Ties that bind

I guess it is fair to say that my generation has grown up with the use of ties, from Primary School, through High School, the Air Force Cadets all had the requirement to wear ties. When I started work ties were the expected business dress along with a suit.

All my heroes growing up wore ties. If James Bond could wear a tie in Jamaica and not break a sweat how could I complain about wearing one on a stinking hot Summer day in Sydney. I just figured you had to be hot to be cool! (well an attempt at suave at the very least)

Video still of Sean Connery as James Bond, 007, in 1963's From Russia With Love.

(c) 1963, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation.

 

Why then over the last 12 months have I been quick to remove this long time companion article, as even through the "dot com boom" I kept wearing a tie almost like a badge of honour. When that period came to an abrupt end and a conservative dress standards again became in vogue, I felt quietly justified.

 

Now unless you have external meetings a tie is optional and I have been going without it!

 

So again why the change in attitude?

 

Well I believe it is a result of our Naturist lifestyle, I can see now that clothes are a mask and I want to be free of these. A tie in particular is a fashion accessory and a badge of rank and I would prefer to be seen for who I really am, not what role I have or job I do.

 

So I now carry my tie in my suit pocket and wear it only when necessary.

 

Now if I could only not wear a suit or anything else for that matter, but I fear our office is not ready for that, unfortunately.

 

Relaxation



“Nudists believe that they have discovered a variation of human society, the importance of which goes far beyond the abandonment of the figleaf.”

Magnus Clarke  from Nudism in Australia Deakin University Press Victoria Australia 1982.(p 11)

I don't think that there would be many that would argue that there is an abundance of STRESS in our lives particularly our working lives.

In todays commercial world we are constantly contactable, with laptops, mobile phones, mobile e-mail then if they miss you on all that, there is also voice mail and with all that comes the subtle 24/7 work week.

Is the last thing you do at night check your Blackberry? What about social networking sites, feel compelled to keep your social status updated? 

We have been sold the lie that we can multi-task and we therefore load ourselves up with too many tasks and then feel stressed when they are not completed within an unrealistic time-frame.

All this came home to me when I was relaxing on our clothing optional beach this weekend and I felt that familiar comfortable feeling of the sun on my whole body, the light breeze keeping the temperature comfortable and the sounds of the waves and our beach friends as they conversed with each other.

Laying there I felt my entire body relax, and then after a few moments it relaxed even more, then even more after that! It was so noticeable just how much tension I had been holding in my body and it reminded me again how fortunate that we discovered this Naturist lifestyle and what a great antidote it is to this stressful work-a-day world.

Wandering Bares

We first saw a "Wandering Bares" sticker on a Winnebago owned by some, now nudist friends. I asked where they got the sticker and they said they crossed path with a nudist who was selling the stickers.

Now about 12 months later we have tracked down the creator of these stickers, John & Joan Clarke and have bought and now proudly display our own Wandering Bares sticker on our car!

We asked John what was the history behind the creation of this sticker and here is the response:

John writes:

To begin with, I am a nudist from way back in the early seventies, When I ,with wife and 4 kids joined the old Woodlands, out of Liverpool, Sydney.

Unfortunately, My wife died from breast cancer at 35 years old, leaving me with 4 young children to raise.

Fast forward then to 1986, where with the kids now all with jobs, me up on the Gold Coast, where Joan and I met and became an item. Although Joan had always been textile, she very easily adapted to the nudist lifestyle with me.

In early 1994 we settled on the secluded 40 acre bush block, now called Teatree Park, just out of Agnes Water, Qld. We lived in a caravan while I built our little cottage. When we moved into the house, we kept the caravan area tidy, and made it available as a camp area for travelling nudists. We did a lot of travelling to nudist resorts and beaches. Agnes Water beaches at those time was very secluded then. That was the main reason I had purchased this block in this area.

In 2002 we set off in our little Nissan poptop to travel to Darwin. Along the way we encountered a lot of the "Grey Nomads", as we camped each night in free bush camps. We discovered that the "Campervan and Motorhome Club Australia, had held their Annual Convention at Barcaldine the previous week, and a lot of Motorhomers were also on the way to Darwin.

Quite often as we shared a drink or two with these nomads, I would eye off some of them and think, "look at that couples tan. I bet they're nudists." Politeness, and fear of offending would deter me from asking them straight out. It was because of this that I would think,"wouldn't it be good if they had a sticker on their vehicle that would identify them to other nudists". I decided I would apply myself to trying to make this happen.

Upon our return home, I immediately joined the C.M.C.A. As they instigated various "chapters" in different districts, as well as special interest groups, such as "The Solo's" (nomads travelling alone), and the "Hi-Fi" group for the radio enthusiasts , I wrote to them proposing a nudist special interest group. It didn't even rate a reply. On making inquiries, I was told there were too many old prudes in the executive to even consider it. I decided to "go it alone"

I experimented with a few different designs and caricatures, running them past other nudists at various clubs and resorts, as well as friends, but none seemed to have that "bling" that would really catch on.

Finally, I formed a picture in my mind of what I thought would be an attractive logo. I went to a local graphic artist and went through some design books until we came across the little bear. I had her fill in the changes I wanted, the staff and bundle and such, until the "Wandering Bares" was created.

I liked it so much I forwarded it on to a local sign printer to print 100 stickers to test the reaction.

They immediately struck a chord with all I showed it to, and so the "Wandering Bares" were born.



They took on very well with many single male nudists. They found that it didn't come over as being "in your face" with prudes who would judge them as deviates or such because it was easily explained away to the curious as just a funny sticker that didn't know how to spell "bear". At the same time it was immediately recognised by other nudists they may meet on the road.

