Why We Love Nude Recreation

[Trailscout]

Stu, is wondering out loud why we love being nude, alone, with friends and when swimming or engaged in some other sport.

I have my reasons and invite others to post their thoughts:

1. More complete contact with my environment.
We have five senses and the only one we try to muzzle is touch. Our entire body is ready to receive the sensations of rain, sun, wind, a pool of cool water, tall grass, a furry pet, the soothing touch of a loved one, yet our culture dictates that we carefully insulate ourselves from the world around us. Why must we live in sensory deprivation? That verges on being a form of torture.

2. Empathy
Social nudity is very egalitarian. In our nudist enclaves, among friends, we can let the walls down in a literal way and it fosters emotional openess and trust.

3. Esthetics
The human form is beautiful and we enjoy seeing our friends and family in their natural state. It isn't an occasion for lust, we can recognize and celebrate beauty without linking it with sexual desire. It is a peculiar trait of western society that we can celebrate the nude in sculpture and on canvas, but we cannot accept the wholesome beauty of humans in the flesh.

4. Physical Well-being
Our bodies need fresh air and moderate sunlight to prevent rashes and prevent infections. When we we are nude on a summer day, our perspiration evaporates into the open air to cool us, rather than stagnating in the crevices of a garment.
Even textile people wearing loose shorts and sleeveless shirts enjoy the comfort of being able to move their limbs freely as they swim, walk, or play tennis. We nudists enjoy even greater range of motion and comfort that even the briefest attire cannot provide.

4. Mental Well-being
There may even be some deep-seated need for all social animals, including humans to see the entire bodies of their own kind. Does clothing create isolation and a consequent neurosis?

5. Harmony with Nature
One consequence of liberating our sense of touch by nudity is the feeling of oneness with nature. We recognize that our bodies were designed for a life of nudity in field and forest.

6. Honoring God the Creator
For those of us who acknowledge God as the creator or master sculptor of the human body, we see the inherent folly in throwing drapes over the handiwork of the greatest artist of all time.
We read his original intent in Genesis and long to live the way he intended, nude and free in a garden paradise. We honor God and affirm the goodness of his creation when we find places where it is safe to return to our natural state.

Now its your turn. Why do you love nude recreation?

[Trailscout]

Stu, is wondering out loud why we love being nude, alone, with friends and when swimming or engaged in some other sport.

I have my reasons and invite others to post their thoughts:

1. More complete contact with my environment.
We have five senses and the only one we try to muzzle is touch. Our entire body is ready to receive the sensations of rain, sun, wind, a pool of cool water, tall grass, a furry pet, the soothing touch of a loved one, yet our culture dictates that we carefully insulate ourselves from the world around us. Why must we live in sensory deprivation? That verges on being a form of torture.

2. Empathy
Social nudity is very egalitarian. In our nudist enclaves, among friends, we can let the walls down in a literal way and it fosters emotional openess and trust.

3. Esthetics
The human form is beautiful and we enjoy seeing our friends and family in their natural state. It isn't an occasion for lust, we can recognize and celebrate beauty without linking it with sexual desire. It is a peculiar trait of western society that we can celebrate the nude in sculpture and on canvas, but we cannot accept the wholesome beauty of humans in the flesh.

4. Physical Well-being
Our bodies need fresh air and moderate sunlight to prevent rashes and prevent infections. When we we are nude on a summer day, our perspiration evaporates into the open air to cool us, rather than stagnating in the crevices of a garment.
Even textile people wearing loose shorts and sleeveless shirts enjoy the comfort of being able to move their limbs freely as they swim, walk, or play tennis. We nudists enjoy even greater range of motion and comfort that even the briefest attire cannot provide.

4. Mental Well-being
There may even be some deep-seated need for all social animals, including humans to see the entire bodies of their own kind. Does clothing create isolation and a consequent neurosis?

5. Harmony with Nature
One consequence of liberating our sense of touch by nudity is the feeling of oneness with nature. We recognize that our bodies were designed for a life of nudity in field and forest.

6. Honoring God the Creator
For those of us who acknowledge God as the creator or master sculptor of the human body, we see the inherent folly in throwing drapes over the handiwork of the greatest artist of all time.
We read his original intent in Genesis and long to live the way he intended, nude and free in a garden paradise. We honor God and affirm the goodness of his creation when we find places where it is safe to return to our natural state.

Now its your turn. Why do you love nude recreation?

