I had heard of the Radical Faeries before. When I was spending time in Tennessee with my then-fiancee back in around 2008, they were sometimes referred to as "them queers" in that Southern way that could signal affection… or not, depending on who you were talking to and on who the people saying it thought they were talking to. However, they enjoyed more support and respect than perhaps the intro suggests, in no small part because they did represent a very Appalachian ideal of self-sufficiency and did real farming and related activities such as making honey and fermented food. Again, depending on who you were talking to and who they thought they were talking to.
Excellent article. I regret that I never got to visit them at the time, and yes, a thought-provoking model for nudists to consider.
I was involved with San Francisco's Radical Faeries during the very late 1980s and into the early '90s. One of the first things I learned is that anyone who identifies as a Faerie is a Faerie; there is no other requirement. I participated in weekly "heart circles" and attended many parties and one Faerie Gathering in Northern California. It was from the Faeries that I first learned the expression "skyclad" as a synonym for nude...and nude I always was in that community. In fact, my Faerie name was simply Naked, or sometimes Naked Andy. I learned a lot about acceptance of myself and others during the time I spent within that community.
Groups like this are just fantasy for me. IF, and that is a big IF, there are any nude activities in my area, I am totally unaware of them. My state, Alaska, is not very welcoming to any nude activities. There is a DEFINITE anti-nude attitude! I do put my moral support behind groups that have such activities elsewhere in the world.
Hey Gerald. I hear ya, AK can be pretty anti-nude friendly, both politically and climatically. However, people are people everywhere and if one exists, then others are sure to, as well. Like myself, for example haha! I'm not sure what area you hail from but there are nude hot springs in the southeast I'd recommend, nude-friendly camping areas in south-central and in the Peninsula. I myself do free-hiking with friends, and nude snow-sports with my roommate, in south-central. I'm not sure about the Interior/Fairbanks area but again, naturists and nudists are everywhere so though it may appear lonely and oppressive on the surface, that does not mean we don't exist and don't connect with each other. It just means that it makes it a little harder to seek out one another. But I promise you, you're never alone!
Stellar article! Love the visual detail and as always, another great article. Thank you for this! One of my closest friends in life came from Wolf Creek Radical Faeries in OR and we've been close friends for decades. At the time, I came from the Burner culture which, I imagine, isn't too far off. I think the new era of nudism that we inevitably are heading toward, could take a lesson or two from these root-type cultures, that nudism once originated from. Thanks again!
The comments about closeted is not or should not be accurate. Nudist and naturist have not had issues with sexuality weather they are hetero or not is not supposed to be the issue. I love being naked, have had very close friends that were gay and I and my family were naked with. Our sexuality was not a discussion or a show to be put on in front of a group unless it was for that reason. Bringing sex and sexuality to the table all the time is why the battle is getting tougher and the nudist are loosing more and more. We have to separate sex, sexuality, and nudists. Body acceptance has been a big thing for real nudists and naturist.
The continued wilful ignorance on display here is frustrating. Sexual and sexuality are not the same thing. You discuss your sexuality all the time. Talking about your partner? That's sexuality. Announcing a pregnancy? Sexuality. Discussing a date? Sexuality. Sexuality is a intrinsic part of the human experience, whether you're gay, straight, Asexual, whatever. The issue is that straight people have used this bullshit 'we don't talk about it' excuse for generations to exclude people that 'aren't like them' and LOVE to talk about how 'the gays are so in your face' while simultaneously filling their social media feeds with sexual, erotic or suggestive imagery or talking at length about their latest night of lust or bragging about their marriage/date/partner or any other thousand little things about their own sexuality. But because you are comfortable with YOURS you think it means others must be quiet about it.
That is what the problem is. Like it or not it is making people shy away from it. Being pregnant is nature whether sex was involved or not. I never discussed with anyone in a public setting how my other half got pregnant. Being gay has nothing to do with it. Being outwardly sexual does.
You're continuing to actually miss the point. Straight people get to be straight with no issues whatsoever. Gay people get railroaded and even normal every day interactions suddenly become 'sexual omg'. Sexuality is normal everday.
Very interesting to read about Radical Faeries, southern rural areas and nudity within the LGBTQ community. As someone who is expanding more so into nudism, being open about my sexuality and preparing to live in the rural south (TN) I found this article one of the best examples of people just being free and being themselves.
One of the elements I enjoy about naturist communities is the preponderance of people who have had life-defining moments that forced them out of mainstream culture to walk another path. Whether that is sexuality or other experiences, it is something that touched the radical nerve enough to question the culture they grew up within.
*That* is what makes people interesting to me, *that* is what makes a friendship more than a set of shared activities. I want to see and hear about the world from those people. There's also some who are somehow born with the enthusiasm of spirit to exist outside of what conformation squeezes from you, and it's not to overlook those. Yet there is something about the journey that is different.
Good on the Faeries for outwardly recognizing it. The trappings that naturists fall into can sometimes be the adoption of a persecuted identity instead of the pursuit of a freed identity. I appreciate the callout of the typified female beauty used to sell naturism. It still happens.
