Nudity is a state of being, much like silence is a condition of sound. Nudism, however, is akin to music: it's a conscious and deliberate expression of the beauty that lies within the bare form, much like a melody is drawn from silence. The two are irrevocably connected, yet distinct. One is passive, the other, active. One is inherent, the other is chosen. If nudism can be likened to a religion, nudity might be its deity. And yet, nudity alone holds meaning for many who would never apply the label “nudist” or “naturist” to themselves. This week's Undressed Thread seeks to explore this relationship and what it means to you, our community of nudies.
How do you relate your nudity to your nudism? Is it merely a state of being, or is it a more profound expression of your beliefs and philosophy?
Do you find your practice of nudism influencing other areas of your life, much like a religious practice might shape your worldview? If so, how?
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We're excited to hear your stories and insights. Leave a comment with your thoughts and experiences! 🪐
I was tempted to write "a religion" because when I'm in my home, where I'm free to be naked almost as much as I like , there is also no need for clothes when I'm in my prayer-meditation practice. To be honest, I'm not as "evangelical" about being naked as I could be .... but in that aspect, as well as all other aspects of life, while there is room for improvement, I try to be better about that all the time.
I'm actually Christian clergy - and have found it interesting - and indeed, gratifying! - to encounter other Christian clergy from various denominations, and other church workers. as well as laity who are engaged as leadership in their congregations. We need, all of us, to be less shy about our clothes-free practice. It would tell the world that living without clothes is a good and godly thing - and that one of the benefits is to become less estranged from our bodies, and ultimately from our sexuality.
I think there’s a rhetorical difference between calling something a lifestyle and referring to it as “the lifestyle”—for one, only people familiar with the 🍍 version are likely to be confused, and hopefully the surrounding context would clear that up
I think that this is a fair and true comment about the hijacking of the word, but then there are so many different lifestyles out there that I don't see why one sector should end up with exclusive use of it as a descriptor. I'm not advocating aggressive stands being made but nudists/naturists have seen our lifestyle descriptors hijacked already by others who are not what 'nudist' or 'naturist' meant originally. Online searches using these words end up with porn, swinger etc websites being listed at or near the top, these can be paid-for listings and big tech is complicit in this hijack. If we start calling ourselves ******s to avoid this deliberate confusion with our way of life then ******s will likely also be hijacked similarly.
I like that people experience nudity in different ways, whether they call themselves nudists or naturists or nothing at all. It certainly can be a lifestyle or a hobby for many or something close to a religion to some. Maybe it’s a political view or philosophy for me? There’s something radical and activist about reclaiming the human body. But I’ve been thinking a lot lately about “nudism” as a perspective rather than as a specific set of practices… which I don’t really know how to fit into the options of the poll, but I think is an interesting way to think about nudity and sort of encourages us to ask “what does the body mean here?” and “what does our cultural response to nudity tell us about ourselves?” rather than assigning goodness or badness to the body or different ways that we experience nudity.
Love this insight! It took about 2 years to connect the dots from our affinity to hanging out and being in the nude to being nudists. Sure we knew the word, but probably little understanding about nudism. Naturist/Naturism weren’t widely used here 🇦🇺 in the late 90’s and it was only when we saw a news item about a Nude Wedding at a Nude Beach that the preverbial penny dropped.
A hobby, but I feel aspects of the other choices too.
- Hobby: something fun and relaxing to do. I get to check the weather report, wait for sun, then go out in the backyard and sunbathe.
- Lifestyle: Hanging out nekkid, reading nudist blogs…
- Religion: Feeling the sun and breeze all over me brings me into my body, which paradoxically is spiritual. Plus I have a strong belief “being nekkid is fun! Everyone should do it!” that sets me apart from most people, so I get to feel like a cult member ;)
- Political: I’m outraged (sorta) that public nudity is illegal or at least shocking in most places, and I think the laws should be changed.