[Guest]

Well, Trailscout, I think you've pretty well covered it. However, to me, being nude is so natural that I really don't often think about WHY I prefer to be nude, but here's a few reasons.

1. I find clothing too confining and uncomfortable.

2. I enjoy the comfort of not wearing sweaty, smelly clothes in hot weather.

3. When it's hot clothes serve no useful purpose except to make you hotter.

4. When it's cold, and I have no place I need to go, I like to be comfortable in my home by having the heat high enough so I don't have to weigh myself down with garments or heavy bedding.

5. Although my body is nothing to brag about, I'm not ashamed of what I believe my God gave me. To be ashamed of my body is to be ashamed of His creation.

6. Nudity is so natural that it causes me no shame, discomfort, or embarrassment to see others nude, or to be seen nude by others.

7. Clothing is often worn to entice, attract or sexually excite the opposite sex. Nudity eliminates this by removing all mystery about what is hidden.

8. I love the breeze blowing on all of my bare body. Clothing deprives me of most of that sensation.

9. I enjoy activities--swimming, sauna, hot tub, bicycle riding, etc, etc, etc---much more nude without wet, sticky clothes that collect dirt, water, sweat, and seem to stay wet for a long time.

[luvnaturism]

There is definately a spiritual aspect for me. I never feel more spiritually connected to God and to God's creation than when I'm nude outdoors.

This is also the time when I am most utterly relaxed. Doesn't make much difference whether I'm with others or by myself, but I'm never as deeply relaxed wearing clothes. I think it has to do with letting go of all pretences to being something other than what I am.

There's an ecological benefit also. We live in a desert climate, and summers are hot. It's amazing how much better the body handles heat when there's no clothing to interfere with the workings of the body's own thermostat. This allows us to be comfortable and still use little air conditioning.

[aunaturelone]

quote:

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There may even be some deep-seated need for all social animals, including humans to see the entire bodies of their own kind.

---

I suspect that we are genetically programmed to look for visual signals in other people's bodies. Certainly all other primates do. If this weren't true there would be no point in an adult body looking any different from a child body. It would be the same body, only scaled up in size.

Many species have little or nothing in the line of visual cues to differentiate the genders. Except for swapping a penis and testicles for a vagina, there would be little reason for men's and women's bodies to look different unless all these other signals were important.

Visual cues for age, gender and other characteristics are important. This includes the subtle ones as well as the obvious one. We are programmed to observe these signals and in their absence unconsciously search for that which isn't there.

If you rarely stimulate a particular nerve, it becomes hypersensitive to the touch. Stimulate it regularly and it returns to its "natural" functionality. When we attempt to deny our natural programs for whatvever reason, we are at risk of becoming obsessed by them or frightened of them. And THAT is why there are so many gymnophobes out there.

[OZJames]

I cannot imagine that we could convince Stu but here we go anyway :-

I love to be nude because of the clean fresh air and warm sun on my body. Clothes make you hot , and make you sweat. I love to walk in the cool of the night("NNWs") "nude night walks" around the hills of our farm with my wife and sometimes friend/s. To walk amongst the cows sitting chewing their cud, yes I think that is "harmony with nature". Nude walking and talking with friends strengthens friendships.

I am not sure about cranking up the heater in the house so as to continue nudity in the winter. Artificial heating is against nature. It causes greenhouse gases etc and would seem to be contary to the "naturist" position. However I do enjoy Yoga in front of the wood fire in winter. Naked Yoga on the front verandah (with or without friends), in the sun in the winter and the shade in the summer is very uplifting, physically and mentally.

Who needs needs air conditioning !!!

JAMES

[ozarkbob49]

I agree with all of the above. I find it especially relaxing. The one reason I don't find listed yet -- it is fun. Nothing wrong with fun!

Bob

[Borntobenude]

1. I enjoy the feeling of clotheslessness. Being unconfined, unrestricted, and unencumbered, free of the contact of clothing against my skin and the weight of it on my body, free to move my body and limbs completely without restriction, and being able not only breathe in, but to feel the air around me on my entire body.

2. In addition to it being much more preferable to feel air rather than clothing on my body, without clothing covering my body, fresh air is allowed to freely circulate over my entire body, keeping me cool, dry, and totally ventillated. I'm much cooler when engaged in physical activity, as the sweat can evaporate right off my body, just as it was designed to do. The ancient Greeks had it right...

