A question regarding intersexed naturists

[Guest]

Just to satisfy my own curiosity, have any of you seen a person at a naturist venue who, although naked, couldn't easily be identified as either male or female - e.g. having characteristics of both sexes (e.g a clear female body shape but with male genitalia)?

I couldn't imagine any hermaphrodite or biologically intersexed person visiting a naturist resort but I could be wrong.

This condition is far more common than most people with unambiguous gender realise.

Stu

[Guest]

Just to satisfy my own curiosity, have any of you seen a person at a naturist venue who, although naked, couldn't easily be identified as either male or female - e.g. having characteristics of both sexes (e.g a clear female body shape but with male genitalia)?

I couldn't imagine any hermaphrodite or biologically intersexed person visiting a naturist resort but I could be wrong.

This condition is far more common than most people with unambiguous gender realise.

Stu

[wannabenaked2001]

I have never noticed anything like this, but I have never looked for it either.

By the way, is this your situation? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[Rik]

Hi Stu,

As far as I can recall this issue has never been raised on this discussion board and nor have I ever seen it discussed on any naturist forum.

To answer your question I have never, as far as I know, seen an intersexed person at a naturist venue but I am curious about your view that you "couldn't imagine any hermaphrodite or biologically intersexed person visiting a naturist resort".

I may be wrong here but I presume you feel that such people would be highly body conscious. They wouldn't want to be stared at etc. Perhaps they wouldn't want to have to explain their condition. On one level I can understand that as we are all taught body shame from an early age but it is particularly prevalent in those whose bodies are somewhat out of alignement with our conceptions of what the body 'should' look like. How often do we hear things like "I'd be a nudist if I was 50 pounds lighter" or we get questions on this board about the acceptance of scars, disabilites and so on.

What we as nudists discover is that even the most imperfect of us learn to live with our bodies as they are. This is partly I think because of the notion that naturists don't judge other people's bodies. I've never bought this completely but naturists certainly get used to seeing all manner of bodies so I guess that some of the "acceptance" is really more to do with simply being exposed to other people's lack of perfection rather than some innate goodness in naturists. No, what is really important is that the shedding of clothes is a personal statement to the world that "this is me" - "like it or not, this is me". There is nothing left with which to create an image, no masks to hide behind and I often think this is the feeling of 'freedom' which so many naturists describe.

I have first hand experience of this. As a youngster I had a series of hernia operations and also one for hydrocelle. As a result I have grown up with scarring and a slight genital abnormality. As a kid and in my younger adult life I found this quite difficult to live with but over the last 4 or 5 years, during which I have had significantly more nudist experiences (partcularly camping and saunas), I have developed an inner peace and an almost (but not quite) total acceptance of my body.

Rik

[nudist_in_Tn]

Now that you mention it I did see a person walking on the beach that I assumed was a man until he got close enough that I could see a pair of breasts, not fat guy boobs mind you but a nice looking pair of femenine breasts on a person who otherwise looked like a man this person was wearing a pair of mens swim trunks and was topless, I never gave it much thought until I read this post. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img]

[Rik]

quote:

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Originally posted by stu2630:
[qb]It might surprise you to know that I am reasonably comfortable with mine, I just don't like showing it off or comparing it with others... [/qb]

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No Stu, I'm not surprised. What you say is exactly what I would have expected you to say but the rest of that sentence belies your lack of self confidence.

Naturism is most definitely nothing to do with showing off bodies nor comparing with others but it is about feeling confident enough in yourself to not be concerned about what others may think. I'm sure that cultural upbringing makes it nigh on impossible for people to understand this without trying naturism for themselves.

Anyway Stu, you haven't really explained the thinking behind your question. Could it just be that you're thinking of giving it a go yourself and are testing the water?

No, I didn't think so. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Rik

[wannabenaked2001]

Stu,

I need to apologize for my earlier remark. I was being a smart a**.

I am sorry! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img]

[Rik]

quote:

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Originally posted by stu2630:
[qb]Rik, I am a member of a support group for intersexed people and someone in that group jokingly mentioned going to a naturist resort in Turkey.

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[/qb]Jokingly? Or was that your interpretation?

quote:

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[qb] As for me testing the water...hmmm...maybe one day. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img] [/qb]

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I knew it. You're starting to weaken. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Rik

[wannabenaked2001]

Stu,

An honest question now. I belive you have been pretty negative toward social nudity. Do you think your condition may be the source of this?

[EricNY]

Stu:
I think it is wonderful that with all our differences, that this group has made you feel comfortable enough to open up and share something so personal. I think that says alot for the members of this forum, as well as nuturists.

I hope you continue to post here, you are a excellent contributer. I hope you get all you want out of life. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[Rik]

quote:

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Originally posted by ercNY:
[qb]I hope you continue to post here, you are a excellent contributer. [/qb]

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Hey, don't give him too much encouragement! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Rik

[turkishnudes]

quote:

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I am a member of a support group for intersexed people and someone in that group jokingly mentioned going to a naturist resort in Turkey.

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There are no official naturist resorts in Turkey - it is against the Muslim religion. You may find a part of a beach reserved for naked tourists only - no Turks.

I would not recommend Turkey as being the ideal place to step into the water. At the best of times, even clothed, the Turkish have a tendancy to stare, and they are most open with their comments.
Just last night a young boy openly asked me to sleep with him, in the middle of a very busy street, just like that whilst I was waiting for my friend to pay the taxi! I was complimented rather than shocked or emabarrassed, but for those who are not used to such situations, I would steer clear.

Where I live in Istanbul there is a very big problem with both transexuals and transvestites. Although by nature or tradition many men are bisexual, in general they do not look favourably upon feminine men.

I would try a country with a more open attitude ( Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Denmark), or maybe your intersexed group could hold a "nude" evening?

[AlaskaRoy]

Wow, you raise an interesting point, Stu!
My understanding is that about 1 out of 1000 live births involve children with ambiguous genitalia. In the U.S., such individuals have (for the past 100+ years) been surgically altered to make them less ambiguous, usually by deciding that the baby is "female". Although we tend to think of a person's sex as being an either/or thing, in actuality there are many ways in which sex can be ambiguous.
As far as nudist/naturist acceptance, I'd like to hope that naturists would be more open-minded and tolerant than the average person. Did I understand correctly that you've not yet gone to a public nudist venue? Maybe going to a club/beach/event with someone you know, for the moral support, would be a good way to start.
Best of luck to you.
Roy

[Guest]

At the nudist club where I was once a member, I saw what I thought was a girl in her early teens. At first I saw the breasts of what I thought was a boyish looking girl. Then I saw the penis and realized that this was a teenaged boy with rather large breasts rather than a young teen girl with normal sized ones. He was slender so it wasn't because of his weight. He didn't appear self-conscious about it. I spoke with him and his dad while we were in the pool and found out he was 13. I though he was 15 or 16. He was large for his age in more ways than one. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[missouriboy]

quote:

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Originally posted by Rik:
...This is partly I think because of the notion that naturists don't judge other people's bodies. I've never bought this completely but naturists certainly get used to seeing all manner of bodies so I guess that some of the "acceptance" is really more to do with simply being exposed to other people's lack of perfection rather than some innate goodness in naturists...

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Hmmmm, interesting observation. Makes me think about my own attitude. I'd admit to comparing others' bodies, but I'd like to think I don't judge them.

Is there a difference between comparing and judging, or am I just being naive? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img]

Those of us who admit to admiring bodies that we find pleasing use this comparison, but without being judgmental. I think! Anybody else?