Skinbook was a short lived nudist social site which exploded on the scene over two years ago, its popularity seeded by worldwide press coverage. Its young founder soon found it was more than he could handle and became disillusioned, abandoning both the web site and nudism. Recently, Dario Western, an Australian nudist-activist decided to take over where Skinbook left off, determined to make it work this time. We asked Western a few questions and he provided very insightful answers which we print verbatim below…
On the topic of what he thinks went wrong with the first incarnation of Skinbook:
There was nothing wrong with the whole idea behind Skinbook. At the time, there wasn’t any sophisticated social network that catered for naturists and nudists in the same league as sites like Friendster, Bebo, MySpace and Facebook were doing with the general public. As you said before, Maddocks was not the right kind of person to run the site. He was very young, very inexperienced, and still trying to find his feet with the world. Plus the fact he was condescending towards the very kind of people who put the most capital into nudist ventures in the English-speaking world – a la the “creepy old people” and single men. He wanted his site to be focused mainly on women and male/female couples in the 18 – 35 age group (he was 23 years old when he started Skinbook, along with some university friends). Plus, he trusted in the wrong types of people to help moderate the site. There was a couple called Dan & Vicky whom he chose as forum mods who would routinely ban anybody who disagreed with them, and another guy called Andrew who was also chosen as a forum mod who was rude, condescending and bullyish towards certain people (including me). Eventually, Dan & Vicky were deposed and banished from the site and Andrew stepped down after numerous complaints from the members about the way they treated them. That was a contributing factor as to why Maddocks’ patience with nudism started to run out eventually.
About his use of the same name (Skinbook):
Photo by Hughesdarren
I tried to track down Karl Maddocks through numerous internet searches, but to no avail. The Skinbook logo that is being used for the new one is the first one that was used for it’s original MySpace site and then was replaced with the more fancy logo when he took the site to Ning. I don’t see why it should cause much concern for him anyway, seeing as he no longer wishes to be associated with naturism and nudism in any shape or form. When he originally closed down the site and wrote the angry resignation letter, I did try to contact him originally to point him to another network that I’m on which mostly focuses on the under 40′s, but even so I did not receive any response from him.
On how he plans to reach out to the old Skinbook users as well as recruiting new members:
I don’t have the original database for Skinbook. Only network admins and mods on Ning are allowed access to them. Fortunately, I do have a number of nudist friends, acquaintances and net-mates whom I have invited to the new network as well as commented on it on old web pages which refer to it.
On what are his goals with this project:
I hope to be able to put naturists and nudists back in touch with each other and make some new naturist friends in the event that I would like to travel to places like Europe, UK, America, Canada, and New Zealand. I have a few relatives and nudist friends in Canada, which tends to be a bit more open and laid-back with nudity than most people in my country are.
About some of the things that will be different in the new site:
The difference between the old Skinbook and the new one is that I am hoping this one will be better run. I have been a nudist since 1990 at the age of 19, and have also worked in customer service and done a bit of counselling work with studies in Aromatherapy and natural medicine, so I tend to be open to listen to other people’s problems and concerns a bit more. As a bout of my interest in natural therapies, I want to be taking naturism back to its original roots which put a very strong emphasis on exercise, leisure, vegetarianism/veganism, environmentalism, spirituality, communality, and family values. Naturism tends to have a very bad rap today to be associated with pornography, swinging, drunken orgies, and child abuse at the worst, and at best something that only lonely, sexually desperate old people tend to want to do. These are very limiting paradigms to live with, and I want to help normalise the lifestyle and make it a valid and healthy one again that anybody of either gender and any age can participate in (although for safety reasons, I do not allow anybody under the age of 13 to join Skinbook).
