50 Plus Nudists
A group for nudists 50 years old or more. A place to discuss issues concerning nudism, past experiences, new directions, plans for your future ... most anything that strikes the veteran nudist's interest. BLANK, PARTIALLY filled out or PRIVATE profiles will not be allowed to join ... unless you contact me first. Thanks for your understanding.
- created by AndyDi
"..that's not naturism..."
Return to DiscussionsI recently went to a private view one afternoon at a gallery, adjoining house and sculpture garden that was exclusively for nudists, apart from the staff who all remained clothed. We parked our cars and undressed immediately as we'd been told we could be naked as soon as we got there. We then went to the cafe for coffee and initial viewing in the gallery while we waited for the other nudists to arrive prior to a guided tour of the house. The venue is situated out of town on the edge of a small village so it was very suitable for nudists to roam freely around the grounds. The tour lasted for about an hour and to me it was entirely suited to be enjoyed as nudists.
We are lucky in that locally there are people from a nearby nudist group who actively approach venues for use by nudists. Recently there have been visits to gardens, other art galleries, theatres and an evening at a bowling alley where we have had great fun as nudists. All of the venues have seen the staff remain clothed while we have been nude immediately on arrival and remained so until just before departure. Each time we have felt very welcome in our preferred state of nudity and the events have been perfect examples of clothing-optional coexistence.
The point of this post is to ask what others think about this type of nude recreation. Earlier this summer as we were about to leave a nudist venue we'd stayed at for a long weekend I had a conversation with a couple who were members there about the options we have nearer home for nude socialising. Over that weekend the club had had various musical acts providing entertainment. I mentioned the type of events listed above to the couple, her response was "..that's not naturism..." I asked her what the difference was to us going round a gallery, or watching a theatre performance while we were nude and enjoying music as we had at their club while we were naked. She said that she didn't attend that sort of event at her club, as she didn't see it as naturism.
We have friends who we see at local nude beaches but they do not live naked at home like we do. We enjoy hiking nude; on our own, with a few friends or as part of larger organised nudist groups. Some friends don't get why we like to do it nude. We enjoy doing just about anything nude, whenever and wherever we can, especially with other nudists. We're fine if we can be nude while others are clothed, we've done that so many times we don't really think about how some might find that 'unusual', to us it is very normal. We're nude because we're nudists!
It would be interesting to read others takes on whether it is nudism/naturism if we enjoy 'alternative' experiences while naked to the more typical time at a nudist club or beach. What other activities to you enjoy as nudists? What would you like to do nude that you haven't done naked yet?
I've been in a nude audience for Hair. I've also done a sponsored nude hike. I was lined up to appear naked on national TV but the pandemic (or the restrictions to control it) put that on hold.
Indeed, there are many views on what nudism/naturism is all about for them. There is the train of thought that it's all about being naked outdoors, communing with nature, reconnecting to the natural world. Then there are those that only go nude at nudist clubs, or maybe a nude holiday at a resort. Further down the line is those who only are naked when when skinny dipping. To me, nudism is about making a choice to not wear clothes when we would other wise do so. Such as in the home, the garden, hiking, swimming, playing a sport, relaxing, reading a book, cooking and the list goes on. When I found out that nudism was an actual lifestyle, I found myself just stripping off all the time no matter what I was doing. To me it made sense to be nude than clothed. Back then I started finding out why or where people got nude, and just like this conversation, I found the reasons were varied. From this I defined my own nudism, and that is, living nude, doing anything nude. This encompassed anything nude as aforementioned above. No matter our title we give ourselves, we have made the choice to not wear clothes. whether it be for 30 minutes or 30 days straight. To me there is no right or wrong, it really comes back to what we are comfortable doing. I am comfortable being nude. Simple choice for me.
That is a very accepting way of how to both how and when other nudists are naked and how you live your own life as a nudist. Individual circumstances can vary so much that we can't all live nude in the same ways. Its often said that nudists can be more accepting of others than textiles are, when that is the case, it works very well.
My only gripe is when nudists/naturists incorporate the word "naturalist" as part of the definition of nudism. Nudist/naturist, nudism/naturism are similar in that they describe a lifestyle of living without clothing... you pick your own environment/s in which you prefer to be nude. A naturalist is;
naturalist
[naCH()rlst]
NOUN
an expert in or student of natural history.
synonyms:
natural historian, life scientist, wildlife expert, biologist,s botanist, zoologist [more]
Some like to make up their own labels and definitions so they don't have to appear... conforming. It should be about using the English language the way it is suppose to be used and use words and their definitions correctly. When so called nudists/naturists use the term "naturalist" in place of naturist or as yet another sub label of nudism, it makes them seem unknowledgeable about the lifestyle.
Such as "lifestyle" has lost it's true meaning because swingers didn't want to be called swingers or be outed as swingers/wife swappers/partner sex swappers, so they re-labeled themselves "lifestylers." Not we have some nudist/naturists that don't like that we use the term, nudist lifestyle. They don't want to be associated with "lifestylers ", as many of us also do not, or the word lifestyle. That's my gripe!
naturist, nudist or naturalist - all 3 words have their own definitions.
i suspect some naked folk (probably newer ones) have not attended to differences in usage.
When we bring it up in discussions, a learnable moment has presented itself. we all start as novices, then grow from there.
Words are indeed misused, it seems many are losing the ability to select the correct word for what they are trying to say. I agree, Naturalist should be used to denote a branch of science, the study of natural things.. I read some years ago that the difference between Nudist and Naturist is where you live in the world. USA - Nudist , UK - Naturist. I do not know how true that is as the internet is full of misinformation. ..
and then are those that are like Di and I. We live naked and do almost everything possible naked. When in nature, we prefer to be naked as well but it's not ALWAYS possible and we don't always seek out places in nature where we can be naked, only. So, since we don't mind being labeled one way or another, are we nudist/naturists or naturists/nudists. If a naturist ONLY gets naked in nature, then the definition applies but for those that prefer being naked always and everywhere, including nature, then nudist should apply and the difference would be that naturists are only naked in nature.
I agree, this all may be petty semantics but we should be encouraging the use of the English language correctly and getting naked as much as possible, alone or with others, as much as we can. It's good for the mind and soul. ;D
What's in a name? Nudism / nudist, naturism / naturist etc. does the label matter? About the only one that is not about getting your clothes off is a naturalist who does study things in nature and as one post says, wouldn't it be great if they did that naked to join our ranks, and some possibly do. This whole site has people arguing about the nudist / naturist definitions and differences and really they are all about being nude / naked either at home in your own space, between your 4 walls or your yard / garden or at a beach or a resort or hiking or in nature somewhere. Does the label even matter?