As I read various articles and delve deeper in to the lifestyle choices outside what the majority of the world consider normal, I have discovered that there is one thing that is prevalent among all of them, the feeling that we need to hide it from everyone.
I know for a several years I chose to hide my lifestyle from people because I was afraid of what they might think or what they might say or even possibly do. I hear all the time from various people, all because I choose not to hide the fact that I am a, here I go again with that word, A NUDIST.
“OMG you’re a pervert”
“Psst, don’t go around that man or let your kids anywhere near him because he doesn’t wear any clothes.”
“You mean you let your kids see you like that?”
“OMG You’re creepy, how could you let your family (wife, son, daughter) take those kinds of pictures of you?”
“Somebody needs to call the local children’s services on you!”
“Nobody wants to see that nasty stuff.”
“They will fire you if they find out.”
“You will never get a job”
“The bible says that is a sin and you’re going to hell.”
We all have our reasons for wanting to hide our chosen lifestyle/s but fear and shame seem to be the biggest reasons. What are your reasons for not being more confident, being proud of the lifestyle you have chosen and announcing to “your world”, I AM “insert lifestyle choice here!”?
I choose to no longer hide who or what I am so for the record, here is my announcement. My name is Moe and I am a nudist, bisexual, husband, father, son, brother, christian and a biker. I think the biggest thing I am is no longer afraid.
In reality, it is no secret that I am a nudist. I don't bring it up at family gatherings unless it fits the picture during a conversation. I am on facebook along with family and friends. They apparently not take notice, or if they did haven't just said anything. But if they approach me on it I will let them know and nothing to be a afraid of.
The only way we are going to make nudity more acceptable is to become more public about the fact we are nudists. We cannot continue to hide it like we are doing something wrong. We are the only ones that will make nudity more acceptable. No one else will do it for us
So true, George. I'm trying to do my part.
<p>Okay, does this mean I am now in the clear? If I did use one of your pictures, I sincerely apologize. <br />Here is a link to the original article I wrote for your approval. I used 2 pictures and I can assure you that one if them is definately mine since it is me laying out at Paradise Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio <br /><a href="http://simplenaturist.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/omg-youre-one-of-those-kind-of-people/">http://simplenaturist.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/omg-youre-one-of-those-kind-of-people/</a></p>
<p>i did a new search, and found a few… .none r close to us but i'll mebbe friend 'em anyway. </p>
<p>ok. . thans i'll try again.. </p>
<p>A very good post. I am slowly coming out to family and neighbours etc, the WNBR was a good opener as is discussing holidays etc.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">My garden is very nearly completely private but some bits can be viewed from neighbours upstairs windows. Therefore I do intend to warn them – but haven't managed to yet, I feel I want to 'let it slip naturally into a conversation' rather than make an announcemrnt of it.</span></p>
<p>i did a local search, and got no results. </p>
<p>I pasted some text from Word and it came out as xml, very odd. I edited the post then re-pasted from Ultraedit, text only. I hope that worked.</p>
<p>SO AM I, SO AM I, SO AM I. (Sorry for shouting but…………)</p>
<p>Many wish to hide it but I would take issue with your statement <em>"that is prevalent among all of them, the feeling that we need to hide it from everyone"</em>. Some try to promote it, not hide it. This site is clear evidence that Richard promotes and does not try to hide and my blog with is referenced on the bottom of every email does not hide it. You should not confuse “common” with “all”. Come on out, it is far better!</p>
<p>Howard if you look at the whole sentence in context you hopefully should be able to see that I am not only referring to this lifestyle, I am referring to multiple lifestyle choices, please note that I did say "lifestyle choices" meaning more than one. In regards to the "need to hide it" I am referring to something I found to be prevalent among all the the "lifestyle choices" is people feeling the need to keep it hidden. You are correct that there are those that actively seek to promote the various lifestyle choices but for the most part people who choose to live that alternative lifestyle keep it hidden out of fear. Mayhap, I could have worded it differently so as not to cause confusion but I am not sure how. I would be pleased if you wanted to enlighten me though. Thanks for the critique, I greatly appreciate it.</p>
<p>With the increasing use of the net, hiding is dimishing although I know what you mean. I was simply challenging the "all".</p>
<p>Your last sentence is really key. We need to encourage those still in hiding to come out.</p>
<p>np. (btw. I wasn't saying this was the case "in this case", just that it can happen like that sometimes).</p>
<p>It's a good point, Hector. However, something else to bear in mind, is that it's not *always* possible to decide which image the host site will use to link to. For instance, when I post a link on Facebook to an article/blog on the Naktiv site, sometimes I get a choice of several thumbnail images to choose from, and sometimes I do not and FB just choose their own. It's an internal algorithm they use, and sometimes it just doesn't work the way everyone, including them, expect it to. Just sayin'.</p>
<p>Please link that to me because I am the one who wrote this particular article. Thanks</p>
<p>OK then, maybe cover your ears, I'M A NUDIST TOO. I'M PROUD TO BE ONE AND OPEN ABOUT IT!</p>
<p>Typing in capitals often gets referred to as shouting, this is definitely worth shouting though Yvonne!</p>
<p>The more of us who say this, the more it should help less confident nudists to join us in being open and proud about it to the world.</p>
<p>There always come the time one gotta face who is and make a stand, keep it up you brave!</p>
<p>thanx for liking my comment y'all !! Were in kansas.. any other kansas ppl in here. .specifically the wichita area ? </p>
<p>only a few ppl know we like nudity.. our neighbor and my ladys sis are ok with it, but most ppl (my bro for one) arent as openminded.. one problem is some/most ppl think nudity means sex/ porn, etc.,and nothing could b further from the truth… i'm str8, and shes bi. . I'm a husband, son, brother, enjoying retirement who likes to b nude when the time and situation is right.. yep,i've heard most of the chastizements/comments mentioned above,.I simply say.. "Dont knock if you haven't tried it".. right ? </p>
