Nudist “colonies”
Remember that expression? It’s from long ago. Hence the title of this post. Colonialism. I really wonder how many people in the world still think of nudism/naturism and ‘colonies’ as belonging together. I for one really dislike the expression. It makes it sound as if nudism is something dirty that should be put away, like there used to be leper colonies.
Resorts, parks, clubs, beaches
Those are the places that naturists and nudists entertain these days. Instead of colonies we have resorts and beaches. Places where we can be ourselves, even with loads of people still not understanding what we’re about.
How much does a name for your favourite place affect you? Are you okay with being in a ‘colony’?
One might argue that it doesn’t matter as long as a colony looks like this, but for me there’s power in words, and names are words too.
I’m not offended by this word. People can’t offend me because I won’t let them. I think it’s insulting, which is much worse as that hits me on a personal level. (Being offended for me means not being able to cope with something in a mature way.)
I have visited several nude places, like the naturist park Flevonatuur (Dutch) and the local nude beach. I’ve been to the naturist part of the North Sea beach near Zandvoort in the Netherlands, to Vritomartis in Crete and to Charco del Palo, a naturist village on Lanzarote. None of them have anything to do with a colony. They’re great places where great people can hang out in their favourite, great lifestyle.
I really would like to hear your opinion on this word. Maybe I make too much of it. I know that ‘nudist colony’ is an ancient expression. I know it’s still used by some. And as we speak of this: do you think there would come a new word for a naturist place in the future?