The Orbit: August 15
This week on Planet Nude: American naturism returns to the world stage, hundreds cycle nude through Berlin for the first time and a robbery interrupts another SCNA event.
This week on Planet Nude
The United States has returned to the international naturist table this week, seventeen years after leaving the seat. FUNN, Federation of United Naturists & Nudists, a newly formed organization, has been recognized by the International Naturist Federation as the country’s official representative, giving American naturists a vote in decisions about club accreditation and how the naturist movement is defended worldwide. It’s a low-key launch for something that closes a long time gap and the group has been careful to only frame itself as a complement to existing US organizations rather than try to rival them.
This week, Berlin has supplied the most visible sign that public nudity’s legal ground is still shifting and not just eroding. About 500 riders participated in a World Naked Bike Ride that organizers say was the first in a major German city permitted to proceed fully nude. This comes after the authorities agrees that the demonstration fell under freedom of assembly protections. Organizers made a deliberate choice to focus on naturism itself rather than cyclist vulnerability. The framing made it past German courts in Rastatt and Leipzig years earlier and the organizers say they would rather cancel than compromise on full nudity. This is a small case study in how the same demonstration can fail or succeed depending on what argument organizers are willing to stand behind.
Also this week a robbery investigation interrupted the Southern California Naturist Association’s summer games at Glen Eden Sun Club. This send members into shelter while deputies searched the ground with a K9 unit and a helicopter overhead. No injuries were reported and the club’s staff were praised for how calmly they handled the lockdown. This interruption is now the third unrelated disruption to hit the SCNA events this summer. A BB gun shooting at the Los Angeles bike ride in June and a sheriff’s visit to Skinny Dip Day were the other disruptions the members of SCNA faced this summer. None of these three incidents appear to be connected.
A reminder to have your voice heard as the Naturism Survey closes on August 18. If your club, beach group or group chat has not seen it yet, this is genuinely the last call.
Check out these stories and more from this week on Planet Nude.
Recent posts in Culture
This week on Strips
Valentine! #18
Continue reading:
More recent Strips
News of the Nude
Naturists fined for being naked in an unauthorized area in San Vero Milis: “Wrong directions.”
Two nudist couples in Sardinia say they relied on other beachgoers’ assurances that nudity was tolerated on a stretch of shoreline, only to be fined over €3,000 each by plainclothes officers for being outside of the officially authorized zone. Their experience describes the exact kind of ambiguity that keeps tripping up naturists across Italy.
Florida steakhouse goes viral for monthly nude dining experience.
A steakhouse in Hollywood, Florida is now running monthly clothing-optional dinners after a private nudist groups rental gave the owner the idea to make it a regular event. The chef at the venue insists the food, not the nudity, is the draw for guests, though the tickets run as high as $300 per couple and most guests skip the offered robes. It’s a commercial experiment more than a naturist one. It’s another data point in a pattern showing up elsewhere this year: nudity as a novelty hook that mainstream businesses are increasingly willing to try.
Discord Dispatch
The Discord settled into a summer rhythm this week. Members checked in from naked hikes, bike rides, and club events, while new faces continued to join the conversation and plan summer meetups.
Join us at discord.gg/8gt7D6ssMd — or click here to learn more.
Featured: 1 Naturist Life
After a 16-year absence, the United States has officially rejoined the International Naturist Federation following the admission of the Federation of United Naturists and Nudists as the global organization's 41st member. The U.S. lost its international representation in 2010 when the American Association for Nude Recreation withdrew, leaving American naturists without a voice in global advocacy efforts. FUNN’s recent inclusion restores the country's involvement in the federation's ongoing work to protect and defend legal naturist beaches, campsites and resorts worldwide.
Subscribe to 1 Naturist Life:
The Orbit is Planet Nude’s weekly digest. Published every Saturday. 🪐