Mike Brown

Hello to all our Naktiv friends.  It has been a while since our last posts.  We are currently in Nantes France where Mike is on sabbatical at the University of Nantes.  Brigitte is blogging at http://bschran.blogspot.com mostly describing our  textile world of activities.  She did put in a few of us nude on a beach in Corsica  – and that resulted in quite a response from friends, neighbors, acquaintances.  She is surprised by the number of people following her and she just  added a “Nude 101” blog for the outside world.

We are living in the center of Nantes and have had little opportunity to spend time on clothing optional beaches.  Along the Erdre River near us, we have observed exclusively textile sunbathing.  However, last week while riding the street car in the early morning, I did see  a young nude woman dive from the bank into the water. Last week we visited La Madalenna Sardinia where a very small number of women were topless. 

I think there is a striking difference between an American beach and a textile European beach.  I see people here undressing and dressing in plain sight on the beach – exposing themselves briefly but then putting up with stupid swim suits for the rest of the afternoon.  If they are not shy about undressing in public, why not just remain undressed on the beach?

While waiting for our plane in Ajaccio Corsica, we were able to spend 4 hours on the recognized nude beach just off the end of the runway:

But air traffic is light and the beach is wide open

The beach was comfortable:

The water was clear and at a comfortable temperature:

Others on the beach were friendly;

and we enjoyed our clothes free time before heading back the the airport terminal:

We will be in Europe until the end of July.  The last few weeks we plan to be hiking in the Alps.

All the Best

Mike and Brigitte

Fremont is a neighborhood in Seattle and its Solstice Celebration is described here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont_Solstice_Parade . A major “add-on” is the naked and painted bicycle riders who always precede the main parade http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice_Cyclists . This tradition began about 20 years ago and has been growing in popularity every year (116 cyclists in 2004 and over a 1000 cyclists this year). In the early 2000s members of the Fremont Art Council who organizes the parade and some yearly parade participants were incensed by the cyclists who were perceived as receiving too much of the media attention. The current organization includes the following “warning” and “setting of boundaries” on their web page http://fremontartscouncil.org/facevents/fremont-solstice-parade/watching-the-parade/ :

“ The Fremont Solstice Parade welcomes the Solstice Cyclists to ride in our parade. Please be advised that riders will not be wearing clothes and full nudity is to be expected. All cyclists are required to be painted and costumed for the ride. Most are.
The Parade is not a nudist event, it is an Art event that recognizes the human body as a canvas and the joy of riding as a part of our community’s creative expression. 
When you come to watch the parade, you will be witnessing a right of passage for many Seattlites, and for many people from all over the globe. Respect and Celebration is the main vibe.

The Fremont Arts Council supports a policy of No Lewd, Offensive, Obscene, or Otherwise Objectionable behavior. Anyone watching the parade who experiences such behavior is welcome to request assistance from a parade monitor, or contact the police directly. ”

Brigitte and I went to the Fremont Solstice Festival as spectators. I was curious about the experience of the spectators – literally tens of thousands along the parade route. We arrived an hour before the main event and 30 minutes prior to the start of the Solstice Cyclists. Streets were jammed with people and we were only able to snag a bit of curb facing into the sun at a corner near the end of the parade route. All remaining standing room evaporated in the next few minutes. We could hear the progress of the cyclists by the sound of cheers far down the street. They came streaming by us filling the street completely. They circled around about a quarter mile farther down the street and looped back. For an hour naked painted bodies continuously streamed by us in both directions. As the main parade started, the cyclists had less room and became increasingly packed between the end of the parade route and the front of the main parade. The street in front of us became gridlocked with no space for any cyclist to ride in any direction. To clear the congestion, parade marshals directed the cyclists onto a side street. Many cyclists parked their bikes and walked back onto the parade route as spectators. Some pulled on bras or pants. Many did not. It was a fabulous event. People of all ages, sizes, races, and gender participated (women may have slightly outnumbered men). Their enthusiasm and joy in the event was unmistakable. The body art ranged from none to crude to fabulously creative. The spectators were positive and nearly as enthusiastic as the riders. The audience was a mix of children and adults. The three small children sitting next to us (and their mom) were completely unphased by the nudity – they were more interested in the color and fantasy of the art. I sincerely hope that experiences such as these, in front of an audience of many tens of thousands, will serve to positively change societal attitudes towards bodies.

Many of the cyclists hang out at a park near the end of the parade route – given the effort put into their art I think they want to display it a bit longer. Actually, one cannot really see or appreciate most of the art work as the cyclists lean over their bikes and stream past.

Our location was not ideal for quality photography – facing the sun. I’ve uploaded a few to an album to provide a perspective of our experience.

http://www.naktiv.net/photo/album/2024/fremont-solstice-cyclists/

A search on a photo site like flickr.com provides links to outstanding photographic records of the event. Here is a link to a nice set of photos from 2009:

and here is a link to all photo sets from this year:

https://www.flickr.com/search?sort=relevance&text=fremont%20solstice%202014

I appreciate the back and forth of the conversations that have been occurring, but I don’t seem to find the time and place to interject myself into that ongoing dialog. Instead I’ll tell you a short story of family and attitudes.

I grew up in the 1960s in a large family and had no idea that my parents were closet “skinny dippers” – I didn't see their early photos from mountain lakes until the 1990’s. It wasn’t until I was off in college in the 1970s that my parent “came out”. I think they found a paper matchbook with a marketing slogan and phone number from a local nudist club along the lines of “Dare to go Bare”. After they settled in with the local nudist community, they invited me, my late first wife, and younger brothers and sisters to spend time at the club. Although several of my siblings went and participated, none found it a “calling”.

My wife, who was then living on the east coast, first “met” my mother in the early 1980s at an American Alpine Club Meeting. The exhibition hall highlight was a catalog from an outdoor company that used a nude model. The catalogs were snapped up as fast as they were set out. My mother, already a four-time grandmother, was the model. A year later a climbing buddy of mine arranged a paddling (canudling) trip in the Everglades. He invited my parents and brought his girlfriend (now my wife). The story is that they asked my mother to cover up since the gawking power boaters kept swamping the canoes (this from my wife – although I think she was an “attraction” as well). My parents (now in their 80’s) are still active, traveling, and have nudist friends all over the world. Dress code for family gatherings at their house depends on which siblings come. While some of us prefer nude soaking in the hot tub and pool, others do not. No pressure is put on anyone.

I’ve been a member for a while but have not contributed until today. I prefer to listen and learn about the community before jumping in. This community does seem to be rallying around the same themes that I feel are important: our society and media have trained us to associate nudity with sex and violence. It is small wonder that people claim to be offended by nudity. The trick is how to desensitize people who have been so molded. Part of the solution has to be exposing people to more nudity in unthreatening situations. Our local Seattle Summer Solstice Parade that has decades of tradition of naked painted bicycle riders is part of the solution – as well as the WNBR events here and elsewhere. My wife and I have not marched or ridden naked down the streets but we have shed our clothes at beaches and elsewhere even with non-nudists around. Although my wife is concerned about offending people, I am of the mind that we need to be bold and to be visible.

A comment to this community, I would like to see more stories being told of what people are doing. I’ve uploaded several albums of photos today to make the point. The photos in each album have a flow and a narrative. I know that a few people are doing this but too many pictures here lack descriptions that provide even the barest context. Can I encourage others to make an effort to tell a story with pictures and a short narrative? This would be more interesting than random photos of people starring at the camera while nude.