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15 Questions And Answers About
Nudism And Naturism
1. What are the differences between naturism and nudism? What is nudism?
Nudism is just a component of naturism. A nudist likes to be naked, to swim
naked, to practice a sport naked etc. together with other nudists. Naturists,
however, aim at living in harmony with the nature and with their environment,
and
nudity in common is just a part of this movement. So are naturists also
nudists,
and nudists are at least partly naturists. Naturists attach importance to
healthy
food, the health of the body and of the mind, natural medicine, respect of
environment and gymnity (nudism practiced according to ethics).
2. What have naturism and ecology in common?
Lots of things! Naturism is a way of living according to the rules of the
nature
(Planchon, 1778); ecology is the study of the relations between the living
things
and their natural environment (Haeckel, 1866). Naturism has most affinities
with
the human ecology, which studies the role of the man on the nature and the
influence of the environment on the man. Since it is a non-political movement,
it
has nothing in common with the political ecology.
3. Isn't nudism a fashion which came from the incidents of 1968?
Nudism is as old as the world itself... Heliotherapy took form at the 18th
century,
before the French Revolution. In 1750, Benjamin Franklin already recommended
nudity, but nudism started to develop in whole Europe only at the beginning of
our century. The French Federation of Naturism was created in 1950, the
International Federation in 1953. So it would be absurd to call naturism the
result
of a fashion of the sixties.
4. Naturism brings sometimes people to laugh, don't you feel ridiculous?
The inane or licentious smile which you can see on the face of some people when
you start to talk about nudity is just a token of infantilism and sexual
immaturity.
Many adults conserved the vocabulary they had in the school, and they can't
dissociate nudity from the sexual intercourse. We often laugh about something
which embarrass us or which we are afraid of... Ridiculous is however to
consider the sexual organs as something shameful or obscene, because these
stereotypes are only in the minds of the people.
5. But why to be fully naked? Why not with small trunks?
But what are these trunks good for? Naturists consider that the human body is
noble in its entirety, and so is no part of this body obscene or shameful.
Plus,
from a physiologic point of view, wearing trunks has disadvantages and even
risks (chill after a bath, concentration of the sunbeams on the limits of
theclothes,
loss of light for the genitals, regrouping of pathogene germs, possible
sterility,
etc.). A naturist does everything other people would do with a swimsuit on. He
doesn't make what other people wouldn't do clothed.
6. Isn't shame a natural sense? Don't children hide spontaneously their genitals, from a certain age onwards?
You shouldn't confuse the decency, which is a feeling of tactfulness, reserve
and
discretion, and the prudishness, which is only the shame of the nudity and the
genitals. A child becomes prudish when it realizes that the people around it
never
are naked, and when it gets confronted with ambiguous situations or with
dubious
jokes, even if it doesn't completely understand the meaning of these jokes.
7. Isn't nudism, even family nudism, forbidden by the religion?
The religion forbids to "sin". If your naturist convictions are
sincere, there is no
incompatibility at all. You'll find clergymen, Christians and other religious
people
amongst naturists.
8. Can't get a child prejudicial troubles when it sees its parents naked?
The famous French psychanalyst Françoise Dolto answered the parents who
asked her that question: "If you practice nudism in common, with other
people,
why not?" Because some people think they would practice naturism when they
are naked in family, and only in family; in that case, this could have a
negative
influence on a child, which could think it belongs to a "special" or
"eccentric"
family...
9. Why do you show your naked body in front of all other people? Isn't it something one should save up for the person one loves?
If you save up for the person you love the vision of something you consider as
shameful or obscene for the other people, that's not really a present... To be
naked in a place where your nudity is considered as natural, and where the
person you love is also naked is a token of trust, which can just reinforce
your
affection.
10. I don't look attractive enough to show myself naked in front of the others. What about aesthetic?
Did you give up wearing a swimsuit? No! So you can be naked in a naturist
place, you won't be "exhibited": nudity is considered there as
something normal,
natural, beautiful and true, whatever the age, the gender or the look of the
people
may be. And if you don't even want to wear a swimsuit: do you really think that
piece of clothes puts things right, from an aesthetic point of view? A swimsuit
hides the genitals, but not the physical imperfections.
11. Many men say that a woman is no longer desirable if she loses her mystery. What about naturist women?
Which woman are they talking about? Certainly the wife... of their neighbour,
because their own wife would have lost her charms for a long time!... No, the
mystery is not a question of hidden anatomy, it's a characteristic of the
personality, a mark of sensibility, of discretion, of reserve and tactfulness.
So, of
real decency.
12. I'm very virile! If I would have naked women around me on a naturist camp, I would "explode"...
Except in a very few and seldom cases, there is no male physiological reaction.
But this anxiety is very well explained in the modern psychology: a man who
worries about a potential erection is unconsciously afraid his virility won't
be
expressed whilst he's convinced it should be expressed in such a situation. But
he
doesn't realize that he isn't the clothed spectator of a nude show, but that
he's
also naked himself, amongst naked men and women of all ages...
13. I'm tolerant and open-minded: I don't mind if I see naked people. But hate to undress. So I often go to naturist beaches and clubs, but I keep my clothes on. Why should other people mind about my clothes, if they are as tolerant as I am?...
What an open-mindedness, indeed! :) There are also "nudists" who feel
well
when they are naked amongst clothed people... For us naturists, nudity is only
something worth when you share it with someone else. In your case and in the
case of those nudists, don't you feel something out of place, or disrespectful
towards the others and their convictions? The first attitude is not far from
voyeurism, the second one not far from exhibitionism... Why don't you meditate
on this African proverb: "When you visit a village where people are blind
in one
eye, just be decent enough to close one of your eyes"!...
14. In your camps, some people seem to have problems with their
nudity:
they wear a towel on the shoulder or on the waist, t-shirts, or ridiculous
shorts... Only at the swimming-pools and on the beaches, people are
always naked. Is this an irreversible evolution? What is the future of
naturism?
For the majority of people who practice it, naturism is something which has to
do
with the summer, it's an option during the holidays. During the other seasons
of
the year, they live like every other person, without any connection with the
naturist culture and under the influence of the media, the advertisements, the
fashion in clothing (which can go up to fetichism), the obsession of the
aesthetic
and the lobbies or groups which 1) see a big advantage if nudity is considered
as
something erotic and if they can market it, or which 2) consider it as a moral
danger. The reflex of the nudity becomes blurred from year to year, especially
by
younger people. We can only wish that a better image of naturism will be
forwarded, and that parents take their responsabilities, stand by their
convictions
and finally educate their children in a real naturist way.
15. Someone blamed me on this naturist site because I was clothed
in spite
of the hot weather. I felt it like an aggression; it could have been said with
other words! And of course, it had to happen to me, whilst I have lots of
sunstrokes and I'm one of the young person who undress most of the time!
What about tolerance?
To be tolerant doesn't mean to give up one's ideals or to give up applying the
rules (except in some justified situations). In this case, experience allows to
say
two things:
You can make your comment as politely, friendly, cordially etc. as you
want, it will always be considered as an aggression. The concerned person
knows perfectly that his/her attitude is strange and unusual, but in a kind of
obstinacy, s/he wants other people to ignore him/her and to accept him/her
with his/her clothes.
The comment will never be judicious and well-founded: health reasons,
particular case, moving from the camp to a textile place and back to the
camp, etc. People will never admit: "That's true, you're right, I dont
find
the courage to undress"!...
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