A related distinction, I think, is that simple nudity can exist in a society/culture that does not wear clothes as a norm. Nudism exists because people wear clothes. It is practiced in relation, contrast, or opposition to a society where clothing is prevalent and the various cultural components associated with that. That could be driven by any of these lifestyle, religious, philosophical, or other motivations.
Interesting notion! Nudism is sort of defined by its opposition to clothing in many ways. If nudity were universally more accepted, would nudism cease to be?
I don't subscribe to the -ist and -ism of it all. I just dislike being dressed. If I could go the rest of my life without getting dressed, I'd be pretty happy about that. But that's an unreal hope. People who attach near-theological significance to their (lack of) dress style are a vast irritation.
Nudism to me is so intrinsic to my nature - like it's part of my DNA. It is something I loved ever since I can remember - and way before I knew it's a way of life. I am very glad it's so much of part of my nature - it has enriched my life so many ways - and grateful now that I do not have to wear clothes much anymore.
I am enjoying all of these thoughts , insights and opinions. At this point in time I embrace “nudism,” because it is an “Ism” that I practice, advocate for, and support in small ways. Nude is just me in the shower, or having naked lunch at Glen Eden. I don’t call myself a naturist because I don’t fully comprehend it—perhaps naturism is not primarily about being nude. As a relatively new social nudist, it is a journey that continues.
for me it is a lifestyle. the current usage of that word is irrelevant to how I see nudism. I live naked, it is me in my most honest and personal personae
sure it can be sexual, most wonderful things can be at times, but nudism simply brings life to its most basic and comfortable level. I meditate daily in the nude. sometimes I have to wear clothes to do so but it feels less meaningful to me. nudism is not a political statement. it is also more than a hobby.
Interesting discussion. I love the silence and music analogy by the way.
I’ve always thought that naturism is a personal journey. What brings you to it, isn’t what keeps you a part of it over time. What it means to you, the role it plays in your life, is personal, as a part of your values. That role changes and morphs over time.
As for me, for a good chunk of my life, I would have said naturism was a hobby, something I did on the side, for recreation, for fun. Part of that is still true today. It’s still something I take pleasure in. I hope I never stop feeling the joy it brings me. But it’s evolved to a bit more than that. It’s become more of a central ingredient as to who I am. So, I’d say it’s entered more into being part of my lifestyle or philosophy. I don’t shun clothes entirely or want to live an entirely nude life. I’m just saying that naturism has grown closer to my heart.
Naturism definitely impacts other parts of my life and how I see life in general. I’ve written about this before as “Naturism’s Gifts”. I feel that naturism helps buoy my courage, confidence, compassion, understanding, and acceptance among other things. It didn’t create them, but it enhances them, along with other highly valued parts of my life like family
and friends, my profession, my faith. Regardless, having a role in supporting and shaping such foundational personal values, elevates naturism in my life. It’s role has certainly grown as I’ve aged, matured, and learned.
Not a hobby (naked is the default human state. All body covers are artificial and hobbies)
Not a "life style" (I lead an ordinary life without clothes) Naked is the default human state.
Not a religion (although some big religions push misanthropy against human bodies)
Not a Political Stance (although opposition to political misanthropy is good)
All the poll answers presuppose that nudity is somehow something we "DO" rather than what we are. Our ancestors were naked for millions of years. Body masks are as rude as they are artificial. A natural ordinary human life is without clothing except in cold weather.
