Articles Regarding Naturism

            Obviously, you like to be naked.  You can enjoy being naked at home or on some remote beach.  However, you are going to have more fun hanging out naked with friends, whether at home or on the beach.  So, a very good reason to start (or join) a naturist group is to increase your number of like-minded friends and acquaintances and to increase the opportunities to enjoy getting naked without being harrassed.  For example, you can't afford to rent a pool and gym for a winter swim, but a group can. If there are others already willing to help form a group, great; but you can start a naturist group on your own if need be.  Soon enough, others will be there.  Also, the more people there are that are involved in local groups and the more connected these groups are to each other, the more likely we are to take effective political action and to organize major social and/or political events.

                                    Now, you've decided to start a group.  What to do?

           First, decide what type of group are you going to be.  Will it  be a community wide group?  Or limited to campus, church, or business? Perhaps a group dedicated to preserving or creating nude use at a certain beach?
           A community wide group, of course, will be open to and promoted to all naturists and clothing-optional enthusiasts in the entire community. This type group offers the greatest opportunity for growth and effectiveness.   However, your group might focus upon your college campus, your church, or your place of employment, assuming any of these allow clubs. If there is no group at all near your community, you will want to start a community wide group. If there is already a community wide group, then you should join that and work to make it better.  However, you can also start a more focused group. This more focused group can and should connect to the larger group while still maintaining its own identity.   
           Colleges are a natural for the development of groups and will have an established procedure for getting your group recognized.  This recognition will afford you all the rights granted to every other campus group.  The senior and junior classes will want to make sure first and second year students are recruited and trained in management of the group so that the club continues despite graduations.  The club could be open to college staff and faculty which could help maintain continuity.
          Churches may seem unlikely, but many congregations are surprisingly accepting of diversity and will accept naturists amongst them -- not actually naked, of course -- although some churches have actually allowed clothing-optional activities in limited times or places.  Pagan or New Age Churches should be particularly open to naturism. Getting you and your fellow naturists recognized affords you opportunities to educate other congregants about naturism and enlist their assistance in advocating for your rights.  If ultimately, they reject you, well, what do you want to support such a church for anyway?  Find a church where what is preached is actually practiced.   Most every church has social clubs, so why not a naturist club?
           If you work amongst lots of employees, your work place too could use a naturist group.  Why not?  You may have to educate your employer about Naturism, but most will have no problem with it.  Wouldn't it be nice to make naturist friends at work?  If you are concerned about your employer punishing you for being a naturist, check with a civil rights attorney as to your rights.    Obviously, using company time and materials to promote your activity may be just cause for disciplinary action, but you should be able to participate in any legal activity outside of work and not have it impact your status at work.  Some states even have laws protecting employees from punishment for outside legal activities.
          You also may decide to limit the club to heterosexual couples and families or to homosexual men or to lesbians and their families. Or you might wish to introduce a naturist subgroup to an already established ethnic or tribal association.  Some might argue that such a limitation is not naturist -- nudist perhaps, but not naturist.  However, that is your decision.  You will still be encouraged to connect to the Michigan Nude Beach Advocates.
         Decide on a goal for the group.  Look at the agenda and goals that I have established for the Michigan Nude Beach Advocates.  Having  far reaching and encompassing goals projects the group well into the future.  Knowing your main goal and keeping it in mind allows you to shrug off any tactical failures while learning from them.  So no one attends some event or meeting.  That event failed, but so what?  You try again, get smarter, fail again, try again, succeed here and there, and slowly build momenturm by keeping in mind your major goal rather than dwelling on momentary failures.  Eventually, the tactical successes far outnumber the failures.

                                  You've decided on the type of group and its goals.  Now what?

