Category: clothes free

A naturist’s view on nudism. (And naturism!)

Nudism. Naturism.

Is there a difference? I know that in most of the US of A the words are used interchangeably.

nude people
Nudists or naturists?

I also know that in Europe, for instance, the two words are used differently. Naturism appeared after nudism. I’ve been thinking about those two words recently.

Thoughts on the difference.

Nudist bowling alleyNudism. The word has ‘nude’ as its base. Being nude. Like the people in the image on the right, playing bowling, having a clothes free, good time. Great for them, and if you’d ask me I’d join them in an instant. For one it’s a great way to be socially nude, and for another it would be nice to practice bowling again. (I truly suck at it.)

Naturism. The word has ‘nature’ at its base. Being with/part of nature, like the people

Naked mountaineeringon the left. Naked in nature, being part of it and experiencing it that way. Exposing themselves to the real, rough world in their own vulnerability. It’s a way to get things into perspective.

An average human, in clothing (be it protective or not), will consider himself or herself master of the world, maybe because we’ve conquered just about everything. How untrue such a statement is when you’re naked and perhaps even afraid!

naked and afraid
“Naked and afraid”

We’ve not conquered things. We’re adjusting them – and often with disastrous results, like the acid rain the world faced and still faces, climate change, and earthquakes that happen because we empty the earth below us from fossil fuels.

Can you be a nudist and a naturist?

I think that’s perfectly possible. Being naked in and around your house, whenever that’s possible, makes you a nudist (in my view at least). Enjoying the outside in the nude, being close to and having respect for nature (one of the pillars of naturism according to the INF) makes you a naturist.

More and more I feel like dropping all those words and labels. Be who you really are. Be naked and nude and a nudist and a naturist and clothes-free. As long as you feel good about it and you don’t intend to shock others when you’re in your natural state.

A naturist’s view on swimming

“Nude” swimming

It’s so odd if you think about it. Nude swimming. Who in their right mind would put on clothes to go swimming?

Oh. Right. People would do this.

On your left you see original Victorian bathing suits. Can you imagine the agony of having to haul all that around while you’re trying to swim?

I’ve researched this for my book ‘The Unsworth Manor Nudes‘ (available on Amazon) and not only did they have these amounts of cloth hanging around them, the ladies even utilized ‘bathing machines’. Wagons that rolled into the water so people couldn’t see any skin (what skin?).

My first time

The first time I swam au naturel was at a sauna-like place. They had heated pools inside and out, and I went there with a few friends in the middle of a serious winter. The sensation was incredible, especially when getting out of the water. I’m sure that most nude-swimmers will understand and recognise that. If ever you have the opportunity to do this, do it. Swimming outside when there’s snow all around is incredible.

Skinny dipping

Another expression I wonder about is ‘skinny dipping’. I call that swimming. Putting on clothes to swim is just odd. Nobody will wonder what you’re trying to conceal beneath those bits of fabric. The only proper way to swim is still naked, as far as I’m concerned. Getting out of the water with wet fabric hanging off you (and showing everything that’s beneath it very often!) feels bad and cold.

Anyone in favour of swimwear? Please let me know the big advantage of it!

A naturist’s view on the bare bottom

A naturist’s view on the bare bottom

I thought I’d get you with that one. Not just because of the word ‘bare’ but because of the concept, I guess. And the odd one who is after some nice bottoms. Do I have news for you…

Bottoms. We all have them.

Bottom

And yours may look like one of those above. Maybe not. It’s interesting to me that the bare bottom is seen as something unpleasant. Uncalled for (which I understand, I never call my bottom, I sit on it).

The ‘seen as’ also is something I want to mention. Why do people focus on a bottom? It’s a part of the human body. A convenient one. Some have better looking ones than others but some people have crooked teeth. That doesn’t make them better or worse. Neither does a nice bottom.

Moving around is easier when it’s bare.
Or isn’t it?

bottom

As the gentleman here demonstrates, doing sports or other activities in the bare state (including the bottom) is good. Fun (I am sure, even if I don’t see his face). I for one am always ready to move around in the buff. The downside of that is that the weather needs to cooperate for that and in my area, the Netherlands, that’s not always the case. Lucky you if you live in a place that’s warm enough and allows you to go around naked! Power to you!

No butts. Nor buts.

3 bottoms

Really. No butts. Bare-bottomed you can do just about anything except take your pants off. Watching classic cars? No problem. Watching television? No problem (but remember your towel). Reading? That too can be done bare-butted. Apart from the clothing addicts and ditto industry there are no buts about it: you can do lots of things in the nude. Here’s someone watching paintings. I was at that venue in an Amsterdam museum. It was great.

But what about the outdoors in general?

That too can be enjoyed butt naked.

outside butt

Most of us know this, of course, and we all know we bare(bottom)ly get enough opportunities for that. Again, if you do then more power to you.

Being able to be nude outside, bottom and all, for simple things like a stroll, a hike, some swimming or just lazing in the sun, are just a few ways to enjoy the outdoors. Give your bottom that needed sunlight (but be sensible about it, it usually doesn’t see the sun that much).