My nudism is more of a lifestyle than anything else, in that I choose to be nude whenever practicably possible. To a lesser extent my nudism is also a hobby; I'm interested in both the history of nudism and its development, locally and worldwide. Even when its too cold to be nude I enjoy learning about nudism. I'm not religious but if I was nudism would need to feature as part of it. In a way my nudism is a political stance, in that I believe there is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about being seen to be a nudist and known to be one and will actively try to encourage others to try and/or accept private and public nudism. The most political I usually get about nudism in public is as a rider on WNBRs, I ride on them because I believe in trying to make climate issues more widely understood and acted on as well as wanting to make public nudity accepted more widely. Less publicly I've been part of a nudist group which tries to monitor media stories that feature nudists and/or nudity, with particular focus on trying to ensure that they do not portray the UK laws about public nudity in a wrong manner
As I've got older my nudism has increasingly become my way of life. I've been a nudist since my teen years when there were more things distracting me from living naked than now. I'm not nude as much as I'd like to be, both the local climate and wider societal issues restrict my nudity. If I lived in a location where year round nudism was possible I'd endeavour to live nude permanently, preferably in a nudist community as social nudism is important to me. As I don't live somewhere like that, yet, I just live nude at home, good friends know that this is a nudist home, and I socialise in nudist settings as much as possible - nearby beaches, local clubs, in our homes and elsewhere with nudist friends. As the years have passed some other earlier interests have been dropped, which has enabled increased participation in nudist activities. A long time ago I realised that the more time that I spent nude, the more time that I want to spend nude. I think that this will continue until I am permanently nude, whether or not this is achieved, I'm happy for it to be a goal in life. Currently work is the main reason why I wear clothing, its a relief to escape from it when I get home.
My practicing of nudism does influence other areas of life. If there are clashes between textile and nudist events the textile ones need to promise to be outstanding to persuade me to dress for them instead of the simplest of nude social occasions. There are times when something is happening locally that looks like it could be interesting but I don't go because I don't want to put any clothes on. I'm not being anti-social, I have some great textile friends and enjoy spending time with them, I simply love being nude. The close textile friends know that when its a nice summers day then its probably not worth asking me to events where I'll need to wear clothing, they know how important nudism is to me. They usually know some of the nudists I'll be with, so they understand that its not just me who wants to be naked and free.
I was tempted to write "a religion" because when I'm in my home, where I'm free to be naked almost as much as I like , there is also no need for clothes when I'm in my prayer-meditation practice. To be honest, I'm not as "evangelical" about being naked as I could be .... but in that aspect, as well as all other aspects of life, while there is room for improvement, I try to be better about that all the time.
Interesting! Are you a churchgoer? I’m curious with nudity being a facet of your spiritual practice how that changes in a clothed/community setting
I'm actually Christian clergy - and have found it interesting - and indeed, gratifying! - to encounter other Christian clergy from various denominations, and other church workers. as well as laity who are engaged as leadership in their congregations. We need, all of us, to be less shy about our clothes-free practice. It would tell the world that living without clothes is a good and godly thing - and that one of the benefits is to become less estranged from our bodies, and ultimately from our sexuality.
Don’t use the term ‘lifestyle’ as it’s been co-opted by Swingers 🍍. Go by the saying of nude when possible, clothed when practical.
I think there’s a rhetorical difference between calling something a lifestyle and referring to it as “the lifestyle”—for one, only people familiar with the 🍍 version are likely to be confused, and hopefully the surrounding context would clear that up
Doh! I made a textual change to put a space between life and style… unfortunately the change wiped out previous poll results. Please vote again!
Big L, little l. Lifestyle = Swingerville, lifestyle = a way of living your life.
Sorry I didn’t mean for you to mess up your poll 🙏
I think that this is a fair and true comment about the hijacking of the word, but then there are so many different lifestyles out there that I don't see why one sector should end up with exclusive use of it as a descriptor. I'm not advocating aggressive stands being made but nudists/naturists have seen our lifestyle descriptors hijacked already by others who are not what 'nudist' or 'naturist' meant originally. Online searches using these words end up with porn, swinger etc websites being listed at or near the top, these can be paid-for listings and big tech is complicit in this hijack. If we start calling ourselves ******s to avoid this deliberate confusion with our way of life then ******s will likely also be hijacked similarly.
I wouldn’t call it a religion but my nudism is certainly my life philosophy. I call it my choice of personal existence - my COPE.
