Nudism, or naturism, is the practice of going nude or unclothed in social and usually mixed gender groups, specifically in cultures where this is not the norm. It sometimes occurs furtively in secluded places in countries where appearing naked in public is illegal, but enjoys widespread acceptance in other areas of the world. Those who practice nudism are called nudists or naturists. Some people believe that being naked with other people is necessarily always sexual, or that nudism is morally wrong or pornographic. Naturists generally reject these views.

Typical activities are sunbathing and sports, but some nudists prefer also to be nude while working etc., whenever the temperature and the social situation allows it (including when one is alone).

Naturism (pronounced "nature" + "ism") should not be confused with naturalism, the study of nature.

Contents

1 General 2 Naturism/Nudism Is Not Sex 3 Naturist terminology 4 History of nudism 5 Major nudist organizations 6 Public outdoor nudist areas 7 Miscellaneous 8 See also 9 External links

General

Nudists believe that the human body is nothing to be ashamed of, being something that we all possess and ought to cherish. Consequently, nudists participate in various social activities in the nude.

Although the terms are used interchangeably in this article, some would draw a distinction between the terms nudism and naturism. In this view a nudist is one who sometimes chooses to go without clothes. A naturist is one who embraces a philosophy that includes more than occasional nudity, often environmentalism, vegetarianism or simply more of a closeness to nature. Others would argue that the term naturism implies snobbery, and there is no distinction. A visit to a nude beach may entitle someone to be called a nudist, but does not make one a naturist. Changing and showering in a locker room probably does not qualify for either. Doing housework in the nude might. Many nudists do so casually at home. A common thought of nudists is being "always naked under my clothes". An alternate usage of these terms held by some North Americans is: nudist=nude indoors, naturist=nude outdoors. The nudist or naturist label is really a state of mind of the practitioner, instead of a strictly defined classification imposed by others.

Some nudist organizations do not allow people with body piercings on their premises. (Presumably this rule refers to the foreign objects in the piercings, not to the piercings themselves.) Most, however, accept people of all sizes, shapes and types including those with surgical scars, tattoos or interestingly trimmed (or absence of) hair. Some nudist organizations do not allow unaccompanied men, see e.g. [1] http://pages.infinit.net/acna/eng/vision.html , whereas most nudist organizations not only allow but encourage unaccompanied women to join them. That this is hypocritical of a subculture which promotes acceptance is a topic often debated.

Nudism is not equivalent to exhibitionism. It is people who enjoy being nude and who are not primarily interested in seeing others naked (strictly, voyeurism) or being seen naked by others. That being said, all kinds of people are attracted to the movement, for all kinds of reasons. Many naturists are convinced that increased exposure to the natural environment, made easier through nudity, can result in numerous health benefits. Sunlight has been shown to be beneficial in some skin conditions, and is required by the body to make vitamin D. However, with the increased awareness of skin cancer, wearing of sunblock/sun protection lotions is now part of the nudist culture and is one of their frequently discussed topics. Whereas nudist parents don't require their children to put on clothes before going outside at a nudist club or beach, most do require them to put on sunscreen lotion. Overall, naturists often claim that they are more relaxed and in a better state of mind when they shed their clothes.

Being around like-minded people can make interpersonal interactions, such as meeting new friends, easier and many nudist organizations are really just social clubs. Indeed, some of these clubs have stricter entrance requirements than some traditional up-scale 'country clubs' - requiring references, a sponsoring member, a trial membership, committee approval, and, due to fears about sex offenders, criminal background checks (though this is normally only done on male applicants). At the other end of the spectrum is 'unorganized' naturism in which there is nothing to join, no one to pay, and only civil, common and criminal law to serve as rules of etiquette. Many people get their first exposure to the naturist movement through this kind of informal nudism (e.g. a clothing optional beach, a friend's place in the woods, a party on the shore; skinny dipping).