           Establish a means for people to contact you.  A mailing address, a phone number and answering machine, an e-mail address or some or all of these.
         Promote through whatever means are allowed, avialable, and affordable.
        Have occasional events to get together in person now and then.  All events do not have to appeal to everyone, so try to have differant events occasionally.
        Recruit help.  Make this a cooperative enterprise.  Don't allow others to expect not to have to do anything but show up (when they feel like it).  Especially when someone says, " You should ..." or "I wish..." or " It would be good if we did ..."  Agree but get them  to get it started (or it's not going to happen).  Form committees and have others form committees to get particular activities started and to keep things going..
        Have fun.  Don't neglect to have fun yourself.  One of the reasons to start a group is to increase your naturist fun.  Naturism is a social activity.  Don't do all the planning and all the work.  You've started a group, but expect and enourage others to meet their own expectations for events: canoeing, cards, hiking, outings to nudist resorts, whatever.  You do not have to initiate every event.  How much you let others do may have to do with your own personality.  If you are a controlling type or a perfectionist, you will end up squelching the enthusiasm and initiative of others.  Channel your energies into encouraging others and let them get on with it without your constantly overseeing or altering things; otherwise, you will drive them nuts and exhaust yourself.  Recognize that others will have better ideas and more skill in certain areas than you, so let them at it.  Your job is to inspire, not to do everything nor even to oversee.

Here are some promotional ideas thathave worked:

Attend Naturist Gatherings and see if you can meet people from your area.  At a closing circle, for example, listen for where people say they are from and approach them afterwards.  Post flyers at the gathering and at any nudist resort.   Send flyers to the resorts and ask for them to post them for you (concentrate on the nearer resorts).  

Post and get others to post flyers all around the town and the county and as far as you care to outreach.  Post anywhere you are allowed to do so.  Check on the posters often and replace as needed.  The flyers should make some announcement about the existance of the group or the forming of it and give a means to contact you.  Keep them posted.

Does your local newspaper have a calendar of events?  Have a monthly informational meeting at a cafe and get the information about the meeting into the calendars.  Don't be sad if no one shows up.  Keep "meeting".  Enjoy a quiet tea on the days no one shows up.  As your group grows, make it a social meeting for the group to hobnob about naturism and your group.  Should new people show up,  switch to a more introductory discussion, but let all the group members who are there talk and answer questions.

Get your group listed with The Naturist Society and with The Michigan Nude Beach Advocates.

Set up an informational booth at local art fairs and other shows when possible (this is great fun!).

Set up a website for the club. Put the group online via Meet Up, Facebook, Naturist Hub and/or the like.

Contact The Naturist Society, The Michigan Nude Beach Advocates, The Southeast Michigan Naturists, and any other naturist groups and ask if they could send out a message to any of their members in the area about your new group.  Ask them for advise.  Nicky Hoffman of The Naturist Society can send you an additional article about starting a naturist group.

         Now the group is a growing enterprise.  Hooray!  How have you been staying in contact with each other?  Establish an e-mail notification system right from the start and keep it going and up to date.
       Also, a hardcopy newsletter mailed out on a periodical basis reinforces the "reality" of the group and increases attendance at events, but it is work and costs money.  So, having a newsletter means increased dues. It's worth having, but don't bust yourself over it.  Make sure the treasury can handle it and make sure you've recruited at least one person who really enjoys publishing.  As the size of the group increases, a committee will be needed for the newsletter to get it addressed, folded, stamped, sorted, and mailed -- unless you have the wherewithal to turn it all over to a service.  There is also the possibility of utilizing a digital newsletter that is e-mailed.
         Committees are a good idea for many activities.  A small house party or picnic or outing can be handled by one "host", perhaps; but major activities should have a committee formed as part of the planning stage, otherwise who is going to do all the work?  My mantra is this: "Don't ask me to do it.  Tell me what you are doing .  Need help?  Write up a request for volunteers and send it to the newsletter editor, etc."
         Some groups make volunteering a requirement of membership ... just several hours a year, and may require a fee or an additional fee for non-members to attend events.  Once a person is volunteering, he usually puts in many more hours than the minimum.  Having volunteering a requirement assures that everyone is contibuting in some small way.  But what about the problem of losing people who won't or can't work?  Easy.  Give them them a brochure for the nearest naturist resort.  There they pay for the priviledge of being catered to.
         The most important person to recruit is someone good at handling money and maintaining a budget.  This is your treasurer. As the group grows, you will need to establish some official organizational mechanisms: such things as by-laws and a board of directors.  This is needed to give the organization a future.  You want the group to outlive you.  You want it around at least until nudity on public lands is no longer remarkable, until the day you can stroll naked on any public beach, smile at any passing police officer, and merrily continue on your way.  Do get started!  There are lots of good folk in your community who also enjoy naturist activities.  Get them connected.  Of course, you can keep it simple.  Maybe only act as a contact person in your community, not getting any fancier than creating a Meetup group to connect interested persons.  That's fine too.
         Either way, we need local naturist groups to power the state and national organizations.  A local naturist group in every major population center in every county in Michigan is needed to give every naturist in the state a naturist group with which to connect.  Detroit and Ann Arbor each have a group. How about starting one in your county?

