Home
My Info
People
Mail
Search
Media
Events
ExtrasMy Groups 
Absolute Naturists Nudism philosophies and paradoxes
| I've ran into a number of paradoxal nudist viewpoints over the years, and I thought it might make a good topic/debate. The first one that jumps to mind is nudist "snobs." These are the women that show up at the resort perfectly perm'd, manicured and pedicured, with a sarong made from imported Italian silk tied with a single knot right over their right hip-bone (of course I'm exaggerating for the sake of humor!) And the guys who cannot carry a normal conversation without interjecting something about how succesful their business is, or their three-month nudist vacation in the French Seychelles on their yacht with three other nudist couples. Maybe I'm wrong, but I find the contradiction between "extreme" materialism and the nudist philosophy of simplicity and authenticity to be...glaring. Another paradoxal viewpoint to me is supporting nudism, acceptance (self and others)...but not children. "Everyone should be nude and happy and accepting...but don't bring or undress children. It's just not right." ????? Another is body acceptance...with limitations. "We should all accept each other and our bodies. But women really shouldn't sit or lie this or that way. It's just unfeminine." Whaaaaat???? On a side note, my post is not about bashing. There are obviously all types of people in nudism with different values and philosophies. My post is simply about bringing up viewpoints that you have found odd/paradoxal/contradictory. | |
| Oh man ... I think you hit on some very points that many of us have experienced and agree with you on! The majority of nudists are not very materialistic but there are plenty who still are and even when they have their clothes off ... they gotta tell ya where they live and what they do and how much money they make and vacations they go on to exotic places and then bad mouth some place you've gone cuz it just wasn't nice enough for them! LOL Kids: Geez ... we were ALL kids once. We ALL did stuff our elders didn't care for. I get so sick and tired of hearing older "nudists" complain about kids. If you don't like kids, don't want to see them naked or having fun ... stay the hell home ... please! Grumpy people not wanted! LOL Correct posture for a female: My wife was having a hell of a time getting out of a lounge chair cuz she was so afraid of spreading her legs! I told her ... "ya think everyone here hasn't seen what's between a man's and women's legs ... get over it and get outta the lounge chair in a way you don't hurt yourself!" She doesn't fret about that anymore ... thank goodness. | |
| hmmmm, interesting... very interesting.... excellent topic. ok lemme try this one: How dare you call my "nudist resort" a "nudist colony".... uhhhhh, maybe because it is out in the woods far removed from any civilization, has 10' walls around it and you have to have qualify and meet certain conditions to go in it. I don't know why nudist get sooooo upset about that, maybe they don't want to be compared to leper's. So why then have we so graciously accepted the "appropriate locations" philosphy put out by a leading nudist based orgaization that believes social nudity is healthy and positive... but only in appropriate locations? Does this somehow reinforce the belief that nudity is not healthy or positive existence. Is it rather a harmful, contagious and unacceptable way to exist in a normal civilization? Wasn't a Leper Colony an appropriate location for leper's? I'm confused by this paradox. | |
| I find the gender double standard at resorts annoying. Women walking around in wraps or sarongs, no big deal. If men always had something on that covered themselves, there is disapproval. | |
| The one aspect of nudity which I have really appreciated is that it is a great leveler. You have no idea whether you are talking to a handyman or a business owner, and it should not matter in the slightest. It is so much easier to strike up a conversation with another naked person than it is at a regular (clothed) event. As soon as people start wearing sarongs or wraps, some of the social aspects of being nude are lost. I wouldn't go so far as to say that all coverings should be banned, but people should think twice about what message is being sent by the items they are draping around themselves. | |
| The gender double standard doesn't bother me at all, after all I'm at a resort for me not anyone else, and I'm there to be nude so I will be nude no matter what anyone else is doing or wearing. | |
| That organization that uses the term "appropriate" location should flex some of its muscle and expand what is appropriate. Why must it be confined to a backyard, remote trail, beach, or resort? Why can we not adopt the Scandinavian attitude in the USA? | |
| Hear, hear New_Adventurer. | |
| I agree wholeheartedly too, New_Adventurer. Jim | |
| My comment was meant to expose the lack of logic behind AANR's view that social/recreational nudity is positive and healthy -BUT- only in appropriate locations. To me this totally defies logic and is a contradiction of the belief/philosphy that social/recreational nudity is a positive and healthy way to live and recreate. This is a excellent topic to make us think about what we hear, experience and think in the nudist/naturist world. I apreciate Nudony's thought provoking posting of this topic. I did not intend my post to take it off topic as it appears to be doing. I posted New_Adventurer's question/post in a different topic for you all to give your thoughts on. Thanks. | |
| LOL ... I am a member and supporter of AANR but ... many things, philosophies and policies AANR backs and defends ... defy logic! LOL :D | |
| If memory serves me correctly, that 'appropriate location' clause on the principles statement is a relatively recent addition, and not a good one. They tinkered with the original statement of principles and made a mess of it. If you look at AANR as the defender of the clubs/resorts and the Naturist Society as the organization that is more involved with nudity at the beaches/hot springs/ lakes, etc., it might paint a truer picture. AANR operates because the member clubs send a portion of their dues to the main office and the regional organizations, so they speak for those who pay. It doesn't mean they won't take on non-club cases, but their lobbying efforts are primarily geared to protect the clubs. | |
| A very good point I have maintained for years. AANR is a business only interested in maintaining their milk cows. During the San Onofre debacle, they were nowhere to be seen. | |
