Tackling the Issues of Our Youth

I always like to think we have the power to change the world, regardless of how daunting a task it may seem. I feel that nudism and naturism are the answer to a whole lot of our problems in the world. We're living in a time of violence, hatred, disrespect, crime, self-loathing, criticism, depression, the list goes on. Now I'll be the first to acknowledge that nudism isn't for everyone and there's really no way to reach everyone. If nudity were legal everywhere tomorrow, not everyone would take advantage of it, in fact it would probably be a long time before we even saw much difference on the streets. But I can't help but feel that it would have a positive impact on the world, that it would solve so many problems for us or at least be largely responsible for an overall positive shift in our attitudes.



One issue nudism positively affects is the insecurity and recklessness of our youth. These days they are dealing with a whole host of issues surrounding their self concept. They feel the pressures of their peers and society to fit into the fictitious image of a 'perfect' person. This image is dictated mainly by how you look; your weight, your skin, and your clothes. Youth are forced to feel that being themselves isn't good enough to gain acceptance and thus must change the image they portray to the world in order to accomplish success, acceptance, friends, normality. Unfortunately this is just what we see on the surface, and this change leads to a misguided sense of right and wrong. Poor decisions are made. The desire to become popular ruins self-esteem by teaching that personality means nothing and the superficial image means everything.

Teenagers who have been brought up in a nudist environment often acknowledge that their lifestyle allows them to be free of the facade and think for themselves. Instead of living behind their image, nudists are taught that all bodies are good, and that their own is nothing to be ashamed of. They are taught to have self esteem and to respect themselves and their bodies. Nudist youth don't feel the need to experiment sexually when they are young. They have a healthy and positive image of the human body, and nothing has been hidden, thus there are no secrets to explore. Their healthy self-respect also leads them to think for themselves and avoid drug and alcohol experimentation. The confidence these youth have prepares them to make the right choices during their teen years and often helps them escape what so many other youth succumb to.

There is really so much more on this topic, I just have to stop sometime. I can think of so many issues that nudism helps and I'll continue to share what I've found to support that. One thing I can tell you is that I have every intention of raising my kids in a nudity-friendly environment. I believe this will help them greatly when it comes to their confidence in themselves and their self-image, and I want to give them all the help they can get to tackle this big bad world on their own.

Should Nudists Be Labelled As Outcasts?

Yet again I'm writing this while fueled by a post someone wrote on one of the forums I frequent. And yet again the title of this post has a hint of sarcasm in it.

Someone posted a link on a forum about a reality TV episode that was filmed at a nudist resort. You can view the clip here: .

Sadly, most of the people who commented on the post felt that the episode would do nudism harm. Well that's where I have a problem and I feel that nudists in general need to get their head into reality and realize that kind of thinking is what's doing a bad service to nudism.



This particular TV episode by itself won't do much harm to the nudist movement. It just shows an idiot of a host who can't handle simple nudity, and thus she acts like a child. It makes her look stupid and immature, but I seriously doubt anyone will think any different of nudist resorts after viewing the episode. In fact, I'd like to think it may entice some people to give nudism a try. Maybe we will see some girls show up looking for the guy with the towel. I think we are too quick to label things like this as negative, as if we have this daunting task to show everyone that we're normal, and anything that doesn't show nudists as perfect angels is a negative thing. It's like we have to bend over backwards to ensure people aren't offended. Is this TV episode of a girl who can't handle the sight of nudity really going to harm the nudist movement? Give me a break. Nudism isn't for everyone and we shouldn't sweat it. Besides, it's going to take a lot more than this stupid show to make people think we're weird.

Now if that wasn't enough, someone even went as far as to comment on the owners of the hotel themselves, as if this TV show had anything to do with them. The comment made referred to the hotel owners as 'publicity whores', and mentioned that they do anything for attention. Well actually I have spoken with them and find them to be very caring, open, and genuine people, and they happen to run one of the most successful hotels in Palm Springs. No, not one of the most successful clothing optional hotels, one of the most successful hotels PERIOD. And when it comes to running their hotel, they are extremely smart. The problem with most nudist resorts is they keep quiet and do little to advertise. Well what good is that going to do? It's a business and the idea is to get people there! If we were talking about any textile resort, this couple wouldn't be subjected to any negative comments with regards to their publicity. They are being smart about resort ownership and if anything, they are treating nude recreation with a fresh and bold flavour that we all should be enthusiastic about.