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         Premier Hotels and Resort’s reply to my letter to their editor got me excited about writing the media. I came across the publication in an Ann Arbor bookstore. Thumbing through it, I noticed that the Grand Lido Resorts in Jamaica did not make any mention of their nude beaches. My letter to the publication pointed this out and called into question the accuracy of the rest of the listings. I pointed out that the existence of a nude beach at a resort would certainly be of interest to a significant number of vacationers. Some time later, to my surprise, I received a package that included the latest copy of the publication. A letter thanked me for my interest and directed me to check out the listings for the Grand Lido Resorts. Sure enough, listed in the amenities were the au naturel beaches.

          I’ve written to many local and national publications and media outlets since then and even have had letters published. Editors do respond to the interests of their readers. Even the publisher of your conservative hometown newspaper will allow a more objective view of naturism if he hears from even only a few of you. What do you say? The main thing is to let the publisher know that social nudity is a healthy, family friendly activity practiced by people even amongst the paper’s readership. 

I’ve had several letters published in the Ann Arbor News and one lengthy opinion piece. I’ve encouraged others to also write the paper and who also have been published. In a short letter, stick to one point whatever it may be. Read Nude & Natural and articles on naturist websites to familiarize yourself with good points that you can make your own. 

          Concerned about having your name in the paper? You can state that your letter is not meant for publication or you can create a pen name for all of your letters. Inform others in the household of your nom de plume because many publications will call back to confirm that you want your letter published. You don’t want your family saying, “That person doesn’t live here.” Obviously, using your real name is simpler.

          Respond to any article that mentions naturist related items. I expressed disappointment to Travel Holiday that an article, “25 Beaches in Florida,” failed to mention Haulover Beach. Caribbean Travel   published my letter in response to the article, “Our Favorite Beaches”. Therein, the author mentioned the existence of several nude beaches but said nothing more about them. I suggested that clothing-optional enthusiasts would be interested in the same things that interest any beach goer: type of beach, suitability for swimming, available amenities, treatment of naturists (welcomed or merely tolerated “if no one complains”). Note that in either letter I stuck to one topic.

          When a magazine is egregiously bad in its policy, voice concern. Conde Nast Traveler, for instance, never showed nudity, not even bare female breasts, despite many photographs of beaches all over the world. To my dismay then, the magazine, in a feature on Las Vegas, printed a prominent and large photo of a bare breasted stripper leaning toward a leering man who was offering her money. Her breasts were fully exposed. What? Conde Nast prints this but can’t show a bare breasted woman sunning on a beach? I took the publisher to task for this. Many months later, when the same publication actually did finally show bare breasted women on some French beach, I wrote to thank them for the apparent change in editorial policy. I also noticed that National Geographic had a picture of bare breasted white European women on a Tahitian beach and wrote to thank them for this (while expressing naturist values in my letter).

          Occasionally, some magazine will do a good article on a naturist subject. Then I write to complement the reporter and thank the editor for the article and maybe expand on some particularly worthy point. For instances, Allure Magazine devoted most of an issue in 2000 to the theme of nudity and did so without giggly salaciousness; and Jane Magazine had an excellently objective article on a reporter’s first ever visit to a nudist resort. I did challenge both magazines to avoid the titillation of near nudity and cheesecake poses and to include, instead, photos of unabashed nudes of all physical types when appropriate to the article – reminding the editor of Jane of, in her own words, “the importance of leaving out of the magazine messages that reinforce unhealthy attitudes toward physical self-image”.