| Sorry, I am confused by that last post ... I googled 'San Onofre debacle' and it brings up articles about a nuclear power plant which has closed down. Are you proposing that AANR should take a stand on nuclear energy? Or are you referring to some other issue a bit more closely related to nudism? | |
| You'll notice I didn't place San Onofre debacle in quotes, so it's a description, not a name. Local government has closed San Onofre beach to nude use. It's a beach that had been used for nude sunbathing for decades. TNS/NAC gave all the support to the fight they could, AANR was nowhere to be seen or heard. http://www.friendsofsanonofre.org/ | |
| Thanks for the clarification! I am relieved that we are not debating nuclear energy. Then I am in full agreement with you. AANR should be fighting to maintain the status of beaches which have traditionally allowed nudity. There aren't enough C.O. beaches as it is. | |
| On the contrary ... Mr Rabbit: AANR was involved, quite heavily in the San Onofre Beach, Trail 6, issue, underhandedly but involved nonetheless! The difference was; TNS/NAC was fighting to keep San O as the tradionally used nude beach, it was for over 35 yrs, and was willing to begin litigation in order to do so. AANR chose "the high road", as they told it, and threw San Onofre Beach under the bus in order to save all other state beaches with CO areas but that came back to bit them in the butt. AANR held secret meetings with Parks and Rec officials and never told TNS/NAC anything about the "deals" it was making ... remember, AANR is taking the high road on this! They stated that they would not be a part of the litigation process TNS/NAC began if they, CA Parks and Rec, would leave the rest of the state tolerated CO beaches alone and not cite nudists. Not soon after, there were threats of citations starting at Blacks, Bonny Doon and a few others in Central CA. There may not have been any citations written but the threats from CA Parks and Rec Rangers was there nonetheless. When dues paying AANR members were cited on San Onofre Beach ... AANR was nowhere to be found but those nudists were represented by an NAC board member and lawyer. Of the 15 citations ... only two citations were paid by those receiving them the remaining 13, 11 were dismissed and I haven't heard the status of the remaining 2 but one member here had received 2 citations and his first was dismissed. It would have been much better for AANR to do as you said ... and not be seen or heard from on this particular issue because in the eyes of all nudists that use these tradional CO areas of state beaches ... they did more harm than good. ;) | |
| To address Nudony's points. I think the people he describes have not fully adopted absolute naturism as most of us have. By that I mean the belief that there is no need to cover the human body for anyone at any time because there is nothing shameful, disgusting, offensive or obscene about it in any way whatsoever. Some people, even if they go nude, have a residual sexual connection with the practice. Therefore, they react to situational nudity, materialism and children. Most of us feel that there is no need to cover the body in any situation, nudity erases status making everyone equal in terms of class and there is no issue with children because being uncovered should be normal. As a side note, I have no problem with the word "colony" and embrace it, and have increasing thoughts of starting one. It would be nice to live in a community of true nudist believers, pure absolute naturists with no textile interference when within the colony grounds. Maybe if I change professions or retire... | |
| Totally agree Rollercoaster! Many nudists do mouth the words of positivity for social nudity BUT retain the attachment to sexuality layered within their mindset. In their defense, it is not an easy thing to detach from, especially if you live with one foot in and one foot out with constant fear or negative reinforcement from the textile philosphies on social nudity. It is a clear example of a paradox within the social nudity advocate arena. As far as "colonies", I got no problem with it either... if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... it's a duck and not a swan. BTW, thanks for getting this topic back on track and departing from the non-relate debate. Anybody else have thoughts on THIS topic. | |
| I don't have a problem with the "colony" tag either, most people I know still refer to them as colonies. As far as trying to be better than the next guy, I don't and won't do that, I take my pants off just like everyone else, I'm not on this planet to impress anyone, I just want to be me, 'cause that's all I got anyhow. | |
| I think people exhibit this kind of behavior because many have not thought enough about nudism to develop a philosophy about it. Many just see a bunch of naked people on a beach or somewhere, strip off their clothes and say "I'm there!" and don't think much about it. For these people they are doing something as either an exhibitionist or trying to have some "adult fun" and don't think much past that. Those of us who read and write about nudism daily think about the practice and implications, therefore develop a philosophy about it. My nudist paradoxes are a bit different from Nudony. I see the paradoxes as: 1) How Nude is Nude? - Does nude mean 100% birthday suit? Does a hat, shoes, jewelry, wrap, etc make one a non-nudist? Do genitals need to be showing to count as nudist? Does a person have to be nude all of the time? In my view it is a persons belief that nude is normal that makes them a nudist and not their situation, but this debate seems common. 2) Know Thy Enemy - Many nudists who fully embrace absolute nudism have lost touch with the views of textiles and why they are so afraid of the human body. On one hand nudists wish all textiles would come to their senses and embrace being naturally human, or at least accept it. On the other hand many nudists do not understand the textile point of view enough to address it and make a convincing argument. |
Home | Contact | Support | About | AANR | My Profile | Search | Mail | Clubs | Links | Sponsors | Video
NudistClubhouse.com™ is Copyright © 2008 • Nudist Clubhouse, Inc.
NudistClubhouse.com™ is a trademark of Nudist Clubhouse, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
NudistClubhouse.com™ is a chartered club of the American Association for Nude Recreation, and their Western Region
Membership Transactions by GTBill •
Visit our Sponsors