Gaining acceptance as a nudist

Gary Naturist · #1 03-31-2003, 02:43 AM

I have gained acceptance by family, friends and neighbors of my involvement in nudism by breaking it to them gently. Here is the way that I proceed with someone, typically over a period of some months:

1. I mention in conversation that we have gone to a clothing-optional beach. I may not say initially that I went nude myself. However, the person always asks, and I say something like "Of course -- I didn't want to be conspicuous." Most people find nudity at clothing-optional beaches easy to accept. If the person seems intrigued, I'll describe the scene.

2. From time to time, I mention other nude activities like sunbathing nude in the back yard, or canoeing nude or staying at a clothing-optional B&B.

3. At an appropriate time, I tell the person that I like to be "clothesfree" as much as possible. The person is typically amused by this. If he/she asks questions or makes comments, I encourage further discussion. The person may subsequently describe me as being a bit weird (but in a nice way) or may tease me about nudity, but that's just fine with me.

4. At some point, I allow myself to be seen nude, more or less by accident. I do not cover up; rather, I continue as if I were clothed. If the person is close by, I may start a brief chat about something. Usually, I don't try to explain my nudity at that moment and certainly don't apologize for being caught nude.

5. After having been seen nude once, I look for other occasions to be seen nude again on an incidental basis.

6. I find an opportunity to have a philosophical discussion about nudism / clothesfreedom in general and to explain more fully my involvement in it. I also talk about how how nudism has become much more accepted and popular as a recreation.

7. Later on, with family and friends, I take advantage of opportunities to be nude for a longer period time (say, an hour or half a day) when nudity might be considered to be appropriate (or at least not inappropriate). However, I haven't taken a nude-all-the-time approach.

Note: If the person is clearly uncomfortable with the subject of nudity or by seeing me nude, I would certainly back off. However, it hasn't happened yet.

By this process, I try to establish with the person the following:
1. Gary is a nudist.
2. Nudism is OK.
3. I accept seeing Gary doing things nude, because that's what nudists do.

I have found that a good time to initiate a discussion of nudism / clothesfreedom is when having dinner with a small group of four to six people. People tend to be willing to discuss and consider things that might be somewhat conversational in this environment, particularly if they have had an alcoholic beverage or two. Within a group like this, someone is likely to be sympathetic my point of view and come to my defense if others are negative.

I have described the long version of how I gain acceptance of being a nudist. In some cases, all I?ve had to do is say ?I?m a nudist? and that?s it. But, for most people, it is better to break it to them gently.

Gary

**EricNY** · #2 03-31-2003, 09:00 AM

That is very good, Gary. I never thought about it, but I realized as I was reading your post, I do many of the things you describe.

Another point that I find interesting is that there have been many people that who do many things in the nude,but would not consider themselves nudists.

For example sunbathe, or wear little or nothing at home because it is comfortable. What I found out is this. They think that to be a nudist you are nude all the time and live at a nudist camp. They veiw it almost like a cult or something. I have talked to others that do many nudist things, yet are "afraid" of the label "nudist". They misinterpret the term.

I have been a nudist my entire life, I just did not know it, until a couple of years ago. I beleive that there are tons of folks out there that are nudists and don't even know it. Nudists would be much more accepted if they were aware of the true definition of the lifestyle.

That poses a question, What is "being a nudist"?

#3 03-31-2003, 10:36 AM

ErcNY,

Now, that's a good question. All my life--at least since age 7--I've enjoyed being nude. I would look for opportunities to go without clothes in and outside the house when alone.

I had known about nudists even as young as 5. I remember a game one of borthers and I played where we pretended we were nudists. So we knew about them; I'm just not sure what our concept of nudists was at that time.

I didn't begin to call myself a nudist until I joined Forest Hills Nudist Club in 2001. However, your question makes me think that I've actually been a nudist all my life and didn't know it. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

wannabenaked2001 · #4 03-31-2003, 03:00 PM

quote:
Originally posted by ercNY:
[qb]They think that to be a nudist you are nude all the time and live at a nudist camp. They veiw it almost like a cult or something. [/qb]

LOL! That was me!!!! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

Nude Guy · #5 03-31-2003, 03:06 PM

Congratulations Jon-Marc, I see you figured out how to enlarge your icon. If you know the secret, let me know. Maybe I can reduce the size of that outrageously big icon I'm not using now.

#6 03-31-2003, 03:32 PM

Actually, Aaron enlarged it for me so maybe he can help you with yours. I'm just barely functional when it comes to computers.

Nude in MT · #7 04-01-2003, 08:28 AM

quote:
Originally posted by ercNY:
[qb]They think that to be a nudist you are nude all the time and live at a nudist camp. They veiw it almost like a cult or something. I have talked to others that do many nudist things, yet are "afraid" of the label "nudist". They misinterpret the term.
[/qb]

That was my initial impression as well. Nudists were strange (or maybe even perverted) people who lived in "colonies" and were the subject of jokes.

I discovered on the web that nudists were normal people who thought and acted just like me. They like to be clothes-free as much as I had discovered I liked it. And they liked to be around others who enjoyed the same.

So, even before I had actually been nude around other people, I began to wear the nudist label inside my head. Sure enough, all that practice at home paid off. When I finally had the chance to be nude around others I jumped in with both (bare) feet and discovered it was as much fun as everyone on the boards told me.

averagejoe · #8 04-18-2003, 10:12 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Jon-Marc:
However, your question makes me think that I've actually been a nudist all my life and didn't know it. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] [/QB]

I know I was born a nudist...

But seriously, I wonder how many other things in life this exact thought could be applied to. How may times can people think "I'm not conservative" or "I'm not spiritual" and then realize that, in reality, they always have been.

Just a thought...

Angel · #9 04-21-2003, 08:02 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Gary Naturist:
[qb]4. At some point, I allow myself to be seen nude, more or less by accident. I do not cover up; rather, I continue as if I were clothed. If the person is close by, I may start a brief chat about something. Usually, I don't try to explain my nudity at that moment and certainly don't apologize for being caught nude.[/qb]

I got the privelege of doing this, in part, the other day, rather unexpectedly.

My husband and I had gone for a walk down the nature trail behind our home. It was quite warm, and when we got home I stripped off my shirt and laid down on the couch in front of the air conditioner to cool down. My husband, meanwhile, went to see if a (male) neighbor he's friendly with was home ... and then brought the neighbor over to share something on the computer with him.

I had *no* warning that when the door opened, we'd be having company, and the couch is about 10 feet from the front door.

So ... I looked up, said "Hi", smiled, and went back to reading my book. Two hours later when I got up to cook dinner, I pulled a shirt on.

My husband later said it was kind of a case of putting my money where my mouth was - that I'd been the one promoting topfreedom so strongly, he didn't think it'd be a problem.

And it wasn't. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]