The Naked Truth - Northern Star Article

Photo from the article

"EVER wish you could be as uninhibited and carefree as a naked child, totally free of inhibition and self-consciousness?

We all start out that way, but somewhere along the line we learn to cover up; we learn that our naked adult bodies are to be hidden under clothes, seen only by a chosen few.

But there are some adults - many adults, actually - who refuse to conform to the idea that our bodies are to be clothed at all times.

These people spend a great deal of time totally naked and totally at ease with it."

So starts one of the best articles on the subject of Naturist/Nudists lifestyle and resorts that I have seen in a long while. It was published in The Northern Star servicing the northern part of New South Wales, and thanks to the magic of the Internet is available to anyone at the following web address:  http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2011/12/17/naked-truth/

The author interviews the owner of a Naturist Resort "west of the range" although she does not name it and for research had visited North Belongil Beach in Byron Bay and King's Beach in Broken Head nude beaches.

The article contains positive messages and a bit of history of the movement well worth the time to read the article in full.

My favourite quote from the article is:
"For us it's not about taking our clothes off, it's about not having to put clothes on," says Carol."

Why is nudity so attractive to those that have experienced it?

I must say that I find that the more time I spend naked the more I want to.

As I am reinforcing my natural state, I guess that makes sense. It is good for the body and the mind so any wonder it is so attractive.

When the weather is inclement on the weekends I really miss the trip down to Cobblers beach where I can be naked and enjoy the outdoors without the concern that someone may see me and be offended.

We are fortunate that our front garden which is behind a high wall gives us a private sun trap and so allows us a little outdoor space to be clothes free.

Does this experience and feelings constitute a building dependence on clothes free times?

Certainly the number of regulars that I see down at the beach all year round would indicate a strong attraction to the experience. However there is also a sense of community amongst the regular beach goers and that also adds to the motivation.

I must say that even if I was the only person on the beach, and while I would miss the social experience, I would still enjoy just being clothes free in a natural setting.

So I believe that once someone has experienced nudity in a natural setting and especially social nudity and finds it enjoyable, it is certainly a something that one looks forward to repeating.

Are you a proud Naturist?

We no longer hide the fact that we practice a Naturist lifestyle, we don't shout it from the roof tops, but when asked "What did you do on the weekend?" I will say, I went to the beach which is almost immediately followed by which beach? To which I reply Cobblers Beach! The response that I get will either be, where is that? or isn't that the.....nudist beach!!??

To which I reply its clothing option actually, not that we wear any.

Now since adopting this practice I have not had one bad reaction. Some people are surprised, some ask questions, but overall the reaction has been positive.

Now I don't tell people who could use that information in a negative way, common sense still applies, but it does not take much to learn we practice a clothes free lifestyle.

As an example we have a "Wandering Bares" sticker on the car.

We have this "Shame Breakers" sticker on the front window.

And finally on the front door we have...

We make sure that we don't answer the door naked, so that we are not blacklisted at the local pizza shop, but more so if someone comes to the door unannounced and happens to see us walking around or doing some house work naked, they cannot say they have not been warned.

But the point that I am trying to make is that the more people who are not ashamed of our naturist lifestyle the more mainstream it becomes and hopefully the more acceptance there will be.

We have also had this T-Shirt commissioned that I am happy to wear.
It says "Get Sunkissed All Over @ Cobblers Beach, Mosman.

 

Again the more people that use our clothing optional beaches the more chance we have of keeping them!

Hello Spring!

Well Spring has arrived and with it a taste of Summer. It is far more comfortable being naked at home in the evenings and the sun drenched days, when not at work, allow the body to be draped in sunlight.

From my point of view the best thing about this time of year is the fact that the full force of the sun is not yet out, so while we still need to be careful of sunburn the likelihood of being burnt after the first 20 minutes is unlikely.

People may say that as Naturists we are encouraging risky behaviour by our predisposition to going naked outdoors and to clothing optional beaches.

This however is far from the case! In fact it is the very fact that we enjoy the outdoors so much ensures that we have a good quality sunscreen and seek shade in the hottest part of the day.

However unlike the greater part of the population we, as Naturists, are far less likely to be vitamin D deficient. Our society has been so conditioned by the advertising of the last decades that people believe that to show the slightest piece of skin to the sun is risking certain death.

There is, however, a body of scientific evidence regarding the positive effects of vitamin D actually increasing the bodies natural immune system to fight off the more common and deadly cancers that society face being bowel and breast cancer. (Check out the book The Vitamin D Solution by Dr Michael Holicks PhD MD)

Therefore we all should get 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight each day just as the skin first starts to go pink and then apply covering or a high quality sunscreen.

So fellow Naturists enjoy the coming Summer.

