Nudity, at least as we celebrate it, represents freedom, authenticity, and natural beauty. The digital age and social media have introduced new ways of interacting with nudity, including monetization. Today, dozens if not hundreds of popular creators share their nudity-laden lifestyles through platforms like OnlyFans or Patreon, garnering financial support for their content. From nude yoga to nudist travelogues to naked cooking, this has been empowering for many, but also often raises questions about the commodification of nudity. Admittedly, this newsletter itself dabbles in the monetization of nudist content, which some may reasonably express disapproval of. Some naturists say more power to these creators, while others find it distasteful or worse, harmful to the larger message naturists often wish to impart.
This week's #UndressedThread dives into this complex discussion.
What are your thoughts on monetizing nudity through online platforms? Is it nudist self-expression, a distortion of naturist values, or somewhere in between?
How does monetizing nudity online compare to more traditional nudist businesses, like resorts or magazines? Is there a meaningful difference?
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This topic may have as many viewpoints as there are individuals in our community. What's your perspective on the crossroads of nudity, monetization, and digital platforms? Your thoughts can illuminate this conversation, so we encourage you to join in.
Of course, some aspects of the subject matter have the potential to become emotionally charged, so please practice respect. 🪐
I subscribe to Planet Nude and also support a few other content providers. I have not encountered any OnlyFans sites. It is my small way of advocating for the nudist/naturist lifestyle.
I'll subscribe to any naturist based websites providing it is free. As a clothes free advocate and a naturist activist I share my photos, words and wisdom free of charge to promote naturism and the clothes free lifestyle. When it comes to paying, what are you actually paying for and when does it become something else you are paying for ?
There are folks who seem to intentionally blur the line between nudism and not nudism (stuff on Only Fans), which means they soil the work of 100 years on this continent if establishing who we are and who we decidedly are not. As rights are being taken away, this will help nail our coffin if we move to places known for porn. And anyone who is like, “oh, you’re being sex negative, etc etc,” doesn’t get what their selfishness is doing to everyone else. You can enjoy your sexual side while also admitting nudism has nothing to do with it. So those who try to monetize nudism while blurting lines, good luck not ruining it for the rest.
I don't 'condemn' them for using such options, but I don't think they promote the clothes-free living to the world. Textiles probably won't pay for it, because it's not their 'thing', and for many nudistarians it's 'more of the same of what we're already doing'.
I don't see much added value in paying to watch how others enjoy their naturism / nudism / fill in what you call it.
On the devil's advocate front, I can also see how nudistarians could get 'upset' with those forms of 'promotion', seeing how many more options for nudity those creators have than they themselves.
monetizing of naturism content or for that matter of any subject for which someone works with a sole intention of passion, will dilute the crux of the matter, someone likes or not. However there may be few people who has the same profession & passion & here in this case too one may have to compromise with basic values of naturism for the sake of profession issues. It's difficult to assess the situation & it may differ from case to case. As far as possible online monetizing should be avoided except for books, magazines, resorts etc,
Ultimately, the problem has long been that we have people who produce erotic content and call it something else (Ex: 60s physique mags and nudist mags), catering to an audience that wishes to consume erotica without having to say they're consuming erotica.
As you noted, exploitation is nothing new for nudists and naturists, and I'm not sure the nudist on OnlyFans is at all different from the thousands of issues of "nudist" magazines that almost exclusively featured young women, the "Miss Nude" pageants that some clubs hosted, or the lingerie dances that many clubs still host. But I would propose that these have seriously impacted the public's perceptions of the movement, attracting particular "consumers" while discouraging other people.
I'd also distinguish between monetizing knowledge, information, and inspiration through literature, research, art, and film and the monetization/commodification of bodies in what is (was?) a body acceptance/liberation movement. What did the club do when the Miss Nude pageant brought in more dollars than the chili cookoff? They threw out the chili pots and got a bigger stage. What does the Onlyfans creator do when the sexier images bring in more dollars?
Paid content that elevates the discourse is different than selling naked photos. Unfortunately, it's also far less profitable.
I will limit myself to pay for certain nudism/naturism related content online (Substack as an example). I will, however, refuse to purchase content via the OnlyFans platform which has way to much sexually charged nudism and hosts too many personalities or (bad) influencers who are of no example to those looking for body acceptance.
I pay for some content on Substack (not all of it naturist) and I pay membership to a couple of naturist websites. I don't pay for OnlyFans content. I have a finite discretionary budget for online content and to subscribe to any more, I will have to stop one of my existing subscriptions. My own blog on Substack is free to read and not behind a paywall, although there is an opportunity for readers to donate as a way to say thank you, which is always appreciated. I don't begrudge people trying to make a living from their content, but as far as promoting naturism, I feel it should be accessible to everyone.
I’m 100% on board with the concept that, if something adds value to your life or increases hour enjoyment of something you’re passionate about, it is ethical to contribute to it monetarily to help it grow and to show appreciation for the creator(s) of the content. Whether that’s a nudist thing, a journalistic thing, an art thing, etc., we are not owed endless free content to consume at our leisure. Things we love deserve our support.