<p>I like your attitude, Creig, about don't knock it if you haven't tried it. Although you still sound like there are only a few people who know you are a naturists. Maybe if you were more open about it to those close to you, there would be a different response than you expect.</p>
<p>Anyway, welcome to the Naktiv site. This is one of the best sites for nudists/naturists on the web. Hope to hear more from you on many topics. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>thanx again.. I plan to tell ppl <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">who accept nudity about this site . .mebbe they'll like it.. i ve noticed that the site is for fun, nude candid shots, and discussions.. not sexual, but i did see one erection.. that happens… </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Ok, thanx again for the welcome/add </span></p>
<p>You're welcome to "report" the erection, or discretely mention it to a moderator. These things do happen, but posting images of them might be intentional and we'd rather investigate than let it slide.</p>
<p>You beat me to that reply Richard, thanks for making them aware.</p>
<p>nah i'm not gonna make trouble for anyone i just wannna have a good time..some fun. .hopefully make some new nude friends. </p>
<p>Actually Craig by not opening our mouths and making trouble for others is how we all got lumped in to the same category as porno, pedophiles and other sexual atrocities. We need to open our mouths and make it known that we are not the same as them, "We are naturist/nudist who advocate for nonsexual nudity." We must speak up!</p>
<p>ok ..so who do i report this to?? or mebbe the moderator will see it. </p>
<p>From my understanding, if you click on a picture there should be a link to the bottom left of the image that says "Report this photo". I am not quite sure that is the correct method but it is what I was able to discover when clicking on pictures on here.</p>
<p>Welcome to our little slice of the world Creig. We all still face opposition to our chosen lifestyle but all I can say is keep being open about it because in the end we are all going to be judged by our actions.</p>
<p>The more people that "come out" the better chance we have for taking away the stigma non sexual nudism has, I have generated many positive conversations about nudism at work where most if not all of the 120+ employees know of my Naturism & a lot also are aware of my Summer skinny dips on my work lunch breaks LOL</p>
<p>It's the only way forward: "come out naked!"</p>
<p>Before I begin, I have to say my position isn't really comparable to those of some of the other people on this site: I live in a country that allows people to be nude on their own property and in some public places (as long as it's non-sexual) without fear of being persecuted, I own and operate my own business so I needn't worry about what my boss thinks, and I grew up in a "body-friendly" environment. </p>
<p>That doesn't mean that I haven't had to "come out" as a naturist/nudist and that everyone's been understanding — there will always be people who frown upon our lifestyle. Cases in point: everytime a new person moves into my block of flats the subject comes up and I don't deny that I prefer to live in the nude nor do I deny it when one of my clients/students finds my remarks/pictures on Twitter. Not everyone understands what motivates me, but I've found that most people (no, not all) are willing to try. </p>
<p>Furthermore, by living as openly as I do people can see by my example that I'm not doing anything untoward, crazy, or "pervy"; I'm living the same life they are — just without any clothes on. Occasionally people will even ask if they can come along to a beach or event to try it out and have become naturists/nudists as well. </p>
<p>One of the most common tweets I've read recently is "The weather's so nice, but I can't enjoy it nude because my neighbour/spouse/kids are home." When I suggest people talk to their neighbours to test the waters in a sense to see whether they (the neighbours or whatever) would mind people sunning nude, the response is usually "You kidding?!? They'd think I'm !" So, in effect, that person is telling me that they'd prefer to suffer than confront their neighbour ? The worst thing that can happen is that the neighbour scoffs; the best thing is that they say "who cares?"</p>
<p>We can't expect things to change and we will never be accepted for who we are if we continue to hide and wait for someone else to do the hard work for us.</p>
<p>If we truly want change, we have to do exactly what Maurice and Carl and Yvonne have done: come out into the open and show your colours. </p>
<p>"<span class="js_view_more_parent"><span class="js_view_more_full">Furthermore, by living as openly as I do people can see by my example that I'm not doing anything untoward, crazy, or "pervy"; I'm living the same life they are — just without any clothes on." Bjor – this sums up well how I feel being open about being a nudist helps acceptance of this way of life.</span></span></p>
<p>I understand why its not possible for every nudist to be 100% open, but the more of us who do 'come out' the more it should help others to do so too. Showing that we are 'normal' people to non-nudists, but without clothes, and that we do similar things to them while not behaving in the supposed 'pervy' ways, can only help enlighten the mis-informed.</p>
<p>Being open about our nudism can also be very liberating<span class="js_view_more_parent"><span class="js_view_more_full">, its certainly opened up more opportunities where clothing is optional for me amongst people I know, undoubtedly in my case this is helped by socialising with other open nudists. We can be happily naked, while other friends stay clothed and the mix works well.<br /></span></span></p>
<p>As other posters on this thread indicate, acceptance of our preference to be naked<span class="js_view_more_parent"><span class="js_view_more_full"> can be much wider than might be expected prior to being out about it.<br /></span></span></p>
<p>That's right, it's all about stepping past the fear. Fear rules so much of society and one of the things we can do, when we are being naked, is we can "Say NO to Fear!" It's no wonder nudity is such a shocking thing for a puritan to think about, as they live by fear alone.</p>
<p>Congrats, Moe. I know you feel better to not have to hide who you are. I know I do. I've let everyone konw I'm a naturist if it comes up in a conversation and I've never been chastised with any of the comments you posted. Of course what they say behind my back I don't know and don't care. More of us need to declare ourselves as nudists/naturists and make general society understand that it's not that unusual.</p>