Happy Nude Year
Making plans for 2023? Try these suggestions for naked New Year resolutions.
HAPPY NUDE YEAR
It’s that time of year again, when many of us sit down and draw up a list of the changes we want to make in the coming twelve months. Setting aside some of the usual suspects - losing weight, stopping smoking, switching careers - maybe it’s time to also focus on what we can do to make more of the naked lifestyle we enjoy.
If you’re a regular reader of this website, you’re hopefully already aware that naturism is - or at least should be - healthy, natural, normal and fun. And whilst we’re not advocating that you go out in 2023 with a missionary zeal to convince the rest of the world to go naked, there are subtle ways of preaching to the unconverted. Take a look at the following ideas to help you spread the word and, should you need any encouragement or reaffirmation, also make you feel a little more comfortable in your own skin.
JOIN A NATURIST ORGANISATION
Groucho Marx once famously quipped that he wouldn’t join any club that would have somebody like him as a member. You can sometimes see his point. But victories on behalf of the naturist lifestyle in general or particular causes - be it wider public acceptance, changes in the law, designation of beaches, and so on - don’t just ‘happen.’ There’s strength in numbers, and whilst the worst type of naturist club, group or association can be as rife with bureaucracy and in-fighting as any other type of organisation, the better ones do achieve things. At least give them a chance. Try to work with them. Try to change them from within if you feel it can be done. Or as a last resort, start up your own.
STAND UP AND BE COUNTED
Some people practice naturism almost in secret, as if it’s something to be embarrassed about - or worse, a crime. If you haven’t done so already, make 2023 the year when you tell friends, family and work colleagues that you’re a naturist, and proud of it. It’s not possible in all circumstances of course, and sadly - even though it’s neither illegal nor immoral - admitting that you are a naturist could be something that puts your job at risk. But if that’s not the case (and in truth it rarely is) perhaps it’s time to come out of the closet. You don’t have to shout it from the rooftops or - if you’ll pardon the expression - bore the pants off everybody. But if you’ve been to a naturist resort on holiday, or even just visited a naturist beach, where’s the harm in telling people? If you’d been on a ‘normal’ holiday, you wouldn’t think twice about it, so what difference does it make if you happened to be naked at the time? It can be done casually, dropping something into the conversation about tan lines or swimming costumes, or with humour if you feel that works best. Surely revealing the ‘secret’ yourself, in your own time, is better than others finding out, and wondering why you felt the need to hide the news in the first place. And if your friends over-react and are ‘shocked’ or ‘disgusted’ by the revelations, then do you really need friends like that?
FLY THE FLAG
As we know, the media can often distort the wider perception of what naturism is, portraying naturists as eccentrics, exhibitionists or perverts, or lazily labelling everybody who happens to go naked in public - streakers, protestors, artists, models, whoever - as naturists or nudists. So next time a newspaper, TV station or website gets it wrong, why not put them right? Explain what the naturist lifestyle actually is, that it’s something with a long history, and that it’s enjoyed by millions of normal (that word again) people, in all walks of life.
On the positive side, you can also be pro-active, and instead of waiting until a negative story about naturism or public nudity appears that requires you to challenge it, get the media interested in some good news: a charity event, a beach clean-up, an open day. Initiate a debate on body image, personal freedom, or health and wellbeing. Or just look for a chance to put the naturist viewpoint forward in an opinion piece, interview or club/company profile. Positive PR for naturism shouldn’t be something that is just confined to the naturist media.
START NETWORKING
If you run a naturist-related company or organisation, then obviously you have a vested interest in spreading the word. But even just as somebody who simply enjoys the naturist lifestyle, you can still make a contribution.
You don’t have to go to the expense or effort of setting up a website. Create a blog or an Instagram or Facebook page (all done easily, without any expense) and tell people what naturism means to you. Start inter-acting with other naturists. Sign up to newsletters. Join chat rooms. It all helps in making naturism more widely discussed and more socially acceptable. You’ll stimulate debate, learn something along the way, make new friends or maybe even find a new vocation.
GET OUT MORE
It’s easy to fall into the trap of lethargy, especially in the winter months when one of the last things you probably feel like doing is taking all your clothes off. But there are options such as swim and sauna clubs where you can get naked when the temperature outside drops, and come the Spring and Summer, there should be no excuses. When naturist groups close down, or beaches revert to being textile, it’s usually through lack of support. But it’s no good expecting ‘others’ to show that support. Make 2023 the year when you get off of your backside - and get it brown.
