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The term Naturism depicts spending time in the nude
in mixed company.
Social nudity has been
normative for ages in a large variety of cultures such as
Japan, Hawaii and ancient Greece, and its practice in Europe
was renewed at the turn of the twentieth century by the
German Nude Culture.
Modern Naturism began as an
ideological movement reacting against nineteenth century
strict dress code and moral values, while expressing an
aspiration to merge harmoniously with Nature away from
crowded urban centers.
Getting out of clothes
represented the rejection of status symbols and cultural
masques and baring the authentic individual, then seen as a
healthy and dignified being by its own merit, with no attire
on. The new ideology quickly spread out to the rest of
Europe, and later on to North America.
Normative activities in
Naturist gatherings include swimming, bicycling, hikes,
picnics, poolside parties and relaxed social meetings. Many
clubs have volleyball, bowling, tennis or miniten courts as
well as spas and saunas; and others also hold lectures,
workouts or music groups.
Naturist clubs and Naturist
activities adhere to standards of polite and decent conduct
out of respect to oneself, to one’s fellow human beings and
to Nature.
Why bother?
Naturism means, first of all,
taking off the barriers between us and air, water and
sunlight. It serves our need for immediate contact with
ourselves, contributes to a healthier attitude to the human
body and promotes a fuller psychological and emotional
acceptance of one’s self.
Getting rid of the artificial
cultural differentiation between women and men serves, in
its own turn, a higher standard of honesty in a personal
level. By allowing the individual to re-own one’s body it
also undermines the long tradition of gender discrimination
and promotes human solidarity in general.
And as anyone who has ever gone
skinny dip surely knows: social nude frees one from the
stresses of one’s insane daily routine, and is relaxing and
fun. There is absolutely no point in trying to explain that.
One should simply give it a try.
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