How to live an Ethical Naturist lifestyle in a textile world.

This is s question that everyone who has discovered the freedom of the Naturist lifestyle faces.

We are, by necessity, forced to interact in a textile/clothing compulsive world and unfortunately very few jobs are clothing optional.

So leaving the haven of our homes we put on the uniform of the textile and put in the hours necessary to put food on the table and a roof over our heads whilst, hopefully, enjoying the work we do.

But even the "haven" of our own homes is problematic, especially living in or close to the city.

In our own case we have just moved house and while the new property is more private than the previous townhouse, there is still no opportunity to lay out in the sun or work in the backyard as nature intended.

Frustrated by this situation I decided to review what options I had to minimize what I had to wear to be "legal". I could of course wear budgie smugglers (swimming costume) or shorts but that was too confining.

I then did some research on the Internet about loincloths, that's right ala Tarzan, with a view of buying or making something up.

Finally I came up with my own primitive design consisting of a boot lace and 2 chamois that covered both the front and rear to avoid the risk of upsetting the neighbours. The beauty of the design was that they allowed the greatest amount of freedom while being practical.

The chamois were chosen due to the soft and serviceable nature of the material. Also there was the added bonus of utilizing the chamois for the car if they didn't work out.

They were obtained from an auto supply store and I decided to select natural over synthetic material.

All up they cost me $20 each for the large size (I am not bragging I just thought that the larger size would give me more options).

I am please to say that they worked out well and while a little self conscious at the beginning met the need to preserve the body freedom that I desired whilst not offending the neighbours.

So much of being a Naturist is a state of the mind. The freedom of our bodies is the outward sign of the freedom of our minds, the relinquishment of the tension and stress that builds during the day.

That is why after a day in the clothing compulsive world We have the sanctuary of our home where we can shed our garments and allow our bodies and mind to be free.

May we all live naturally ever after.

LABIAPLASTY

http://hungrybeast.abc.net.au/stories/labiaplasty

Back in March I asked the question - What is it about genitals?

I commented at the time that  I had read with shock the increasing number of women that were having plastic surgery to "shape" their labia as they feel self conscious about labia that are perceived as being overly large.

In a recent episode of the excellent ABC programme "Hungry Beast" they have taken a look at this very issue and have challenged the censorship board as being a contributing factor to the myth of what female genitals look like. By their classification system publishers of so called soft porn regularly touch up photographs to a "single crease" in order to meet the "unrestricted" category for magazine distribution.

With the lack of opportunity for people to see each other naked and therefore witness the great variation of our anatomy, both male and female, people may well see there own genitals as not "normal".

This program should be required viewing for young women and a salient warning of the damage that our society's body taboo has on the populous.

A beautiful day in the city.

Today was a beautiful day in Sydney, so I went to Hyde Park at lunchtime to catch some sun. I had a report to read and to comment upon so I took that with me. As I sat down at the base of one of the statues to work I decided, as it was so warm, to remove my shirt.

It is legal for me to do so , unlike the other 50% of society as we still do not allow women to go top free in this state.

Well after removing my shirt and enjoying the sun on my body I started to notice that I was starting to notice a number of people walking across the park looking in my direction and I got a distinct impression from their facial features that they did not approve!

If only they knew that I was really wanting to remove the rest of my clothing!

This started me thinking are we really so prudish in this society, a society that previously defined itself by its beach culture. What has happened to the bronze Aussie?

Giving this some further thought perhaps it was just because I was in business attire although looking around there were plenty of people in the park in shorts and T shirts but I was the only one who had taken his shirt off?

One thing that this experience has reinforced is that women are still bound by 19th century restrictions and that the "Top Free" movement that operates in the States and elsewhere in the world should open a chapter here.

As in parts of Canada and the USA where women have won the right to go top free not every women will use that right, it but at least they have a choice.

This photo shows how stupid such discrimination really is....

Well that's my rant for today and yes if it is another beautiful day tomorrow I will be heading back to the park and removing my shirt if I so feel like it.

The ignorance of clothing.

Three gentlemen from the west along with a translator went to visit an Indian Holy Man to seek guidance.

They had attended such sessions in previous years but on this occasion the Holy Man appeared clad only in a loincloth.

Seeing this the translator suggested that in deference to the Western visitors the Holy Man may like to put on a robe.

The Holy Man reportedly responded;

"The world is full of ignorance and you wish me to add another layer of it?"

As Naturists we have out practical experiences to confirm the truth in this statement. As once we have experienced social nudity we know that clothing is indeed a layer of ignorance!

The largest organ !

The largest organ on the body is your skin and yet we cover most of it with clothing!

Would we limit ourselves to only using 90% of our eyesight or 90% of our hearing when we could use 100%?