Sometimes, a magazine will include pictures of unabashed, non-sexualized nudity. Self Magazine, for example, in a 1999 issue included the depiction of unabashedly bare breasted women in two differant articles. I congratulated the editor for the attitude and contrasted it to Conde Nast’s policy at the time and suggested that the depiction of women exercising control over their dress is verboten in some publications possibly because the publisher has a stake in keeping women subject to fashion. So, I turned naturism into a women’s issue!

          Body issues are an opportunity to extol the benefits of naturism and are subject in every women’s magazine every month. Elle Magazine even published my response to “The Thin Threat”, a disturbing account of the poor manner in which women treat each other regarding body image. I recommended nudism as a means for women to “disentangle their self-image from bodies and fashion”. Note again that I limited myself to one topic.

          Be creative in finding a reason to mention naturist issues. I noticed that protecting the right to hunt foxes was becoming a major issue in the The Chronicle of the Horse as animal rights activists in England were successfully pressuring for a ban on fox hunting and were beginning to make it an issue in the states. In a letter to the magazine, I pointed out that efforts to protect fox hunting were doomed unless equestrians worked to assure the liberties of all, even those folks whom you might dislike. I said that if you elect officials who pander to your prejudices or your particular religious agenda, you will be electing people who will also sacrifice your particular interests to court the majority or a powerful minority so, I added, it is in your interest to support the rights of (and here I ran off a list of minorities including, yes, nudists and their right to some public nude beaches.) The magazine published my letter, cintributing one small notice that nudists have rights too.

          Less successfully I’ve written to TV networks and producers. I’ve yet to receive an acknowledgement nor have I seen favorable change. Does it irritate you that all nudity on American TV (and in most American movies) is sexualized? With rare exceptions, the nudity has to be that of a beautiful woman (men – bare buns only) who is having sex, being raped, killed, or is already dead. Really! On network TV, all nudity is verboten; yet sexual acts are rampant (as is graphic violence). Thus we have the ridiculousness of shows like Elimanadate showing women grinding their groins into faces or having shots of alcohol licked off their chest, but will pixilate the bare breasts of a nonchalant woman on a Spanish beach. They even pixilated a nude statue! Who are they worried about offending late at night?  Well, let them know their self-imposed censorship policy offends you! I’ve written the producers of NYPD Blue (the much ballyhooed nudity is always associated with sexual situations). I’ve written the Tonight Show (pixilated a picture in a Playboy) and the Letterman show (pixilated nudes riding bikes). Perhaps if more of us write, the media will respond more favorably. If eventually successful, it will have been worth the effort. (You can usually find where to write a show by going on the internet.)  Get the media treating simple nudity as natural and normative, and society will follow.

          You also have a right – even a duty – to write public officials. The federal constitution protects that right and so do most, probably all, state constitutions. It may be our most basic and protected American right, so do use it. 

          Write your state Department of Natural Resources. Write your state and local officials. I wrote the then attorney general to complain about her blanket and false statement that “nudity is illegal in Michigan” and gave the reasons why her statement was wrong and to protest her encouraging the suppression of the “Naked Mile” at the University of Michigan. Including a cover letter asking to be kept informed of any legislative action regarding nudity, I sent a copy of the letter to my state representative as well. At least my state representative responded positively. Obviously, coordinated action by all naturists will be more effective, so do respond to any Naturist Action Committee Alert, but don’t wait for an emergency to let your public officials know that you have an interest that deserves fair consideration.