Nudists will wear clothes if the weather demands it. Naturists are generally accepting people, the general idea being simply doing things nude that one would normally do clothed. Manners are important. The most essential thing to bring to any nudist site is a towel to sit on. It is very poor etiquette to sit on a chair, bench, or anything else where others might sit on without your towel. Also, never sit on someone else's towel. Other rules may include a prohibition on cameras (including cell phone cameras), pets, loud music, etc. Always check the specific rules before visiting a new nudist site, as policies vary. Some nudist resorts, clubs, or beaches require full nudity at all times (with possible exceptions). Most have this policy only for the swimming pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, hot tub bath, etc., with clothing optional elsewhere. Recently, to avoid any possible litigation, some privately owned resorts and clubs in the USA forbid bringing any minor children from other families without written permission in advance. A few even exclude children of divorced parents without the written consent of the other ex-spouse (unless they can prove full custody). Of course, this does not apply to public beaches.

Strong nudist movements exist in Germany (called FKK or Freikörperkultur - Free Body Culture), France and the Netherlands, and smaller such organizations exist in many other nations. Social nudity is practiced in many cultures, especially in the context of social bathing, sometimes with mixed sexes.

Naturism/Nudism Is Not Sex

Most nudists and nudist organizations maintain and try to enforce a no Censored page in public policy, (nude, not lewd) and it is rare to see obvious signs of Censored page (including staring or gawking) at most sites. These are the stereotypical family-oriented clubs and beaches.

While it has been the subject of much debate on nudist/naturist internet web forums, there is a general consensus on the issue of males openly displaying a non-sexual spontaneous erection. Most feel that it is inappropriate, but a distinct minority of nudists believe it should be included as part of "body acceptance"— a key philosophy of nudists. In general however, one is expected to cover up with a towel, turn over (if lying down), sit down, go for a swim or otherwise minimize its presence until the erection passes. For some nudist activities this may not be immediately practicable or even possible and etiquette suggests it then be ignored. Public nude beaches tend to be less strict on this issue than private nudist resorts and clubs. Also, there is generally more tolerance of pre-teen boys and young male teens having spontaneous erections than for older males. In no circumstances though, should the fear of having a spontaneous erection keep someone away from any nudist site or activity. Those still having concerns should discuss them with a person in charge, as policies vary from place to place. All this being said, an obvious erection at a naturist venue is rare indeed.

Desmond Morris, social anthropologist and author of the Naked Ape, suggests that "If you perform nudity in public you destroy its value as an erotic action." However, some fringe groups and gatherings (such as Swingstock ) are more like sex clubs and not considered by most to be examples of true nudism.

Involvement in naturism has not been shown to be harmful and may even be beneficial to childhod psychological development (see for example Federation of Canadian Naturists FAQ http://www.fcn.ca/FCNFAQ.html ). Of course parents always need to be vigillant to guard their children from sexual preditors. This applies equally to naturists as it does for non-naturists.

Naturist terminology

Nudists sometimes refer to people who don't practice nudity as textiles. Clothing optional or C.O. usually refers to a facility that allows and encourages nudity but tolerates the wearing of clothes, whereas a nudist facility usually insists on complete nudity where practicable (to ensure that no one feels inappropriately dressed). Topfree refers to an area that allows uncovered female breasts, also known as topless (topfree being used since topless has a negative connotation). A free beach is not so much one without an admission cost, but one in which people can be entirely free of their clothes. A landed organization is one that owns the real estate it is situated on. Non-landed or travel clubs meet regularly at different locations such as nudist resorts, bowling alleys, or swimming pools rented for the purpose. A smoothie is a person who shaves much of his/her body hair off.

History of nudism

Genetic studies of the human body louse, which requires clothes to survive, suggests that humans started wearing garments 72,000 years ago +/- 42,000 years. This estimate matches that of the first appearance of physical evidence of clothing-making tools. The species Homo sapiens itself has existed for 200,000 or more years, so the 'natural' condition of humans is nude.

