I think that most people have the wrong idea about nudists. It is assumed that nudists are always swingers, perverts, or just plain crazy for not wanting to wear clothes. Hubby and I happen to be swingers and nudists so that does happen, but it is NOT the norm.
Most of the nudists that I met are actually very religious, believing nudity to be what god prefers. After all, he had Adam and Eve naked in the Garden of Eden, and it was only after eating the Apple of Knowledge that the couple realized that they were naked and decided to cover up. Many nudists are also after the perfect tan!
In any case, while I am sure there are nudist perverts - like there are non-nudist perverts - I don't recall meeting one. This was probably due to the background checks performed at the resort I worked at to make sure prospective members weren't sex offenders. Plus, the rules of the resort that are designed to keep perverts out. :-) Here's the resort website.
So... Why did I decide to become a nudist? Well, I am not sure it was was a decision; much like one does not decide to become a lesbian. I have always had the urge to be naked... along with the entirely conflicting urge to not let anyone SEE me naked, lol! I talked about that here.
I remember sitting at home one day looking for a job, and at the same time, I had come across a blog written by a nudist girl. I was fascinated by her blog! For example, while she was in college, she would go to a somewhat private trail, and jog naked - and I thought "Wow! So brave!"
I came across an ad in the paper for a part-time position at a local resort that just so happened to be nudist. Talk about providence! I called up and had them mail me the application, and brochure for their campground. I checked out their website, and got SO EXCITED! When they gave me the interview, and then decided to hire both Hubby and I as part-time caretakers... I am not sure I have ever been happier to get a job!
I was told when I was hired that since we were employees who would deal with outsiders - such as the delivery drivers for Fed-Ex - we were not required to be naked. So, at first I was shy and kept my clothes on. Very quickly though, I realized that I was being silly. I was just a body, and I wasn't so different from everyone else. There were some really skinny in-shape women, but there were also some women who were my size or almost. There was also a couple of women who were as old or older than my grandma, and they had NO problem being naked outdoors in front of everyone.
I soon took off my clothes... but... well... all of those women did have one thing in common, they shaved their legs, waxed them, or otherwise removed their leg hair, and I am not good at shaving on a daily basis. I'd forget, or I'd just not want to. I was embarrassed to think that these naked leg-hair free women would see me with hairy legs, and judge me. (I knew the men probably wouldn't look lower than my tits, and I wasn't trying to get their attention anyway, so I didn't care what they thought, lol!) I solved the problem by wearing a towel or sarong at all times.
I had SO much fun that summer! I was able to swim naked in the pool, I had fun chatting and interacting with everyone there. I even got to massage people! This was the best job ever, and I never wanted it to end.
Then... the full time caretakers decided to quit, and we were elevated to their position - with no part timers to help us... We were expected to work 7 days a week - though I do think some of the board members took over for us a couple of times so that we could have a break. And it wasn't just the 9-5 business hours that we had to work, it was until the pool closed, because Hubby would have to check the pool every hour, and then cover it when it closed at 10.
It got to us, and we got stressed out. We tended to keep to ourselves when we were off duty. We didn't even swim in the pool or attend the various cook outs. We were warned at the end of the season that they may not hire us back, but I thought we did a good job despite the sudden and unexpected challenge thrust in our laps.
The next spring, I contacted them to ask when we would start, and was informed that we were not going to be hired back - not even as part timers again. This broke my heart. I really couldn't understand it, and I cried for like 2 days. Now that I have had time to think about it, I realize that the problem really was us. We just did not have the training to do the job with a high standard of excellence. I think we could have grown into the job, and done very well, but they found a couple who had more experience, and I can't blame them. I do wonder why they wouldn't even take us back part time though, since we WERE great at doing the job part time...
Anyway, I came to realize something very important that summer: I realized that there is nothing wrong with being naked. There's nothing wrong with people seeing me naked, and if they don't like what they see, then it is THEIR problem and not mine! How can parents expect to teach their children that the human body is natural, and to be realistic with their body image if nudity is considered taboo.
There are lots of women who object to yet ANOTHER billboard with a naked woman on it. "I don't want my kids seeing that!" I agree with one point, if the billboard is depicting the woman in a sexual position, yes that does not need to be seen by kids. BUT if it is simply showing a naked woman or man, and chances are they are actually showing anything anyway, I see no problem.
Then there is the argument that naked women on billboards and on TV give our children - especially girls - a bad body image and self-esteem. I can agree with that as well, but I think the solution to the body image - and self esteem - problem is to allow nudity in public! Seriously! If a child were raised in a nudist resort, and saw naked bodies of all shapes and sizes everyday, I really think that they would grow up knowing that their body was normal.
At the resort, I only ever saw one girl want to keep covered up, and she was 12, so that's only natural. The nudist parents say that pretty much all children go through a phase in their early teens in which they want to cover up. Their bodies are changing, and it's much too confusing to live with - even with clothes on! The rest of the teenaged girls (and preteens) had no problem hanging out naked, and they had no problems with self esteem either.
I am trying to raise my boys to think of nudity as normal. They see us naked, and when we have guests that come over and get naked, they see them too. Then I have to confuse them by telling them that they can't let the people outside see them naked, and when they ask me "Why?" the best I can come up with is, "Because most people think it's wrong to be naked."
This explanation contradicts other beliefs that I want to teach them, such as "Don't worry about what others think." So if I could change things, I would have more areas dedicated to clothing optional recreation. A great place for playing naked would be one of the splashpads around town. If just one of them was dedicated to the nudist crowd, I bet people would suddenly realize that it's not such a bad thing to be naked after all. :-)
Have a happy day!
Showing posts with label Nudism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nudism. Show all posts
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Let's Get Naked!
