When I was a little girl, my grandparents used to take me "up to the lake" practically ever weekend during the summer. Up to the lake translated to the type of resort/campground that provides lots for trailers, like a summer time only trailer park, in an idyllic setting in the woods at the edge of a lake. They had a couple of tent sites, but pretty much everyone who went there were regulars. My grandparents had several friends of 30+ years that they only saw there. At this resort, every trailer had it's own bathroom/shower, but you know, they're kinda tiny, so there was also a building divided into men's and women's sides containing a couple of toilets and a couple of showers.
Often, I chose to use the shower in the building rather than the one in our trailer. At first I was too young to really notice or care that this meant that I'd likely see other women/girls naked. Then one summer when I was about 9, I realized that I could be naked under my towel, and no one would know. I guess it didn't occur to me that the lack of swim suit straps would be a dead give away, lol! I wrapped a towel around me, gathered up all my clothes, and walked back to our trailer. No one said anything, to my knowledge, and I felt powerful! I could be naked in public!
Now that I am an adult, I know that if I were watching a young girl walking across a campground in nothing but a towel, I would smile, and just let her think she was being sneaky. So, I guess that's probably what the various adults around the camp did to me. So much for being powerful with secret nakedness, lol!
In my teens, I tried to work up the courage to sneak out at night to go swimming naked, but I couldn't, because I was positive that naked night swimming was ONLY for skinny people who looked good while naked, you know, in case they were caught. It never once occurred to me that swimming naked was for anyone with the courage and desire to swim naked. I'll also admit that the thought that there might be boys or men out there was also a big factor behind my desire to go do it, and my being too scared to actually do so. This was probably for the best, because there really were plenty of adults that stayed up drinking on their boats at night, and while there was never any sexual assault, there also probably wasn't any other young girls out swimming naked at night to tempt a drunk man.
Fast forward a few years, I enrolled in massage school, and while I knew that massages were best done naked, I somehow thought that the students worked on each other while wearing bathing suits or something. I learned that this was not true... well some who were very uncomfortable with the idea that they might be exposed could wear a bathing suit, but other than that the students were all naked under their sheets. This appealed to me. Once again I could be naked in public, but not be judged. It was very important to everyone in the school not to judge someone's body, after all our future clients were going to come in all shapes and sizes.
After massage school (during which I learned that massage is so good for you during pregnancy that you won't even know you're pregnant, lol!), I was looking around online for nudist things and jobs, and I just so happened to come across a job AT a nudist resort/campground that was just down the road from my mom's house, where I lived at the time. Talk about a sign from the gods!
The job was part time, and even better, when I told them that hubby was looking for a job too, they hired him as well! It was a bonus to them to find a couple to take care of the place 2 days a week so that their regular caretaker couple could have a break. That was the start of The Best Summer Ever! This nudist resort was everything I loved about going up to the lake - minus the lake - but better because everyone was naked!
It was there that I learned that being naked in public wasn't just for the gorgeous skinny people, it was for everyone! There were people who had been going to that campground for 40+ years. The regulars were normal people from all walks of life. Old, young, skinny, fat, oh-my-goddess-I'd-like-to-fuck-that-one hot to people who were ugly like me. Being that we worked there, we had to read a book to teach us the "official" answers to the questions we were always asked by newbies and those who might be interested in becoming newbies.
The book we read was very much like this one. It seems that most people are taught to equate being naked with sex, so with that in mind, the idea of being naked around one's parents or children is downright sick twisted and wrong. If being naked really was a trigger to uncontrollable urges to have sex (in other words if every time you saw me naked, you just HAD to have sex with me whether you wanted to or not) then yes, I could totally see how it would be wrong to be naked around anyone who had not consented to sex, but in actuality, being naked and having sex are two separate and different things. It is true that being naked can lead to sex, but then again, being fully dressed can lead to having sex too, and you don't see people going around condemning people who wear clothes because it can lead to sex.
Other cultures have communal nudity, in fact most cultures had communal bathing before the modern age of private showers. Ancient Romans had famous bathhouses, and to this day, it's a favorite Japanese custom to vacation at a hotspring. Hotsprings are mostly separate sexes, but there are plenty with a mixed gender bath.
These days, my husband, boys, and I don't have much opportunity to practice nudism outside our home, but 99% of the time, if you were to show up unannounced, you'd catch us naked. This is fine by us, come on in and take off your clothes too if you want. Otherwise call us before you come over so that we can put some clothes on, and hey, if you give us enough warning, you may even get to see what our apartment looks like when it's more clean than dirty, lol!
This blog is all about me and how my different beliefs and perspectives make me weird. At first, I had no intention of posting my stories to my blog, but now that seems to be the biggest reason people visit my blog, lol! So come read about me, and let me know what you think!
If you like what you read, consider donating to help me support my family.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I absolutely love your brilliant outlook of life. So many of us never overcome our fears, can accept ourselves and others for WHO we are having nothing to do with how we look. It takes courage for you to be so honest with yourself not to mention with others. And may I also point out that no one who has suck a beautiful soul as you could ever be considered ugly, so don't say that. I care less what society may say about your body type, your beliefs, or your practices... you are beautiful especially in your bravery. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteplease forgive my typo's. Fingers got away with me.
ReplyDeleteThank you! That's why I started this blog, so that others can read and think about their own differences, and maybe feel not so different after all :-)
ReplyDelete