You have visited some public nudist beach somewhere, haven’t you? After visiting Gunnison Beach at Sandy Hook National Seashore in New Jersey – a federally run, public, clothing-optional beach that provides lifeguards, lavatories, refreshment stands, and police protection for  we nudists – I wrote the park superintendent thanking him for maintaining Gunnison Beach. I also wrote the hotel where my wife and I stayed explaining what a jewel is the nude beach and emphasizing that the beach was my reason for visiting the area. I also sent a letter to the local chamber of commerce saying much the same thing and also adding how much I spent around the area. 

          I mentioned to one regular at Gunnison of my planned action. Oh, how he averred my actions would only make them aware of the nude use. What nonsense! The officials are well aware of official, public, nude beaches in their area. The cranks let them know! It can only help our cause to let the officials know how valued are these beaches.

          After visiting Haulover Beach in Florida and Mazomanie Beach in Wisconsin, I wrote similar letters to their respective public officials. Before even visiting any of these areas, I called or e-mailed the state and/or city travel bureau to request information on, amongst other things, nude beaches in the area. Now, I already knew what beaches existed, but I figure that the more requests they get for such information the more likely they will begin to understand the value of the beaches.

          Even though my state has no official, public, nude beach, I requested from Michigan’s Travel Bureau information on nude beaches in the state. They wrote back to say that there are none but did include a photocopy of a page listing nudist resorts. If more people take the time to request information, maybe Michigan and other states will more seriously consider nude recreation as a valid and profitable tourist attraction. Get the bureaucrats on your side and the legislators are more likely to follow.

        So please take the time to write. We will be a force if we all exercise our right to write!!

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              At a recent party of about 20 people put on by my friend Craig, who is not a naturist, I discovered 3

other members of the former Southeast Michigan Naturists in attendance. I had not known any of them were acquainted with Craig. Well, what a happy reunion! Since it was not our party and Craig never offered to allow nudity, we did not suggest it; but the four of us were not shy about talking about naturism and having other people listen in. Nobody was shocked or perturbed by the conversation and some were interested.

          Why then are many naturists reluctant to acknowledge to the world -- even to their family and friends -- that they enjoy and participate in nude recreation? Some undoubtably have real concerns such as an estranged ex-spouse who might use naturism as an excuse to limit the naturist's contact with their

children or a teacher who worries for her job, although, even in a profession as sensitive as teaching that

fear is not realistic everywhere. Here in Ann Arbor, a teacher in the Ann Arbor Public Schools was quite

open about being a naturist. Obviously, she did not discuss it in class, as a teacher would not discuss her

religous beliefs and practices in class; however, she often sat in at our very public "Michigan Nude Beach

Advocates" information booth at the Ann Arbor Art Fair and would be greeted by her middle school

students and their parents. Of course, she had tenure in a somewhat tolerant city. A teacher in Grand

Rapids, Michigan, even tenured, might not fair so well. So the concerns of some naturists are legitimate,

but need we all be so concerned?

          Perhaps a few feel that naturism, while indeed fun, might have some negative effects on children or

society. Despite their own experiences or perhaps because of insufficient experience, they feel that on

some level the prohibitions against social nudity must have some validity, for why else, they think,

would society so adamantly protect itself from public nudity and the depiction of nudity; yet any

research on the matter indicates that naturism has nothing but positive effects. For example, Dennis

Surgrue (Phd), Sally Foley (MSW) and Sally Kope (MSW), professors at the University of Michigan

Medical School,state in their book, "Sex Matters for Women", that nudity in the home is natural and not

harmful. If any of you have even the slightest thought that simple nudity might be harmful to children or

to society, do go to the Naturist Society's website ...for a more exhaustive discussion of naturism's

benefits to society.

          Those who ardently believe that nudity is bad for society and children are inexperienced in social nudity and also over-sexualize the environment. Their attitudes toward sex can be positive or negative. For example, a swinger couple contacted me about attending the Southeast Michigan Naturists' swims but decided not to attend when told that children may be there. "My wife says she would feel wierd and so would I to be naked around children," wrote the swinger. Well, while there are a few polyamorists in

naturism, we know that many swingers are not naturist as these swingers aren't actually comfortable

with simple nudity. The few naturists whom I know to be free lovers (not swingers, per se) are able to

separate simple nudity from sex -- probably because they are experienced with and knowledgeable

about naturism.