What’s your favourite bare bottom outside activity? What’s the coolest, craziest or most enjoyable thing you did in the bare bottom state?

Outer nudity, inner nakedness. Do you know the difference?

Outer nudity and inner nakedness.

This popped into my head one early morning as I got out of bed. I sleep naked and wouldn’t have it any other way. Nudity is important to me because of the freedom it brings.

On Twitter I was engaged in a little thread about nudity being a taboo. (The article mentioned is worth a read, go do it if you have the time.) Is nudity a taboo again? Or is it so still?

Outer nudity.

relaxed nudityMost of you will know that I don’t do well with taboos. For me, someone who’s nude by choice is a far more relaxed person than someone who worries about taking their clothes off when he or she is alone in the bathroom. As soon as you’re comfortable with your outer nudity, I feel there is nothing left to fear. There is no inner nakedness anymore, which is something I’ll address in the next paragraph. Outer nudity is the acceptance of your body, your awareness that not everyone is as pretty as the media these days ‘prescribe’ you should be. People who share their outer nudity are easier going, or so is my experience. That of course doesn’t mean that nudists or naturists are 100% carefree. Even when you dump your clothes there can be dentist bills, mortgages and other modern-life problems piling up. Outer nudity just deals with one of the major hang-ups that is coming back more and more. The prudification of modern people when you compare life to the sixties and early seventies.

Inner nakedness.

suppressed nakednessOdd as it may seem, people who constantly hide inside their clothes are the true naked people. (For my reasoning between the difference between nude and naked, please read this older post.) They are the ones who are scared to be seen and do all they can to hide behind shirts, pants, skirts and sweaters, no matter how hot it is. Which, as we naturists and nudists know, is the most absurd thing to do when the weather’s inviting everyone to go nude.

Inner naked people are scared to show themselves, be it through conviction (e.g. religion, taking a vow of prudishness) or peer pressure (environment, family). I pity those people as they are keeping a very important part of themselves locked inside themselves. A part that craves unbounded freedom.

The relation of freedom and freedom.

question mark manHere is a question for you: do you think there is, or could be, a relation between physical freedom (outer nudity) and the freedom to find a deepened general happiness (which is a happiness that has nothing to do with nudism/naturism)?

I have my own thoughts about it but those aren’t important here as I am asking you, nude or clothed reader.

Talk to me. Surprise me.

How to be nude when you can’t be naked.

If you want to be nude

Being Naked..and you can’t…

That’s really a crappy mode of operation.

We all know it, I’m certain.

Not everyone has the opportunity to drop their textile at will and be all fine and accepted.

Actually most of us can’t get away with that.

What to do?

The simplest thing of course is to leave out everything you don’t need to wear to appear dressed. Underwear is often overrated so you could do away with that. Wear light-weight fabrics. Wear, if you can, wide clothing that doesn’t force you to stand up straight as if you are freshly ironed.

Is there more?

Of course. If you can be naked in your home, do that as much as you can. Even if it’s just your bedroom or the bathroom. It may sound silly but if you have something you can do in either of those places, you’re good to go.

You can read a book there. Listen to music. Play games. In fact you could also clean the bathroom (of course the bedroom wouldn’t always qualify for that but I don’t know your home. Surprise me!)

Other ways.

Family body paintingIf there’s no way you can be Naked at home, you can go online and see if there are nudists in your neighborhood. You might be surprised to see how many nudists there are around you. It would be strange if none of them who are dressed all the time. If you can connect with others, they might invite you over for a nude coffee or tea, or a naked chat. Or for some fun body painting!

Are you impressed yet? Do you have other ideas that fellow-nudists can use? Don’t be afraid to share!

Nudists offered advice on neighbourly relations

Found on the Epsom Guardian site:

lunch in the buff

As the sun comes out, so do residents who like the simple joy of being naked in their own garden, according to a police force.

Upset neighbours of residents who loath clothes have been complaining to police in Reigate and Banstead, prompting the force to give advice on how to skirt around the issue.

Budding naturists are encouraged to have a chat with their neighbours and explain that they: want to sunbathe without clothes, have no wish to offend them, will be discreet and hope they will not object.

Writing on Surrey Police’s Reigate and Banstead Beat Facebook page, a spokesperson advised that the force would investigate cases of indecent exposure or outraging public decency.

A spokesperson added: “Confining your naturism to a part of the garden which can be screened from the view will obviously solve the problem.

“If none of the above is possible, you will have to decide whether your desire to be naked in your garden is more important to you than being on friendly terms with those around you.”

But nakedness among neighbours goes both ways it seems, and the spokesperson also advised: “On the other hand, no one has the right to spy on you.

“If you find that your neighbour is leaning out of an upstairs window or standing on the top of a step ladder in order to see you then he or she may well be committing an offence.”

(I think the most important part here is: talk to your neighbours. People are more accepting when you simply tell the truth.)