This is a problem with nudists in general; they keep their mouths shut, they're afraid to talk about the joy of nude recreation to others. What's the big idea? We want to move this nudist thing forward and here we are sitting in the dark ages, afraid to tell anyone about it. We don't want to be labelled as outcasts, but we want people to know how great nudism is. We want people to know that clothing can actually be harmful to the body in some cases, we want people to ditch their negative perceptions of the human body. Well none of this is ever going to happen if we continue to apply outcast thinking to our cause and don't treat it like a positive and worthwhile practice. Is there any minority group out there who gained rights and acceptance because they hid in the corner? Hell no, and it's about time we stopped being afraid of pushing the envelope. We need to advertise our resorts with gusto and flair, and we need to promote the nudist movement as if we are proud of it and it is the best thing since sliced bread. Stand up, be loud, be proud, and step on some toes. It's 2010 and here we are complaining about publicity. That's why we are doomed to continue to be thought of as an outcast culture and the few youth who are involved will continue to wonder why more people like us don't get into nudism.

Start talking about the joy of nudism and the wholesomeness of the human body right away. Tell everyone and promote the hell out of this thing. Let's give the body acceptance movement a violent shove into the mainstream and we can all reap the benefits in the long run.

If people were meant to be nude, they would have been born this way

I've heard that quote said a number of times in the past and I found it funny, but lately I've given that concept a lot more thought. Obviously clothing is a wonderful invention that protects us in cases where our skin isn't enough. But for everyday activities, climate and time of the year depending, clothing just really isn't necessary. Yes society calls it necessary, but our bodies really weren't meant to be trapped in clothing all day.



My grandma has terrible varicose veins in her feet and her toes are all disfigured from years of being cramped into fashionable shoes. Obviously high heels are the extreme, but our feet were designed to be perfect in themselves. I was watching a movie today in which they were studying the bodies of early aboriginals in the late 1800s who had not experienced our 'civilized' creature comforts. They spent their entire lives barefoot in the wilderness, and the anthropologists and doctors were admiring the feet of the Aboriginals, saying they were perfect and without any flaws. You know what that says to me? It tells me the human body knows exactly how to take care of itself without shoes. It tells me that modern footwear might make us run faster or jump higher, but when it comes down to everyday use, cramming your foot into a shoe for most of the day is bad.

The same can be said about the rest of the body, and that is backed up by scientific proof. The skin is built to repel moisture, breathe, sweat, and sense the environment. The body can do all of this without the aid of clothing, and without the restrictions of clothing. Add clothes and now the body can't repel moisture the same way, the skin can't breathe the same way, sweat is trapped in clothing, and you can't feel the environment around you. Plus there's chaffing, nipple rub, all sorts of things that athletes hate, all thanks to unnecessary clothing. Oh and then of course bacteria gets trapped in clothing; how gross is that!?

Let's talk how destructive clothing can be on the body. Back to my grandma's case, tight clothing has been linked to health problems due to restriction of blood and lymphatic fluid. Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer conducted a research study and found that wearing a bra more than twelve hours a day without wearing it to bed increases the chances of getting breast cancer by 21 times! If that wasn't enough, how about this for the hardcore "never-nudes": The same study found that women who wear bras even to bed are one hundred and twenty five times more likely to get breast cancer! Unbe-friggin-lievable! And for the guys in the audience, tighty whities have been linked to testicular cancer. The moral of this story: let em hang! The idea behind this research is that when clothing impedes the natural flow of fluids in the body, it cannot naturally remove any cancer-causing toxins that may be building up. Scary stuff.

Our clothes-compulsiveness is making us unhealthy. Remember, if people were meant to be nude, they would have been born this way.
- Oscar Wilde