Conference moira::naturism

    I've been nude-ing for some 17 years.  It all started with skinny         
    dipping with friends in a river in Colorado.  We didn't have any
    swim suits at the time.
    
    We frequent Valley View Hot Springs in Colorado which is a 3-1/2
    hour drive from Colorado Springs.  We've been going there for 5
    years or so.  There is a natural feeling about going nude.  The breeze
    blows and you feel like nature is playing with your body.  This
    is not supposed to be taken sexually.  It is like your body is being
    reclaimed to blend with the earth and all of your surroundings.
                          
    And I get this feeling without any help alcohol or drugs.  It's
    peaceful and warming if the sun is out. ;-)
    
    You can't hide behind clothes, you have to take me as I am, another
    person, a member of the human race, who happens to enjoy letting
    everything hang out!  B-) !  (the only thing I wear when at the Hot
    Springs is sunglasses and suntan lotion)                
    
    Judy
    
    P.S.  If there is garbage in this message it is due to a bad telephone
    line.  Sorry!

    I'm not sure what makes nudity special.  Certainly the feeling
    of sun, wind, or water on your whole body is wonderful.  There's
    a feeling of freedom in rejecting the usual body inhibitions
    and repressions.  Climate permitting, clothes seem obviously
    redundant; but I know that I will seize an opportunity for nudity
    even when the weather isn't all that favorable, so I must be
    making some sort of point to myself.  I guess that freedom is
    the essence of it.
    
    	-Neil

    Nudists' Dilemma:
    
    	How do you show off your tanlines to your non-nudist friends?

    :-)
    
    I think that it is interesting that a certain friend of mine told
    me that she wears a watch to the beach so she can see how much she
    tanned.  Nudists do the exact opposite: they don't want a tan line.
    
    B.
    

       their loss :-)

       sometimes to know that you have a fantastic tan ALL 
       over is enough.  but then there are times when you'd
       like to say..."look at me!  i don't HAVE a tan line
       problem."

       i've found that just having that secret of a beautiful
       tan and a free body can be enough.  after all, we are 
       the enlightened ones :-)  most people don't even realize 
       what they are missing.  should we show/tell them???

                                     tlr

    I agree with everyone else so far who mentioned something about
    freedom.  There is something to be said about eliminating questions in
    your mind like "does this cover enough?" "Is my (whatever) ripped?
    What am I going to do now?"
    
    There is also some body-image things going on as well.  Needing to
    compulsively cover up your body leads to well-internalized beliefs that
    there is something wrong with your body.  This seems to lead to the
    (also internalized) belief that there may be something wrong with
    *you*. The ability to not wear clothes is wonderful from the
    perspective of loving yourself as well.
    
   Elizabeth

    Clothes are a wonderful invention which protect our bodies
    from many hazards.  When such hazards are not present, they
    seem a bit restricting and uncomfortable.
    
    - gerry

    In specific situations, it makes sense to be nude...such as
    sunbathing...
    
    1. If you're going for a tan, why COVER parts of your body...
    
    2. If you're using suntan lotion or oil, do you really want to get
       it on your swimsuit which you'll be wearing in the car later?
    
    3. You can't get sand in the swimsuit if you're not wearing one...
       If you get sand in places you shouldn't, you can always rinse
       it off in the ocean, lake, pool, whatever...
    
    4. After swimming, why sit around in a wet swimsuit after the rest
       of you has dried off...and you don't have to bother with covering
       the car seats with towels because the clothes will be clean and
       dry.
    
    5. Good swimsuits cost alot.

    
    After sunbathing, I wash off all the lotion or oil, get dressed,
    and then drive home...no hassles.  This is the proper way to go
    sunbathing.
    
    Ben
    

    Why pay $50+ for a skimpy bikini (the smaller the more expensive)
    when "god" gave you your birthday suit!  And it doesn't cost a dime!
                                                        
    I don't like the feel of a wet swim suit against my skin.  Yech!
    I prefer toweling off my whole body and being completely dry, 
    without the continual drip from the crotch of the suit.
    
