Tag: Greek naturism

Newsworthy Nudity, 2021-5

In most of the northern hemisphere the naturist outdoor season begins in May and June. So there are some good reports suggesting clothing-optional beaches. And others dealing with general naturist activities.

  1. The UK’s best nudist beaches revealed: Why more Brits will be in the buff this summer (6/11/21)

    Public nudity in the UK is actually not illegal as long as it’s not intended to be offensive or alarming. And the country has plenty of coastline (11,000 miles of it by one estimate), with many sandy beaches. Of course, naturists prefer using beaches favored by other naturists. Here’s one listing, with a map, of 42 such beaches.

    As a British Naturism spokesperson explains, “There are plenty of beaches that are well-known for being used by nude bathers and it’s great to be surrounded by happy, like-minded people.” The present article has good advice for anyone who wants to try beach nudity for the first time, including a reminder that the British climate is often not ideal for a great naked experience.

  2. It’s Time You Finally Visited One of Europe’s Best Nude Beaches (6/2/21)

    Many articles offer their own opinion of what the “best” nude beaches are (usually in Europe). This particular list is useful, since the 9 beaches included are in 9 different countries – not just France, Spain, and Croatia. So if you’re visiting a country not known for its nude beaches, this list may help. If you have the time and wherewithal, you could easily spend an entire summer just visiting Western European nude beaches and spending only a few days on even half of the best ones. With a few, there are accommodations next to the beach where you could be naked most of the time. U.S. naturists should be so jealous. (Or, better, they could try considerably harder to have more clothing-optional beaches established.)

    The article explains “Nudity has never been as taboo in Europe as it is stateside. Europe has a longstanding social history behind the practice of nudism, and beachgoing au naturel has become a summer fixture in European culture in recent decades.” There are very brief summaries of the history in Germany, France, Greece, and Croatia (where British King Edward VIII and his mistress visited and swam nude in the 1930s). The article describes 9 beaches it considers the absolute best.

  3. Best Nude Beaches in Greece (5/9/21)

    Mainland Greece isn’t actually as favorable towards naturism compared to other Western European counties. According to this article, “Greek people are not used to nudism. It is usually ok if you are sunbathing topless on a remote beach but total nudism exists and is permitted only on some particular beaches. These beaches are most of a stretch of land surrounded by cliffs or high trees.”

    The Greek islands, however, provide a somewhat better story even though, as on the mainland, there are no “official” nude beaches. The islands not only attract tourists from all over (and depend on the income generated), but have some popular clothing-optional beaches. Paradise Beach on Mykonos may be the best-known, but there are others. The present article describes some of them. In general, nudity is easiest at the more remote and hard-to-access beaches. Here’s another article on the nude beach situation in Greece.

  4. 11 Reasons Why You Should Try A Nude Vacation This Summer (6/12/21)

    Most of the 11 are simply reasons for participating in naturism at all. Current naturists are fully aware of them, so only people just becoming interested in naturism or maybe ready to try it need to know the reasons. Then nude vacationing is an obvious next step. Note that if you plan to be naked much of the time, you need to bring very little – perhaps just a credit or debit card, essential medicines, and one change of clothes. This is especially if long-distance travel is involved. The travel fare, lodging expenses, and (perhaps) renting a car probably far exceed the cost of buying other necessities at your destination.

    The real question is the type of nude vacation to take. If your budget allows more than the travel, lodging, and food expenses for the trip, then you have the most options. Otherwise you’ll have to make compromises. If cost isn’t an issue, then a destination in Europe, such as France, Spain, or Croatia is ideal. The only problem is the overwhelming number of good choices you’ll have.

    If you’re in the U.S. and your budget is more limited, then Florida may be the best bet. It has the longest outdoor naturist season, four clothing-optional beaches, and dozens of naturist places to stay. California has more nude beaches, but the coastal weather is less dependable. If you don’t need a beach, then there are many naturist-friendly B&Bs and small hotels available. However, if you just want to go somewhere you can for a week or two usually be naked, then there are far more options in both the U.S. and Europe.

  5. Reasons Why Everyone Should Try Skinny Dipping At Least Once (7/3/21)

    In fact, a rather large percentage of people in the U.S. probably have tried skinny dipping at least once. The Naturist Society has sponsored two or three professional polls that ask about this, and the results were generally 25% to 30% “yes”. But what’s meant by “skinny dipping”? Is it any instance of being naked in a body of water larger than a bathtub? How about a hot tub or an ordinary swimming pool? Is an experienced naturist “skinny dipping” any time he or she is naked in the water at a naturist club or clothing-optional beach? Or is it something that seems completely natural and ordinary to them?

