I’ve never really given much thought to visible minorities in social nudism settings because, well, I’ve never really thought of anyone as being part of a visible minority in any walk of life, unless it had something to do with an article I was handling for the paper. I have always been colour-blind when it comes to people, i.e. race and colour have always been irrelevant to me — I don’t see someone walking down the street and think “visible minority.” I’ve always felt all people are created equal — even though I know that in some countries, bigotry thrives. At social nudism events I’ve attended, there are people who could be defined as members of a visible minority, but the label never crossed my mind when I saw them.
Still, for people who do identify as being part of visible minorities, social nudism/naturism may be seen by them as way of sweeping away that particular label, as well as all the other reasons we are attracted to social nudism.
A reader has asked me to raise the subject here, so I will post part of his letter in this entry and let my more seasoned naturist readers talk about it. Here it is:
Hi Jillian,
I came across your blog site in my search for authentic naturist articles that speak to the truth of naturism and I appreciate your articles. Its hard to sift through a lot of the fluff and misinformation of naturism that portrays us in a negative light.
I myself am a practicing naturist mostly at home and I’ve vist wreck beach here in vancouver during the summer months. I am also a visible minority (indo canadian) and I feel you might want to explore this area in another blog entry. There are hardly any minority naturists and very few opportunities to connect and meet other fellow naturists. Being a naturist the philosphy of accepting all people regardless of shape size or background is what brought me into naturism and one would think more minorities might find this attracting as well.
Best Regards . . .
So, what say you, dear readers?
Jillian
Jillian Page 
Reblogged this on home clothes free and commented:
I would be interested to here from international readers how this plays out I places outside the US like Canada and England, Europe
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Jill,
As a person of color in the clothes free community in the US and blogging on the same I think there are more non white people than might be imagined however they typically don’t have a large enough presence in any one location or region to be greatly visible. I would also say from my perspective as a person of color in the US I don’t want to be seen through a color blind lens. For me that is like saying my color doesn’t exist which it most certainly does that is why the term visible minority can be used. Just a thought for your consideration.
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Thanks for the education. It’s the reason why I posted this entry — to learn, and for everyone else to learn.
Cheers
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I do appreciate your openness if all the folks in the clothes free community were as open it would go along way strengthening the cause.
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That is just my opinion by the way I don’t suggest I speak for every “non white” person
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It’s always been a quandary to me – as a French-Canadian/Welsh-Scot-Irish-American/Cherokee/Choctaw background person tangentially involved in clothes-free activities, what does colour-blindness mean, really? if when I think of a friend, the first thing I think about is their personality, about them-as-a-person, before I categorize them as blond/brunette or Asian/Caucasian/Hispanic/Black/whatever, does that mean that I am somehow diminishing them? Does it mean that I’m not embracing the whole person, somehow?
I think the answer is “No”, I do not diminish that person, nor deny them that part of their personality.
Take our grandson, who in addition to my mix adds Umatilla Indian, Hispanic, German, African-American (and more). To me he has all of those in his heritage – but he is himself – not those categories, although his DNA certainly includes all of those and more. I love him for himself which includes all of the above..
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I am your non-typical Caucasian male in the Midwestern section of the United States in a place called Marietta, Ohio not that any of that really makes much of a difference. I really do not see “minority” issues anymore now that I have “come out of the closet” about being a naturist/nudist. I suppose the reason I no longer see minority issues anymore is because I see discriminatory issues. I strongly feel that naturist/nudist are more discriminated against than any other social or racial class in the world because we are looked down upon and shunned by the LGBT, religious, atheist and virtually every race known to mankind even though we all come from those same communities and groups of people I think the biggest reason for that discrimination is due to the fact that the vast majority of the naturist/nudist sub-culture chooses to hide who and what they are and will not fight for their rights as the LGBT and other races have done. We need to quit hiding and help people understand what our lifestyle is all about before our lifestyle is outlawed into oblivion. (THESE ARE JUST MY FEELINGS AND OPINIONS. I DO NOT SPEAK FOR THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.)
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Reblogged this on simplenaturist.
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As public relations director for British Naturism and Chairman of Spectrum Naturist swim in Birmingham, England, I will just say that we always welcome members from any minority, ‘visible’ or not and that I believe this is one of the strengths of Naturism and Naturists – we look past the visible to the person inside. All shapes, sizes, colours, ages, abilities, the only thing that matters to us is the right attitude and mutual respect.
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Having just spent the weekend with Brian and a large number of other naturists at a hotel this article made me think. As far as I can remember there was no non-white person present. Why? Maybe BN should follow this issue up and try to get more “visible minority” folk to join.
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We have discussed this issue before and have been keen to identify if there are any aspects of our public image (over which we have any control) that may be putting off any minorities. I cannot claim that there isn’t, but we were unable to identify any. To pursue a targeted campaign is a dangerous way forward as it inevitably introduces inequalities that will probably upset someone, most obviously any minority the campaign happens to overlook!
There may not have been any ‘non-white’ people present this weekend, but there were people from other ‘visible minorities’. Naturists are already a minority (6% of the population). Can we reasonably expect every other minority, visible or otherwise, to appear in our minority, in numbers that reflect their proportions in wider society or are there cultural interactions that mean this will not happen?
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As some one working in a small department with 1 Romanian, 1 Greek, 1 Chinese, 1 Italian, 1 Indian, 1 Iranian, 1 French, 1 Scottish, 3 English (including me), I tend not to notice nationality or race, but I do know that the rest are, in my opinion, cleverer than me. Or maybe it is just that they are all younger then me? However I suspect my work environment is more varied than most, and this variation is not reflected in my naturist experience.
At my naturist club we have one couple I’d guess have their origins in the Indian sub-continent, and the wife of another couple I take to be Thai or from that area of south-east Asia. Other than that we are all “white” Brits.
I have seen non-whites (for want of a better term – I am not quite sure how best to put it – perhaps “of non-European origin”?) on naturist beaches and at the naturist resort of Euronat in France, but they are most definitely few and far between. I am not sure whether it is a cultural thing, or that we of European origin have a thing about getting a tan?
As far as I am concerned, all are welcome, whatever ways me may find to distinguish ourselves from each other we are all members of the same species, and equal in each others’ eyes, and in the eyes of any anthropomorphic deity of anyone’s choosing.
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Ive known several minority nudists over the years but they certainly are not common. I think nudism would do well to actively try to recruit a few more.
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while I have been to locations where everyone was pretty much totally white, the beach my family usually goes to (gunnison in new jersey) has a nicely diverse population. a majority of beach goers are certainly white, but i see a good representation of black, hispanic, and asian on the beach.
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