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In general terms, printed magazines are either calling it quits or seeing their circulation numbers severely cut back, thanks in great part to the internet. However there is still a place for new naturist magazines. One recently launched nudist publication is Australian Sun & Health magazine, which is now into its third issue.
Sarah Scriven, editor of Sun & Health, couldn’t give us circulation numbers, but she says response has been great and subscriptions have been so good that they’re planning to again increase the size of the magazine in time for the next issue. The magazine currently publishes every three months. |
Sun and Health uses the same name as a nudist magazine that ceased publishing more than three years ago. According to Scriven, the owner of the defunct magazine de-registered the business name in 2005. “We are not aware of any legal issues surrounding publication of our magazine and we are certainly not illegitimate”, she told Nudist Day. “It was a shame to see the old name die after more than 20 years”, she added. If one visits the site of the old Australian Sun and Health, you’ll encounter angry comments about the new magazine and its publishers. The author of the criticism, however, isn’t reachable for comment.
The new magazine devotes itself almost exclusively to the Australian nudist scene, and features a lot of full-color photos. It’s only competitor in Australia is The Australian Naturist (TAN).
We asked Scriven how she sized-up the current situation of naturism in Australia, if she felt it was improving: “I’d say nudity is tolerated better in mainstream media but as far as having real nude people around, I would have to say no. If you look back 40 years it was far more accepted to go nude at a beach or to go skinny dipping but at this point in time we have more nude beaches under threat than I’ve seen before. However, I don’t think this is a nude specific issue but rather our societies trend to more conservative views.” A candid point of view which perhaps explains why she seeks to produce a magazine that can also appeal to non-nudists.
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