    Pretty clearly the point of this article is getting into the water naked when it seems like a risqué or daring thing to do. Perhaps it’s done only alone or with very close friends – especially at night or somewhere nobody besides the individual or group is likely to notice. Or it could happen at a clothing-optional beach when a person decides to get into the water naked if many others are doing likewise.

    If that goes well, anyone who tries it will probably find it unexpectedly pleasurable. In the words of the article’s author, when he and his girlfriend first entered the water naked, “the feeling of freedom was exhilarating. Wow. It was as though something had been missing, but now we were complete.” Such an experience probably results in a desire to repeat it, which is what happened in this case. Prevailing social attitudes against open nudity may deter people from pursuing the desire to repeat. But the possibility remains this experience could be a “gateway” into other “naturist” activities.

  6. Have You Ever Been Skinny Dipping? (6/1/21)

    Tracey writes from her own experience about “How I ended up skinny dipping and why you should probably do the same.” She says her first skinny dip “changed me in a way that made me happier and more respectful of life. I took off all my clothes and jumped into a lake with other naked people.” She adds, “Skinny dipping is one of those experiences that you will appreciate more in hindsight than it might seem while you are doing it.” But she cautions, “It might scare the heck out of you if you just take the plunge without a real reason to do so.”

    She continues to describe her thoughts and feelings about skinny dipping but eventually admits “Skinny dipping can be a scary thing. It might be the easiest way to get arrested, or worse, caught on video. Someone could see you and tell everyone else.” Scary. That scary aspect is precisely why naturists on social media who write eloquently about social nudity and its many virtues generally don’t persuade many of their readers or listeners to take the plunge, get involved with naturism, and eventually make social nudity an important part of their lives.

    Why? In general, ideas that seem risky and scary in the abstract – like going naked around other people – are inherently difficult to accept. But almost always, people are more easily influenced by one or more others they know personally and trust. So they’re more likely to overcome doubts and go on to experience the scary thing for themselves. “Social influencers” online, however, almost never enjoy the same degree of trust when scary ideas are involved.

  7. Skinny-dipping With My Girlfriends (7/13/21)

    Here’s one more take on skinny dipping, and this one emphasizes the positives. Elle writes: “I love to be naked in the water. It just feels so much better than wearing a bathing suit — perhaps because it’s just more primal. … it’s almost like being transported to another world — one that is less artificial, less consumer-oriented, and more real somehow.” Why is it more real? Most naturists, I think, would agree it’s because clothing is annoying and an artificial, superfluous way of expressing one’s individuality. Nudity, however, shows one’s uniqueness without concealing what we have in common with others.

    Elle also offers a good reason that nudity with like-minded others is especially healing and salutary for women: “We felt very in touch with our most natural selves, very female, and very, very powerful. … We were in our element and experiencing the synergy of allowing our most elemental selves to shine through.”

  8. Naturism in Niagara (5/12/21)

    This article was already mentioned here. The subject is Sun Valley Gardens (SVG), an early 25-acre nudist resort in Ontario, a little over 10 miles west of Niagara Falls. It was in operation from 1954 to 1982. The article contains a slideshow of 40 images of the place. It was one of the first nudist resorts in Canada.

    The text following the slide show provides interesting details about SVG. For example, Karl Ruehle, who founded the resort, was an active promoter of nudism as a lifestyle. Unlike many other early nudist leaders, he wasn’t at all secretive about nudism or his resort. He promoted it with press releases and paid advertising. He even appeared on talk shows and TV programs. Personally, however, Ruehle was eccentric and autocratic.

    By contrast, a member of a smaller nearby nudist place who wished to be known only by his first name (Graham) is much more secretive. However, to explain their interest in nudism, Graham and a couple of others gave many reasons they enjoyed a naked lifestyle. That provides background for readers who know little or nothing about nudism.

  9. I was meditating naked every day for a month (6/25/21)

    Meditation is increasingly popular these days. since it can facilitate self-control, self-care, and self-love. In this short essay, nakedness is recommended as the best way to practice meditation. The absence of bothersome, constrictive clothing frees a person from irrelevant disruptive stimuli. The mind has expanded freedom to roam where it will when freed from distractions.

    Be sure to pick a time when you won’t be interrupted – not because you’re naked, but just to avoid distractions. You don’t need to meditate in the absence of all external stimuli, as long as they’re conducive to comfort rather than – like clothes – unsupportive of it. Feel free to accompany your meditation with pleasant aromas, soft music, or peaceful sounds like those of gentle ocean waves. Pay attention to your body, especially your skin when in contact with nothing but air.


