99.9% of all naturists I have met in more than 60 years (in the real world NOT on-line)of enjoying a natural unclothed living, when & where possible, have said they longed for an opportunity to live entirely naked whenever they choose to. That was always what seemed to be a rational & sensible choice, for naturists. BUT, what they failed to take notice of is that there is likely to be a majority of the entire world population, that would still not want nakedness around them or in their own life.
If the law of your own country decreed that you could be naked 24/7 if you choose to be so, regardless of whoever else should feel 'offended.. assaulted.. threatened.. disturbed' at anytime, would you still walk naked freely? If you heard abuse hurled at you, if you risked physical attack, (with the law in your favour), if you were likely to get threats against your loved ones & friends, would you still walk naked freely?
Yes there could be resorts & open parkland area's, yes there could be stores & transport systems all available to naked people, also equally available to clothed people, how would that affect your own options?
We all say we would fight for freedom for naked people. When the option is there, when the time actually arrives (in your own lifetime) what would be your own choice be?
If you could actually be NAKED 24/7. . . would you?
Are You Real?
30 thoughts on “Are You Real?”
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Yes Richard (Jannaway). There are opportunities to be enjoyed sitting outside at a pub rather than in. I shall never forget the pleasant evening that I spent one July night two summers ago both topless and bottomless in front of the Tiger Inn in Sussex, hoisting pints with some buddies, after a great day of nude hiking up on the chalk cliffs and nude sunbathing and swimming on a couple of the beaches of the Sussex coast. Yes, I spent about two and a half hours most relaxed and completely naked, sitting out at a table with my friends, one of several such tables, located directly upon the Town Green in the village of East Dean as pub patrons walked by either not noticing or not caring. As the dusk of the day when we arrived had slipped to total darkness by the time that we had downed our last round, we paid our tab and then I simply got up and strolled with my friends across the green and got into their car without bothering to cover as we moved on to catch my train back to London. Alas, I did have to cover up(Running Kilt and vest) for the train ride. Though I understand that not all of the wrinkles in the law have been worked out yet, you folks in the UK have a much more civilized take on these things than we do here in the USA.
-Dan
We barefoot people get a lot of this kind of criticism and cultural rejection for not covering our feet. We get kicked out of restaurants and stores. Still we go barefoot anyway because our feet evolved to walk on the earth. Bare feet are not illegal in stores or restaurants in the US, but we commonly get told by ignorant mangers that there are nebulous "health codes" or such. Fight the system.
I suffer from "Vestiphobia" now since I have been exposed.
On any beach nudity should be normal not the exception. In sports, it should be up to the person.
When driving personal transportation it should be optional.
When dining it should be encouraged.
In hot tubs it should be required.
I agree with all of that except for sports. The Olympics should be competed naked as were the original Olympics. Audiences want to see the athletes. Any sport in a gymnasium (place for naked sports) should be performed naked. So should other team sports like baseball, basketball, volleyball, and individual sports like tennis and golf. Audiences want to see the athletes. Only where its too cold should clothing be allowed, like skiing, hockey, or golf in Scotland.
I agree with Bob, my body is not obscene or indecent. I am also naked whenever and wherever possible. For me it is not only a matter of body acceptance, but also physical and inner soul comfort. I would be totally naked in public out in my front yard or on the street if I could legally do so now in Massachusetts. As it is with the law as it is, I wear nothing more than a stylized form of loin cloth (aka Running Kilt)when mowing the lawn or going out to fetch the mail or even while clearing snow on a sunny winter day unless the weather has fallen into the negative numbers F. My neighbors no longer question the matter by now. I wear this loin cloth when out there because I must in order to remain legal (a sad concept that a one's body can be illegal). I also wear this skimpy kilt and nothing more in deference to the community around me. Because I see other males in my community who are topless in their front yards or on the street at certain times of the year, thus I presume that topless for males is socially acceptable in my neighborhood, even as I stretch the acceptable season for such behavior. On the other hand, topless for either sex is not socially acceptable in my community at the supermarket, big box store, drug store, etc. Thus I add a top of some kind over my loin cloth when I go into such places. It is as Patrick above says in his blog, there is a peer pressure at work in these situations that guides most of us in these matters, some of us more than others. I drive to my shopping errands etc naked, then slip on the Running Kilt as I swing my legs out of the car, and then slide on a tank top or muscle shirt…..the outfit that both suffices for me for most of the year in my nod to social standards and also keeps me legal and reasonably comfortable. In the colder two or three months of the year, the kilt grows longer with fuller coverage and the top becomes a tee shirt with perhaps a fleece vest over it and a wool cap on my head.
We in our culture have been trained to not recognize or acknowledge our body's ability to function efficiently as designed without the aid of clothing in a very wide range of environmental conditions. Thus many of us have not allowed our bodies to do so very often. When I am out away from others snow shoeing naked on a nice winters day, the ironic thing is that if I should have to cover briefly with my Running Kilt should I meet someone just as in the summer, I am colder and less comfortable for that time until I can once again return to total nudity….the reverse of summer but equally a prime matter for comfort. So well calibrated is our internal thermostats to the sensation of equal exposure over the entire body, that our bodies are precisely in tune to how evenly we are dressed or undressed and our overall comfort is directly dependent upon this parameter. Or course there are limits to our body's ability to adapt to its environment and for our safety each of us needs to be aware of and to monitor our own unique and changing limits.
