Secrets
A while ago I was listening to a podcast. I sometimes do that because podcasts can be cool. The podcast in question was about secrets and how secrets affect people. It’s uncanny and fascinating to learn how much of a burden a secret can be for a person.
That is where I found this podcast.
Nudity
So what does this podcast have to do with naturism, nudism and all other kinds of recreational nudity?
Believe it or not, but the podcast mentions nudists and the possibility that they are feeling better about themselves when they don’t keep their naturist/nudist lifestyle a secret from other people. Which makes sense. If you don’t need to hide your lifestyle, there’s no need to be ‘careful’ about it. This means no burden of a secret, which in turn means an easier, more care-free life.
Do you agree, or…?
Do you agree with this statement? Do you feel happy with your lifestyle because people around you, also the perpetually clothed, know about your nudism? And if you don’t feel safe to tell everyone about it, how does that make you feel? I’m very curious…
Very good question, Paul.
I know from my personal experience that I felt different once my family discovered I was a naturist.
I wasn’t hiding it from them, but I never told them outright. They all learned of my recreational proclivities over time and generally accepted it.
Now when I speak to them over the phone and they ask what I’m doing for the weekend, I don’t have to make something up when I’m planning a trip to the nude beach or resort. They don’t seem to bat an eye, but knowing how conservative they are, I’m sure they think I’m kind of an outsider.
We decided long ago to just tell friends and family that we are nudist and that we are members of a resort and property owners there as well. For the most part most of them are happy that we are happy. There are a few who think we are weird but that’s OK. They are entittled to their opinion as well.
I am a solo nuidist and like to show my naked, smooth shaven body. My wife dont like to be nude at beaches and therefore, she always was on the hotel pool and I visited the beach, where other nudists are. It cames, that another nudist man, touched my penis and stroked it. I liked that feeling. Years later, I have done the same and stroked penis and gave oral. That is my secret to my wife and I dont like to tell her that. I now am a happy bisex. nudist and like to be together with other “like minded” nudists, still as my “secret” to my wife.
I don’t hide the fact that I’m a naturist or that I prefer to be nude when I can. On the other hand, it’s not information that I share with just anybody or just bring up in polite conversation. If the subject comes up, I’ll discuss it and relate my experiences. My spouse is not inclined to be nude except when absolutely necessary but she is well aware of my proclivity for being nude. I’ve always kept her informed of my attendance at nudist venues and events. I use my real name and my own nude images on my naturist blog. That I’m a naturist might be considered an open secret. I don’t reveal it to everyone but it’s out there if anyone cares to look for it or ask me about it.
For many of us, there is a risk in (some of the) people around us knowing we are naturists.
For example several years ago I worked in a company where the vast majority of employees and management were very strict Christians, who were from the outset uncomfortable already because I wasn’t one of them, came from a different city even.
Had they known me to be a naturist, I’d have been even more of an outcast in the company and may well have been forced out within weeks of it becoming known.
The same can happen with family as well, I seriously doubt my parents (now dead) would have appreciated me being a naturist, they were utterly opposed to any form of nudity whatsoever (they’d not even walk naked through their house to take a bath or shower, they’d undress in the locked bathroom and come out again dressed for example, my father wouldn’t even take his socks off when going to bed).
Depending on the culture you live in, this can be a very good reason to hide your status as a naturist, no less so than it can be required to hide your religion in some societies if you have one.
When you can be more open about things, it is always good. This is not limited to naturism but to all lifestyle choices and preferences.
Many transgender and homosexual people for example suffer mental health problems mainly because they have to hide that from everyone around them for fear of persecution and social isolation, thereby effectively isolating themselves.
Adding a comment for Nick & Lins from Naked Wanderings:
We are quite open about our nudist lifestyle and most people in our environment know that we are nudists. Except when we know that someone is too narrow minded to understand, we just don’t take the effort to try to explain.
But does it make us happier that people know? Maybe. We haven’t really thought about it, but probably it does and indeed just because it’s not a secret. If someone asks us what we did this afternoon we don’t need to worry about what we’re going to tell them. We just say that we went to a nude beach.
Greetings,
Nick & Lins
Naked Wanderings
If you want to visit their site, it’s at http://www.nakedwanderings.com