I like that. It’s my cope too.
Fun fact: Philip Carr-Gomm's 288p 'A Brief History of Nakedness' does not include the words nudist/ism nor naturist/ism at all.
Interesting! I loved that book but never noticed.
He mentioned this in an interview (and the terms are not in the extensive index).
I like that people experience nudity in different ways, whether they call themselves nudists or naturists or nothing at all. It certainly can be a lifestyle or a hobby for many or something close to a religion to some. Maybe it’s a political view or philosophy for me? There’s something radical and activist about reclaiming the human body. But I’ve been thinking a lot lately about “nudism” as a perspective rather than as a specific set of practices… which I don’t really know how to fit into the options of the poll, but I think is an interesting way to think about nudity and sort of encourages us to ask “what does the body mean here?” and “what does our cultural response to nudity tell us about ourselves?” rather than assigning goodness or badness to the body or different ways that we experience nudity.
Love this insight! It took about 2 years to connect the dots from our affinity to hanging out and being in the nude to being nudists. Sure we knew the word, but probably little understanding about nudism. Naturist/Naturism weren’t widely used here 🇦🇺 in the late 90’s and it was only when we saw a news item about a Nude Wedding at a Nude Beach that the preverbial penny dropped.
A hobby, but I feel aspects of the other choices too.
- Hobby: something fun and relaxing to do. I get to check the weather report, wait for sun, then go out in the backyard and sunbathe.
- Lifestyle: Hanging out nekkid, reading nudist blogs…
- Religion: Feeling the sun and breeze all over me brings me into my body, which paradoxically is spiritual. Plus I have a strong belief “being nekkid is fun! Everyone should do it!” that sets me apart from most people, so I get to feel like a cult member ;)
- Political: I’m outraged (sorta) that public nudity is illegal or at least shocking in most places, and I think the laws should be changed.
Love this!
A related distinction, I think, is that simple nudity can exist in a society/culture that does not wear clothes as a norm. Nudism exists because people wear clothes. It is practiced in relation, contrast, or opposition to a society where clothing is prevalent and the various cultural components associated with that. That could be driven by any of these lifestyle, religious, philosophical, or other motivations.
Interesting notion! Nudism is sort of defined by its opposition to clothing in many ways. If nudity were universally more accepted, would nudism cease to be?
Then there would be a minority of clotheists (textiles, a misnomer, as one can wear a clothes bag).
I don't subscribe to the -ist and -ism of it all. I just dislike being dressed. If I could go the rest of my life without getting dressed, I'd be pretty happy about that. But that's an unreal hope. People who attach near-theological significance to their (lack of) dress style are a vast irritation.
Nudism to me is so intrinsic to my nature - like it's part of my DNA. It is something I loved ever since I can remember - and way before I knew it's a way of life. I am very glad it's so much of part of my nature - it has enriched my life so many ways - and grateful now that I do not have to wear clothes much anymore.
I am enjoying all of these thoughts , insights and opinions. At this point in time I embrace “nudism,” because it is an “Ism” that I practice, advocate for, and support in small ways. Nude is just me in the shower, or having naked lunch at Glen Eden. I don’t call myself a naturist because I don’t fully comprehend it—perhaps naturism is not primarily about being nude. As a relatively new social nudist, it is a journey that continues.
for me it is a lifestyle. the current usage of that word is irrelevant to how I see nudism. I live naked, it is me in my most honest and personal personae
sure it can be sexual, most wonderful things can be at times, but nudism simply brings life to its most basic and comfortable level. I meditate daily in the nude. sometimes I have to wear clothes to do so but it feels less meaningful to me. nudism is not a political statement. it is also more than a hobby.
Interesting discussion. I love the silence and music analogy by the way.
I’ve always thought that naturism is a personal journey. What brings you to it, isn’t what keeps you a part of it over time. What it means to you, the role it plays in your life, is personal, as a part of your values. That role changes and morphs over time.