I don’t personally subscribe to any content on Only Fans… what I have seen isn’t something that adds value to my experience of naturism, so isn’t something I feel compelled to pay for. Maybe it adds value for some people. I hear the argument that it can hurt the naturist message… but on the flip side, the nudist and naturist community has a long history of peddling questionable content, selling naked bodies and hinting at sexuality, and it may well harm the nudist image but it has probably also played a large role in the growth of the nudist community whether we’d like to admit it or not. I guess the OnlyFans content is serving that same purpose. I don’t think it’s going anywhere, and if some people enjoy it, good for them.
Use of a pay for content approach and my reaction to it varies. Interesting, well researched and constructed articles via a Substack for instance, are somewhere I can see paying. I don’t, but I’m completely ok with it. No different than paying for a magazine subscription.
But OF and Patreon accounts are in a different category. They seem to be as much more about the author/creator, with some focused on self aggrandizing themselves, as anything else. I view them very skeptically from the start. If they appear to have a sexual vibe, then definitively not for me. To most, simply having an OF or Patreon page is a sign that you’re up to no good. Claims that a page is naturist with nudity, not sexual with nudity, but keeping it behind a locked door is a hard sell. Not a plus for naturism in my mind.
BTW, kind of funny that in order to contribute to your poll...about paying for content....requires being a paid subscriber. Think that may skew your results?
In the end, for me personally, I know good content when I see it. I much prefer the idea of free, open content. The library over the bookstore if you will. If a particular page, regardless of what it’s on, scratches an itch to the point that I’m willing to pay for it, so be it.
We live in a world where most people think that all information (and content in general) is free. But it hardly ever is. Instead of with money, we're paying with personal information and with time looking at ads. Unfortunately, naturist content creators can benefit less from this, because most advertising platforms don't allow nudity. So we have to find other ways to compensate the time we put in creating content.
There is obviously a big difference between content creators who do this out of pure ideology or as a hobby, and those who try to make a living from it. There's no better or worse, we like to compare this to naturist clubs and commercial naturist resorts. Typically, money is quite a good stimulator to create more and better content (just like it is at resorts to create more and better facilities). But unfortunately, as some have mentioned in the comments before, there are also content creators that try to find a shortcut by riding the thin lines between naturism, exhibitionism, and voyeurism. This creates confusion. For example, we never publish full frontal nudity in our "free" content, and neither do we on our Patreon. Now and then, we get messages from disappointed patrons who thought that they would get more insights (pun intended) by subscribing to a paid channel.
We don't mind that people sell nudity/naturism on Patreon or OnlyFans, but if they ONLY do so on these platforms, in a "pay to see more" kinda way, we feel like it leans towards prostitution. Well, at least to us.
In any case, we strongly believe that the fact that naturist content creators have platforms that allow them to make money from their content will be a stimulation and will end up in more naturist content being available, both free and paid. If we had failed to make money with Naked Wanderings, probably neither our blog or our youtube channels would exist today, because we just wouldn't have the time for it.
Can naturism exist on OnlyFans?
I subscribe to Planet Nude and also support a few other content providers. I have not encountered any OnlyFans sites. It is my small way of advocating for the nudist/naturist lifestyle.
I'll subscribe to any naturist based websites providing it is free. As a clothes free advocate and a naturist activist I share my photos, words and wisdom free of charge to promote naturism and the clothes free lifestyle. When it comes to paying, what are you actually paying for and when does it become something else you are paying for ?
There are folks who seem to intentionally blur the line between nudism and not nudism (stuff on Only Fans), which means they soil the work of 100 years on this continent if establishing who we are and who we decidedly are not. As rights are being taken away, this will help nail our coffin if we move to places known for porn. And anyone who is like, “oh, you’re being sex negative, etc etc,” doesn’t get what their selfishness is doing to everyone else. You can enjoy your sexual side while also admitting nudism has nothing to do with it. So those who try to monetize nudism while blurting lines, good luck not ruining it for the rest.
For now I have my doubts about such platforms.
I don't 'condemn' them for using such options, but I don't think they promote the clothes-free living to the world. Textiles probably won't pay for it, because it's not their 'thing', and for many nudistarians it's 'more of the same of what we're already doing'.
I don't see much added value in paying to watch how others enjoy their naturism / nudism / fill in what you call it.
On the devil's advocate front, I can also see how nudistarians could get 'upset' with those forms of 'promotion', seeing how many more options for nudity those creators have than they themselves.
To each their own, of course.
monetizing of naturism content or for that matter of any subject for which someone works with a sole intention of passion, will dilute the crux of the matter, someone likes or not. However there may be few people who has the same profession & passion & here in this case too one may have to compromise with basic values of naturism for the sake of profession issues. It's difficult to assess the situation & it may differ from case to case. As far as possible online monetizing should be avoided except for books, magazines, resorts etc,
Ultimately, the problem has long been that we have people who produce erotic content and call it something else (Ex: 60s physique mags and nudist mags), catering to an audience that wishes to consume erotica without having to say they're consuming erotica.
