About the ‘nature’ in naturism

Rediscovering our roots and responsibilities in a changing world

Mother Nature by Nocluse on DeviantArt

To Turn the Wheel of History
To each generation a task is given,
By a will and purpose greater than our own
A work to be accomplished,
Even without knowing the outcome.
We are called, as if by an instinct of migration
Something deep in our collective subconscious,
A summons to see the moment clearly
To understand the implications, and then to respond
To act in order to change, to turn the wheel of history,
To save what must be preserved.
This is our time. This is our calling.
We see the need. We know the consequences.
Let us be about what must be done.
— Steven Charleston¹

I’ve recently started reading a collection of meditations from Spirit Wheel, written by Steven Charleston, a leading voice for justice for Indigenous peoples, the environment, and spiritual renewal. The above resonated with me and also seemed to fit with the varying themes being written about on Planet Nude and in naturism itself.

In particular, “To save what must be preserved” has lingered in my mind. I’ve really appreciated the research that goes into researching many of the articles here to tell the story of the past, unique characters, hard-won battles, cultural formations, and more. 

What must be preserved

With the various resorts and beaches, etc., that are disappearing and a clarion call to revitalize a multitude of aspects, I wondered what should be preserved. I asked the question to ChatGPT, which listed a variety of subjects already covered: origins and founders, social and cultural impact, legal and social challenges, community stories, and narratives. The last one it listed gave me pause: architectural and environmental contributions.

Environmental stewardship is often woven into the broader naturist story: respect for self, others, and the environment. While there are some events, such as WNBR, that tie to the environment, and I know that many naturists strive to live simple, conscious lives, we seem to be more attached to what nature can do for us—how good we feel when we are out in nature without clothes—than to reciprocating what we can do for nature. 

Why? Is it that we feel more threatened by the laws, power structures, and economics of people than we perceive nature to also be threatened? Or have we already forgotten a tenant that is so embedded in the word we use to describe ourselves, a word that is often invoked as a type of filter between social nudity and sexualized nudity and one that we should look at with fresh eyes?

Simply put: There is no naturist without nature. 

“We are nude and call each other Du”

If you take your cue from the FKK/German free body culture, the ideology was not just about nudism but also about nature, with nudity being the catalyst for the working class to turn to nature for strength and inspiration, as John Williams outlines in Turning to Nature in Germany.² 

The concept of ‘nature’ in nudist ideology was twofold -- nature was manifested in both the nonhuman rural environment and the naked human body. Moreover, the socialist nudists saw nature as egalitarian. They declared that there was no class hierarchy in nature and banned the formal pronoun for “you” from their discourse. The motto “We are nude and call each other Du” (rather than Sie) made plain this commitment to working-class solidarity.

We have migrated that egalitarian view of nature to the view of the unadorned body instead—we are all equal without clothes. Perhaps this is more of an accurate view anyway (“the Emperor has no clothes” is still a fraught statement to make), but that shared bond with nature has dissolved, a casualty of the hyper-focus on unattainable perfect bodies. 

Seeing the need

The economic reality that has caused ripples with older naturist clubs being purchased and turned into textile venues is reflective of a new capitalist culture that has had nature enter into its list of must-have possessions, seeking to purchase the benefits of it and, in doing so, usurping a shared resource. 

At the same time, the impact of climate change on nature is blindered and willfully ignored by those who possess a piece of land that serves as a narcissistic mirror -- for the time being as climate change will undoubtedly catch up at some point. At no time was this more apparent than during the pandemic when those who possessed financial means to leave the city did so, leaving the less-affluent behind. 

This is an issue that affects many people. Yet we are naturists. NATURE-ists. It’s not that it’s incumbent on us to act for moral reasons -- it’s deeper than that. It’s even deeper than our identity. Since the inception of time, people have bestowed anthropomorphic qualities on nature. A large part of the reason that it feels so good to be without clothes outside is because of the sensory connection we have with nature -- because our bodies recognize the extension and magnification of them beyond us, we are swept into the awe and healing of being something bigger than ourselves. 

We are feeling the consequences of these changes. Right now, they feel like loss for the past. Beyond numbers, there is something deeper to preserve. We need to preserve nature in order to preserve ourselves. The outcome and the path are beyond my knowing, but isn’t it about time to begin setting about what must be done? 🪐

Heyns, J. “One Heartbeat for Five Million Nerves” 2024 (used with permission)

1. Charleston, Steven. Spirit Wheel: Meditations from an Indigenous Elder. Broadleaf Books, 2023. 

2. Williams, John A. Turning to Nature in Germany: Hiking, Nudism, and Conservation, 1900-1940. Stanford University Press, 2021.