3. When I have to wear clothes, I'm imprisoned. Immured in a prison with walls on every side of me, completely isolated from the outside world, deprived of air, shut off from sunlight and unable to move without coming into contact with the walls that surround me. I feel like I'm suffocating. Clothedness is forced on me by society when I go out into the outside world, but as soon as I get home, I cast off my clothes and after divesting myself of the last article of clothing, I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. I feel like I've been set free. It's the utter freedom of clotheslessness that I enjoy first and foremost. I can only describe it as... liberating.

4. The freedom which I referred to in #3 above is more than just physical, though. To be nude is to be as I really am. No guise, no pretense, no fa?ade, no front. I feel totally relaxed in a way that I simply can't be when I'm wearing clothes.

5. Nothing's more comfortable. I feel at peace and serene, perfectly content.

6. Increased body awareness. I'm more in tune with my body when nude. Since my body isn't covered by clothing, I know how it's supposed to look like when normal, and I'm instantly aware when something's wrong. I think that this is a problem in our gymnophobic society. If people keep their bodies continually hidden, how will they know when something's wrong if they don't know how their bodies are supposed to look? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img]

7. Practicality. It never ceases to amuse me when I think about clothes and summer. When it is hot any clothing whatsoever is oppressive. Being clothed when it is 90?+ is both uncomfortable and senseless. What purpose does clothing serve when it's hot? People try to keep cool by wearing as little as possible, but stop short of the commonsensical thing to do, which would be to wear nothing. Being nude is cooler and more comfortable. It's a greater relief than normal to get out of clothing when it's hot.

8. Simplicity. If I accidentally spill something on myself, no problem. I simply wipe it off. If I were wearing clothes, however, there would be the worry of staining. My body is easier to clean than clothes are. When using the bathroom, there's no zipper to pull down and nothing I have to pull out first. Just the little things...

9. Without clothes, I feel more a part of my environment. Words cannot describe how it feels to be clothesless in the outdoors, in the open air, under the sky, with nothing between me and the air, sun and wind, feeling the warming rays of the sun shining on my bare skin and feeling a gentle breeze blowing unimpeded across my entire body. No one should go without experiencing it sometime in his or her life. The skin is the largest organ of the body, yet we keep it continually muffled. John Donne said it best when he said, "Full nakedness! All joys are due to thee; / As souls unbodied, bodies unclothed must be / To taste whole joys."

10. God created man and woman in His image, naked and unashamed, and looked at what He created and saw that it was very good. God told the prophet Isaiah, "as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:9). That being said, since He created man and woman nude and saw that it was very good, who is anyone else to say any different? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] "O man, who art thou that replies against God? Shall the thing framed say to him that framed it, Why has thou made me thus?" (Rom. 9:20). Certainly not me. As I list why I like being nude, I can only come to the conclusion that God certainly knew what He was doing when He made me nude. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] "[God's] hands have made me and fashioned me" (Ps. 119:73) and He "hast clothed me with skin and flesh" (Job 10:11). Other people may choose to cover and hide their bodies in shame, saying in essence, "No, God, what you made wasn't very good; it's indecent, and must be covered with man-made textiles," but as for me, I take pride in my Creator's work. "For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands" (Ps. 92:4) and not be ashamed.

So why do I love being nude? :: The question is, how could I not love being nude? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[Guest]

Whenever I go grocery shopping I rush through the store, rush home (but I obey the speed limit) dump the groceries on the kitchen table (even the frozen stuff) and hurry to get out of my clothes. It's bad enough that I'm forced to wear clothes to the store and back. I'm not leaving them on a minute longer than I have to once I get home. Once I'm comfortable I can then put my groceries away without constantly thinking, "I wish I had taken my clothes off first."

[Jochanaan]

quote:

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Originally posted by aunaturelone:
[qb] Many species have little or nothing in the line of visual cues to differentiate the genders. Except for swapping a penis and testicles for a vagina, there would be little reason for men's and women's bodies to look different unless all these other signals were important. [/qb]

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Unless the man forgets or refuses to shave his face! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[Jochanaan]

I'd like to expand on the theme of practicality. Consider: You wake up in pajamas. You get out of bed and slip on a robe to go to the bathroom (unless you're lucky enough to have a master bathroom). Then you slip your pajama bottoms apart or down to relieve yourself. You remove them and hang them up on hooks or hangers before you shower. When you have dried off, you put the pajamas and robe on again to return to the bedroom. You remove them--for the second time that morning--and take a good five minutes to put on your clothes for the day. (That's not counting the time you spend shaving, deciding what to wear, or doing makeup.) Then you are ready to walk to the kitchen and cook breakfast, hoping that you don't spill anything on your clothes so you won't have to dash to the bedroom and change them before you begin work.