          People who are actually hostile to nudity have had negative experiences with sex: abuse from a relative, rape, or being the abusers of others. I know people -- even my sister -- who, because of past sexual abuse, are adamantly opposed to my being nude around them. Nonetheless, so long as I respect that wish, we are able to have good relationships. None of them excoriate either me or my involvement in

naturism. They don't care what my beliefs are so long as I don't practice naturism in their presence. Nor

does my sister want me discreetly practicing naturism at her lake even when she is not there, for she

believes that everyone else feels as she does so she does not want her neighbors "insulted" by mere

suspicion of my nudity  But are my sister's concerns valid? Are most people offended by nudity or even the discreet practice of naturism? Many naturists act as though it is true. Where do we get this idea that everyone but nudists is offended by nudity? Why do so many naturists believe that they will be ostacized by friends, family, and society if it is revealed that they practice social nudity?

          The idea comes primarily from two sources.  One source is the media. The other is our own desire to conform.

          American media rarely shows simple nudity. In the past, of course, nudity was limited to National

Geographic's display of "primitives". Such non-conformity was understandable, as not only was the

nudity not Western, it was not even "civilized", thus depiction of it was allowed. The late 60's and 70's

began to see the occasional displays of simple nudity. PBS Channel 56 in Detroit allowed some nudity

then with nary a complaint; I particularly remember plenty of nudity in a teleplay in which God

masqueraded as a steam room attendant. However, as the cultural conservatives organized and

became political, they targeted displays of nudity; and the FCC has complied with fines for nudity on

over-the-air TV signals. However, note the high level of violence and salaciusness that is allowed. Even

by FCC rules, nudity could be displayed late night, yet nudity is self-censored by the programmers. For

example, on the Tonight show, Jay Leno held up a picture of nudists on bicycles. The private areas, even

the buttocks, were pixallated. Cable TV, can display nudity and does, but seemingly it is always

associated with sex or violence. And, boy, do both cable and over-the-air programmers display the sex

and violence. Thus we get explicit scenes, say on Private Practice, of passionate sex and lots of bare skin

-- but never (female) breast, buttock, or pubes under any circumstance. Even an old youth oriented

show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which I love) is rife with the sex act (and violence) -- but no nudity. I

suppose some people infer from this that simple nudity is more indecent than open sex or violence. For

sure, most begin to think that everyone else must think so.

           Yet what is the truth about what most people think about nudity? We who read N Magazine know that nude people are allowed to run in public races in some west coast cities with little complaint but great enthusiasm from the spectators. Vermont allows nudity most anywhere and where practiced, even in the downtown area of one village, it has garnered few complaints (though much publicity). Here in

Michigan, the Nude Mile on UM campus generated but one complaint but was shut down by the then

president of the university in cooperation with the then attorney general (Jennifer Granholm)

obstensibly "for the protection of the runners", but primarily because Bollinger thought it presented a

bad public image for the university. Even in Chelsea in the conservative western half of Washtenaw

County in Michigan, a proposed photo shoot of a "Lady Godiva" by the artist, Harvey, generated no

public complaints but did attract lots of spectators, including parents with their children. The rider, of

course, was pulled off the horse and arrested by Chelsea's chief of police, because, despite the

overwhelming evidence to the contrary, he believed people would be offended. The expected charge of

"indecent exposure" was immediately dropped as being invalid; "disturbing the peace" was substituted

which the model declined to contest despite the photographer's lawyer's expectation of courtroom

victory for the defense.  I have paint the houses of many non-naturists and they allow me to  paint in the

nude, even those with children, without worrying about what the neighbors would think about what

they allow in their own house.  In N Magazine, we are reading more and more of naturists pushing the boundary of "acceptable" nudity with little or no complaints.