On how he will avoid the pitfalls of any nudist social site, namely its misuse for sexual purposes:
I am known to be a bit of a whistle-blower on inappropriate behaviour that I have encountered in my local nudist scene, and am mostly hated for it by the Australian nudist community. Many tend to want to deny that such behaviour exists and just paint nudism as a happy-smiley lollipops and roses thing as you see in the magazines. I think that this does a dis-service to naturism, and does turn off a lot of newbies to the scene when they find that there are some people in it for the wrong reasons. Having said that, I am objectively politically and sexually liberal myself – what consenting and responsible parties do with their sex lives is fine. However, naturism by default is a family orientated lifestyle that is based on mainstream community values. If there is behaviour that is not tolerated in the textile world and mainstream social networking sites, then it will not be tolerated on Skinbook either. I won’t put up with flame-wars, divulging of private information, or imagery that is not allowed on other networks. Basically, I want naturism to become a mainstream lifestyle the same as it is in many parts of Europe, so I need to tread with caution as to what is allowed on the network. Besides that, Ning does not allow full-frontal nudity on its networks anymore. Topless is okay, but no showing ‘private’ parts. Then again, I believe that naturists and nudists need to have some common sense and not surf onto nudist or porn sites whilst at work or in certain public places where other people are not yet ready to handle full-frontal nude images. It’s best to ‘err on the side of caution’. There is also a group on Yahoo! called North West Naturists which does not allow any nudity in its photo album, and it has plenty of members and people posting to it. If people want to see nude photos to get their rocks off, then go to a porn site for that, not a naturist one. There is a time and place for everything.
About how he might one day profit from this venture:
Naturism is my passion, not my profession. However, I would definitely love to be making some money from naturism sometime soon. I’m also a musician and I’m working on a co-ed band to promote awareness of naturism to a contemporary rock and pop music market, so once the band gets to a point where it’s ready to record I’d like to invest my earnings into a 5-star nudist property. I can but hope (grins!). Where Ning is concerned, they now charge between $19.95 per year for a basic network of up to 150 members, to $59.95 per year for a more sophisticated network with an unlimited amount of members and more features such as events calendars, the ability to form groups, create apps, and many more features that were originally free. Initially I was irked when Ning became a pay-only site, but with hindsight I can see why they chose to go that way. In the real world there is no such reality as “something for nothing” and “no such thing as a free lunch”. You want class, you want efficiency, you want sophistication – you pay for it. And I am definitely willing to put my money where my mouth is! 
If you’re interested in knowing more about Dario, here’s his bio:
Dario Western is a nudist activist originally from Manchester in the UK, now living in Brisbane, Australia. He first became aware of naturism at the age of 8 when viewing the BBC documentary “Let’s Go Naked” in January 1979. He has contributed several articles and letters for the magazines Australian Sun & Health, and The Australian Naturist, as well as created and running several nudist and naturist social groups and forums on platforms like MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, Yahoo!, and formerly MSN. He has also done interviews with the local media and appeared twice on TalkBack radio host Richard Fidler’s show on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as having organised the World Naked Bike Ride in Brisbane three times between 2007 – 2009.
Of course, you should visit the site, and better still, join-up! The URL is: http://skinbook1.ning.com/
Here’s a link to a May, 2010 article in Time magazine about the original SkinBook.
Related Articles:
Tags: dario western, skinbook, social network
Not surprisingly, our last post, which proffered a series of embedded nudist video clips, proved to be quite popular. It is in our mutual interest, dear readers, that we should present compilations of videos that more closely fit the principles of nudism rather than the voyeuristic and pornographic trash that seem to dominate any Internet search for nudist movies. Herewith we bring you our latest finds. These videos were not produced by us, but they do receive our stamp of approval!
A very clever ad to promote naturism in France.
An interview of two nudists on a US cable program.
A woman strolls nude through the streets of Barcelona, Spain. Even though it was completely legal at the time, this is proof of why it’s not a good idea to practice nudism where it’s not normally done.
Another woman walks nude in Barcelona. Tourists are rather rude, you’ll have noticed by now!
An art “installation” in a public plaza in a Swiss city, involving 18 nude participants. Notice how people walk by as if nothing! Gotta like the Swiss!