  10. 20 Years Later: Remembering Elysium Fields (5/1/21)

    Elysium was a popular naturist destination in Topanga Canyon, just north of Los Angeles, for 33 years. from 1967 to 2000. It was founded by Ed Lange, who had accumulated a degree of wealth by the time he was 47, as a noted photographer and publisher of nudist magazines.

    Elysium was noteworthy because, although nudity was allowed (perhaps encouraged), it was not secretive and promoted itself as a “Human Growth Center” rather than a nudist camp. So it was similar to other “New Age” establishments such as the Esalen Institute. But unfortunately, Elysium was located in Los Angeles County, whose ultraconservative public officials had fought against nudist clubs since the 1930s. Although Elysium finally won the legal battles in 1993, Lange died in 1995. His daughters inherited the property, but for various reasons, such as dwindling interest in New Age ideas, Elysium was no longer economically viable, so it closed in 2000.

    The name “Elysium” figured prominently in ancient Greek mythology even before the time of Homer. It referred to a realm of the afterlife reserved for heroes and others favored by the Greek gods to reside forever, enjoying whatever most pleased them in mortal life. An apt name for a contemporary naturist place.

    (Similarly named “Elysian Fields” was an earlier, unrelated nudist place in Southern California near Lake Elsinor. It was founded in 1933 and persisted with a couple of name changes until finally closing in 2007.)

Bonus from earlier:

How a beach becomes nude, and why people like getting naked in public (8/11/19)

What needs to happen for a beach to become accepted as a clothing-optional beach? There really isn’t any standard process through which nudity on a particular beach becomes tolerated, let alone accepted or even officially designated. But this article from New Zealand gives some idea of what can happen.

It’s important, of course, that nudity in public isn’t entirely prohibited, at least under certain conditions. That’s the case in New Zealand, as well as in Great Britain, and even some U.S. states like California. In those examples, public nudity isn’t illegal as long as it’s not considered obscene, offensive, or threatening. (Opinions, of course, vary as to what those terms mean.) There also must not be stronger prohibitions under local laws and regulations. Still, although those conditions are necessary, they aren’t always sufficient.

Generally what happens is, first, that in a region where the beach is located there should be enough people who actually want to be naked on the beach, or at least a certain part of it. Given that, a sufficient number of people should actually use the beach or some part of it naked on a regular basis. If that usage continues “long enough” without serious objection, nudity there will probably become accepted.

But it usually takes some time – if ever – before the beach becomes “officially” clothing-optional. That generally happens only given certain conditions. For example, if naturists are persuasive enough, local officials favor the idea, or (often) because there are tangible benefits, such as tourism, to the local community.

Recent articles on nudity and naturism, 4/11/20

  1. Body painter turns naked models into classic works of art
    Body painting is an art form uniquely suited for appreciation by naturists, for obvious reasons. It’s something that’s been discussed here several times. Although anyone can paint in interesting ways on any cooperative naked model, considerable artistic talent is required for genuinely impressive results. That’s even more true for the subgenre where the art is intended to blend seamlessly into an existing painting or photo. The artist here, Trina Merry, is clearly a master at this. In fact, according to the article, Merry’s work is so highly regarded that she’s done some commissions for a price of more than $100,000.

    “Working with the human body is really beautiful, it has a personal connection that other artforms have a hard time accomplishing,” Merry says. Many more examples of her work can be found on her website and on Instagram. And here’s another article with additional examples.

  2. 10 Plus 1 Nudist Beaches in Greece
     

    In view of the legendary prevalence of nudity in ancient Greek athletics and art, it may come as a surprise to many that modern Greece isn’t especially known for its tolerance of naturism – unlike, say, nearby neighbor Croatia. Unfavorable attitudes in Greece towards naturism are especially surprising in view of the country’s benign climate and location with abundant coastline on the Mediterranean. The situation, however, is a little different on Greece’s numerous Mediterranean islands. Although the islands have no naturist resorts, there are a variety of beaches where clothing-optional use is possible. Some of those- such as on Mykonos and Crete – are well-known, but many more are little known except to local naturists.