I had heard of the Radical Faeries before. When I was spending time in Tennessee with my then-fiancee back in around 2008, they were sometimes referred to as "them queers" in that Southern way that could signal affection… or not, depending on who you were talking to and on who the people saying it thought they were talking to. However, they enjoyed more support and respect than perhaps the intro suggests, in no small part because they did represent a very Appalachian ideal of self-sufficiency and did real farming and related activities such as making honey and fermented food. Again, depending on who you were talking to and who they thought they were talking to.
Excellent article. I regret that I never got to visit them at the time, and yes, a thought-provoking model for nudists to consider.
Yet another excellent article from Camp.
I was involved with San Francisco's Radical Faeries during the very late 1980s and into the early '90s. One of the first things I learned is that anyone who identifies as a Faerie is a Faerie; there is no other requirement. I participated in weekly "heart circles" and attended many parties and one Faerie Gathering in Northern California. It was from the Faeries that I first learned the expression "skyclad" as a synonym for nude...and nude I always was in that community. In fact, my Faerie name was simply Naked, or sometimes Naked Andy. I learned a lot about acceptance of myself and others during the time I spent within that community.
Groups like this are just fantasy for me. IF, and that is a big IF, there are any nude activities in my area, I am totally unaware of them. My state, Alaska, is not very welcoming to any nude activities. There is a DEFINITE anti-nude attitude! I do put my moral support behind groups that have such activities elsewhere in the world.
Hey Gerald. I hear ya, AK can be pretty anti-nude friendly, both politically and climatically. However, people are people everywhere and if one exists, then others are sure to, as well. Like myself, for example haha! I'm not sure what area you hail from but there are nude hot springs in the southeast I'd recommend, nude-friendly camping areas in south-central and in the Peninsula. I myself do free-hiking with friends, and nude snow-sports with my roommate, in south-central. I'm not sure about the Interior/Fairbanks area but again, naturists and nudists are everywhere so though it may appear lonely and oppressive on the surface, that does not mean we don't exist and don't connect with each other. It just means that it makes it a little harder to seek out one another. But I promise you, you're never alone!
Just applause from me.
Stellar article! Love the visual detail and as always, another great article. Thank you for this! One of my closest friends in life came from Wolf Creek Radical Faeries in OR and we've been close friends for decades. At the time, I came from the Burner culture which, I imagine, isn't too far off. I think the new era of nudism that we inevitably are heading toward, could take a lesson or two from these root-type cultures, that nudism once originated from. Thanks again!
The comments about closeted is not or should not be accurate. Nudist and naturist have not had issues with sexuality weather they are hetero or not is not supposed to be the issue. I love being naked, have had very close friends that were gay and I and my family were naked with. Our sexuality was not a discussion or a show to be put on in front of a group unless it was for that reason. Bringing sex and sexuality to the table all the time is why the battle is getting tougher and the nudist are loosing more and more. We have to separate sex, sexuality, and nudists. Body acceptance has been a big thing for real nudists and naturist.
The continued wilful ignorance on display here is frustrating. Sexual and sexuality are not the same thing. You discuss your sexuality all the time. Talking about your partner? That's sexuality. Announcing a pregnancy? Sexuality. Discussing a date? Sexuality. Sexuality is a intrinsic part of the human experience, whether you're gay, straight, Asexual, whatever. The issue is that straight people have used this bullshit 'we don't talk about it' excuse for generations to exclude people that 'aren't like them' and LOVE to talk about how 'the gays are so in your face' while simultaneously filling their social media feeds with sexual, erotic or suggestive imagery or talking at length about their latest night of lust or bragging about their marriage/date/partner or any other thousand little things about their own sexuality. But because you are comfortable with YOURS you think it means others must be quiet about it.
Too damn bad.
That is what the problem is. Like it or not it is making people shy away from it. Being pregnant is nature whether sex was involved or not. I never discussed with anyone in a public setting how my other half got pregnant. Being gay has nothing to do with it. Being outwardly sexual does.
You're continuing to actually miss the point. Straight people get to be straight with no issues whatsoever. Gay people get railroaded and even normal every day interactions suddenly become 'sexual omg'. Sexuality is normal everday.
No you are. I don't care if you are straight or not. I only care that open public places are not the place to display sexuality of any kind.
Very interesting to read about Radical Faeries, southern rural areas and nudity within the LGBTQ community. As someone who is expanding more so into nudism, being open about my sexuality and preparing to live in the rural south (TN) I found this article one of the best examples of people just being free and being themselves.
One of the elements I enjoy about naturist communities is the preponderance of people who have had life-defining moments that forced them out of mainstream culture to walk another path. Whether that is sexuality or other experiences, it is something that touched the radical nerve enough to question the culture they grew up within.
*That* is what makes people interesting to me, *that* is what makes a friendship more than a set of shared activities. I want to see and hear about the world from those people. There's also some who are somehow born with the enthusiasm of spirit to exist outside of what conformation squeezes from you, and it's not to overlook those. Yet there is something about the journey that is different.
Good on the Faeries for outwardly recognizing it. The trappings that naturists fall into can sometimes be the adoption of a persecuted identity instead of the pursuit of a freed identity. I appreciate the callout of the typified female beauty used to sell naturism. It still happens.