A Spanish television news report shot inside a nudist resort.
Related Articles:
Tags: naturist movies
If you a search for “nudist video” you will usually get links to voyeur or sex sites. In an effort to correct this, we bring you a few free clips we gleaned from the web that we feel are relevant to naturism.
A Russian video about body painting
Very short 3D nudist video!!
Dario Western, an Australian nudist whose comments frequently appear in our forum and our web site, produced several videos, including this one about a nudist photo shoot.
A short clip by the Bare Oaks club north of Toronto, Canada.
A news report, in German, about nude horseback riding aficionado Michael Zauels, whom we also interviewed a few years ago
A German clip about Valalta, a historic town on the Croatian Adriatic coast that’s popular with nudists.
Related Articles:
Tags: naturist movies
An Italian reader contributed the following story. We’ve only made minor grammatical corrections…
I’m Italian, I live in Veneto and my name is Anthony. I’ve been practising nudism for over twenty years. I usually spend my Summer holiday in Istra (Croatia) in a very big naturist village and in a nudist (FKK) camping in Carinthia (Southern Austria), around a lake. I like walking, relaxing, swimming, having lunch, going by bike completely naked. What a wonderful world!
An Italian nudist enjoying the beach
I wish I could live naked all year long. I do think it’s worth making this experience. My friend Paul – who is often with me – likes nudism very much: he usually practices it in this naturist village from six o’clock in the morning – before having breakfast – until ten or eleven o’clock in the evening. Around the Austrian lake, nudists can run, jog, play football and volleyball. When Summer is about to start, I’m looking forward to setting off in order to reach these nudist resorts. The Croatian village gives hospitality to over 6000 people who come from all over Europe.
In Italy I’ve been a lot of times to Lido di Dante (Ravenna) where there is a free nudist beach. When I was there, I usually walked naked as far as the estuary of the small river Bevano, situated at almost three kilometres from a car parking: it’s a nice nudist walk. I ‘ve been twice to a nudist centre in the Appennini, at about 400 m. of altitude in the province of Bologna (“Zello oasis”). There you can find a small swimming pool, a sauna and a hydro massage basin . It’s possible to stay naked and walk completely undressed in a nice wood, along some footpaths. People relax, read, eat, talk pleasantly , completely naked. A naked woman – who works as a cook – prepares typical regional food on Sunday.
I also often went to a new official naturist beach in Veneto last Summer: it’s called “Mort beach”, between Eraclea Mare and Jesolo (province of Venice), situated next to estuary of the famous river Piave. I’ve been part in a Venetian Naturist Association for over two years. Thanks to it, the Municipal Authorities of Jesolo legalized nudism on this beach at the beginning of June 2011. On the Mort beach there is a lifeguard at every weekend when some regional association members are present with our banner. A lot of people went to this new naturist beach last Summer. I took part in some meetings organized by this association in Summer 2009 and 2010. They took place on a nice meadow belonging to a wellness centre at Castello di Godego (Treviso – Veneto). We relaxed, we organized some team games , we had lunch and enjoyed staying together. I didn’t feel awkward, as I was used to staying naked.
My association organized a guided tour in the “Acquarium – Tropicarium” at Jesolo on September third, a Saturday evening. I took part in it. We were about fifty people and were divided into three groups. The tour was led by dressed guides who accompanied us to see wonderful tropical animals, fishes, sharks, snakes, tortoises, crocodiles, “varanos”, iguanas. We were naked and walked naked in the building of the Acquarium – Tropicarium: what an extraordinary experience, in touch with nature ! Two of us entered a big basin where there were some harmless sharks: they were filmed and interviewed, because two journalists were present on the occasion of this meeting.
Our slogan is “Naturism is respect and freedom”: it’s the essence of naturism. Mentality is changing in Italy, so I do hope naturism will spread in Italy more and more from now on, getting over silly opposition and prejudices.