    Greek naturists are, necessarily, somewhat secretive about their enjoyment of nudity, since (according to the article) “the unaccustomed villagers often looked down on the foreign to them habit.” Nevertheless, there are “over 80 official and unofficial nudist beaches” scattered among the islands. Yet “until recently, most of these beaches were secluded and hard to find. Usually locating a bare-all beach was (and still is to some respect) done by word of mouth. That way only those who really needed and wanted to know knew where to go.” The article here provides directions to 10 island beaches considered the best for skinny-dipping. And the 11th is actually close to Athens, on the mainland.

    Check here for one young woman’s rewarding and eye-opening experience at one Greek beach.

  3. GNA Magazine Signup!
     

    Most professional and scientific organizations have a long history of publishing respected periodicals in their field. In the past couple of decades almost all of these periodicals have also been provided in electronic as well as printed form – in some cases only in electronic form. Some national naturist organizations have more recently done likewise – British Naturism, the Federation of Canadian Naturists, and the American Association for Nude Recreation, for example. (Conspicuously, however, The Naturist Society has yet to follow suit.) In nearly all cases, it’s necessary to be a dues-paying organization member to access either printed or electronic versions of the publications. That makes sense, because it’s expensive to produce a reasonably high-quality publication in either form.

    There have also been a few attempts in the past several years to produce online naturist publications that are more like magazines than ordinary websites, sometimes for free and sometimes for a subscription fee. If successful, such publications would be like the nudist magazines of years ago that are discussed in the following article. But none seems to have caught on.

    Now, though, the people associated with Get Naked Australia (GNA) are making another attempt. Their magazine is delivered by email instead of on a website. And the first issue has already been distributed. Anyone can simply use the Signup page linked above to request a copy. It comes in the form of a PDF file, so nothing more than a standard PDF reader is required to view it. As a PDF file, it’s also easy to jump around from page to page, and even search for specific words and phrases (location names for instance). It can also be read on a smartphone or tablet. And at a total of 60 pages, it’s full of plenty of text and pictures. Best of all: it’s free.

    This magazine looks like a very professional job, so quite a lot of work must have gone into producing it – all done by volunteers, presumably. It will be somewhat amazing if this continues to be available in the present form – without any fees or even advertising. But we can hope. If it is successful, it could make naturism considerably more popular in Australia. An even better outcome would be if both the “Get Naked Australia” idea itself, as well as the magazine, could be duplicated in other countries, but that might be too much to hope for. It would be surprising – but most welcome – if existing naturists organizations could adopt this model for themselves. (Don’t hold your breath though.)

  4. Preserving Nudist History: An Interview with NaturistVintage – Part One
     

    The writer of this article explains: “NaturistVintage is a twitter account that concentrates on posting scans of nudist magazines and photographs. I wanted to learn why they did this.” So the article consists of an interesting Q&A with the account owner, who is an avid collector of vintage (roughly, before 1980) naturist publications.

    Anyone who’s discovered the wonders of naturism only recently is probably unaware of the long, but important, history of nudist/naturist magazines. That’s because few remain, mostly those of a small number of national naturist organizations. But at one time there may have been such magazines were a lot more numerous. They probably were the main way that people discovered naturism – in spite of the rather condescending or derogatory way it was usually portrayed in mass media (if it was discussed at all).

    Occasionally, before leaving home to go to college, I enjoyed the feeling of getting out of my clothes when nobody was around. But I had no idea that such a thing as nudism even existed until I chanced on a small pile of nudist magazines at a newsstand near my university. That was several decades ago, and I’ve often since regretted being too embarrassed to purchase any of those magazines.

    Somewhat later, when I was living where there were many more naturist opportunities, I was able to enjoy naturism for real. But-by that time most nudist/naturist publications had disappeared. If naturism hadn’t remained a long-delayed interest of mine, I quite possibly wouldn’t have discovered it at all. The current lack of anything like the early nudist/naturist magazines available to the general public is undoubtedly one reason that so few people these days – especially in the U. S. – have any idea of what naturism is really about.

    Even most newsstands that once carried nudist publications are now gone. Good naturist information certainly is now available on the Internet. But for people who may be curious about the subject, searching for accurate information about it is rather difficult, because porn sites have largely co-opted the terms “nudist” and “naturist” for themselves.

    There are now a small number of “libraries” in the U. S. that have collections of the old nudist/naturist publications. But essentially none of the material is online. The libraries are not really open to the general public anyhow, even if people were willing to travel hundreds of miles to visit them. At least, though, there are occasional articles, such as the one linked here, that offer a few tidbits of information on the history.

    In theory, it would be possible to digitally copy much of the material and make it available – except that the funds needed to do that are rather unlikely to appear. And it’s not clear whether the information about nudism/naturism as it existed decades ago would really be all that useful and relevant to naturism as it exists today around the world.