Of course not. Yet that is what we do with our bodies. Anyone who has experienced the joy of walking naked across the countryside or along the beach will affirm the experience.

Our senses are turned outward and we engage fully with our environment by feeling the movement of air on our skin, the warmth of the sun and the texture of the grass or the sand underfoot.

Why would we deprive ourselves of these experiences when they are so readily available to us?

I read a comment from Cec Cinder PhD, the naturist writer, the other day where he talks of the hypocrisies of human society where we hold in high esteem the nudes of sculpture and painting enshrining them in museums and galleries and yet a naked body outside these places would be arrested.

Oh that we were so comfortable with our bodies that we used clothing only for protection.

VITAMIN D deficiency is putting Australians at risk of developing diabetes, a landmark study has shown.

The largest study of its kind found people with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with lower levels. It could lead to at-risk patients using vitamin D supplements along with diet and exercise to stop their development of the potentially deadly condition.

The study's co-author Ken Sikaris, a pathologist at Melbourne Pathology, said the research could have a big impact in slowing increasing rates of diabetes in Australia. "It's hard to underestimate how important this might be," he said.

Between a third and a fifth of the Australian population could be vitamin D deficient and rates were highest in the southern states, which received less sunlight, Dr Sikaris said.

The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care and presented by Dr Lu at a conference of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, retested blood samples taken as part of the major AusDiab study of risk factors for diabetes.

It found vitamin D deficiency was an independent risk factor, even after adjusting for others, such as weight and physical activity.

Read more: HERE @ SMH Online

Anyone who has experienced the joy of the feel of the sun all over their body will tell you the inherent benefits, both mental and physical of the experience. Of course Naturists are also mindful to avoid sunburn by applying good quality sun screen.

The "Slip, Slop, Slap" campaign run by government is again a case of a message of caution being taken to a message of fear, in this case the fear of melanoma. If one does some research you will find that some melanoma occur where the skin is not exposed to the sun.

Also in the book  "The Vitamin D Solution" Dr Michael Holick states that the action of Vitamin D can actually help prevent internal cancers and even skin cancers with a healthy immune system and that sensible exposure to natural sunlight the benefits of increased levels of vitamin D are many.

Uniforms

We as humans seem to love uniforms!

They have the effect of bonding people together, to make us feel included, unified, part of something larger than ourselves. Whether it is for a sporting team, a corporate office or a specific profession.

If we expand the view of uniforms we can include fashion because it does the same. If you are not wearing the "in" brand of running shoe then your not part of the "in" crowd.

I believe that Naturists also experience this sense of unity and inclusion when we all remove the shackles of our clothes and we see the similarities rather than differences in people.

Of course the Naturist "uniform" is accessible to everyone, it is our body that defines us uniquely as individuals and yet at the same time it shares the unmistakable hallmarks of being human.

As the senses are limited by the encumbrance of clothing, so being freed from them allows our senses to relate more fully to the natural environment, as we were intended to, and thus we feel closer to it also.

That is why the Naturist philosophy resonates so much with us as it uses this fact to reinforce the Naturist creed of respect for self, respect for other and respect for the environment.

Australian Naturist Survey

How many Naturists / Nudists are in Australia?

No, I don't know either nor does anyone else, hence the need to have a survey.

Stand up and be counted! 

This survey is the first attempt in many years to show how many people enjoy our lifestyle. So please support this survey today.

Go to Survey

Winter Sunshine

After two weeks of rain and cold it was great to get out and enjoy the beauty and the warmth of the sun at Cobblers Beach today.

Yes, you had to keep out of the light breeze but the sun had sufficient warmth to make for a beautiful day reading and relaxing propped up against the warm rocks and viewing the sailboats out on the harbour. Unlike some hardy souls I decided not to take a dip!

Only about a dozen others were there to enjoy the mid-morning to early afternoon sun as the day only reached a top of 17 degrees, but that was more than enough for this sun deprived Naturist.

What could be more natural?

As reported at News.com.au (click here for story)   Diver Natalia Avseenko agreed to participate in an experiment designed by Russian scientists who believe that in order to engage with belugas she should swim without clothes as the belugas dislike artificial materials such as clothing and diving suits.

Being Naturists we already know if you want to engage more fully with nature remove your clothes!

A fun way of showing your support of Naturism

From the online Naturist Shop (The Bare Boutique) run by The Bare Oaks Naturist Park in Canada the No Shirt, No Shoes, No Pants – No Problem! sign.

A variation on the classic sign. The same sign that is outside the office door of Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park.

The sign includes the "Bare Oaks Family" illustration by Australian Stephen Crowley who is the artist behind The Bare Pit, Loxie and Zoot and The Koala Bares. You can hear an interview with Stephen Crowley on the Naturist Living Show.