Related Articles:
It is a simple fact that most nudists are men and therefore most of our readers are male. For men, nudism seems to be easier to adopt. Perhaps it is because our bodies are not “sexualized” by society in the way the female form has always been. Perhaps it is women’s fondness for fashion. Whatever the reasons, almost every nudist man will experience difficulty in convincing his wife, girlfriend or female friend to take a step forward and give nudism a try. It might seem like an impossible task, but as a man who has persuaded many of the fairer sex to open their minds to this liberating form of recreation, including my current spouse, perhaps I can offer a little help…
Only once have I dated a woman who was already a nudist before I met her (she volunteered that information our first time out), but our personalities did not mesh, so nothing came of it. The likelihood of meeting a nudist is very slim and the mere fact that she’s a nudist should not be the main reason you’re attracted to her! You’ll likely meet your significant other in the textile world, and she’ll likely only have a vague idea of what nudism is about, but if you’re right for each other, then there’s a pretty good chance you might try out each other’s interests for size, but if all she does is accept this side of you, count yourself lucky already!
Firstly, it’s generally not a good idea to present yourself as a nudist to anyone you have not known for more than a few days or even weeks. A woman telling a man she’s a nudist (as one of my dates did) probably won’t be ill received, but I’m afraid the reverse is rarely true. Such are the differences between the sexes! If your lady friend is not well acquainted with nudism, she may find this creepy and not only will you not have a nudist girlfriend — you might not have a girlfriend, period!
When you truly feel the two of you are comfortable with each other, then you can broach the subject by introducing it as “there’s something you should know about me”. She probably will be expecting something shocking and be relieved when it turns out you just like to romp around naked! She’ll naturally be curious about how you became a nudist, so let her ask you the next question. That will be your cue to explain to her what attracted you to it. I will give you some ideas on how to present your case a little further on, but let me forewarn you that you should not, at this point, suggest that she join you for a nudist experience! Give her every opportunity to make that offer herself. You will have told her about the wonderful world of social nudism and there is a fair chance she’ll say “sounds great, could I try it sometime?,” Why? because you did not push the agenda. You shared something with her in complete sincerity. Never pressure anybody into trying nudism. Nobody likes to be pushed into anything.
Another way to broach the subject is to have a nudist publication strategically placed in your home when she visits. Not front and center, but perhaps in a stack of other magazines. She will come across it and ask you about it. Be casual in your answer and follow the same script as described earlier.
What’s the best way to present nudism? As something completely logical and natural. She’ll agree with the simple fact that we were all born naked and that it’s society that made it shameful. Why should we be ashamed of what we are? Make the point that nudity isn’t sexual, that provocative clothing is more sexual than a merely nude person. It may also resonate with her when you confess that ridding yourself of your inhibitions has made you a happier, more relaxed person and that being nude in a social situation becomes completely natural. Let her know that it’s easier to make sincere friends in the nudist realm, perhaps because clothing reflects status, whereas when we’re nude, we’re all equal.
If she expresses interest and wants to see for herself, where should you take her? The worst place is a public clothing optional beach. There’s too much of a risk that there will be many clothed people, making her feel self-conscious, not to mention the voyeurs, the new nudist experience killers! I’ve found that a nude yoga class is a great introduction, mainly because many women relate to yoga and everybody is busy doing exercise so she won’t feel their gazes. If no nude yoga class is offered in your area, plan a visit to a reputable family oriented nudist resort, or perhaps an event organized by a local non-landed nudist club, such as a nude aquatics or bowling night! The idea is to show her that normal people get together and do normal things, except that they’re all nude and are much more relaxed than “normal” people! It’s important that there be a good mix of people, not overwhelmingly male or extremely old, lest she panic! The presence of families and young people will definitely help put her at ease. You might want to do a little homework first before picking a venue! Remember that if her introduction to nudism is positive, there’s a better chance that she’ll adopt it as her own and future expeditions will be consensual!
