are many more men than women attached to naturism; The question is how he attracts more women.

9. Tolerance and rule of law: varies from country to country. Do we need a human right to be naked? Is maximum free equality a step in the right direction?

10. Visibility of the clubs: The clubs could also use the local press, social networks, websites, etc. to make naturism visible from its prism. Ver raises the availability of the "Naturist Symbol" to be used as universal recognition of naturism.

11. Smartphones and the Internet: carry the risk that naturists could be photographed against their will when they are naked.

12. Dependence of social networks on community standards and algorithms. However, when a club, association or other body is not there or is deleted from social networks, it is as if it did not exist.

Notice that the majority of the challenges are not related to lowest common denominator nakedness. The challenges are more complex than simplistic. They are focused on how naturists organize and communicate ideals and practice of naturism. This European based naturist group is working on defining a purpose for naturism and naturist beyond nakedness. Meeting the challenges of naturism today requires a renewed higher purpose.

It is interesting to this observer that very little about this has trended on social media. Could it be that social media naturist and the so called naturist creators are all in on naturism as nakedness. It maybe that any acknowledgment of this concept of naturism behind nakedness would be anathema to their agenda and maybe even income streams. Regardless of the the reason it is still something to reflect on.

I believe it is essential for naturism to have a clear higher purpose and definition. Despite the toxic individuality and post modern relativism that pervades naturism online today, naturism cannot thrive if everyone definite it as they seem fit and only associate with those who agree with their definition. This is the logical consequence of naturism without a higher purpose, where is the naturism is defined by so-called naturist content creators and individual influenced.

Another interesting note from the challenges shared at Euronat is the tendency to focus on a voyeuristic presentation of naturism in the media. If we are being honest the media aren’t the only ones who do that many of those who identify themselves as naturists or nudists do that as well. I have been says for some time that naturism needs to be more than just pics. Despite the conventional wisdom online pics are subject to the gaze and that’s it. Stories, contextual narratives invite people into conversation. Stories give people a place to find expression of their own lives in the ordinary everyday naturist experiences of others.

Noted scientist Carl Sagan was prescient about many of the things playing out to western society and indeed the world today. This quote about the devolution of American critical thinking is relevant to the purposeless undefined approach to naturism being promulgated today.

The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance” ― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

Where do we go from here?

The participants at EuroNat developed ideas and responses to the challenges they shared. I have a few thoughts on how we can respond that I will share in another post the near future. Hint is involves reframing naturism to reconnect to a higher purpose and clearer definition. Until then bare your thoughts (written or audio) in the comments.

First published May 23, 2023 on Clothes Free Life nu Gymnosophy magazine