It’s basically the most frequently asked question of naturism. Someone always brings it up, and somehow it never gets old. Do the words mean different things to you? Is one more philosophy, one more lifestyle? Or have they basically merged? Are all naturists nudists but not all nudists naturists? Or do they apply at different times? And does the label you use actually change how people see you—or how you see yourself?
In this week’s #UndressedThread, we are asking:
What do “nudist” and “naturist” mean to you? Do you use one, both, or neither?
Drop your take in the comments. 🪐
There’s a perhaps useful distinction I like to make to differentiate between the two. This is just me and has sort of grown out of how the two words have been used since about the 70s or 80s. I tend to think of nudism as unclothedness in a private context, naturism in a public context.
To me, that definition is essentially a legal one. A private context for nudism would be landed clubs, private facilities, and anywhere else where access is restricted and not open to the general public.
Naturism occurs in a public context, public beaches, publicly held land, and anywhere else where access is open to the general public and not restricted solely to naked people.
Why I find this helpful is that it’s a pretty good way to consider the legal and financial challenges, and the balance between the two, that come with private nude recreation vs public, as well as the wildly different public relations challenges between the two. While a private nudist club might be more concerned with insurance, maintenance, and taxes, a public naturist beach might be more concerned with managing public order, public perception, and the seemingly constant effort to maintain whatever legal status there is.
I don’t expect this to be the way everyone splits this particular hair, but it has sort of become embedded in my head over the years, basically growing out of the different approaches by the as-was ASA and The Naturist Society.
I am a 24-7 naturist. I'm not a nudist.
For me nudists are the ones that keeps clothes on and maybe takes them off at home, but not necessarily. If you are naked only at home and don't care about the environment that much or don't usually live the naturist lifestyle, then you are a nudist.
Sweden has only 10 million citizens and is not a nude country. At. All. 99,99% of the few ones that calls themselves "naturists" do that only because they visit a nude beach every once in a while - and between those few moments they keep their clothes on. In my point of view they are nudists or skinny-dippers only. 1%, at the most, of those last 0,01% that are "real" naturist here also go more or less regular on nude hikes. I am one of those last tiny fraction that do.
The summer of 2023 I went on 30+ nude hikes or #NudeOrienteering that I call it, 5-8 hours at the time. Summer of 2024 those numbers were dropped to only 20+ times, due to bad weather that summer. 2025 I was back to 30+ again. Unfortunately this summer looks it will be low numbers again, also due to bad weather. On good days I even go for nude hikes in the winter too. I am most likely, statistically, the only one in my country doing nude orienteering, or Hittaut as it officially is called. It has around 100.000 active users every spring, summer and fall and everyone of them are doing it dressed. Except me.
For me enjoying the physical sensation of sun, wind and also water, the few times i skinny-dip, directly on my skin is the main purpose why I am a naturist, besides loving the nature and or precious and fragile environment. Being #NakedInNature, i.e. in the forests or in the meadows, is what I live for. If it was just for me I'd live in a cabin in the woods all year around, naked.
That's "Nudism or naturism?" for me.