What if she reacts with disgust to your confession? Then, my friend, you may have landed a judgmental, non open-minded partner, and you have to ask yourself if this is a relationship worth pursuing? If it is, calmly let her know that you care deeply about her and don’t expect her to participate and that you will not let it get in the way. If that is not well received either then I can only say “good riddance”.
In my experience, people’s prejudices aren’t always etched in stone and their opinions may change as your relationship grows, so don’t despair if your initial sortie out of the “nudist closet” didn’t result in her warming to the idea. One of my girlfriends years ago thought it was outrageous at first, but a few months later she did try nudism and became fanatical! Another former girlfriend had told me that if I got naked on the beach (it was Spain), she would leave. I didn’t force the issue. Recently she confided that she was dating another nudist man and she was now comfortable with his public nudity. Somehow I feel that my nonchalance may have had something to do with her eventual acceptance of naturist behavior, albeit with someone else.
In conclusion, be nudism’s ambassador, not its dictator! Also, bear in mind that if you are a woman, the same suggestions apply if you wish for your partner to accept and perhaps embrace your nudism!
Related Articles:
Tags: women and nudism
Nudists in Sérignan, in the south of France, had quite a scare September 29 when a World War II era mine was discovered offshore by a diver. After beaches and campgrounds were evacuated, the 200 kilogram bomb was dragged away and exploded far off into the Mediterranean.
Also last month, in Canada’s Gatineau national park, near Ottawa, four nudists were arrested by police. The secluded beach where the arrests took place is commonly used by naturists, but isn’t legally recognized. The police crackdown was prompted by repeated complaints from park visitors.
September 24th, several dozen nudist men and one woman staged a nude protest in the Castro district of San Francisco. They were protesting a proposed bylaw prohibiting nudity in restaurants and forcing nudists to sit on a towel in public. Protest organizers claim that the real intent of the gathering was to create public awareness. Public nudity isn’t against the law in San Francisco and is most commonly enjoyed in the Castro district, best known for its important gay population.
Chihuahua nudist beach near Punta del Este, Uruguay now has two all inclusive clothing optional resorts. The first, named Chihuahua Resort, opened October 3rd, and initially will only allow nudity in the pool area and is aimed at heterosexual couples. The second, Paradise hotel, is dedicated to the gay community which has always had a strong presence at the neighboring nude beach. Previously, the beach only had two small inns for nudists.
Rugby is exceedingly popular in New Zealand, but it’s probably the only place in the world that has a nude team for that contact sport! The Nude Blacks of Dunedin, a humorous version of the famous All Blacks, started out as a farce, but is now a phenomenon on its own and has spawned other nude rugby teams elsewhere. Recently, they played a game against an all female team from Spain, and lost! The Spaniards did shed some clothing, but never fully undressed, in case you’re wondering! Nude Blacks video here.
Related Articles:
Tags: chihuahua beach, france, gatineau park, nude blacks rugby, San Francisco
July 23 of this year we had reported that a “nudist forest” named Vivi Ecotopia (Not Vivid as widely reported) was set to open in August in Jangheung, South Korea. That date has come and gone and social nudity still does not seem to be happening there.
According to the Korean press and bloggers, there’s yet to be a naked patron seen in the park since it opened. Apparently, a topless model was used as a gimmick to attract journalists to the site’s opening. Originally, the town’s mayor wanted it to be a clothing optional recreational area, but was forced to abandon the plans due to public protests by religious groups. Some local politicians even go as far as blaming the media for hyping this as a nudist park, when in fact it is a spa. At this point it certainly seems as if the media was used rather than the other way around.
We had expressed doubt about such a venue ever seeing the light of day in a supposedly ultra-conservative society such as South Korea’s. We say “supposedly” because there’s a sex park on Cheju island, replete with sculptures of couples in every imaginable sexual position. We still hope nudism takes root in that country, but for now it’s still conservatives one, nudists zero!