Heat and the smart of being nude.

Heat? Go nude. It’s smart.

I hope you know. I’ve mentioned this before in other posts. I think this is so important that it can withstand another mention.

Heat.

In the last weeks it has been very hot here. More so than usual, which I am sure happened in many places.

We all know what that means. People in sweaty clothes, air conditioning and frustration over the heat.

Not so much with naturists.

Because naturists have this built-in tendency to be smart.
Smart about the weather and how to adjust.

Air conditioning.

air conditioningA.k.a. a power-devouring machine to keep clothing cool. That’s what most people don’t realise; they think that the air conditioning keeps them cool. Nope. It cools the clothes you wear. And only that, in turn, will cool you down. See the twp-staged problem here? Most energy of the air conditioning goes into the wrong things: the air of the room and your clothes. Get rid of the clothes and you eliminate most needs for an air conditioning.

Naked, nude, clothes-free.

This does the trick. No cloth around you helps your body breathe more freely. Heat quickly becomes a thing of the past. Of course there are situations that even in the nude, the temperature can become a problem. That is when you can still turn to an air conditioning, but a decent fan will go a long way already then.

That’s how things work for me anyway.

Outside.

This is the best environment. Hot? Go outside. Find the shade. Shade cools down the air beneath it many degrees. That makes life a lot more pleasant. Being outside also has a health benefit (sunlight, vitamin D, fresh air).

The ones who know all this will by now nod their heads off. Sorry for that. Maybe next time I’ll write about neck protectors. 😉 Still it’s good to remind everyone about this. Even when the world at large isn’t clever enough to know what’s best for a body: we know this!

 

Clothing Optional Nudist.

MeWe.

Clothing Optional Nudist
Nudist group on MeWe. (Note: this image is clickable!)

In case you wonder about this image: it’s a snip of the banner from a group on MeWe. MeWe is a rather unknown social media platform totally unlike Facebook. Where Facebook collects and sells everything you put there, MeWe leaves your things where they belong: with you.

On there I’ve found a nudist/naturist/clothing optional group. It feels like a good group, one with the right attitude. Porn mongers and other unlikable characters are removed to keep it a safe and sound environment.

Being clear on do’s and don’ts.

To make things clear from the get go:

Naturist/Nudist pictures in a Naturist lifestyle setting is always welcome, feel free to post, but any pictures with the sole focus on sharing genital pictures will be removed.

Enjoy yourself otherwise.
Please partake, share information and ideas.
Its more fun when everyone pitch in from time to time.

Not everyone is comfortable with nudity, not everyone is comfortable with their own bodies. Believe in yourself. !!

If you’re here to talk to true Naturists, hopefully gain a better understanding of the lifestyle, then I welcome you to this page.

Whatever your sexual orientation, no discrimination will be allowed.

Please note: Any member who don’t treat the ladies (or men) with respect, or by sharing dick pics, making lewd remarks etc will be banned and blocked without a second warning.
This is the first warning.

It’s that simple. If anyone is looking for a good place to hang out with nudists without having to be careful with images like at Facebook, Google+ and lately also on Pinterest (I know because my account there got killed), this might be worth your investigating while.

Account

Accounts on the Internet
Accounts, accounts, accounts

Yes, you’ll need an account on MeWe. Just like everywhere online these days.

If you don’t like setting up yet another account I suggest you move away from the Internet. 😉

Will we see you there?

Clothing optional

It won’t cost you much. Just some time to get your account set up and the (simple) application to the group. We don’t let anyone join just like that to warrant the safety inside as much as possible.

Naturists and their clothes

Clothes.

Clothes storeA few weeks ago I was out as I had to get some new clothes. At times even naturists/nudists need to go through that. I don’t know about you but I hate clothes shopping. These places are usually very busy and at the same time they go against how I feel about their merchandise. I usually don’t want to wear clothes. Another reason against them: the price. Good grief, it’s insane what you have to pay for even more simple things if you want them to be comfortable.

Heat.

I don’t know how it’s where you live but even when the temperatures rise way above what’s necessary to be naked, I see people who dress like it’s wintertime. A while ago it was 22C (71.6F) and very sunny here. On the way home I wondered why I hadn’t driven most of the stretch in the nude. Outside the car I saw people in thick, black winter coats and one man actually wore a wool hat. In the sunshine. I thought to myself that he was overdoing it, without his mittens. What’s wrong with people these days, acting like that?

Body temperature.

I know. I’ve said this before. Clothes are good to keep your body temperature at a certain level but they are at the same time very good at fooling your body to think it’s cold while it’s not. Because only parts of your skin are exposed to the real world and the rest of your body is nicely close to boiling inside your clothes, the difference is large and makes a body think it’s cold while it’s not.

UndressingMany of you probably discovered the odd awareness that you start feeling warmer as soon as you’ve taken off your clothes.

That’s exactly what happens then. Initially you can feel cold because the (close to) overheating parts of your skin as suddenly exposed to what seems to be cold air. After that has regulated itself there’s no longer any cold.