The "reluctant wife" syndrome: a modern issue?

[Nudony]

Every now and then I pick up a vintage (50's-60's) nudist book from my collection and browse through it. And every time I see the pictures, I can't help but to draw comparisons between illustrations "now and then." But what struck me this time, instead of the usual "more kids, happier and more spontaneous interaction, etc…" was the number of women. Almost every picture has a wife and her husband, a wife and her children, a girlfriend with her boyfriend, a group of wives, etc… Of course, it's hard to draw conclusions about nudism in the 50's-60's based on some old publications and pictures. But it's still food for thought. Here are some of the possible explanations for this abundance of female nudists:

-Nudist resorts in the 60's only allowed couples and families.
-Nudist mags photographers placed more focus on women
-More women were interested in nudism or less hesitant to follow their husband.

It could be one or all of the above. But when I think about the 60's, I think about Jayne Mansfield (curvy) as a standard for beauty instead of Pam Anderson (surgically enhanced and starved). I think of a much less developed and aggressive advertising system. I think of much clearer, "black and white" gender roles. I'm going out on a limb and into the realm or pure speculation here, but could it be that in spite of a more conservative and religious society, women back then carried less baggage in terms of body acceptance than their contemporary counterparts? If their husband brought up nudism, did they just go along with it without much ado, which would explain the much greater amount of female nudists? I don't know, but from what I'm reading and seeing, it sure seems like it.

I could be wrong, but could it be said that the late 20th-early 21st century created the "reluctant wife", with its impossible standards of beauty, mass advertising and media? Or has it always been an issue since the early days of nudism? (Anyone here was a nudist during that time period?)

[Nudony]

Every now and then I pick up a vintage (50's-60's) nudist book from my collection and browse through it. And every time I see the pictures, I can't help but to draw comparisons between illustrations "now and then." But what struck me this time, instead of the usual "more kids, happier and more spontaneous interaction, etc…" was the number of women. Almost every picture has a wife and her husband, a wife and her children, a girlfriend with her boyfriend, a group of wives, etc… Of course, it's hard to draw conclusions about nudism in the 50's-60's based on some old publications and pictures. But it's still food for thought. Here are some of the possible explanations for this abundance of female nudists:

-Nudist resorts in the 60's only allowed couples and families.
-Nudist mags photographers placed more focus on women
-More women were interested in nudism or less hesitant to follow their husband.

It could be one or all of the above. But when I think about the 60's, I think about Jayne Mansfield (curvy) as a standard for beauty instead of Pam Anderson (surgically enhanced and starved). I think of a much less developed and aggressive advertising system. I think of much clearer, "black and white" gender roles. I'm going out on a limb and into the realm or pure speculation here, but could it be that in spite of a more conservative and religious society, women back then carried less baggage in terms of body acceptance than their contemporary counterparts? If their husband brought up nudism, did they just go along with it without much ado, which would explain the much greater amount of female nudists? I don't know, but from what I'm reading and seeing, it sure seems like it.

I could be wrong, but could it be said that the late 20th-early 21st century created the "reluctant wife", with its impossible standards of beauty, mass advertising and media? Or has it always been an issue since the early days of nudism? (Anyone here was a nudist during that time period?)

It's always been an issue. Back then they usually didn't permit single men to join, you had to be a family or a couple.

[Bob S.]

"Here are some of the possible explanations for this abundance of female nudists:"

-Nudist resorts in the 60's only allowed couples and families.

Probably a very good rationale, Nudony. But that would also necessitate the question of "single male syndrome" a modern issue?

-Nudist mags photographers placed more focus on women

Women are the bigger draw. Were these magazines open publications or were they a part of a nudist organization? If they were open publications (my term) they would be more concerned with the bottom line, and that is more females.

-More women were interested in nudism or less hesitant to follow their husband.

That was probably lower on the rungs.

It may also have to do with the whole concept of nudism. The current philosophy has changed a lot from previous decades. Nudism back then was probably still heavily influenced by the Isleyites. The sixties also introduced the free love, hippie style of nudity. Nudity took on more of a communal experience rather than the individialistic approach.

Today, I think nudism is growing and trying to find another broader philosophy that will appeal to more people. It has turned into a business with the bottom line more important than the nudist line.

Bob S.

[barbararuth]

This is an interesting topic and I think some good points have been raised. I think that the common denominator in the value system of women in the sixties and now is pretty much the same. The "reluctant wife" is not a matter of time or date, but culture, upbringing and a whole host of other reasons that have been explored repeatedly in this forum. The sixties may have given us a sexual revolution.. I don't know, it was before my time.. but today, in my opinion, we have what might be called the "escapist" revolution. This could be defined as finding some semblence of peace, order and inner self in this fast-paced, super high-technological, terror-ridden and often whacked out society we live in. A recent article in a resort newsletter claims that the increase in membership is clearly driven by what appears to be a need to strip down the layers of this crazy world.. to "bare" our souls in a manner of speaking.

I do get a fair number of PMs from time to time and the number one question asked of me.. "in my opinion, how can I get my wife to embrace nudism like I do?" I guess you guys think, since I am a woman, that I have all the answers! I don't think it's all that complicated. Although I can't and won't speak for other women in general, this "bearing of the soul" may be just too much for many women to overcome. "IF" the reluctant wife syndrome is a modern issue.. and I do not think it is.. than you may have to creatively come up with a modern solution. Although many of you will disagree with me, I have seen many couples that simply agree to disagree and work out a suitable compromise. Any therapist will tell you that couples do not have to share every single interest or activity. You can take it from there...

[krcNY]

Back then the thing to do was get married and have kids, pretty much right after high school. So there were many married couples and families.

These days everyone waits to get married. IMO that there are many more singles now than ever before. You also see a lot more women taking on "mens" jobs and positions. Women have come a long way, but still have so far to go.

[John P]

One other item is what you might call "awareness of sexuality". Maybe back in the 1950s women were less likely to be aware of images of nude women being used in an exploitive manner (controversial phrasing, but try not to argue over my choice of words)? If that's valid, then maybe women would also have been less likely to have a response like "This is all about men getting a look at the real thing instead of just some stupid magazine." Or maybe what I should be saying is back when sex wasn't so openly pervasive in culture generally, women might have been more willing to see naturism as innocent fun. Now it's easy to be cynical, and to be honest, a lot of the time we guys aren't exactly good examples for the opposite viewpoint.

When the reasons that women don't participate in naturism are listed, the idea that they imagine being nude as being intrusive to their privacy isn't often mentioned. It's a nebulous concept that's hard to describe exactly, but I think there's evidence for it. For instance, how else can you explain the very common situation where women will show up at a naturist venue and then insist on wearing clothes?