Related Articles:
With this installment we continue our visit to the ghosts of nudists past. This time, we bring you an article published in The Nudist Sunshine and Health magazine (unrelated to Australian Sun & Health) in December, 1937, titled “Elysium Foundation Hold Second Annual Open House”. It was written by George Spray about a gathering at the club in the San Jose, California area. Here’s the article exactly as it was published three quarters of a century ago…
Everyone seemed so pleased with the first annual “Open House” that we instituted a year ago and to which we invited all West Coast nudists, including members from all of the existing nudist groups in this part of the country, that we decided to repeat the idea this year and had set upon the Labor Day week as being the most appropriate period for the undertaking. We sincerely regret that the announcement of plans for the West Coast sectional convention of the American Sunbathing Association, to be held at Soquel on Sept. 18 and 19, gave to the announcement of our “Open House” the appearance of an effort on our part to “get in head” of the national organization meeting, and the newspapers did their part in giving to the two gatherings something of the appearance of hostile competition. Let us say at the outset that nothing could be farther from the truth. We wished the gathering at Soquel the very best of success but saw no reason for giving up our own local plans which had been a long time in formation.
On Sunday, the fifth of September, the visitors began to gather and by Monday (Labor Day) we had a good crowd present with many of the West Coast groups well represented. We had a grand Bar-B-Q for all comers and the game field never saw an idle moment all day long. One incident occurred during the day that was without our knowledge though it brought a little local publicity to the Foundation. We refer to the fact that one of our members saw fit to participate in the San Francisco Labor Day parade sans clothing, except for brief swimming trunks. In order that his pro-nudist convictions might be emphasized by proper setting, he elected to march with the ladies garment workers who were all attired in natty white uniforms. The incident caused quite a rumpus and the unwanted marcher was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and disturbing the peace. Since the offender identified himself as a member of our organization, and we do not approve of any type of publicity, we were under the necessity of expelling the stunt marcher from our organization. In passing it should be noted that at the trial of the offender the Judge possessed understanding and courage enough to declare that the charge of indecent exposure could not be sustained and the defendant was dismissed under a suspended sentence for disturbing the peace. Gradually the whole business of much or little or no clothing at all will be taken for what it really is, — a point of view and in no sense a matter of morality or criminality.
The entire week was one of continuous activity from morning till night and while we did not put on any convention program of speakers and addresses, the periods of conversation and discussion of many nudist problems were replete with interest and enthusiastic participation.
Perhaps the most noteworthy section of our program was what some of the papers quite erroneously referred to as our “beauty contest.” At the time that our plans were in the making, we were approached by the manager of the San Jose Chamber of Commerce through whom the offer was made of a hall should we have need of one for any of our “nudist meet” business. At first it did not seem that any such provision was needed but as we talked over our plans it seemed possible that our plan to award a blue ribbon to the “most nearly perfect nudist” man and likewise to the “most perfect nudist” woman could appropriately be made a public event and thus bring some very favorable publicity to our nudist movement and particularly to its interest in developing attractive physiques among its members. The San Jose auditorium was therefore freely placed at our disposal, for Thursday evening, Sept 9, a splendid musical program was organized, a lecture on “The Art of Nudism” was given by the writer and a lecture on “Body Structure in Relation to Health” was presented by Dr Douglas H. Wells. Finally the awards were made to Stephen Fabian of New York and Dorothy Vetters of San Francisco, both of whom appeared on the public platform dressed in the minimum of clothing appropriate to the occasion. The hall was well filled by an appreciative audience and thus once more we had an opportunity to present the cause of nudism to a large non-nudist contingent of our local population. Out of this event there came an invitation to address the San Jose Chamber of Commerce at their next meeting on “Nudism in Ancient and Modern Life.”
The week of “Open House” did not terminate till the week-end of the 12th. During that period upwards of 200 guests and visitors had participated in one or another portion of our program. The gathering was in every way a success along the lines originally laid down — not a business session or convention of delegates, but a big, hearty gathering of nudists who wanted the broad fellowship incident to meeting many other nudists from various groups for the interchange of ideas and the participation in good fellowship and nudist sports. That it was successful along these lines is a cause of gratification to all of us and we confidently look forward to an even more successful meet of like character a year hence.