But if you're a nudist, you have slept without pajamas. You get up and walk to the bathroom. You relieve yourself; no need to shut the door since you're among people who have seen it all. You shower, or bathe. You dry off. You go to the kitchen and cook breakfast. If something spills, you just wipe or rinse it off your skin. Then you're ready.

Now, which is easier?! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[shãybare]

Yeah but look at all the fun the textiles are having playing dress-up. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[Tenchi]

Simply put, I love swimming nude. There is nothing better than swimming without any sort of wet soggy rag. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] After I skinny-dipped once, I never wanted to wear a swimsuit again. Most people don't like wearing shirts while swimming, so why wear trunks or anything like that?

Also I feel so much more intune with nature and God's creation when I am nude. Nudity makes nature all the more beautiful. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] It's hard to explain. One has to try it for themselves.

[nudetone]

The sense of freedom and oneness with nature is what does it for me!!!

[aunaturelone]

Why I am a Naturist: A Personal Rant

To be honest, I really don't know.

Philosophically, it's easy to defend. I can't think of any objective reason why people shouldn't be allowed to coexist without clothing if they are so inclined. And don't believe anyone else can either.

Is your objection religious? Fine. Per the First Amendment, please keep your religion to yourself and out of the law books. I have a different religion.

You think that nudity will lead to debauchery and the corruption of youth? Check out Europe, particularly Cap D'Age, the Cote D'Azure and the many, many other public clothing optional recreational opportunities. Entire clothing optional towns exist on the Med. There are far more private nudist resorts and clubs as well. European rates of illegitimacy and sexually transmitted diseases are a tiny fraction of the textile impaired US. This argument has no factual support and much counter evidence. The only correlation to be found is an inverse one.

You don't believe it is possible for the textile impaired and the clothing optional to peacefully coexist? The nude and the clothed coexist pleasantly on public parks and beaches throughout the continent, but here in the US we have a high number of extremely intolerant people. The obvious solution is to set aside the small number of areas where nudity is already common as clothing optional. Stick up a few signs announcing the possibility of encountering nudes beyond a certain point. Such is the case at Black's Beach.

For most nude recreational sites on public land there is no such designation. The unwary prude might possibly stumble without warning onto a nude beach or a hot spring full of skinny dippers or other kinds of nude recreationists. A simple sign recognizing the preexisting reality eliminates this risk.

During the annual Bay to Breakers walk/run in San Francisco, the nude participants are cheered on by hundreds of thousands of spectators. It can happen. We just need to take a deep breath and let it.

Away from civilization, my solution is that people should ignore that which offends them. Necks are designed to swivel, thus allowing people to briefly look away from passersby on the trail. Likewise hands can shield eyes from the horrible vision of the bodies we all share, eyes can be averted, eyelids can even close momentarily. The only responses I have ever encountered in the wilds were of tolerance - or of amusement. Just put space between you and the rare prudes and you will not have to deal with them.

As a matter of simple courtesy, naturists in the wild should take care not to deliberately offend. On the other hand, the textile impaired bear a responsibility not to go out of their way to be offended. Given the low level of staffing in the local National Forests, go anywhere away from a road or a developed recreation spot and anti-nudity enforcement becomes unlikely. Once you are more than a couple miles from the trailhead, enforcement becomes impossible. Politeness and respect are the only civilized tools remaining to resolve conflicts. Keep them in ample supply and use them copiously, even with fools.

Remember that however one may implement them, the rules of courtesy do not demand one always step to the back of the bus.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But why do you have to be nude?

From one who would be a "naturist", any other state is, well, unnatural. If you operate from the assumption that our bodies are inherently good and beautiful, not dirty and ugly, then this charade we call clothing is antithetical to your belief system.

Emotionally, naturism, nudism, clothing optional lifestyle, whatever you want to call it, is immensely satisfying to me for different reasons.

To be naked around others and accepted that way is very much to be accepted for what you are and not for some image you are trying to project. No Armani suits, no Calvin Klein jeans. No stiletto heels. Damned difficult to be status conscious in nothing but your skin. (I suppose it could be done, but body builders and professional models almost never became naturists.)