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!
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!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
First Post
For some time now, I have mentally debated starting my own blog. Almost immediately, I became my own nay-sayer. "Who really wants to read yet another foodie blog written by a homeschooling mama?" I asked myself, and this is why I procrastinated.
Last night, I was typing up a "note" on Facebook when I realized that my Facebook profile was my "keep it nice and clean in case people decide to judge your book based on what you post" profile. As a result, I keep quiet on a few things, and it hit me, that's my niche! If I started a blog that was not limited to any one aspect of my eclectic personality, but inclusive to all of them, I might actually differentiate myself from the rest of the blogs on the web!
That is when I decided that I would use this blog to make glaringly public all the things I tend to keep on the down low unless asked, because once asked, well... it can be hard to shut me up, lol! Herein enters the main self-conscious problem of mine; I like to think I am funny because I crack me up all the time, but apparently no one else seems to think so. It's a side affect of being married to my hubby. He IS stand up quality funny, and I pale in comparison. So, if anybody out there ever reads this blog, please let me know if ANYTHING I wrote ever made you chuckle in the slightest.
Ok, so on this blog, I warn you now, I will be posting anything and everything that crosses my mind, and it will trip over a wide range of topics, including my 5 Degrees of Weirdness. They are:
1- Food Nazi - This means that I value nutrient dense, preferably organic foods over all else... but have to live within a food stamp budget, so compromise must ensue.
2- Homeschooling Mama - This means I will ramble on with something akin to motherly pride and wax poetic of my 2 boys at the drop of a hat, pin, or the occasional frog.
3- Nudist - Yep, I'm letting it all hang out here, lol! We as a family believe clothing to be unnecessary and optional. Aside from theoretical savings on laundry, this is mainly due to The Best Summer Ever in which Hubby and I worked at a nudist resort/campground. I took my clothes off there, and haven't put them back on since... while I'm at home anyway. The unfortunate part is that I am also bordering on so ugly I should wear a bag over my face at all times, plus fat that's hard to look at, SO it's a good thing that my pumpkins - AKA breasts - are distracting enough to draw the eyes away from the unfortunate parts.
4- Wiccan - Oddly this used to bring more gasps than the nudist thing, but these days, people actually do try to be open, or at the very least, I have been so down low for so long that people don't actually know I am wiccan. I did not "go underground" in an attempt to hide my beliefs, more like I just got tired of arguing religion one day, and stopped talking about it altogether. AND lastly,
5- Swinger - Yep, swinger. That means that Hubby and I have an open relationship, and we are not encumbered by The Rules of The Lifestyle. Therefore, if something happens, it happens (YEA!) if not, oh well. C'est la vie!
Then, of course, I will drone on about crochet from time to time.
And there you have it, my 5 Degrees of Weirdness, and the theme of my blog. I want to be one of those bloggers that posts a good pic whenever possible, but rest assurred that I will make sure I am hiding Weirdness #3 (and 5) in all pics in order to conform with The Rules of Blogging, lol!
Last night, I was typing up a "note" on Facebook when I realized that my Facebook profile was my "keep it nice and clean in case people decide to judge your book based on what you post" profile. As a result, I keep quiet on a few things, and it hit me, that's my niche! If I started a blog that was not limited to any one aspect of my eclectic personality, but inclusive to all of them, I might actually differentiate myself from the rest of the blogs on the web!
That is when I decided that I would use this blog to make glaringly public all the things I tend to keep on the down low unless asked, because once asked, well... it can be hard to shut me up, lol! Herein enters the main self-conscious problem of mine; I like to think I am funny because I crack me up all the time, but apparently no one else seems to think so. It's a side affect of being married to my hubby. He IS stand up quality funny, and I pale in comparison. So, if anybody out there ever reads this blog, please let me know if ANYTHING I wrote ever made you chuckle in the slightest.
Ok, so on this blog, I warn you now, I will be posting anything and everything that crosses my mind, and it will trip over a wide range of topics, including my 5 Degrees of Weirdness. They are:
1- Food Nazi - This means that I value nutrient dense, preferably organic foods over all else... but have to live within a food stamp budget, so compromise must ensue.
2- Homeschooling Mama - This means I will ramble on with something akin to motherly pride and wax poetic of my 2 boys at the drop of a hat, pin, or the occasional frog.
3- Nudist - Yep, I'm letting it all hang out here, lol! We as a family believe clothing to be unnecessary and optional. Aside from theoretical savings on laundry, this is mainly due to The Best Summer Ever in which Hubby and I worked at a nudist resort/campground. I took my clothes off there, and haven't put them back on since... while I'm at home anyway. The unfortunate part is that I am also bordering on so ugly I should wear a bag over my face at all times, plus fat that's hard to look at, SO it's a good thing that my pumpkins - AKA breasts - are distracting enough to draw the eyes away from the unfortunate parts.
4- Wiccan - Oddly this used to bring more gasps than the nudist thing, but these days, people actually do try to be open, or at the very least, I have been so down low for so long that people don't actually know I am wiccan. I did not "go underground" in an attempt to hide my beliefs, more like I just got tired of arguing religion one day, and stopped talking about it altogether. AND lastly,
5- Swinger - Yep, swinger. That means that Hubby and I have an open relationship, and we are not encumbered by The Rules of The Lifestyle. Therefore, if something happens, it happens (YEA!) if not, oh well. C'est la vie!
Then, of course, I will drone on about crochet from time to time.
And there you have it, my 5 Degrees of Weirdness, and the theme of my blog. I want to be one of those bloggers that posts a good pic whenever possible, but rest assurred that I will make sure I am hiding Weirdness #3 (and 5) in all pics in order to conform with The Rules of Blogging, lol!
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