I love this healthy reality check on sexuality within naturism.
A thing I've heard naturists say sometimes when asked about what happens if sexual arousal occurs in these spaces is, "It simply does not happen." I feel like this thought is a denial of human nature and is intimidating to someone who may not have experienced social nudity yet. I'd like to see more acknowledgement and discussions in our circles about how arousal shouldn't be feared in naturist spaces because we are rational beings that understand respect, consent, and impulse control.
It tends to depend on WHY you are in a venue. If you are there for erotic purposes, you will get an erection, guaranteed. On the other hand, if you are in a venue because you want the freedom of being nude, you won’t.
I submit that this concept has broader implications for those entities who maintain that public nudity has adverse impact on the community.
Nudity, in and of itself, is not erotic, obscene, perverse, nor is social nudity, unless, and until, the viewer is present to gratify those obscene, erotic and perverse thought. The person who is nude cannot be blamed for the thoughts and behaviors of another person.
For other than adolescents, it really depends on where your head is at. As a 14 year old on a textile beach, getting hard coming out of the surf was purely physical…and unwelcome. As an adult in a nudist environment, it is all in your head. If you are in a nudist environment in order to gratify your erotic needs, an erection is inevitable. Change your mindset to responsibility rather than self indulgence and your erection will disappear. The brain remains our greatest sexual organ, and we can and do control our thoughts and behaviors. IF you are unable to make this paradigm shift, you have no business in a nudist environment.
"Nudists and naturists also recognize that certain behaviors—such as being visibly aroused, engaging in public sexual activity, invading personal space, making suggestive comments, asking intrusive questions, or ogling others—are disrespectful and strictly prohibited."
I would hope these bahaviors would not be acceptable in any textile environment.
Excellent article. Great explanation of the nudist/naturist philosophy.
As a psychologist and long-time nudist, I read this article with greater than average interest. I agree with much of it, but would've deemphasized the psychobiology and various mental conditions named, because 1) those listed are only a subset that predispose inappropriate behavior and 2) many people overvalue diagnostic labels, leading them to diminish their own agency and blame disorders for their conscious but unsuitable choices.
To me, what is relevant is that individuals' cognitive and emotional reactions depend upon their exposure to and understanding of nuanced, thoughtful educational efforts (such as this article) and their ability--whatever psychological traits they possess--to modulate disinhibition (which itself is not psychopathological but rather situation dependent). Absent overindulgence in alcohol or other drugs, the vast majority of people easily accomplish this feat hundreds of times a day without undue difficulty.
In my clinical experience, acknowledging and understanding one's feelings is crucial. But the objective is not then to exert control over troublesome feelings (that's what ego defense mechanisms do automatically, to the person's short-term gain but longer-term detriment) but instead to increase control of one's behavior, consciously choosing value-appropriate actions rather than thoughtlessly reacting to nudity / nudist environments in inappropriate ways.
The all-too-common defensive retort "nudity isn't sex" is indeed problematic; it either makes us nudists appear cringingly naïve / prudish or flat out disingenuous. Better, I think, to straightforwardly acknowledge the correlation and add something like, "But at our resort, we separate the two in order to practice non-sexual social nudity. If you're cool with that, then welcome!"
The legal environment on social nudity is quite clear:
Engage in sexual behavior and you will be banned, your nudist venues will be taken away from you, and your legal bills will bankrupt you. It doesn’t matter whether you live in permissive Scandinavia, France or the great state of Arkansas. If you think with your dick, you will inevitably harm the legitimate nudist environment. Two examples: We lost Higbee Beach in New Jersey and Lighthouse Beach on Fire Island in New York. Others are in danger of being closed down or their acreage severely constrained.
So long as we are successful in self policing, we have the chance to survive and thrive.
Ronna is right to point out that the historical stance of the nudist/naturist movement, that social nudism is non-sexual, is a forced denial and absurd. Sexuality is so fundamental to the human condition, and our body culture is so ingrained, that this proposition strains credibility.
Yet, naturists do experience a different and paradoxical truth in well-mannered, socially nude environments. It turns out that it is really not that hard to have one’s lizard brain remain quiescent in mix-gendered nude company. More significantly, there are wonderful, non-sexual rewards for doing so: bodily acceptance, mutual respect and high-trust community, among others. People relax as their authentic selves with an openness and respect that is uncommon in more guarded, clothed circumstances.
Naturism is a way of life that does not deny sexuality but clarifies more times and places where the sexual self is left on the shelf. However, despite its inherent goodness, proliferating naturist culture appears to be a tall order. It is often the case that a few individuals, who can’t or won’t self-regulate, intrude into collective naturist environments to make people feel uncomfortable or unsafe. This is why organized naturist communities, such as AANR resorts, are so important and work so hard to provide a layer of control to ensure a family friendly environment.
A valuable article that covered many concepts as well as how to contain situations during effective practice among others, whether practitioners for periods, defenders, activists, beginners, amateurs or likers of this lifestyle but who did not have the opportunity to practice. I really liked your call to take into account the art of dealing with each other as human beings first and then to not forget the privacy of this philosophy and society’s view and concerns towards it. We must all support the safe and reconciling approach with our society with its different cultures and components.
This article deals with something super necessary. Simply denying sexuality does not seem the best approach and it is pretty common on naturists discourse.
I think our point should be that naturism is not necessarily sexual. It can be sexual because we are humans and we are sexual beings.
I love this healthy reality check on sexuality within naturism.