Informal nudism has always been practiced. Ancient cultures (the Greeks and the Romans for example) sometimes had quite different attitudes toward the unclothed human body than is common today. In fact, the word "gymnasium" comes from the Greek word "gymnos," meaning "nude," because athletics in Greece was routinely practiced naked by its participants.

Nudity taboos are often a holdover from a practical need for body covering, as with temperate or desert cultures, where people initially wear clothing in public by habit because of practical reasons, until it becomes ingrained in the culture itself that this is a requirement.

Objections against being nude are often religiously motivated, even when they start out as a cultural taboo as in the previous paragraph. Some peoples have started wearing clothes only after missionaries argued that that is more civilized. However, there are many devout nudists who attend services regularly and argue that they do not need to shed their morals with their clothes. Also there is a Christian sect that practiced religious nudism, the Adamites.

The first known organized club for nudists, Freilichtpark (Free-Light Park), was opened near Hamburg in 1903. The nudist movement gained prominence in Germany in the 1920s, but was suppressed during the Nazi Gleichschaltung after Adolf Hitler came to power. Social nudism in the form of private clubs and campgrounds first appeared in the United States in the 1930s. In Canada it first appeared in British Columbia about 1939 and in Ontario nine years later.

Major nudist organizations

Worldwide: International Naturist Federation/Federation Naturiste Internationale http://www.inffni.org/ (INF/FNI) with member regional organizations in 30 countries.

Canada: the Federation of Canadian Naturists http://www.fcn.ca/ (FCN) and La Fédération Québécoise de Naturisme http://www.fqn.qc.ca/ (FQN) are the two national nudist organizations.

Netherlands: has the Naturisten Federatie Nederland http://www.nfn.nl/ (NFN)

Spain: has the Federación Española de Naturismo http://www.ociototal.com/naturismo/ (FEN)

United Kingdom: the national organisation is British Naturism http://www.british-naturism.org.uk/ , formerly known as CCBN (Central Council for British Naturism).

United States: the American Association of Nude Recreation http://www.aanr.com/ (AANR) and The Naturist Society (TNS) are the two major nudist organizations.

Public outdoor nudist areas

Austria:

• Vienna,
  • Donauinsel [2] http://www.nudismus.cz/reportage.html [3] http://www.falter.at/print/F2002_27_3.php (artificial island in the Danube quite close to the city centre)
  • Lobau

Belgium:

• Bredene, tram stop Bredene Renbaan (Hippodroom): sandy beach (the only nude beach of the country, since 2001)

Brazil:

• Tambaba: sandy beach, Paraíba State, north of Recife
• Praia do Abricó, beach west of Rio de Janeiro
• Praia do Pinho, beach in Santa Catarina State, near Florianópolis

Canada:

• Ontario All areas of Ontario, unless otherwise specified by town or city by-laws, allow both males and females to be topless in public.
• Hanlans Point , a sandy beach just a 15 minute ferry ride from downtown Toronto, Ontario
• Wreck Beach is the second largest clothing optional beach in North America with over 100,000 visitors each year. It is located in Vancouver, British Columbia on the north arm of the Fraser River.
• Oka, Quebec , about 40 km from Montreal

Denmark:

• All beaches in Denmark are clothing-optional unless marked otherwise.

France:

• Many excellent naturist resorts exist at the atlantic coast, e.g. Euronat, La Jenny
• Cap d'Agde, Quartier Naturiste (Nudist Quarter): sandy beach, several swimming pools, but also nude shopping, etc. [4] http://www.rburnham.com/co/co-capda.htm , map http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?X=393000&Y=5327500&scale=10000&coordsys=m
  ercator
• Saint Martin

Germany:

• Apart from urban areas and official baths, nude bathing is generally allowed in Germany. Therefore unofficial nudist areas exist at most lakes and rivers.
• Many designated FKK areas exist at the seaside, at lakes and in baths.
• Families especially like to spend their leasure time in naturist areas; sauna bathing is generally practiced in the nude.
• Even cities offer nudist areas, e.g. Munich, part of the Englischer Garten, near the city centre; also, the western part of Feldmochinger See, in the northwestern suburb, the peninsula in Lake Feringasee in the Northeast and the Flaucher at the river Isar south of the city center of Munich.
• nacktbaden.de http://www.nacktbaden.de/ is a very comprehensive and regularly actualized German index of nudist areas.

