Another one getting tons of hits on the other site
“I don’t want to see any guy’s (private parts) dangling in front of me,” my friend was saying the other day as she declined my request to join me at a nudist beach this spring/summer. “And I don’t want people looking at my private parts.”
“But you won’t even notice their private parts,” I explained. “And they won’t be checking out yours.”
She doesn’t buy it. How could they not notice, she said.
Sigh . . .
I’m betting the “private parts” issue is at the root of much misconception about, and fear of, nudism. After all, we live in a textile world where we are forced to cover up our private parts — one would be arrested for “indecent exposure” for not covering up genitals or breasts on Main St. in every town around the world. It is against the law to be in our natural state in most public settings. Grrr . . . that brings out the rebel in me.
I suppose we can trace this back to (among other stories) the Garden of Eden story in the Bible, when Adam and Eve “knew” they were naked. Of course I don’t take the story literally; man evolved to the point where he/she learned to cover up to protect themselves from the elements. But somewhere along the line, somebody decided that there are moral issues with being naked in public, and it is now ingrained in the human psyche. Nudity is synonymous with shame and embarassment for some people; for others, it’s synonymous with pornography.
But for some, nudity is simply about being in their natural state in the great outdoors. It is about “returning to innocence,” as Cheri Alexander wrote in the readers’ comments section of an article on the Bay of Plenty Times site. I love that phrase . . . “returning to innocence.” Much like man was before he “knew” he was naked.
Cheri sums it up rather nicely in her comment:
Nudism is NOT about seeing or being seen. It’s about de-stressing, relaxing, and returning to innocence. It’s about accepting yourself and others for who you are, how you act, and what you say, rather than what you look like, wear, or own. Nudists usually remove sunglasses when talking with someone new. It’s polite. It’s simply the feel-good feeling of the air, water on you without the constriction of clothing.” – Cheri Alexander, on Bay of Plenty Times site
I know that one quickly gets over the “private parts” issue, if it is an issue for them in the first place. Personally, nudity has never been an issue for me: I’ve had lots of houseguests in my country home who bared it all to enjoy the sun and the breeze, and I didn’t gawk at them. I barely noticed their private parts.
So, I am not concerned about the “private parts” issue at a nudist beach, but I do understand the fears of my friend and others. It’s not my place to try to change their minds, which is why I will be going to the nudist beach alone, I guess. I want the experience . . . I’m looking forward to it.
Jillian
Jillian Page 
Visiting a nudist beach is one of the most liberating experiences of my life. Men tend to worry about unwanted erections, but all erections should be cherished. I recently had the pleasant experience of an ‘unwanted’ erection on a nudist beach and no-one batted an eyelid so I just lay in the sun and let nature run it’s course! The erection subsided after 5 to 10 minutes and no-one was harmed by seeing it. Indeed some Dutch ladies were pointing it out to their friends and all seemed to enjoy the sight!
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I would have enjoyed the sight, too! Smiles . . . Thank you for your comment, and welcome here.
Cheers
Jillian
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Jillian, I miss going out to Nudist camps. I however, have not found a place where I do not cause issues, because I am a “Transwoman ” who has stopped short of GRS (I still have a man’s private part’s) . The fact that to the uninformed public, my body Is not female or male, I am asked to leave “quite quickly ” in every case so far. What do you have to say about this?
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I am so sorry to hear this. They are clearly discriminating against you. I’m not sure which country you live in, but in Canada, you could probably sue them. You might consider seeking a lawyer’s opinion on the matter, and perhaps take it to the media as well.
One of the primary goals of naturism is to accept everyone no matter what their size or shape or private parts.
Jillian
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I know this is an old post, but I believe it bares revisiting, particularly where it pertains to people who are neither “all-male” nor “all-female”. Nudists preach “acceptance” but we don’t always practice what we preach, which is sad, because NONE of us has an “ideal” body. I have seen a high-level of acceptance for people who are “different”, for whatever reason, at Cypress Cove, my “home” resort.
I have seen a couple of people over the last few months at CC who have not been completely either male or female. One person had a “masculinized” upper-body but still had female parts “down-below”, and the other person had a “feminized” upper-body, including breasts, but still had male parts “down-below”. The latter person also had a “masculine” voice. Whatever management thought about them hadn’t inhibited their admission to the resort. They were also both with at least one other person, which may have helped also. I tried to be friendly to both of them.
If we truly “Love our neighbor as ourselves”, differences won’t matter, and we will accept people as they are and for who they are.
Steve
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Nicely said, Steve. I have seen transgender people — who are not fully transitioned, as you indicated in your comment — at our social nudism events, and they are fully accepted. No problems whatsoever. It would completely go against the code of social nudism to reject anybody based on their physical appearance. In fact, we would never even consider discussing anyone’s appearance — it’s nobody’s business but theirs. Still, I bet there are some social nudism groups that might not practice what they preach — but none of the nudists I know would stay in a group like that for very long.
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