  5. Naturism in Thailand Shows Resilience Against COVID19
     

    There’s already been a discussion of naturism in Thailand here. It’s essentially the only Asian country with attractive destinations for naturists. In fact, there are at least 8 different options there – described in the article – for your clothing-optional pleasure. And in contrast to the situation in Greece, most of them are comfortable resort locations, not just out-of-the-way beaches.

    Yes, of course, because of COVID-19 the present time is pretty awful for a vacation just about anywhere. Thailand is, at present, only slightly affected by the pandemic – in sharp contrast with China and South Korea. But nobody can predict what conditions might be like by the time you can take a serious vacation, let alone are able to travel to the destination. So, at least, it’s good to know that the Naturist Association of Thailand has offered a “COVID-19 SAFETY PACKAGE”, which guarantees a full refund without penalties of any kind. The conditions include making the booking with the resort (not through an agency) no later than August 1, 2020, for a visit before the end of the year. Presumably, the refund covers any reason you can’t make the trip, including health problems in your family or cancellation of airline flights.


  6. British Naturism acquisition of Sunfolk: A bright future for Naturism
     

    From the article:
    “In a major new undertaking, British Naturism has taken over the land and property of The Sun-Folk Society. Not only does this secure the future of the Sunfolk site and its character as a popular naturist club, it will also present opportunities that we expect will form a central tool in the advancement of naturism in the years ahead. The property will in future be known as “British Naturism: Sunfolk”.”

    Sun-Folk’s website says the club “occupies a beautiful five-acre site between St Albans and Watford.” So it’s a pretty small operation. But according to BN, it’s “one of the oldest clubs in the UK, founded in 1931. Arguably it is the perfect representation of the origins of UK naturism.”

    The article’s not very clear about exactly what the relationship of British Naturism will be to this club. Evidently BN was able to purchase the land and facilities on the land. Did they purchase it outright, or take out a mortgage? Perhaps that doesn’t matter, but either way it’s an indication that BN is in good shape financially. BN apparently won’t actually operate the club, since the article says: “A question that might be asked is whether this means that British Naturism is now a campsite operator or a property developer, rather than a campaigning and community organisation. The answer is no.” Apparently the operation will be contracted to a third party. That’s smart, since BN probably has little expertise actually operating physical facilities.

    It’s an interesting business model. Any national organization that’s financially sound ought to be able to buy existing naturist properties whose owners want to sell and then contract out the actual operation, perhaps to a single company for more than one site. Indeed, it should be possible to purchase guest houses, campgrounds, and small resorts that aren’t currently clothing-optional to transition them for naturist use. That’s assuming, of course, the properties are in locations that aren’t too expensive yet have many naturists in the general area – or a lot of tourist traffic. As the population density in the UK is much higher than in the U. S., this might be more difficult in the latter country. But it could work in states like Arizona or Florida with robust travel and hospitality industries.

  7. You CAN Ask That: A nudist lays it all bare
     

    This is from a website of the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC). It’s a telephone Q&A interview with an Australian naturist. But not just any naturist. The interviewee is “Jessa”, who’s “a nudist, a naked yoga instructor, and she runs a blog called The Nude Blogger.”

    Although Jessa was interviewed remotely via phone, the link did allow her to appear on TV – uncensored, in fact. She was quite pleased about that, remarking “I’ve seen myself naked on TV before so it wasn’t too much of a shock for me. I love the fact that it was uncensored. I think that’s super refreshing, so that was pretty fun.” She wasn’t embarrassed at all: “I personally am nude in front of people so often – I’m a naked yoga instructor – so I don’t personally feel embarrassed or anything.” And after all, there are plenty of naked pictures of herself on her blog. Undoubtedly, few naturists are as comfortable with their nudity as Jessa – but they should be, at least among friends and family, even if not on TV.

    Many of the questions Jessa was asked are just what most naturists would expect – rather banal. But one of Jessa’s responses was exactly on point, something all naturists should emphasize: “what I’m trying to do is normalise nudity so it’s not seen as such a sexual thing because I’m around a lot of men and women and we’re all socialising nude and it’s definitely not a sexual thing.” The only way for nudity to become considered “normal” is to make very clear that it is, in suitable circumstances, just another reasonable choice of attire: NBD – no big deal. We simply need to explain that wearing nothing is merely what feels most comfortable to us at certain times, and anyone who respects us should respect our preference for this, just as we respect the clothing preferences of others.