Changing nude on a textile beach, is this normal?

[Ethan]

My friend was showing me some photos of his short trip to south-east France when I came across a photo where you could see a 13-15 year old boy in the background changing into a speedo he was around a group of people to.
since he is a photo buff but not a good one, gust like to take alot of pix i found 8 more photo of people from what looked like 10-15 years old all male changing nude in plan view of people, in one photo the kid was talking to a girl his age wale changing.
Now this seems strange to me but because of there are so many photos i am asking is this a normal thing in France or other parts of the world

P.S sorry i can post the photos for 2 reason he wont let and INA rules

[Ethan]

My friend was showing me some photos of his short trip to south-east France when I came across a photo where you could see a 13-15 year old boy in the background changing into a speedo he was around a group of people to.
since he is a photo buff but not a good one, gust like to take alot of pix i found 8 more photo of people from what looked like 10-15 years old all male changing nude in plan view of people, in one photo the kid was talking to a girl his age wale changing.
Now this seems strange to me but because of there are so many photos i am asking is this a normal thing in France or other parts of the world

P.S sorry i can post the photos for 2 reason he wont let and INA rules

[NakedGary]

Yes "Ethan" in Europe perfectly normal and not even thought about on any beach or even at the down town park in the middle of the city for sun tanning or swimming.

One would sure look odd holding a towel around them well changing or taking off clothes in Europe inside or outside in public or at the beach.

I’m surprised the young fellows were putting on a Speedo to begin with.

[Ethan]

Is it normal for older people to to this to, I ask this be cuase in the future i am planing to go to europe after 8 years of college

[Journeyman]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ethan:
Is it normal for older people to to this to, I ask this be cuase in the future i am planing to go to europe after 8 years of college </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, I think it is normal in most European countries, as changing clothes on a beach is simple, innocent nudity, even on a textile beach. Things may be a bit more uptight in Italy or the United Kingdom, though, for adult men to briefly be nude on a textile beach or park. Maybe some of our Euro friends on CFF can elaborate.

[RalphVa]

I've seen people on Italian beaches change clothes in plain sight.

Think it's a European thing. They aren't bothered by not having change places or toilets on public beaches. Makes more sense than trying to change behind a towel on the beach or in the car.

What would make more sense is if they just suntanned or swam naked. Of course, many of the women do so topless.

Oh, if there are any change rooms, there's a good chance that they'll be unisex. Saunas are likely to be nude and unisex.

[Naturist4Ever]

Well, as an European I would want to strongly disagree, especially (and as usual) with NG. The towel ceremony for changing is VERY common almost everywhere in Europe. Maybe boys among eachother less so, but in general on a textile beach is it not common at all to complete strip in plain sight to change clothes. In some countries it is definitelive a no-go.

In fact, it gets worse because there is a definitive trend for more and more children also to wear swimwear on nude beaches (it various somewhat among different countries), and I have seen often enough those children using towels for changing EVEN on the nude beach.

[NakedGary]

Naturist4Ever

Are you assuming it was a textile beaches he spoke about? "Nathan" didn't specify either. I don't know about Norway, but many European countries do not separate beaches as to nude or textile, their both or clothing optional.

Many young aged people "Nathan" is talking about are modest during the puberty stage of maturing and use towels while changing or keep a bathing suit on even on nude beaches.

I should have reworded that post to “Some do on beaches” not that no one gives it a thought on any beach, and the second paragraph could have been eliminated, but I understand your reasoning and will leave it as is instead of going back to modify the original post

.

[OZJames]

In Australia on TEXTILE BEACHES and nearby car parks, I have many times seen people discreEtly changing from clothes to swimmers - only seeing from the back perhaps a bare bottom.

It is a wonderfull sight to watch (from a man's point of view) a woman change on the beach, first wrapping a towel around, then managing to get clothes off and swimmers on without exposing any innappropiate (on a textile beach) skin. It's a contortionists act, just wonderfull.

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/yes.gif <span class="ev_code_RED">JAMES</span> http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/yes.gif

[Nudony]

Times have changed since I was a teenager in France; but even back then, it depended where the beach was located and its population. On the less popular (textile) beaches, men would sometimes dispense with the towel routine and just change in plain view; my uncle did it several times. Women, of which many were topless, sometimes also dispensed with the towel by changing while sitting down and doing that "worm-squirm" thing. And pre-teens were sometimes allowed to roam nude for a while after removing their swimwear. But that happened only on some of the more isolated areas, where they were far enough not to attract too much attention.

According to many reports, this era has come to pass and most european beaches are just as conservative as american beaches; except of course for topfreedom.

[Eric6420]

There is still a difference between Europe and the USA in terms of nudity. For example, in France, it is not uncommon to see on mainstream tv, dancers from Crazy Horse, Moulin Rouge or Folies Bergères, who dance pratically naked at variety shows at 8hPM.

There is also the fact that there are probably more nudist resorts in France than in the USA for a population 4 times smaller, which means a popularity of nudism 4 times stronger in France than in the USA.