The sign is 10 inches by 10 inches on coroplast.

Cost: Canadian $19.99 + P and H

Click here to go to The Bare Boutique

I am a great admirer of Stephane Deschenes and the work he does, not only by representing Naturist values but also for the fact that he has shown a successful business model for the establishment and running of a Naturist facility. Therefore we are happy to support him by making his business more widely known.

Also we have purchased Naturist books from The Bare Boutique and can recommend the service especially with the Australian Dollar so strong!

A visit to North Swanbourne Beach WA

 North Swanbourne Beach Western Australia

One day laying naked in the sun on our favorite clothing optional beach looking out on beautiful Sydney harbour and the next laying naked on the sand enjoying the sun and looking at the Indian ocean on the other side of Australia. 

I had the opportunity to visit this Western Australian Naturist Icon on a beautiful June day with a slight south easterly breeze. Knowing I was traveling to Perth I did my research on the FBA WA website and found that North Swanbourne beach was a legal clothing optional beach within 30 minutes of the CBD.

From the FBA WA website

Having access to a car and thanks to the trusty GPS I had no trouble finding the beach which is on the edge of a residential development and has carparking and a cafe that overlooks the beach and the ocean. I could not help but compare your average east coast clothing optional beach stuck in the remote corner of a national park down some steep access track. 

The clothing optional section starts about 300m north from the surf lifesaving club and is clearly marked by this sign.

From the FBA WA website

It then extends north for, I believe. about 3 kilometers in front of a military firing range. Note this part is closed when the firing range is being used.

As usual I had my Naturist uniform with me and so could take full advantage of this beautiful day. Walking along the shoreline I reached the designated area, took a few more steps and then my T-shirt and shorts came off and I joined the 2 dozen or more local naturist who were also enjoying the sun.

One group obviously regulars had placed their windbreaks, I gather these are a prerequisite for this beach, to form a large compound and were having great fun enjoying not only the sun but also the company of like minded people.

As I took in the surrounds I wondered how this group of people were happy to sit in the sun naked and yet a few hundred yards away people were playing on the same beach rugged up in clothing?

Have we been misinformed, are there some instances where you are actually warmer naked? I have observed the same thing in Sydney a beautiful Winter day that sees us head for the beach and people rugged up with scarves and coats. Have they got the calendar mixed up with the weather forecast?

Some clouds did appear after an hour or so and took the edge off the day but the patches of blue sky that followed kept the temperature up.

With what looked like increasing cloud cover on the horizon I decided to bring my visit to an end and walked to the end of the clothing optional zone and reluctantly dressed.

I will never understand some people. As I am walking back along the beach about 30 m from the start of the clothing optional sign I saw a group of naked people (they were not naturists by my definition) 3 men and a woman, in a slight depression near the start of the sand dunes. One man appeared to be massaging the woman while another looked on.

It only talks a small proportion of the population to bring social nudity into disrepute. Why when there is 3 Klms of clothing optional beach were they naked contrary to the signs.

Here we have the closest situation that I have experienced of the European beaches that are tolerant of nudity and these "people" are putting it at risk.

I suspect that they have been warned off by the local naturists for I can see no other reason why they would not take their activities at least further up the beach into the clothing optional area. Then again they may get some perverse thrill by acting as they do.

As I walked further along the beach back to the car the sun again appeared almost like a final farewell as I prepared to do a couple of hours work in preparation for the following day.

Nude Gaming Party

Yes this is another of those viral videos to get peoples attention and pass the word on about a new product or company. Yes it is exploiting nudism with its use of nudity to create an interest in the mind of the uninformed general public but.... in this case I'm not sure that this is a bad thing!

We read all the time in Naturist blogs and magazines of a concern about not attracting the "younger generation" well the producer of this clip apparently went to a Young Naturists and Nudist gathering and with some extra actors and friends shot this video. You can read an article about it on cnet here.

Who knows this video may introduce a whole new group to the joys of social Naturism. Just look and at the spread of "planking" in recent times.

Naturist Graphic

Those that have been reading this blog before may notice the addition of a Naturist graphic on the right hand column.

I designed this when I was working on an entry for a design competition 12 months ago for the ANF as they were looking to change their logo. While I did submit a version of this graphic with a different message I felt that it was somewhat forced and I was not surprised that it was not selected.

But the original graphic as above I did  feel captured our experience of the Naturist lifestyle, the feeling of freedom, the joy and the interaction with the environment.

So I made a "DIY" car sticker and thought that I would also display it on this blog and would be happy for others to display it, if they so desired.*

I would welcome any comments or feedback.

* A link back to this bolg would be nice.