Our world is a remarkable place.
So many people, so many cultures, philosophies, religions and ways of life. And we all are part of it.
There is a problem though. Most of the world isn’t like us. Most of the world prefers to cover up, even when it’s hot, and does the smart thing by buying machines to cool down.
We are the strange ones in this mental picture. Acknowledge it. We don’t do mainstream coverups well when it’s hot. We play along because we have to. We’re being forced into this.
What makes me say this?
You may have noticed a parallel with the Salem Witch Trials in the title of this blog post. This is on purpose and kudos for those who noticed that.
The Salem Witch Trials happened in the world of Puritans, who wanted to build their ‘City on the Hill’, according to their own pure insights and laws. (Problem was there were no real laws after a while, when England handed over jurisdiction to the locals.)
Naturists and nudists face more and more Puritanism in the modern world. People are become more prude. The mainstream media make people ashamed of their less than paintbrushed and photoshopped body which increases the ‘need’ to cover up. And, take it as you will, religion has its foot in the door as well. Muslims are spreading all over the world, and they are – as far as I know – very inclined to cover the body as well.
As I was thinking about with trials, listening to a podcast about them, and incorporating them in a story, it occurred to me that this spreading out of modern body-Puritanism might well flash back on us, naturists and nudists, if the lawmakers aren’t doing something. But for that to get into lawmakers’ skulls, we have to stand up and proclaim we’re not evil. We don’t work together with some modernday satan, as the former witches were convicted of, to bring down society.
There were no witches during those trials. Only innocent victims of mass hysteria. Hysteria caused by fear, stress and uncertainty, because the puritans in Salem Town and Salem Village (currently known as Danvers) had their share of problems. Disputes about who had the right religious system, famine because of bad harvests, feeling forgotten by England, and the many attacks by Natives and the evil, catholic French took their toll, and the ‘witches’ had to suffer from that. They were the scapegoats.
Let’s make sure we aren’t becoming scapegoats either.
Being naked is natural. I think that’s the main concept we need to get across.
Society is losing touch with nature, hand over hand, which is a shame in itself. At the rate nature is being destroyed, our options are getting limited.
Let’s stand up. Speak up.
very well said thank you for your words
Thank you, Paul, for your good article. Many places for naturists are disappearing, indeed. Also in The Netherlands. But… standing up: what to do?
Paul:
Great article. I wanted to make sure I had the time to properly read it instead of just scanning it. You are right on target with this post and I needs to be reposted allover the web.
I agree that body freedom is being assaulted from different fronts. As the Muslims continue their infiltration into Europe and invoke their mores, naturism will be restricted more and more because progressive governments are afraid of offending their sensibilities.
In North America, the progressives are pushing their agenda of single-thought/group think where people are classified by their identities to make them victims. Nudity equates to sex; therefore, sex work victimizes women so we need to eliminate anything related to it. I’ve encountered this attitude when dealing with local governments to create “clothing optional” spaces for nudists and people that may be curious about naturism. Invariably a few officials speak up and say that if a woman is nude then she is likely to be assaulted by a man. These same people will stick up for a woman that is raped or assaulted and say that she should not be victimized just by the way she was dressed. They fail to see the hypocrisy of their beliefs. The result is the same that those of us that see the human body as natural and normal become marginalized and even criminalized.
This is why years back I’ve became open and vocal about being a nudist/naturist. I’ve grown tired of being marginalized and being made to feel like I’m some sort of pervert. I push back where required and educate people about the topic. There are so many people that are curious about naturism/nudism but are afraid of being branded. This is why we are having a hard time attracting younger people. Where I live people love to say they are “in touch” with nature and try to protect it, but they oppose humans also preserving their natural state.
I try to be as vocal as possible and I asked about having a kiosk at one of our local events where our group was nude and could educate the public about naturism/nudism. The response was that we would be arrested if we were nude and for bringing it up they disallowed our kiosk even though I promised no nudity. A larger neighboring town was more acceptable and yearly allows us to have a booth. I’ll keep trying, but we all need to start speaking up. Start with friends and family. You don’t need to hold rallies or write letters to the editor to be active. It all starts small, but we need to stop being so laid back that we become obsolete.