A thing I've heard naturists say sometimes when asked about what happens if sexual arousal occurs in these spaces is, "It simply does not happen." I feel like this thought is a denial of human nature and is intimidating to someone who may not have experienced social nudity yet. I'd like to see more acknowledgement and discussions in our circles about how arousal shouldn't be feared in naturist spaces because we are rational beings that understand respect, consent, and impulse control.
It tends to depend on WHY you are in a venue. If you are there for erotic purposes, you will get an erection, guaranteed. On the other hand, if you are in a venue because you want the freedom of being nude, you won’t.
I submit that this concept has broader implications for those entities who maintain that public nudity has adverse impact on the community.
Nudity, in and of itself, is not erotic, obscene, perverse, nor is social nudity, unless, and until, the viewer is present to gratify those obscene, erotic and perverse thought. The person who is nude cannot be blamed for the thoughts and behaviors of another person.
For other than adolescents, it really depends on where your head is at. As a 14 year old on a textile beach, getting hard coming out of the surf was purely physical…and unwelcome. As an adult in a nudist environment, it is all in your head. If you are in a nudist environment in order to gratify your erotic needs, an erection is inevitable. Change your mindset to responsibility rather than self indulgence and your erection will disappear. The brain remains our greatest sexual organ, and we can and do control our thoughts and behaviors. IF you are unable to make this paradigm shift, you have no business in a nudist environment.
I like this article because it provides new, valuable, and interesting information. Articles about nudism/naturism tend to all say the same things.
"Nudists and naturists also recognize that certain behaviors—such as being visibly aroused, engaging in public sexual activity, invading personal space, making suggestive comments, asking intrusive questions, or ogling others—are disrespectful and strictly prohibited."
I would hope these bahaviors would not be acceptable in any textile environment.
Excellent article. Great explanation of the nudist/naturist philosophy.
As a psychologist and long-time nudist, I read this article with greater than average interest. I agree with much of it, but would've deemphasized the psychobiology and various mental conditions named, because 1) those listed are only a subset that predispose inappropriate behavior and 2) many people overvalue diagnostic labels, leading them to diminish their own agency and blame disorders for their conscious but unsuitable choices.
To me, what is relevant is that individuals' cognitive and emotional reactions depend upon their exposure to and understanding of nuanced, thoughtful educational efforts (such as this article) and their ability--whatever psychological traits they possess--to modulate disinhibition (which itself is not psychopathological but rather situation dependent). Absent overindulgence in alcohol or other drugs, the vast majority of people easily accomplish this feat hundreds of times a day without undue difficulty.
In my clinical experience, acknowledging and understanding one's feelings is crucial. But the objective is not then to exert control over troublesome feelings (that's what ego defense mechanisms do automatically, to the person's short-term gain but longer-term detriment) but instead to increase control of one's behavior, consciously choosing value-appropriate actions rather than thoughtlessly reacting to nudity / nudist environments in inappropriate ways.
The all-too-common defensive retort "nudity isn't sex" is indeed problematic; it either makes us nudists appear cringingly naïve / prudish or flat out disingenuous. Better, I think, to straightforwardly acknowledge the correlation and add something like, "But at our resort, we separate the two in order to practice non-sexual social nudity. If you're cool with that, then welcome!"
Love this Rhona! Thank you for sharing with us.
Great blog article. Thanks for your advocacy for a healthy body, mind and psychological.
The legal environment on social nudity is quite clear:
Engage in sexual behavior and you will be banned, your nudist venues will be taken away from you, and your legal bills will bankrupt you. It doesn’t matter whether you live in permissive Scandinavia, France or the great state of Arkansas. If you think with your dick, you will inevitably harm the legitimate nudist environment. Two examples: We lost Higbee Beach in New Jersey and Lighthouse Beach on Fire Island in New York. Others are in danger of being closed down or their acreage severely constrained.
So long as we are successful in self policing, we have the chance to survive and thrive.
Ronna is right to point out that the historical stance of the nudist/naturist movement, that social nudism is non-sexual, is a forced denial and absurd. Sexuality is so fundamental to the human condition, and our body culture is so ingrained, that this proposition strains credibility.
Yet, naturists do experience a different and paradoxical truth in well-mannered, socially nude environments. It turns out that it is really not that hard to have one’s lizard brain remain quiescent in mix-gendered nude company. More significantly, there are wonderful, non-sexual rewards for doing so: bodily acceptance, mutual respect and high-trust community, among others. People relax as their authentic selves with an openness and respect that is uncommon in more guarded, clothed circumstances.
Naturism is a way of life that does not deny sexuality but clarifies more times and places where the sexual self is left on the shelf. However, despite its inherent goodness, proliferating naturist culture appears to be a tall order. It is often the case that a few individuals, who can’t or won’t self-regulate, intrude into collective naturist environments to make people feel uncomfortable or unsafe. This is why organized naturist communities, such as AANR resorts, are so important and work so hard to provide a layer of control to ensure a family friendly environment.
A valuable article that covered many concepts as well as how to contain situations during effective practice among others, whether practitioners for periods, defenders, activists, beginners, amateurs or likers of this lifestyle but who did not have the opportunity to practice. I really liked your call to take into account the art of dealing with each other as human beings first and then to not forget the privacy of this philosophy and society’s view and concerns towards it. We must all support the safe and reconciling approach with our society with its different cultures and components.
This article deals with something super necessary. Simply denying sexuality does not seem the best approach and it is pretty common on naturists discourse.
I think our point should be that naturism is not necessarily sexual. It can be sexual because we are humans and we are sexual beings.