Although this was 74 years ago, one gets the feeling that the business community in their area was very open minded, sounding much like that of Pasco county (FL) in our times. As we’ve said before, the times they are a changing, but nudists, not so much!
Related Articles:
Tags: elysium, magazine, Nudist Sun and Health, Soquel
If you went right now into the streets of San Francisco, you could shed all your clothing and walk in your birthday suit without fear of being charged. Public nudity is legal in this city, just as it is in Spain!
Photo by Alessandro Vernet
We don’t know how we missed this important moment in nudist history, and we have not a clue how long this rule has been in place, but we have to laud SF for so often being the leader in breaking moral shackles. As long as you’re not doing anything lewd, your nudity isn’t a crime, though just as in Spain, there are prudes who will call you names and even call the cops. The latter will be all talk as they cannot charge you with anything!
Most of those who dare to bare it all do it in the Castro district, famous for its strong gay population. Curiously, you can be naked just about anywhere, except in a public park or anywhere where alcohol is served, places where you could be arrested for making like Adam and Eve. I guess they’ve never heard of Englischer Garten (Munich) or of bars in nudist resorts, but the very fact that you can be nude at all outdoors in a big textile city is already cool enough!
Even more curious is that a group of Castro nudists is putting up fight against a proposed city by-law which would force nudists to use towels wherever they sit, and to cover up when they enter a restaurant. On the first count, it’s normal of nudists to sit on towels for hygienic reasons, and on the second, I again point out that it’s fantastic that you can legally be nude outdoors! Why risk a good thing?
What these protesters could do is propose a compromise: let the establishments themselves decide if they allow nudists. While most won’t, it’s a fair bet some will. Why would you want to go for a meal where everybody from the waiters to the customers will be sneering at you? Plus, I wouldn’t trust the food they serve you!
Related Articles:
Tags: legal public nudity, San Francisco
While the world evolves constantly, nudism stands still, or so it seems. Since we’re naked and human physical evolution takes a long time, there really isn’t a whole lot that CAN change! Attitudes toward nudism may have changed slightly, but we still cannot claim that our chosen way of life has become mainstream. A big share of North Americans still think that we’re a “bunch of freaks” or even perverts, for one. However, internally, the nudist “movement” seems immutable. Nudist Day recently visited the American Nudist Research Library, located inside Cypress Cove Resort in Kissimmee, Florida, and dug up some old naturist magazine articles that even if they written 50 or 60 years ago, could well have been penned today.
“Problem: Single Men”, is the title of one of those articles, appearing in the June, 1949, issue of Modern Sunbathing and Hygiene (nudism passed itself off as a health related activity in those days), an American magazine that has long ceased publishing. I take the liberty to reprint it here in its entirety…
Ask any (club) secretary to name his biggest problem and, in nine cases out of ten, he will say at once: “Single men!” The
problem has been with us from the earliest days of nudism in this country, and we are still groping and scratching in our efforts to find a solution. The “couples only” rule is general, even if it is not applied very rigidly by some of the clubs and, while we argue and explain, hundreds — perhaps thousands — of single men whose help would be invaluable, are debarred from joining.
Many of these men resent, with considerable bitterness, their exclusion from the clubs. Some of them make suggestions, and are only half satisfied when they are told that something similar has been tried, many times. Some of them will accept no explanation and accuse the clubs of everything from snobbery to “having something to hide.”
It is a problem which has to be faced, for the sake of the Naturist movement and in fairness to the men themselves. What can we do about it?