As you noted, exploitation is nothing new for nudists and naturists, and I'm not sure the nudist on OnlyFans is at all different from the thousands of issues of "nudist" magazines that almost exclusively featured young women, the "Miss Nude" pageants that some clubs hosted, or the lingerie dances that many clubs still host. But I would propose that these have seriously impacted the public's perceptions of the movement, attracting particular "consumers" while discouraging other people.
I'd also distinguish between monetizing knowledge, information, and inspiration through literature, research, art, and film and the monetization/commodification of bodies in what is (was?) a body acceptance/liberation movement. What did the club do when the Miss Nude pageant brought in more dollars than the chili cookoff? They threw out the chili pots and got a bigger stage. What does the Onlyfans creator do when the sexier images bring in more dollars?
Paid content that elevates the discourse is different than selling naked photos. Unfortunately, it's also far less profitable.
I will limit myself to pay for certain nudism/naturism related content online (Substack as an example). I will, however, refuse to purchase content via the OnlyFans platform which has way to much sexually charged nudism and hosts too many personalities or (bad) influencers who are of no example to those looking for body acceptance.
I pay for some content on Substack (not all of it naturist) and I pay membership to a couple of naturist websites. I don't pay for OnlyFans content. I have a finite discretionary budget for online content and to subscribe to any more, I will have to stop one of my existing subscriptions. My own blog on Substack is free to read and not behind a paywall, although there is an opportunity for readers to donate as a way to say thank you, which is always appreciated. I don't begrudge people trying to make a living from their content, but as far as promoting naturism, I feel it should be accessible to everyone.
I’m 100% on board with the concept that, if something adds value to your life or increases hour enjoyment of something you’re passionate about, it is ethical to contribute to it monetarily to help it grow and to show appreciation for the creator(s) of the content. Whether that’s a nudist thing, a journalistic thing, an art thing, etc., we are not owed endless free content to consume at our leisure. Things we love deserve our support.
I don’t personally subscribe to any content on Only Fans… what I have seen isn’t something that adds value to my experience of naturism, so isn’t something I feel compelled to pay for. Maybe it adds value for some people. I hear the argument that it can hurt the naturist message… but on the flip side, the nudist and naturist community has a long history of peddling questionable content, selling naked bodies and hinting at sexuality, and it may well harm the nudist image but it has probably also played a large role in the growth of the nudist community whether we’d like to admit it or not. I guess the OnlyFans content is serving that same purpose. I don’t think it’s going anywhere, and if some people enjoy it, good for them.
Use of a pay for content approach and my reaction to it varies. Interesting, well researched and constructed articles via a Substack for instance, are somewhere I can see paying. I don’t, but I’m completely ok with it. No different than paying for a magazine subscription.
But OF and Patreon accounts are in a different category. They seem to be as much more about the author/creator, with some focused on self aggrandizing themselves, as anything else. I view them very skeptically from the start. If they appear to have a sexual vibe, then definitively not for me. To most, simply having an OF or Patreon page is a sign that you’re up to no good. Claims that a page is naturist with nudity, not sexual with nudity, but keeping it behind a locked door is a hard sell. Not a plus for naturism in my mind.
BTW, kind of funny that in order to contribute to your poll...about paying for content....requires being a paid subscriber. Think that may skew your results?
In the end, for me personally, I know good content when I see it. I much prefer the idea of free, open content. The library over the bookstore if you will. If a particular page, regardless of what it’s on, scratches an itch to the point that I’m willing to pay for it, so be it.
We live in a world where most people think that all information (and content in general) is free. But it hardly ever is. Instead of with money, we're paying with personal information and with time looking at ads. Unfortunately, naturist content creators can benefit less from this, because most advertising platforms don't allow nudity. So we have to find other ways to compensate the time we put in creating content.
There is obviously a big difference between content creators who do this out of pure ideology or as a hobby, and those who try to make a living from it. There's no better or worse, we like to compare this to naturist clubs and commercial naturist resorts. Typically, money is quite a good stimulator to create more and better content (just like it is at resorts to create more and better facilities). But unfortunately, as some have mentioned in the comments before, there are also content creators that try to find a shortcut by riding the thin lines between naturism, exhibitionism, and voyeurism. This creates confusion. For example, we never publish full frontal nudity in our "free" content, and neither do we on our Patreon. Now and then, we get messages from disappointed patrons who thought that they would get more insights (pun intended) by subscribing to a paid channel.
We don't mind that people sell nudity/naturism on Patreon or OnlyFans, but if they ONLY do so on these platforms, in a "pay to see more" kinda way, we feel like it leans towards prostitution. Well, at least to us.
In any case, we strongly believe that the fact that naturist content creators have platforms that allow them to make money from their content will be a stimulation and will end up in more naturist content being available, both free and paid. If we had failed to make money with Naked Wanderings, probably neither our blog or our youtube channels would exist today, because we just wouldn't have the time for it.