As for me, for a good chunk of my life, I would have said naturism was a hobby, something I did on the side, for recreation, for fun. Part of that is still true today. It’s still something I take pleasure in. I hope I never stop feeling the joy it brings me. But it’s evolved to a bit more than that. It’s become more of a central ingredient as to who I am. So, I’d say it’s entered more into being part of my lifestyle or philosophy. I don’t shun clothes entirely or want to live an entirely nude life. I’m just saying that naturism has grown closer to my heart.
Naturism definitely impacts other parts of my life and how I see life in general. I’ve written about this before as “Naturism’s Gifts”. I feel that naturism helps buoy my courage, confidence, compassion, understanding, and acceptance among other things. It didn’t create them, but it enhances them, along with other highly valued parts of my life like family
and friends, my profession, my faith. Regardless, having a role in supporting and shaping such foundational personal values, elevates naturism in my life. It’s role has certainly grown as I’ve aged, matured, and learned.
Not a hobby (naked is the default human state. All body covers are artificial and hobbies)
Not a "life style" (I lead an ordinary life without clothes) Naked is the default human state.
Not a religion (although some big religions push misanthropy against human bodies)
Not a Political Stance (although opposition to political misanthropy is good)
All the poll answers presuppose that nudity is somehow something we "DO" rather than what we are. Our ancestors were naked for millions of years. Body masks are as rude as they are artificial. A natural ordinary human life is without clothing except in cold weather.
My nudism is more of a lifestyle than anything else, in that I choose to be nude whenever practicably possible. To a lesser extent my nudism is also a hobby; I'm interested in both the history of nudism and its development, locally and worldwide. Even when its too cold to be nude I enjoy learning about nudism. I'm not religious but if I was nudism would need to feature as part of it. In a way my nudism is a political stance, in that I believe there is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about being seen to be a nudist and known to be one and will actively try to encourage others to try and/or accept private and public nudism. The most political I usually get about nudism in public is as a rider on WNBRs, I ride on them because I believe in trying to make climate issues more widely understood and acted on as well as wanting to make public nudity accepted more widely. Less publicly I've been part of a nudist group which tries to monitor media stories that feature nudists and/or nudity, with particular focus on trying to ensure that they do not portray the UK laws about public nudity in a wrong manner
As I've got older my nudism has increasingly become my way of life. I've been a nudist since my teen years when there were more things distracting me from living naked than now. I'm not nude as much as I'd like to be, both the local climate and wider societal issues restrict my nudity. If I lived in a location where year round nudism was possible I'd endeavour to live nude permanently, preferably in a nudist community as social nudism is important to me. As I don't live somewhere like that, yet, I just live nude at home, good friends know that this is a nudist home, and I socialise in nudist settings as much as possible - nearby beaches, local clubs, in our homes and elsewhere with nudist friends. As the years have passed some other earlier interests have been dropped, which has enabled increased participation in nudist activities. A long time ago I realised that the more time that I spent nude, the more time that I want to spend nude. I think that this will continue until I am permanently nude, whether or not this is achieved, I'm happy for it to be a goal in life. Currently work is the main reason why I wear clothing, its a relief to escape from it when I get home.
My practicing of nudism does influence other areas of life. If there are clashes between textile and nudist events the textile ones need to promise to be outstanding to persuade me to dress for them instead of the simplest of nude social occasions. There are times when something is happening locally that looks like it could be interesting but I don't go because I don't want to put any clothes on. I'm not being anti-social, I have some great textile friends and enjoy spending time with them, I simply love being nude. The close textile friends know that when its a nice summers day then its probably not worth asking me to events where I'll need to wear clothing, they know how important nudism is to me. They usually know some of the nudists I'll be with, so they understand that its not just me who wants to be naked and free.
I love this answer. Very relatable. Thank you
Its just something humans do, people shouldn't over complicate life, like they do. The simpler you make things the better it is 😊