They have now been sent to nudists, not only all over Australia, but have sent small orders to the U.S.A. as well as the U.K. and of course N.Z. One description of the sticker that amused me was from an American couple who sent an order for the little "Hobo Bear".

It had never occurred to me that it could be seen as a "Hobo" nudist.

During our trip around Australia in 06-07 we encountered the stickers in many strange places. Not surprising I guess, as we always sought out secluded places to camp along the road, just so we could be in "uniform" while camped. We rarely used caravan parks. It was either nudist places, or out in the bush.

Anyway, that is the story of the little nudist bear.

Thanks to John and Joan for taking the time to share your story.
 

If you would like your own Wandering Bares sticker to proudly tell "those in the know" of your clothes free preference then send John and Joan a cheque or money order for $5 plus a self addressed envelope to:
 

J & J Clarke

619 Murphy Road

Captain Creek

QLD 4677

 So keep an eye out you never know when you will spot a Wandering Bears sticker!

 



Nudist, Naturist or Skinny-Dipper?

Is there a difference between a Nudist, a Naturist or a Skinny-Dipper?

All enjoy the freedom from clothes or coverings and quite often in a social setting so from an outsiders view there appears little if any difference.

There is also a cultural aspect to this discussion, here in Australia the terms Nudist and Naturist are commonly used interchangeably where elsewhere the two terms refer to specific differences in lifestyle choices. Even here in Australia in the past the Naturist was seen to be a vegetarian, with no smoking or drinking and who practiced calisthenics every morning.

In our experience the difference is as much in the mind of the practitioner as it is in the observer.

From our conversations with others who enjoy going clothes-free we would propose the following in today's Australian context:

The Naturist - will seek to be clothes free at every appropriate opportunity and holds to a philosophy that provides a framework of meaning for enjoying the naked activity.

The Nudist - will also seek to be clothes free at every appropriate opportunity but purely because they enjoy the experience and that is enough to meet their needs.

Finally the Skinny-Dipper -this person just enjoys to swim and sun bathe clothes-free. They confine their clothes free activity to the beach or pool and spa.

And all of the above are valid and share an important aspect, that is the clothes free lifestyle is enjoyable!

So where do we stand on this topic?

Well as can be seen from the title of this blog we think that Naturist best describes our lifestyle choice. As such we can fully align ourselves with the International Naturist Federation definition of what Naturism is:

"Respect for self, respect for others, respect for the environment through the practice of communal nudity."

However whether you are a Naturist, Nudist or a Skinny-Dipper revel in the enjoyment of your clothes-free time and be proud of your pastime or lifestyle choice.

Hopefully there will be plenty of opportunity this year to enjoy a clothes free Summer!

Sexploitation films

In listening to Stéphane Deschenes’ Naturist Living Show on the topic of the sexploitation films of the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's he had an informative interview with Mark Storey author of Cinema au Naturel a comprehensive genre study analyzes both the good and the bad in nudist film and video from the 1930's to the present. 

I decided to try and track down Mark's book on the subject. Unfortunately it is out of print however there are a number of websites out there that talk about the era of the Nudist films.
 

In the 1938 film “The Nudist Racket”, some excerpts appear in  right margin of this blog, the commentary is so politically incorrect that it makes a modern viewer cringe as the voice-over makes fun of a larger woman with low brow, school boy humour. The antithesis of the Naturist view of body acceptance.


There is no doubt that the majority of these films were simply "skin flicks" dressed up as documentaries on the nudist lifestyle.

In the 50’s and 60’s the “nudist camp” was the excuse to show large amounts of attractive female flesh woven around a weak and predictable storyline.

Today they are a cultural curiosity and a window into a bygone age. Particularly looking at the club facilities that were in use at the time. 

The characteristics of these films are that more often than not they are shot on location at an exotic nudist facility, usually Florida or Miami, with overcast skies. This is due to the fact that they were almost always shot in winter.

The other interesting observation is that the "nudists" almost all have strong tan lines and it is obvious that they are have not been exposed to "all over" tanning.

The volley ball matches in the earlier films are always interesting to watch due to the fact that they could not show the hint of genitals so the team facing the camera would be wearing shorts!

Likewise around the pool everyone  would carry something, a magazine, a hat or a strategically placed towel.  

As anyone knows who have visited a naturist/nudist resort towels are often carried but to sit on rather than for any other purpose but in these films although carried they are rarely used for this purpose.

It has been an interesting diversion to look into this period of film making and I wonder how many converts to nudism these films produced. I would guess very few for while they carried a pro-nudist lifestyle message they were obviously voyeuristic in nature. 

1st Nude Anniversary!

Well it is hard to believe that it has only been 12 months on the 29th August since our first tentative steps into the Naturist world because it feels like we have been living this lifestyle for ever!

This is especially so as we have been visiting the beautiful Cobblers Beach in Sydney right through this past year and have made some wonderful friends on this little piece of paradise.

We have also had the opportunity to visits some wonderful Naturists Resorts and again meet people that we now call friends.

We have now become advocates for the Naturist lifestyle through this Blog and, as appropriate, we have made our discovery known to our textile friends and family members. The more people who try this lifestyle, the more that will appreciate the freedom that is the Naturist life.

Anyone who takes the plunge will benefit physically (it is such a pain to wear a swimming costume and it is great to feel the sun all over), emotionally (stress drops with your clothes and you can truly relax) and we have also found a spiritual aspect (a sense of Unity) that we have written about just recently.

Thank you to all the people who have made our journey so welcoming and we look forward to many more years of  enjoying the benefits of the Naturist life.