There are also far more nude beaches in Europe than in the USA. In France, there are hundreds of places you can go naked (woods, rivers, beaches).

At Virgin Mega on the net, the most download documatary is Vivre Nu, a documantary about naturism.

[Petrus]

Unfortunately, Europe seems to adopt all the USA's worst traits. Soon everybody in France will be eating in MacDonalds, shaving off all their body hair and demanding a public execution if a woman dares to show a nipple!

[David77]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Petrus:
Unfortunately, Europe seems to adopt all the USA's worst traits. Soon everybody in France will be eating in MacDonalds, .... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

There are 1035 McDonalds restaurants in France.

See;
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=927062006

[tomkojohn]

I was staying in a Hotel in Atlanta and a group of Italian tourists came down to the pool. Not seeing a changing area, they promptly proceeded to change into their swimsuits by the pool. One of them was a particularly pretty teenage girl. Some teenage boys (US) around the pool noticed this and told their friends, so when the Italian group came to the pool the next day they had a large audience to see if there would be a repeat. A few of the parents of the boys spoke with the management who promptly told the Italians that this wasn't allowed in the US.

Fortunately noone called the police, and the US boys didn't say or do anything inappropriate other than gather around the pool when they saw the Italians coming.

It just goes to show that there are very different cultural norms, and we should be tolerant of them.

[Rabid_Clam]

Waaaaay back when I was in the service I had a part time job as a desk clerk in a local motel that had a pool. THere were a number of europeans that came there time to time and the women most often were topless, on occassion there were those totally nude. SOme guests complained but we allowed it and just had to give some excuse to both sides to keep both happy as best possible.

[Naturist Mark]

Back in '69 I was on a family cross country vacation trip. While in Utah we went to Swim in the Great Salt Lake.

There were tiny little changing booths at the beach, nasty wooden closets, with long lines of sweaty ill tempered people waiting their turns.

After our long wait to change into suits we saw a nearby group of about 10 people simply stand in a circle and change into their swim suits right on the beach. My father (the Methodist pastor) said they were the only sensible people on the beach - "wish I had thought of that."

-Mark

[Eric6420]

Just because there are a lot of Mc Donald's in France does not means that the French are becoming American.

France is a country with its own culture and language. French movies are popular as well as french pop music in France.

As a student in french studies, I go sometimes to the Mc Donald's. It is simply because it is fast, cheap and convenient. It has nothing to do with supporting american politics.

There is also the facts that the politics of France are very differents from the USA. I mean, in France everybody have access to high quality health care, Universities are pratically free of charge for French citizens and culture is quite different.

I mean, if you could understand the songs of the signer Renaud, or Gainsbourg or Brassens or Jacques Brel or Mouloudji or Raphael or Bénabar... you would understand that the french culture is quite far away from the USA.

I was in a record store at Trois-Rivières (there are also books, dvds and magazines in that store), and they were playing anglo-saxon music wich I did not understood a word even if I speak good english, it was just bad noise to me, then they switch to Renaud, I was transported to another planet: christal clear and meaningfull words about meaningfull things, the change was incredible.

Not to mention that radio shows like Michael Savage and thoses of the religious right simply do not exist in France. And most people do not go to church more that one time in a year if they go at all.

[Petrus]

My reply was in part “tongue in cheek”. I have been visiting France on a regular basis for over thirty years and I have noticed many changes, which are owed to American influence. As English becomes more widespread it exposes them to ever more American culture especially through film and TV. They are definitely influenced by cosmetic advertising and when I first went to naturist sites it usual to see women with all their pubic hair and often underarm hair-nowadays it is either a thin strip or none a l’americaine!

[Rabid_Clam]

A bit off topic but the comment McDonalds is cheap? If you buy any item at McDonalds and then go to a competitor and order the like size item and compare the two, the compeitor will give you more and usually for less!

McDonalds is NOT cheap by any means. They may have started out that way but that changed decades ago.

[NorthVanNudist]

A few years back I saw two middle-aged ladies at a very busy beach in the Okanagan (interior of BC) emerge from the lake after swimming. Both of them matter-of-factly stripped off their wet swimsuits, dried off, and got dressed (very likely European). One lady sat on her towel as she removed her bathing costume while the other stood, but both stood to dress (no "worm squirm there") and were not messing about trying to hide under towels. There were many people all around these ladies including young kids of about five or six years old, and nobody seemed overly concerned. I suppose the children were quite used to their mothers changing them into their swimsuits on the beach, and didn't really think anything of two grown-ups doing the same. Its a pity we seem to have to teach our children society's hangups as they grow older.

[Eric6420]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Rabid_Clam:
A bit off topic but the comment McDonalds is cheap? If you buy any item at McDonalds and then go to a competitor and order the like size item and compare the two, the compeitor will give you more and usually for less!

McDonalds is NOT cheap by any means. They may have started out that way but that changed decades ago. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, if you compare Mc Donald's to a french restaurant, it is very cheap.

It is true that Burger King is a bit cheaper, but I find the taste and the speed better at Mc Donald's.