Vassilis

“A person’s pleasure is as powerful and intoxicating as any force on earth. You may not yet feel it, but within you is a wellspring of vitality that can transform your sexual pleasure and illuminate your life. We often think of sex as separate from the rest of our lives, but nothing could be further from the truth. Our sexual lives mirror our general health, our relationships, and our emotional well-being at the deepest level. It is certainly true that who we are and what we have experienced affects our sexuality, but it is also true that making changes in our sexual lives can transform other parts of our lives, including our relationships.”

– Mantak Chia

This is a repost from "Thoughtful Naturist" wordpress blog

Difference between nudist and naturist
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”

Every now and again, someone will ask about the difference between nudist and naturist. Much earnest debate goes on, conclusions are arrived at, opinions stated as fact, arguments swapped, anecdotes and examples aired, definitions from a range of sources given as proof.

But the problem is, they all miss the point. Simple observation shows that both in and outside of the naturist/nudist world, people hold a very wide range of opinions about these words, often coloured by complete ignorance of the lives of those of us who embrace social nudity; they know that we do x, y or z. Fact. Certainty. It’s obvious isn’t it? No it isn’t. Those words are a problem.

As we need to let them know of the joys of our lifestyle, its benefits and advantages, we need effective communication, but there lies the trouble, at the very outset we are presented with the barrier of those two words.

Some see the solution as finding a definition and a widespread view is that dictionaries contain those definitions, often quoted in the periodical discussions. But dictionaries are works that quote usage, they report how a word is used and try to show that usage by examples, comparison, context. The Oxford English Dictionary was set up and still runs on that basis, it is not a source of definitions nor should it be. If it were, people said to be gay would refer to happy, cheerful folk, those wishing to use the more recent meaning would be told by the definiton hunters that they are wrong and be referred to the dictionary for a definition. The OED now reports the modern usage, not the definition.

What is wrong is the desire for a definition, there isn’t one. All that can be found is a range of meanings made clearer by example and these meanings change, sometimes quite quickly. Then there are those who insist that language is governed by rules rather than guidelines. Luckily no-one told Shakespeare that or his work may have been rather less engaging. Language and words change over time, they evolve. Here is a good example, if one were to be governed by the dictionary, I should not use the word evolve, here is no survival of the fittest, no evolution of the gene pool by natural selection yet the word evolve has come to mean slow change, often with no easily understood reason for that change. So how did gay come to mean homosexual? Who cares, it just did.

The danger sign is someone saying “To me, the word naturist means……”. That contains the very essence of my case, “to me”, not the person to whom the communication is addressed. The meaning that follows may be heartfelt, it may be an outward sign of a passionately held view but as it is a personal view, it is of no use for communication to someone whose opinion ones wishes to change- someone who may doubt the benefits of social nudity and who thinks “naturist” means something quite different.

So I would make a plea, for all those who seek a definition of a word and then to convince others that their found definition is “correct”, give up now, you are wasting your time. No-one has ever managed to confine, define or control language, just look at the failure of the Institut Français to control “proper” French. They still use the terms le camping, le parking or le camera despite the efforts of those keen on definitions.

Language evolves. Let it.

Source: https://thoughtfulnaturist.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/difference-between-nudist-and-naturist/

I believe that we can't separate our body from our sexuality. On the other hand my sexuality remains the same either I am staying clothed or naked.
What is important for both nudity and sexuality is the purpose in my mind. But whatever the purpose may be, I can't leave my sexuality back when I am naked.
From this point of view, nudism is one thing and sexuality is another. But sometimes it can be both on one. Because when I look at a naked body, could be simply a naked body or could be a sexual naked body. And this is exactly the same when I am watching a clothed body!
I believe that the declaration "Non sexual nudism" is wrong. Everything can be sexual or not, depending on what I have in my mind.
If we have to separate something from nudism and sexuality, this is porn and pornography.
Pornography is the AIDS of both nudity and sexuality.
For me, RESPECT for all humans, is the right word to use when I am talking about nudism and sexuality.
I re-post a very interesting article….

From a post on tumblr.com by Philip Werner photographer.
Dear lovers of the naked body,

It is a favorite refrain of naturists and nude models/photographers alike: “Nudity does not equal sex”, or “the naked body is not a sex object”.

The first is obviously true. Being naked and being sexual are clearly different. Otherwise everyone is having sex while in the shower, when getting changed, at the time of birth, etc.

But the second is a little more complex. Actually the human body is precisely a sex object, there is nothing else that humans were biologically designed to have sex with, but it is also much more than that, which is often insufficiently acknowledged.

Insisting that a nude image is not sexual, for example, is also problematic because it vilifies sex and sexual objectification. It is sex-negative. It contains the subtle message that sex is bad or base or low. Sinful.

And this is where the complexity arises. On the one hand nude models, photographers and naturists struggle against the mainstream view that nudity equals sex or is intended for sexual arousal, when the body is about so much more than just sex. But at the same time, denying our own or other people’s sexuality, saying that people feeling sexually aroused by the naked body are bad or wrong just ads to the sexual repression that leads to the body being hyper-sexualised in the first place.

If I posted a naked photo of myself, which I view mainly as a beautiful image rather than overtly sexual, and I’m bombarded with sexually lewd comments, then that could be really tiring. But with our society still being so sexually repressed this is something that will simply take time to change.

Like the #freethenipple campaign. Did you know that just 60 years ago men could not swim topless at public pools in some western countries? Obviously things have changed and they are also changing for women. That’s great, but it will take time. We’re moving in the right direction.

I would say that sexuality, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. If I see something as sexual then who is anyone to tell me otherwise? Whether is beards, breasts, cars, ankles, high heels, hairy chests, six packs, etc., instead of shaming people for viewing any of these as sexual, lets simply celebrate all forms of (consensual) sexuality. Even penises and vaginas are not only used for sexual purposes, even they are not purely sexual.

In the mean time, the unfortunate reality is that we still have to deal with the the collective cultural shit around sex.

As I’ve written here earlier:

“We are in a time of transition.

The last few years has seen a proliferation of people posting their own nudes and/or sexual imagery. This has come with the advent of digital cameras (easy creation) and blogs (easily sharing).

People taking nude selfies, or at least having explored nude photography, has now almost become completely ubiquitous, and hence also much more accepted.

However, though the taking/making of nude and erotic content is now fairly accepted, especially between couples, we still have a long way to go for the sharing of said content to be accepted.

Unfortunately the people at the spearhead sharing such content are copping the brunt of what is currently still a lack of acceptance, being called a slut or a creep, receiving hate mail, or sexually lewd/rude comments etc. It’s hard, but seems to be the way of things when people step out of conformity.

We should be grateful for the people who push the boundaries of acceptance and bear the brunt of society’s discomfort. They are doing the hard yards.

Respect!”