    Plus most women feel the need to shave the pubic areas to
    keep from grossing people out with pubic hairs showing.  Shaving
    "down there" is no fun...I guess it's not really the shaving, it's
    the growing back out that is uncomfortable.  Going nude you never have 
    to think about grossing somebody out with body hair.  Yeh!
                                                         
    Judy                                                   

    
    Because it feels good.  Actually, I'm more of a backyard nudie because
    it's not easy to find out where the clothing optional beaches are.
    
    Clothes constrict, bind, or pull no matter how loose they are.  And 
    sometimes it's too hot for clothes.  There's nothing like wind or
    water against skin.
    
    I guess the first time I ever "skinny dipped" (I may have actually
    been skinny then, too) was around 1972.
    
    CQ

    I guess the reason I like being nude is that I don't feel as though
    I need approval to do it. For one of the few times in my life, I
    can just be as I am, without the trappings of a constrictive society,
    and enjoy my body and nature. It always seems like there's a multitude
    of people who are trying to tell me what I can or can not do, but
    when I go skinny dipping, it's like I've left society far behind.
    All fragments of social order and hierarchy have been stripped from
    my body, and I escape back to mother earth for a short while.
    
    Maybe no one has mentioned this thus far, but I enjoy looking at
    other people as well. There are so many different builds of people
    that I want to see. I also like the thought that people are looking
    at me. I feel as though people are being seen the way they want
    to be seen, that I am being seen the way I want to be seen, not
    as some social component, but as a free being.
    
    Whenever I go skinnny dipping, I always come out feeling great.
    I feel clean, mentally as well as physically. At first, it was a
    little exciting, sexually. Maybe this is what got me interested
    in the first place, but, after a while, you learn to see the body
    as something different than what they package in advertisements.
    The media constantly reinforces the association between the nude
    body and sex, that it is a little hard to separate at first. Once
    or twice is all it takes, however, and the connection is permanently
    broken. You learn to appreciate another's body as a part of a person,
    a being. Something to be admired, respected, a real part of a real
    person.
    
    It's a giant step away from massive consumerism. It is a feeling
    that can not be bought, sold, traded.
    
    For those who feel they can't be natural, I feel sorry. I wish I
    could convince them of what they are missing, but alas, they probably
    don't trust sexual deviants. Needless to say, it would be a pity
    to be on this earth and never to have felt the breeze on my butt.
    
    						John.

    why?  Are you kidding?
    
    *To get to the beach with just a dress on & throw it off...(even
    using it as a blanket/towel) is the best!  I've been going to Lucy
    Vincent Beach on the Vineyard for 9 years now & I love going to
    a beach sans suit.
    
    *No Tan lines. 
    
    *People are much more open.  Maybe having clothes on inhibits others
    from talking - I'm not sure.  I've always met new people in very
    short time on nude beaches.  (Being Family Beaches helps)  This
    is probably one of the nicest things... the openness...   
    
    *Bathing suits pinch & tug... you always have to make sure that
    you are covered.  Tie the top, untie the top etc....  Never have
    to worry about that.  Really funny though, at LV beach when a 
    woman walks by in a Thong or even a tiny bikini - you can watch
    all the men (& some women) watch as this woman walks by... all
    the heads turn.  Much sexier to watch someone is something so tiny
    and not quite revealing all!      No matter what condition my
    body is in at the time... fatter or tighter... I always feel better
    sans suit.
    
    Happy Sunning,
    
    Sandy

    I'll be going to the Vineyard for two weeks starting next week.
    Where is Lucy Vincent Beach? Is this the private beach in Chilmark?
    
    					Thanks,   John.
    

    yup,  LV - once known as Jungle beach is a PRIVATE  beach... a real
    family beach, Grandparents to Grandchildren.  The same folk are
    there each year.
    
    You need to either rent or own (or know someone) in Chilmark to
    get a pass.  If you stay up Island and Plum Inn (I believe that
    is the name) then they give you a pass.  Difficult to find if you
    don't know where it is.  Perfect, if you can get on... not so perfect
    if you can't get a pass.
    
    You could try Zacks - up at the Cliffs of Gay Head.  No parking
    unless you pay - up at the cliffs & walk about a mile down the road.
    on the right...  
    