To be naked around others and accepted is also to have your flaws are accepted as well. You can go through life thinking that sags and wrinkles and scars need to be hidden in a never ending, ever losing fight against time. Or you can accept yourself (and in turn be accepted) for what you are now and what you will become. Children in particular get a much clearer view of the maturation and aging process from early childhood to old age in a naturist setting.

To be naked among others and accepted by them is to have your sexuality honestly accepted. Ask yourself: Why must we wear swimming suits at the beach? The only rational answer is some kind of collective phobia about seeing the sexual organs of our fellow bathers. Swim wear is at best a sham. We know exactly what penises and breasts and buttocks and pubic hair look like, yet we insist on drawing attention to them by covering them with brightly colored patches of cloth. In a naturist setting, your fellow naturists don't view your penis as a rape threat or a dominance challenge so you needn't wear clothing to visually neuter yourself. An exposed breast doesn't make a woman into a seductress. It simply allows her to be as female as nature intended.

I'm not going into the tired old rant of how nudity isn't "sexual". I don't even agree with it. We evolved highly visible primary and secondary sexual characteristics over millions of years, just like a peacock or an orangutan. Their purpose is to signal sexual maturity and good health in a potential mate. Far from suppressing these sexual signals, textile impaired society has amplified then enormously by attempting to hide them. When you rarely see them, when they are forbidden fruit, you become hypersensitive to them. When you are surrounded by these innate biological signals on a regular basis you become used to, even somewhat inured to them.

A strange as it sounds to textiled folks, an attractive girl in a bikini on a textile beach really is more sexual than the same girl nude on a nude beach - although the latter would certainly still be attractive. I call it the "tease" effect of skimpy clothing. This is an almost universal observation among clothing optional types - and something you may have a difficult time realizing the truth of until you have experienced it. After being naked for a while among naked people you really do forget about everybody's lack of clothing.

Physically, there is no parallel to nudity for sheer sensual pleasure. The sun, the wind, the surf, even a gentle rain can provide the most delicious of sensations, sensations that the uncomfortable elastic and cloth of bathing suits damper or block out. Once you are comfortable with the practice of nudity you will discover just how uncomfortable clothing really is, a lesson we as little children already knew until it was drummed it out of us. If you talk to your inner child, you'll find that lesson was never completely forgotten.

Clothing is fine when worn for environmental protection. Even the most die hard nudists wear a hat, sandals and sunscreen when appropriate and put on a sweat suit when it gets cold. "Well endowed" women and men will wear what is necessary for support during vigorous physical activity. (Naturists aren't stupid, they just save on wardrobe expense.) When I recreate, I want the maximum comfort level possible and in southern California that means going au naturel whenever possible for most of the year.

High SPF waterproof sunscreen now makes earlier fears of overexposure to UV radiation and skin cancer irrelevent. Some sun is indisputably good for you.

Last but perhaps personally most important for me, there is a little corner of my mind that remains a child. I nourish and care for that child that I might not grow old and jaded and cynical. Naturism is one way of keeping that child alive.

In the novel "Peter Pan", (unlike the movies or stage plays) when Peter goes off to do final battle with Hook, Peter is referred to as wearing "naught but his belt and sword". It is symbolic of innocence. It is emblematic of freedom. It is the antithesis of the corruption represented by Hook. I fight to retain what innocence and childlike enthusiasm I can. I value freedom more than life itself. I will never force that tiny corner of me to "grow up".

But guess what? In the final analysis, none of this matters. All the explanations in the world do not truly explain why one takes up an avocation so far off the beaten path as naturism. There may be some kind of genetic switch involved or simply an innate ability to enjoy things that others are unable to even consider. Why one wants to be nude is irrelevant. In a free society one does not need to justify one's actions provided they do not impinge upon another's rights. Just as there is no right to suppress ideas one thinks are offensive, there is no right to suppress lifestyles just because one thinks they are sinful.

From a practical perspective and as a matter of courtesy, nudity should be practiced only in those public areas where nudity is traditionally (even if perhaps illegally) practiced, on private property where the consent of the owner/rentor has been obtained (and those who don't consent can leave) or in remote areas where close encounters of a textiled kind are uncommon. There may be other times when nudity can be practiced, such as modeling, acting, deliberate civil disobediance or streaking. But beyond these practical limitations, one need never justify to anyone merely being nude.