           But what about the uproar over the accidental baring of one of Janet Jackson's breasts at the 2004

Superbowl? In the aftermath of that, the FCC chair, Michael Powell, reported to Congress that his

agency had received a record number of complaints about "indecency" in 2003 -- more than 240,000

(for the year), up from 14,000 from the year before. However, a reporter from Mediaweek.com

investigated the complaints: 99.8 percent of the complaints in 2003 originated from the conservative

Parents Television Council. In 2004, if the complaints regarding Ms. Jackson's barely bared nipple aren't

considered, 99.9 percent of the complaints were again generated by the PTC, and while the publicity

over the Super Bowl incident generated some additional complaints, the media publicity and the PTC

were undoubtably behind most of those.  Another reporter examined the 90 complaints that led to a 1.2

million dollar fine for an episode of Fox's Married by America. He found that all the complaints were

generated by 23 people and that all but four of the complaints were identical. Only one person

mentioned having seen the program. More than 5 million households had watched the "offending"

episode. So, because of an overreaching and repressive federal agency, the media feels compelled to

avoid nudity. But they go farther than the FCC demands, censoring nudity when even the FCC does not

require it while at the same time associating any incident of nudity with salaciousness or violence. Yet a

miniscule number is actually complaining about nudity.

          The media's effect is that Americans believe that everyone else is offended by nudity even though most Americans themselves aren't offended at all. (It is true that most American men profess no desire to see naked penises up on the big screen, but that's not to say they are offended by it. Women seem to be asinterested in seeing naked women as men are, but for different reasons. It seems that very few are

offended by nudity at all.)

           However, in defense of conformity and the supposed sensibilities of others, most people would presumably still not support nudity on public streets or in public parks except under special circumstances; despite this, surveys have repeatedly found that over 70 percent of the people

have no objection to official, clothing-optional beaches, since they understand that nobody should be

rightfully offended by the mere existance of a nude beach. One can extrapolate that far fewer care if

anyone privately practices social nudity, and do you really want to associate with anyone who is so

virulenty opposed to nudity as to want to ostracize people merely for going to a private nudist resort? I

sure don't want such a person in my life no matter the relationship; fortunately, I've never personally known such a person.

          OK. So we know where people get the erroneous idea that most people are offended by nudity, but

there is also a strong desire in most people to conform, to not stick out. Therefore, many naturists are

uncomfortable being nude when most or all other people are clothed, even when it is legal to be nude.

For example, at Turtle Lake Resort one Windsor woman told me that she had just been to an outdoor

music festival in Ontario (where women can legally go top-free anywhere men can). "Did you take your

shirt off?" I asked. "Oh, no," she repled, "I was waiting for someone else to do so first." Hmmm, thus

despite the legality, I have yet to see a top-free woman in my many visits to Ontario beaches.

How will society's acceptance of nudity ever improve if naturists refuse to spearhead the change and if

we continue to allow the most socially repressive in our society to determine, not just public opinion,

but the opinions of our friends, family, and neighbors?

          By being open about my practice of naturism, I was able to invite friends and family to the

clothing-optional swims sponsored by the Southeast Michigan Naturists. Few accepted the

invitation, but even so it is beneficial. For example, when my niece was trying to get a small dinner party

together at a restaurant for her mom's birthday, she e-mailed asking for restaurant suggestions. I

replied to all suggesting that, since the weekend in question was the night of an SMN nude swim

(emphasizing that they could stay suited), I could get the group into it after dinner to enjoy the hot tub

and pools. Knowing that no one but me on the reply list is a naturist, my niece's mom replied that it

would be OK with her (even though I've never seen her nude), and she went on to explain that she

knows that "it has nothing to do with sex". So I've got a non-naturist adding to the conversation in our

favor.

          Even if you feel you can't be as completely open as I have been, do consider "coming out" to just a few more friends, family, and neighbors. The more you do so, the more you control the conversation and your life. You won't thereafter have to worry about their "finding out". What a relief and what a joy! Plus, you along with other open naturists make it easier for that teacher or divorced parent to openly acknowledge her practice of naturism without negative repurcussions. Thus society is

improved as well. Perhaps someday nudity will no longer be regarded negatively by the FCC or the

media. If so, the change starts with you, not by what political party happens to be in  office.

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