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Absolute Naturists Female Body Acceptance and Social Nudity
| Do you think body acceptance may be the biggest issue and deterrent for more women becoming involved and enjoying social nudity? Do you think the body acceptance concept and issue is different for females than it is for males? Tell us your thoughts. | |
| I've seen it go both ways. I know women who absolutely refuse to try nudism because of perceived body issues, and others who have embraced nudism in order to accept their bodies. I believe overall however, that most women do tend to avoid nudism because of the cultural brain washing this country instills at a young age, that women must be Barbi's. | |
| I've dealt with this on a personal basis a few times with the females closest to me ... my wife and my daughter's. My wife still continues to have body acceptance issues and it affects her social nudism. When she feels good about herself, physically, she's more outgoing and social. When she's in her current state, she's less willing to socialize. She'll do it but she's a bit more standoffish than when she's feeling more confident about her body. Our youngest daughter had some real bad body acceptance and image issues. It wasn't until we took her to our nude beach that we began seeing a change in her. Between the visits to the beach, numerous visits to a nude resort with us and a nude vacation with us ... her body acceptance and image issues are a fraction of what they used to be. Our oldest had issues as well and thought cosmetic surgery to enhance her appearance, would help but she's still not completely satisfied. She continually looks at her friends and thinks ... I wish I could look like that. She does ... but not from her eyes to her brain! Most women, even some nudist women, love clothes. My wife is a "conflicted" nudist. She's got more clothes, for a nudist, than I care to see. She still works and needs clothes for work but I don't know if it will deter her buying clothes once she retires. She just likes to look nice when she has to wear clothes. She's had some health issues which have caused her to gain a little weight but to her ... it's tons of weight. NO matter how much I tell her she's not heavy or as heavy as she thinks ... she still sees something different in the mirror. Frequent visits to the club and resort to see other "normal" sized people, our age, help but then we leave and another week passes and those feelings return. I think it's a constant struggle for women to try and look the way they think they should look. It's even more difficult for them when trying on clothes and nothing fits or ... they have to bump up a size ... that's murder! I've heard more cussin' and screams come from the fitting rooms and it wasn't all my wife! Most women are fashion conscious and even though they may be nudists and spend most or more of their time nude than clothed ... it's those times when they are clothed that seem to hit them the hardest. All this carries over to Social Nudity and if a woman isn't satisfied with herself covered ... she'll be much more dissatisfied with herself when she naked and she's not going to want to socialize if she's not feeling good or confident about her appearance while naked. Men ... most men have a "give a crap" attitude about most stuff. I don't care what you think of me, I don't care if you don't like the way I look, I don't care if you don't agree with my opinions or philosophies, I don't care if you think I'm fat, bald, small, short ... I just don't care! Most women do care and that, I think, is part of the issue with Body Acceptance and Social Nudity. | |
| I'm not sure why my wife says she'll never try nudism, she really won't say but has told me seeing me nude does not really turn her on (obviously there's the old nudity = sex thought going on since turning her on isn't my goal 24/7). A coworker who's shown an interest in nudism and has told me she swims nude at home when alone has so far failed to accept my invitations to visit the clothing optional pool parties put on by the Las Vegas Bares - she always needs to work on her tan, lose 15 pounds, or something to avoid attending a party to learn what it's all about and it's been over a year since I first invited her to check it out for herself. Jim | |
| Women appear to have body issues regardless of whether it is in the textile world or whether it is in the nudist world. One of the pieces of advice that my wife always told our daughters was..."NEVER read beauty magazines ,they are designed to make women feel insecure about themselves"...and I think this is especially true in the States...everywhere a woman turns now a days she is faced with body issue advertisements so no wonder they feel insecure about their bodies... | |
| Ya' know, I have even heard it reported that some of the Victoria Secret models think they are fat...geez louise! Thanks for thoughtful responses so far. What I was thinking when I posted this topic was that we usually hear men telling women to just visit a club/venue and they will like being nude. Many times this approach is met with negativity. Maybe the approach should be more inward first. Like getting the women to talk about their body hangups privately and with you first. Get by those before venturing into an exposed state might work better. Every time I have mentioned going to a nude venue to a non-nudist but somewhat curious female friend (mind you this is female to female )the first response out of their mouth is usually "not with my lumps and bumps", ""not with these pale legs" or "maybe if I loose some weight". If you listen, all these messages are saying where they have their hangups about thier bodies. AhHa, now we can start to address the issues one by one. I guess what I am trying to say is maybe helping resolve the root issues before the race starts is better than trying to reach the finish line first. Listening to what the women in your lives say is key to minimizing the issues. Entering a race requires confidence and so does social nudity. As FireProf said earlier, most men don't give a crap how they look. I have to agree but I know for a fact that women do give a Big Crap on how they look or think they look, and especially around other women. | |