Greece:

• Naturism is practised widely in the Greek Islands, although strictly speaking legal only in a relatively few designated locations.

• Captain Barefoot's Naturist Guide to the Greek Islands http://www.geocities.com/capnbarefoot/ contains a fairly comprehensive listing of suitable beaches.

Hungary:

• Naturist Resorts in Hungary http://emil.alarmix.org/naturism/resort.htm
• Complete listing of resorts in Hungary http://naturista.atw.hu/

The most significant places:

• Délegyháza - 30 km south from Budapest ([5] http://www.nudi.hu )
• Szeged-Kiskundorozsma , Sziksósfürdö (aka "Sziki") ([6] http://www.natours.hu/ )
• Balatonberény ([7] http://www.balaton.hu/index.php?open_partner=1&partner_id=233 )
• Balatonakarattya ([8] http://www.balatontourist.hu/kemphun.php?id=13&nyelv_id=1 )

Smaller ones: Egerszalók , Látóképi-tó , Dunaszekcsö , Omszki-tó , Lupa-tavak (Budakalász ), Debreceni-tó (Nyékládháza ), Nemesbük , Mindszent , Szalkszentmárton etc.

Netherlands:

• Almere, Zilverstrand
• Callantsoog, sandy beach 1.5 km to the south - the oldest official nude beach of the country, dating from 1973
• Delft, Grote Plas, northeast side (map http://www.plattegronden.nl/cgi-local/imap.cgi?delft+delf+e+5+d+2+e+2 )
• Rijswijk, Wilhelmina Park, south side (map http://www.plattegronden.nl/cgi-local/imap.cgi?rijswijk+rijs+e+4+b+3+c+3 )
• Scheveningen, The Hague, sandy beach 1 km to the north
• Zandvoort, sandy beach 2 km to the south
• for more, see [9] http://home.hccnet.nl/e.stevenhagen/z/k2.htm , [10] http://www.natutravel.nl/html/natu_informatie/stranden.htm ; beach locations are defined by km-pole numbers, indicated on wooden poles every 250 m. See map (zip-file) http://www.rovernet.nl/winkel/rover_strandfolder.zip with beach from Den Helder to Hoek van Holland, showing these numbers and also public transport info.

Municipalities with a beach (usually including quiet parts) tend to have a nudist beach; even if the municipality does not like it, it designates a quiet part as such in order to be able to forbid nudity on the rest of the beach.

Spain:

• Formentera
• In Barcelona there is no rule against public nudism, but if someone is walking in the streets naked, the police will invite them to get dressed.

United Kingdom:

• Morfa Dyffryn , Gwynedd
• Budleigh Salterton, Devon
• Studland Bay, Dorset - most famous UK nudist beach, now officially approved (after years of controversy) by landowner the National Trust
• Brighton, Censored page
• Fairlight Cove, Censored page
• Leysdown East Beach, Kent
• St Osyth, Censored page
• Corton Beach, Suffolk
• Holkham Beach, Norfolk
• Cleat's Shore , Isle of Arran
• Blackgang Beach, near Blackgang Chine, Isle of Wight

United States:

