What’s Up With Nudists?
Posted by: Olivia Allin
Filed in:
news
5:30AM, Friday June 12th 2009
In one Colorado neighborhood, people aren’t loving thy neighbor. This community is hating on the Pierces—a nudist couple who have no qualms about gardening in the buff. After their neighbors started complaining about their nakedness in the yard, Mrs. Pierce began wearing a thong and pasties while tending her plants. But since her house has no fence and is across the street from a school, the landlord says that’s not enough and is threatening to evict them. The Pierces say this is discrimination. [AP via Yahoo News]
This got me thinking, what’s the deal with nudists? Why are they so…nakey?
- Nudistory. Scientists think human beings have been wearing clothes for at least 30,000 years. Regardless, we’ve been around for 200,000, so we spent most of our existence naked. Nudists view our birthday suits as our most natural, purest form. Wait, are scientists trying to tell us that cavemen didn’t have loin clothes like every modern movie would have us believe? What a waste of woolly mammoth fur. [EZineArticles]
- Cha-ching. In the ‘90s, the nude recreation industry in the US and Canada grew 75 percent. In the US, it’s a $400 million a year business. In the French Riviera, there’s a completely nude town. I don’t know if French women are ever really naked. Armpit hair is kinda like a tank top. [EscapeArtist]
- Family Fun. Nudist clubs encourage family activities and believe that children seeing naked bodies gives them a healthier sense of self esteem. According to one pro-nudist site, nude communities have a low incidence of sex offenders because they prosecute people getting to close to kidlets, while some other organizations (cough, cough) sweep cases under the rug because they’re bad for PR. [TakeOffWithUs]
- Women Rule. Most nudist resorts allow any single, unaccompanied women in, but there are often stringent criteria for single men, like being a member of the American Association for Nude Recreation. Damn, it feels good to be a woman? [About.com]
- Emperor’s New Clothes. Clothing Optional resorts give newbies time to “ease” into the lifestyle, while Clothes Free resorts require full nudity. Generally, the theory is, “Nude when possible, clothed when practical,” so garb might be worn for meals or when the weather sucks. Almost all clubs require that patrons carry a towel to sit on for hygienic reasons. [Bareworks]
- Naked Ambitions. People equate nudity with sex, but apparently the shock factor goes away within minutes when you’re surrounded by nekkid people. As one guidebook put it, “One nude posed upon a divan is erotic. A hundred nudes waiting in line for potato salad are not.” [Bareworks]
- Want To Compete In The Naturist Olympics?
- Setting The World Record For The Most Simultaneous Skinny Dippers
- The Daily Squeeze: Harvard Hates Harry Potter, Nudism, Women Voters, And Teen Sex On The Rise
- Celebrities Who Look Way Older Than They Are (Starpulse)
- Nicole Richie is Hospitalized! (Us Weekly)
TheFrisky.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network
vanya
wrote on June 12 2009 @ 05:49 am: [report]
“One nude posed upon a divan is erotic. A hundred nudes waiting in line for potato salad are not.”
roflol, but true.
“This got me thinking, what’s the deal with nudists? Why are they so…nakey?”
One could also ask what’s the deal with the clothed? Why are they so insistent on remaining covered up all the time, except for the few minutes a day they clean themselves?
Just kidding, but it’s a bit of food for thought.
Either way, I’d rather the schoolkiddies around Detroit here see someone gardening in the buff than the gang-related drive-by shootings they see now, which are an everyday occurence, literally.
twilight faerie
wrote on June 12 2009 @ 06:39 am: [report]
If schoolchildren have the opportunity to see nudists while they’re still young, perhaps they will not inherit the hangups on nudity that we adults have.
It’s just the human body.
retro chic
wrote on June 12 2009 @ 07:56 am: [report]
That’s actually a pic of my father up there (in the ‘90s)—the nudist/clothing-optional, med-mj-smoking, dancing gigolo. Go, Daddy! Our elitist/puritan culture has to grow up. We criticize third-/(other-)world countries for being “backwards” and we just never cease to hypocritize and em-barr-ass ourselves. No wonder Europeans point and laugh at us. Good one, Olivia, great visuals on visuals!
likeOMGkbye
wrote on June 12 2009 @ 09:04 am: [report]
I would totally be a nudist. Clothes are uncomfortable, jeans especially. On fat days they give me muffin top, and theres so many times I look in the mirror naked and go haay I look good today, and then as soon as I put on clothes and pudges start sticking out I think maaan not so much anymore. As long as you’re clean and have a sense of hygeine about it, why not?
raqueleza
wrote on June 12 2009 @ 10:45 am: [report]
Where can I get one of those “Nudist Country” towels?
becktasm
wrote on June 12 2009 @ 08:17 pm: [report]
My parents are nudists. While it makes me shudder a little to think of my 67 year old father hobbling around in his birthday suit, I totally understand where they’re coming from. It’s comfortable, and by being so obsessive about covering our natural bodies, we’re only sexualizing them more. I mean honestly, what can’t you see in a tiny string bikini that you can see while nude? Nipples? Pubic hair? OH NO.
AANR Volunteer
wrote on June 14 2009 @ 03:54 pm: [report]
GUINNESS WORLD RECORD SKINNY DIP ON JULY 11th!
I liked the article. For those wondering what it is like to lose their clothes and their stress, come out on July 11, 2009 and try skinny dipping ... at the same time you can be a participant in setting a Guinness World Record for the most simultaneous skinny dippers across North America.
Go to aanr.com to find a location near you where you can participate in this FUN event. Most people say it was one of the most difficult decisions they ever made, before they try it, then after they do, they complain they didn’t try it years before.