Anna and I are often getting emails and messages about how nice the naturist community is. It certainly seems true in our own experience at campsites, resorts and beaches and through communications with genuine naturists on the internet - on ANW and beyond. Reading between the lines in magazines like H&E and TAN it does appear that the vast majority of people writing and appearing in those magazines are also genuinely nice. 

We have long been aware that the average naturist is open, honest and friendly. Maybe cares a little more for the world, the environment and nature than the average person. Is understanding and allowing of other peoples points of view or philosophies as long as they aren't too damaging of people's feelings, freedom and rights. There is an attitude that we are all equal and as long as you aren't harming others then you will be warmly welcomed. Naturist aren't hung up on perceived differences, knowing that really we are all just humans, despite all the little variations we are pretty much the same.

Someone only yesterday conveyed the idea that this pleasant and accepting behaviour "is unique to the naturist community."

Visit a naturist beach and you will at least get a friendly hello from other naturists. If you fancy a chat then someone will also be there to chat to you. If you leave your things for a swim then someone will watch out for them. If you have children then someone will always warn you about sea currents or dangerous rocks. At the end of the day it tends to be the naturists on the beach who collect up the discarded rubbish lefts by the non-naturist users of the beach.

Visit a venue and other holiday makers will warmly welcome you, offer assistance, advise you on local beaches, shops or attractions and basically be happy to give up some of their time to make your time a little nicer or make you feel more at home. As a family you are always welcomed by other families, with children making friends easily and the parents always being very kind and giving to your children as well as their own.  

Of course there are exceptions to the rules. Often these people are such a shock to the system that they probably appear much ruder than they actually would be in the dressed world. We are so used to the kindness shown by other naturists that when someone is not so pleasant they take us by surprise.

Please feel free to discuss these observations. My main question for us to also ponder is this.

Are we drawn to naturism because we already have these pleasant, caring thoughtful traits within us or do we become more accepting, open and friendly because we become naturists? Maybe it is a little bit of both? We are already open to the idea of acceptance, faith in human tolerance and freedom of choice which is why we contemplate the idea of naturism but by entering the lifestyle these positive attributes are allowed to flourish and develop.

What do you think? Chicken or Egg? Do we shape naturism or are we shaped by naturism? Or is it a two way evolutionary process?

I would have to say that it's a two way evolutionary process.  As I look back over why I became interested in naturism it was because it looked like a lot of fun to be naked in the outside world (that is, not just in your bedroom or bathroom). There are elements of rebellion (I'm going against societal norms) and freedom (it feels good to feel the sun on every part of your body).  Where the evolutionary process comes in is when you interact with others.  So much of our interaction with others is influenced by their appearance (initially at least) and that's vastly different in a naturist setting.  There is only one cue, that being gender.  This lack of other cues I think causes everyone to be more open than they might otherwise be in a non-naturist setting.

A corollary to this is that, without these other cues, you have to accept both yourself as you are and others as they are.  In this regard, I believe that naturism can represent something more than simple physical nakedness.  Since we're all taught to cover ourselves from an early age (some perhaps more than others, some less) an individual does evolve to where they are accepting of themselves and others just as individuals.

In summary, I think it's both.  It will vary from individual to individual (more "Chicken" or more "Egg") but I don't think it's ever just one or the other. 

I think Fuzzybear52 makes a lot of sense - it is both and some will be more chicken and some more egg. 

In this ever more PC world the idea of stereotypes is becoming more and more hard to talk about. The truth is that some cultures, religions, countries (and even regions in countries), genders, ages, professions etc do have certain character traits bothy positive and negative. You cannot say that all people of a certain type are like this or that but there are certainly trends but we just have to be careful about if and how we acknowledge them. Sometimes these stereotypes make sense and they can be what lead people to make a life choice, they can be environmental and they can be part of a culture that has been handed down possibly for thousands of years. Why are so many of us afraid of snakes and spiders when we mostly don't come across danger from them? Because in years gone by it made sense to be. When Steve worked in accountancy he said it drove him crazy that his colleagues were all obsessed with money - they would discuss at length their telephone bills for example. Did they become obsessed after starting the job - or was it that obsession that made them wish to wallow in all things financial? Certain parts of Britain have a higher % of people who are maybe more emotional, more humorous,  more creative, more depressing, more angry, more happy....just as some areas are poorer, healthier, taller, have higher obesity, more crime, have stronger accents, harder working, are linked to hair colouring, freckles, pale skin...the more we interact and travel the more these differences get diluted buty there is no doubt that a hundred years ago stereo typing around the UK would have been quite an easy thing to do - Is it cruel and offensive?  I guess that depends who it is aimed at, how it is meant and why it is done. No one should want to hurt anyone or any group but at the same time it is good to be open and honest about the human race and make fun of ourselves a bit in the process. If we hide from too many facts then we can never really confront them or deal with them - which actually can be counter productive. 

So what about naturists. I think we are more open and honest and friendly - and I think that it is partly to do with removing our armour/covers and partly to do with a want to make sure we are not seen as offensive or threatening. I think many of us also care about world wide issues such as the environment because the lifestyle is one that is about going back to nature. I think we are also very understanding and accepting because I think we want to be accepted and have the lifestyle accepted but also because we are aware that underneath all the layers we are pretty much the same. We remove our clothes and open ourselves up to judgement - but we don't want to be judged and so try not to judge back. 

What comes first. I would say we learn things about ourselves, each other and the world when we enter into naturism so it definitely helps to define us and shape us. However, we have to have something of the adventurous, rebellious, romantic, looking for new horizons and a belief that things can be better and that ideas can be turned on their head and confronted face on before heading into naturism in the first place. Maybe we have the sterotypes of naturism within us before we start and naturism allows us to explore these sides of us and allow them to flourish. When we get naked we expose so much more than just our skin. 

I don't know I can add much here.

It could possibly be because naturists in general are more accepting of what is and this tends to manifest itself as tolerance in most spheres. 

I was starting to write about tolerance and it got me thinking about various tangents so I have created a new topic https://www.anaturistworld.com/forums/topic/145/are-naturists-too-tolerant-and-accepting-for-their-own-good

which sort of puts some new questions out there. I think we are very tolerant and I like to think that makes us better people. After all we want people to be tolerant of our nudity which sadly and ridiculously places us in a minority. I do not feel my own personal dislike for something is enough for me to be unaccepting and I think alot of naturists have that attitude - live and let live. My own tolerance comes with a limiter - I don't mind what people do as long as they are not harming, hurting or abusing others. People who damage the reputation of naturism are hurting all of us and abusing the lifestyle.

The trick in many circumstances though is deciding harm - what some people see as harmful others do not.