• Gunnison Beach¹ which is part of the National Park Service’s Gateway National Recreation Area in Sandy Hook, New Jersey is the largest clothes optional beaches in the Eastern United States. It is a one-hour ferry-ride from Manhattan in New York City and a one-hour car drive from Northern, Central and Southern New Jersey. Gunnison Beach should not be confused with neighboring Sandy Hook National Park which is also part of the Gateway National Recreation Area but the practice of nudism is forbidden.
• Haulover Beach , in Miami-Dade County, Florida (between Sunny Isles Beach, Florida and Bal Harbour), most popular nude beach in North America
• Hippie Hollow Park, on the shore of Lake Travis northwest of Austin, Texas, traditionally used for nude swimming since the formation of the lake in the late 1940s. The park was officially placed under management by Travis County in the mid-1980s and remains officially clothing-optional.
• Black's Beach, in San Diego, California, north of La Jolla and south of Torrey Pines State Park, perhaps the largest nude beach in the United States. Access from La Jolla, Torrey Pines State Park, and trails down the hillside by the glider port near the Salk Institute. Part of Black's Beach is within the State Park, and part within the city of San Diego. While technically illegal in the city, the ordinance against nude sunbathing is ignored and not enforced.

          ¹ In 1999 New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman signed Senate Bill No.1912 into law. The bill sponsored by
            State Senator James S. Cafiero (R-Dist.1) prohibits all types of nudism on state or municipal owned beaches making
            Gunnison Beach the only legal clothes optional/nudist beach in the State of New Jersey due to the fact it is located
            on federally owned land and is not subject to state or municipal regulations.

Miscellaneous

There are two places in the US with nudist youth camps: Lake Como, Florida and Shangri-La, Arizona.

A camp at White Tail Park, Southampton County, Virginia may be discontinued: even though the camps are strictly non-sexual, in 2004 the commonwealth law of Virginia, enforced by Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore, banned nudist youth camps unless a parent, grandparent or legal guardian is present, citing dangers from sexual predators. [11] http://nac.oshkosh.net/Legislative_Bill_Texts/2004/VA_2004_HB_158/va_2004_hb_158
.html

The ACLU, the park, three boys, ages 11, 15 and 17, and two girls, 10 and 12, and their parents (three couples) have challenged the new law on June 29, 2004, arguing that it violates the constitutional right to privacy [12] http://www.wtopnews.com/?sid=218158&nid=25 .

Pasco County, Florida has seven nudist resorts.

See also

Amersfoort, Gennep, Nude beach, Nudity, Nudity in sport, Skyclad

Compare Modesty.

External links

See also: Major nudist organizations section of this article.

• NudeCanadian.com - a Canadian Based, Supportive, Informative, Non-Sexual set of Resources Including Very Active Forums http://www.nudecanadian.com/
• Nude Skating http://www.naturallyca.com/skatephoto.html
• Naked Volleyball http://www.nakedvolleyball.com/
• The Naturist Society http://www.naturist.com
• American Association for Nude Recreation http://www.aanr.com
• International Naturist Association http://www.clothesfree.com
• International Naturist Federation http://www.inffni.org/
• Federation of Canadian Naturists http://www.fcn.ca
• Top 15 Reasons http://www.netnude.com/main/top15.html
• 205 Arguments in Support of Naturism http://www.naturist.com/resources/preface.htm
• Naturist Action Committee (NAC) http://nac.oshkosh.net/ - includes US and Canadian laws and legislative bill texts related to nudism, and a newsletter
• http://www.rejectshame.com/ - on the harm of body shame from a Christian perspective
• Socialist nudism http://redial4.tripod.com/socnutext.html
• http://www.naked-air.com/
• [13] http://www.sunclad.com/nifoc/nifoc204.asp - On how decent naturists should avoid problems with cyber cops carrying out sting operations.
• [14] http://eingedi.0catch.com/naturism.htm On the potential of the Dead Sea region in Israel to become a Naturist resort.
• nudist cartoon series http://loxieandzoot.keenspace.com/
• Body Freedom Collaborative http://www.bodyfreedom.org/
• The Secret Naturist Society http://www.secretnaturistsociety.com/ - Exchange stories about your Secret Naturism/Nudism experiences
• Happy Nature http://www.happynature.com - Nudism and Naturism
• Singles' Outdoor Club http://www.soc-uk.info/ - aims to enable single people to enjoy naturism within the naturist movement in the UK.