Nudism And Body Acceptance
Nudism: Celebrating the human body in its purest form & body acceptance
Nudism is a philosophy about the way that we experience life; it is a statement that is pure and simple and devoid of hidden meanings. It is a way that we choose to celebrate the very fact of our existence. This philosophy embraces the view that each one of us is a beautiful being, including young, middle aged and old people alike; and as such each one of us in our naked shape is a unique art form.
Naturism, also known as nudism, is not about sex. It has nothing to do with those pervasive pornographic or sexualized images used to titillate and pander to our screwed up inhibitions. It is simple nudity, often with a social aspect. Naturists believe in the freedom not to wear garments either in the house or outdoors. And since all of us from every nation, creed and color share the same entry into the world as naked creatures, we are most purely ourselves when we are naked.
So why is the act of displaying yourself naked in a public place viewed as indecent behavior?
Well, this is the $100 question, and to answer it you need to go into the human psyche and try to see where it all went wrong. Clothing is part of our culture and for whatever reason, it is something that needs to be accepted. It’s hard to see even the most bigoted member of our western society look at a baby lying naked on a blanket and not see anything but pure beauty; unfortunately when that same child reaches puberty everything changes. There is an expression “to the pure all things are pure;” and this may help to explain it. After puberty, sex raises its ugly head and there is a feeling (which is wrong) that naked people are incapable of looking at each other without arousing sexual feelings.
People practice nudism to various degrees. To some people, nudism is a way of life, and for others it’s just an occasional trip to a nude beach. For all types of nudists, there are obviously sexual feelings, just the same as with clothed people. But the key point is that they do not walk around and live their lives naked for sexual arousal. They practice naturism for many reasons and here are just a few:
- They are in a more relaxed and in touch with their “inner soul” when they are naked.
- They feel “right” when they have no clothes on, and not so balanced when clothed.
- They feel less inhibited in this state, as the class barriers fall away. A doctor, a king and a beggar are reduced to their purest and real selves when viewed without the clothes of their trades and professions. As flesh and bone we are all equal.
Some nudists say that being without clothes releases the real them, and that clothes will suppress this.
Here in the 21st Century nudism is still combating the mentality that nudity must always be about sex. But those who try it will see that it’s really an enjoyable way to celebrate and accept every body in its unique form. They can see that we are all different but equal in our natural state.