| I've posted this before on another AN thread but ... I know that once I dumped my subscription to Playboy and got rid of the 27 yrs of stored mags from the garage ... my wife's attitude change dramatically. She no longer felt I was comparing her to the girls in the mag. Nowadays, I see a few magazines that are publishing articles about body acceptance. More celebrity females, young and older, are embracing their natural bodies and resisting surgeries to enhance themselves but not to the extent that I personally feel, is equal or close to equal of those publications that continue to bombard women with articles of what they "need to" or "should" look like. How many times have we seen a publication lead story splashed on the cover ... "Look better Naked!" In my wife's defense ... I don't think she's vain, or trying to be 16 again, but knows that she doesn't feel well carrying a little more weight than usual. But ... I know from experience that it's much, much harder for her to lose weight than it is for me. When she feels tired and sluggish and disillusioned about losing weight and feeling better ... it also reflects on her willingness to be naked amongst others she doesn't know that well. I think she feels that her close friends, clothed and nudist will accept her for what she looks like but because she is a woman and she does give a crap about the way she looks and feels ... socializing with other nudists depends on how she looks and feels about herself. It's not for me to try and figure out "why" she feels that way or anaylze why she feels that way and find a solution ... it's my job to support her and do what I can to enhance her self esteem as best I can and just understand and listen when she needs me to. ;) | |
| It's years and years of socio-cultural "indoctrination": often starting with Barbie dolls (and their impossible physical proportions), double standards starting at a young age (a good girl is "not supposed" to do this or not wear that), and then the judgemental and/or coveting "male eye" upon entering puberty and beyond. And that's just for starters. I won't even get into fashion, peer pressure, religiosity, etc, etc, etc... In short, women are carrying a lot "body acceptance/issues" baggage than us guys ever have. And it's been that way probably for the past 1500 years. If you look at traditional nude cultures such as the Kalapalo Indians, that still nearly lives at it did thousands and thousands of years ago, unimpeded by our Western traditions, it is quite clear that body-acceptance as a concept wouldn't even register for them, since everyone routinely goes nude as a way of life. So as a culture, we've been shooting our women in the foot, so to speak, for quite some time. I have seen nudist women over the years "process" body acceptance and nudity in different manners. Some women embrace nudism as a reaction against socio-cultural indoctrination. I guess you could call it "feminist nudism." These women are likely to be very outspoken about preferring nudity. But they're not in the majority. Most nudist women, I believe, are able to temporarily "suspend" their body acceptance issues within the context of home nudism or nude recreation. But this nudist "state of mind" is just as likely to change from comfort to discomfort from one situation, or one moment, to the next. Because something or someone has just reminded them their "nooks and crannies" are in plain view. And the indoctrination kicks back in. | |
| I've been very fortunate. My wife grew up very self conscious about her body but once she agreed to try a nude beach far enough from home. She was naturally apprehensive but after the intial awkwardness she became a natural. She tells me that it's one of the best things she's ever done. She isn't trying to impress anyone, just enjoying the comfort of having no clothes. I'm surprised more women like her don't take to the lifestyle as easily because you couldn't have found a more shy and self conscious person than her 15 years ago. | |
| My wife and I have yet to visit a nudist resort yet, but she whishes she can loose some weight before we do. As much as she would like to be "16 again" she knows this isn't going to be, but if she could be a healthy weight for her age and height her confidence would be through the roof! And I am sure her body acceptance and self esteem would no longer be a point of conversation. That said, I think she and I will visit a resort some time this summer. Prior to her being where she would like to be for height and weight. I love her, she is fantastic! | |
| Good for you and your wife. Her issue with weight can always be a goal even after going to a nudist resort. It is a good and healthy one to work towards no matter what. What I have learned about goals is that they are for us to work towards and achieve... not to limit our life. Life is to short for that. Hope your visit to a nude venue is positive for both of you, I am sure it will be. | |
| Body image issues seem to have become more rampant in recent years. Too many women (and young girls) see size 0 models and think that is the norm, when in actuality, size 14 is normal and average. The fashion industry is why we have girls as young as 10 suffering from anorexia and bulimia. I admit I had body image issues myself, and was nervous about going to a resort the first time. In seeing pictures of other nudist women, I realized not all of them had perfect bodies. That helped me relax and give it a go. I had someone take me to the resort as their guest; we went on a weekday when it wasn't crowded. None of the other people there gave me a second look. So my next visit was by myself, on a Saturday. More crowded, but I still felt comfortable. I look forward to my visits. | |
| I agree whole heartedly with FireProf. My gf tends to have some self confidence, low self esteem and poor body image no matter how much I tell her how beautiful she is. She has grown quite a lot in this area since I've introduced her to the nudist lifestyle. As a women though she still loves to dress up as this makes her feel "sexy". She is still very new to nudism and I think she will continue to gain more confidence in herself in time. I just think there is more social stigma concerning women, nudism and the way Americans tie that to sexuality. |
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