    A few years ago there was a real mess up at Zak's.  The town wanted
    to close it to day trippers but one selectwoman didn't.  Eventually
    a day tripper was RUDE to her one day on the beach & they made it
    OFF LIMITS except to Gay Head residents... it may be open again
    now...  Do NOT park on the road... You WILL be towed.  Nice beach
    but not 1/2 as WONDERFUL as LV.
    
    Have a wonderful vacation.
    
    Sandy 

    AS A NOVICE TO THIS VERY EXCITING CONCEPT, I AM CURIOUS -- THE COMMENTS
    IN THE EARLIER REPLIES REFER TO A SEXUAL STIMULATION "AT FIRST"
    THAT WENT AWAY QUICKLY.  DOES THIS TEND TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT ON
    SEXUAL STIMULATION IN OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE SINCE YOU ARE SO
    USED TO SEEING THE BODY IN ITS NATURAL STATE?  IN OTHER WORDS, DOES
    IT LOSE ITS EXCITEMENT?
    
    B.

    You might want to refer to the notes in 62.*, where pretty much
    the same question was discussed.
    
    	-Neil

    Our body is the beautifulst thing! We have to show it and to enjoy
    us about our and the other bodies!
    
    Stefan

    re: .16 (Stefan)
    
    	   Stefan, old boy, I don't want to seem overly critical, but
    	your reply made absolutely no sense whatsoever.  Would you mind
    	translating it into English for those of us who don't know
    	Stefanspeak?
    
    	- Greg

    
    re.17 
    
    I know, my English is terrible. Forget it. Or do you understand
    German?
    
    Stefan
    

    Stephan, forgive us for not knowing enough German!  I think you should
    feel comfortable to write in German with your own English translation. 
    After all I gather Europe is pretty far ahead of us in naturism/nudism,
    so why not use the language(s) which nutured the freedom from clothes?
    
    I might interpret what you said as "Our bodies are the most beautiful
    things!  We ought to show this and we should enjoy our own body and the
    bodies of others!"  I might more informally restate that as: our bodies
    are among the really beautiful things known.  We can demonstrate our
    belief by being comfortable and enjoying being nude and those nude
    around us.  I wholeheartedly agree!
    
    One of the better things about being nude, I suspect, is that
    communication is simplified.  Nudism is body language without being
    muffled.
    
    \bob
    
    (It also helps to have been doing international technical support. 
    Japanese syntax with English words gives one loads of exposure to
    non-native language use.)

    I would like to say that it is just my way of feeling good,or better
    feeling wonderfull.
    
    I was forced to go to a naturismcamp in Yugoslavia because of the
    terrible circumstances in other campingsites.
    I became enthousiastic about it in 10 minutes.
    The camp was clean,there was silence, birds were singing,toilets
    were cleaned throughout the day as were the showers.
    But most important of all, we (my wife, children. friends and I)
    felt peasefull and one with nature.
    
    I think there is a dfference between naturism and nudism, but that's
    for any individual to decide.
    For me naturism became a livesphylosofy.
    
    Bauke Schuurman
    Netherlands
    

I enjoy my nude life style not because it is the natural thing to do
    in fact wearing cloths �i�s the natural thing to do. Try living
    in New England during black fly season in the nude all the time.
    It clearly illistrates why man / woman developed our mental power
    and developed cloths. Our skin is in fact very sensetive. But I
    enjoy my naturist or nude life style because I do feel very comfortable
    with out cloths. I feel warm even in the winter( I am only 20 lbs.
    over weight so I am not kept warm by excess fat. I just feel better
    with out cloths. Because of this my wife and I have built our home
    with the privacy needed to enjoy a complete inside and out side
    nudist life style. 
    Yes its wonderful to feel the sun on your skin and the breeze but�
    it is more natural to ware cloths.
    John Reid

Maybe the wrong question was asked?  Shouldn't we be asking why not naked?

I think there are only three valid reasons to put clothes on, safety, health
and comfort.  Many people, myself included, also cover up so as not to offend 
others, but I think that that is really bottling out.  The benefits to others 
of them being accustomed to seeing others naked, and having to regulate their 
behaviour in a civilised fashion, would far outweigh any disadvantages.

    
              "Nude, because I like to."

If you find my body offensive, I find you offensive.

							John.