First of all, why should single men be barred? Why is it necessary to balance the sexes? Is it not true that the general public may put an entirely wrong construction on a rule which insists that there shall be a woman ‘partner’ for every male member of a club? The reason for the rule is quite simple. Naturism implies a belief in “social nudism” — that is, nudism in which both sexes take part. It has been found, over many years that far more men than women try to join the clubs, and that any “over-weighting” by men tends to drive women members away. (This is often denied, but is, nevertheless, true. It may be that in some clubs there are women who do not object to forming a tiny minority among a crowd of men; there may be husbands and fiances who do not mind if their wives or girl-friends are the only women in the club full of males; it may even be true that some women rather enjoy, for a time, such a state of affairs. But, in general, a heavy over-balance of men does drive women members away.)
The fear that the general public will interpret the rule (if they know of it at all) as proof that there is “pairing-off” in the clubs may be justified. But does it matter? Non-nudists may think even worse of a club where men outnumber women ten to one than they do of a balanced one! — they think Naturism is “immoral” anyway.
Why is it that more men than women wish to become nudists? If we can answer that question we may have an important clue to the solution of our problem. I believe there are answers, the first and most important being that the idea of Naturism does not reach women women as easily as it reaches men. For example, how many women pick up a copy of Modern Sunbathing & Hygiene, read it, and are attracted by the idea? That is the way in which nine men out of ten hear of Naturism for the first time. Second, although women are more ready than men to wear scanty clothing, few of them seem to have any desire (until they have tried it) to “go naked.” Third, there is the important essential difference between male and female. A man may be suspicious about Naturism, but he has little to lose and will “try anything once.” The girl, trained to be suspicious of the motives of men, may be chary of giving Naturism a trial — and certainly cannot afford to take risks. (There are other reasons: fear of comparison, a dislike of “roughing it”, and personal problems about which a woman is likely to have doubts.) The solution is, clearly, some way of “putting Naturism over” to the ladies.
That will take time and meanwhile we still have our thousands of keen men, of all ages, who have no chance of getting into the clubs. Can we do anything — at once?
Some clubs apply their rules with considerable sympathy — several accept one single man for every couple; at least one has meetings for men only; attempts have been made to form clubs for men. One or two clubs have refused to adopt the “Couples only” rule, only to be criticized for having more men members than women — and the critics are, more often than not — single men! That fact may help us in finding one solution: the fact that those men who have criticized clubs for their lack of women members expected someone else to provide their “partners” for them.
They do expect that, and I have never been able to understand why. It should be obvious that we in the clubs have no “pool” of unattached ladies from which we can draw when we wish to “balance” male applicants, otherwise there would be no need for the ban on single men.
The clubs, and the movement, can help by doing their utmost to introduce Naturism to women, but I believe that the main part of the solution to our problem lies in the hands of the men themselves.
Let us look at it this way, agreeing that it is a very difficult matter indeed for a man to approach a woman and suggest to her that she should join a nudist club with him. Most men do not expect to remain single forever: no matter what they say to-day, somewhere in the future lies marriage. Almost certainly they know, or will know, girls, and from among those girls will choose a wife. If marriage is to mean anything at all it means mutual trust and confidence — a near-perfect understanding, and agreement on the important things of life. Naturism is one of those important things. The man who becomes a nudist without telling his fiancee is storing up trouble later on, and he is misleading himself if he thinks he can wait until after he is married and then “convert” his wife. I know several men, whose marriages have been wrecked by attempts to convert “unwilling partners” and by the knowledge that before marriage one or the other had been a naturist — in secret.
I know that when I advise most single men to find their own partners I am asking for trouble. I assure them that I know difficult it is, but it can be and has been done! And, as far as I know, there is no other satisfactory solution to the problem.
The clubs are anxious to help them. Many naturist families are doing their utmost to persuade women friends to join. And excellent work is being done by some of the young women members of clubs in some districts by introducing Naturism to their friends and workmates. This magazine is also doing its best, by providing a service which helps and advises any reader who is in doubt about naturist problems.
But, in the end, the main part of the solution rests with the Single Men themselves — it is up to them!
And there you have it! Except for some antiquated concepts about marriage, the problems and the solutions proposed by the author (it did not say who!) of that article over 62 years ago could apply to our times.
Loading ...