Yet, if the law were to be suddenly with us and I could legally anywhere naked, I might still cover in my same minimalist way when I go into the supermarket or the big box store, etc…..not likely much different from my current choice of of attire. Even if I could legally go into these places entirely naked, I would probably be inclined to choose my battles and feel that it is simply not worth my effort to engage this one, when everyone else around me might still be wearing a top and trousers or skirt. But you can rest assured that I would never bother to put on clothing to go out into my front yard or to take a walk down my street, across the meadow or into the woods. The big difference in that utopian future world would be that I would never be anxious about the legal consequences of stepping out into the parking lot beside my car at the supermarket naked and then throwing some scrap of cover on over my torso as I prepare to go inside and do my shopping.
I consider that I am living my life as a nudist 24/7 now even though I must put on clothes sometimes. Would the absence of unfavorable law make a difference in my life? Absolutely, a huge one in the reduction of worry. Yet would it change the way that I attire as I go about my daily errands and life? Probably not as much. In the end, its all about peer pressure and keeping peace within my community as Patrick so eloquently implies above.
-Dan
Thank you Dan. I think your thoughts on this are very much the same as mine. I really do think that it is just the 'inborn' preconceptions about nakedness that some people have, that causes a lot of problems for us. The number of people that come to our home and accept(certainly my) nakedness is becoming larger month by month. Most are now quite at ease with social nudity to the point of ignoring it and just carrying on with conversation & laughter about various other topics.
One day, hopefully in my lifetime, social nakedness will become acceptable in many more locations and the attitudes of those 'against' social nakedness will mellow and be not so dominant or persuasive as at present.
Very well written Dan. I too discovered how well my body adapted to the weather during my Bay to Breakers walks. I do not run nor jog due to back and knee concerns but I could walk for miles until recently. The B2B is the third Sunday in May and the weather is unpredictable. The temps vary from 50s to 90s. The wind may be still or blowing like mad yet I always seemed more comfortable than the audience watching us.
The top runners finish in 30 – 45 minutes. Walking can take 2 1/2 – 3 hours, rain or sun. That includes stops for photos such as I have posted as well as musical entertainment along the way.
I have received verbal abuse on more than one occasion. The worst are late teens to early 20s boys.
I think back to my pre-nudist days and I understand the confusion that may be boiling in their minds.
A great report on the situation, especially that in being clothed and so dependent on them (the only animal that does) our bodies have, to a certain extent, lost the natural ability to regulate temperatures, etc as Dan is trying, against 'ingrained accepted norm' to do. If only…
Dan, you must have raised me wrong and I feel overdressed now. :^)
My wife never gets dressed except to go outside. Right now it's 52°F outside and we have the window open for fresh air. I felt cool in my pants and t-shirt, and I put on a hoodie a couple of hours ago.
A very clear article. It is indeed about peer pressure first and foremost. When out cycling topless as I often do I expect to be asked to put a shirt on if I go into a pub but not if I sit outside.
I go naked now, with the law against us. I go naked whenever and wherever I can do so without getting arrested. I have been doing so for more than 50 years. I go naked on the streets at night. I go naked on hiking trails and places where it would take the police state a while to get there so I'm not going to be still there if they come. My body is not obscene or indecent. If someone does not want to see me, myself, the real me, that is THEIR problem, not mine. They are no more offended by seeing my body, me, than I am at seeing their dirty laundry. If the law was on my side I would be naked most of the time in most everywhere I go.
I would wear a jacket in cold weather but not in warm weather. I am not ashamed of ME, and I do not need to hide.
There was a phrase we used years ago, Nude when possible, clothed when practical. This makes alot of sense given weather, etc. But beyond that I'd be perfectly happy living in a place where nudity was commonplace.
In all likelihood I doubt I would aspire to constant nudity unless I lived in an environment and climate that made it desirable. Technically I could lawfully go topless 24/7, but this is extremely impractical.
For me personally any sembalance of nudity is directly related to comfort vs any other consideration. I think in many cases this is why the aspirations of some nudists are totally impractical. It's as ludicrous as wearing clothes 24/7. IE: wearing clothing to bed even when it's far too hot. Wearing clothing when it is obviously uncomfortable and not at all practical.
To me both mindsets are flawed. The ideal in my view is the opportunity to wear as little or as much you deem comfortable without ridicule or prejudice.
Nakedness itself aside, society as a whole is quite judgemental of what people wear or not. What they deem acceptable in different contexts. I think within the naked debate this aspect of society is completely overlooked, and yet it is essential and pivotal to understand. It's not a black and white question or being clothed or not. It's a much broader consideration of how we think about others in general. Their conduct, behaviour and indeed, their attire.
Yes am trying all my best to reach 100% of naked.