I am a "new boy" to this forum and I'm just exploring and getting the hang of it. I came across this thread which is of great interest to me. Over the past few years, a decade or so, we (in the UK) have made enormous progress, largely due to the Section 66 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the later College of Policing Guidelines on naturism and Public Nudity. These made it very clear that simple, non-sexual nudity is entirely lawful. There followed an unofficial "movement" with the aim of "normalising nudity. Naturist, or nude, hiking became increasingly popular and many started moving beyond the usual 'naturist' beaches. We started to come out from behind our high hedges and warning notices. I have been nude walking (solo) for some 10 years. To my pleasant surprise, I found (as have many others) that the great majority of passers-by have no problem with it at all; most greet me cheerfully, or return my "Good morning" often with a quip. Yes, this includes women, lone or not. Yet there are some on other naturist forums who still insist that "people will be offended/upset/ threatened/turn nasty" however much the actual nude walkers tell them it rarely happens. Of course a few disapprove and blank you, but not many. Of course we don't walk naked down the High Street or go nude on Margate beach on Bank Holiday Monday but overall, at least in the UK, (and in my experience warm Spanish islands) the public are considerably more accepting than might be thought. We need to keep it up!
Absolutely Jon. Most people pick up on behaviour, attitude and character and ignore the state of dress - only caring about it if they feel uncomfortable in other ways.
Steve and I were once talking at an event about the lack of families on naturist beaches today we were assured that naturist families still exist but that they do not go to beaches because they cannot be protected on the beaches by organised naturism. Our thought is: why do they need protection? Are naturist families in danger if they go to beaches? Certainly not in our experience. Yes we had the protests 5/6 years ago but they were at organised events and not on public beaches.
Like you we have read on other forums that independent naturism will be met with negative behaviour from the public. "If you organise an unofficial group picnic on a beach we cannot guarantee your safety." I fear that part of this is to keep naturism limited to ticket sale experiences only, and if this is true then it is a foolish approach to take. The more we get out and show the public that naturism is a harmless, pleasant and healthy life choice the more we encourage others to try it, and the more others try it, the more people will be looking to buy naturist experiences.
As you say "we need to keep it up!" It stands to reason that the more we inspire other men, women, couples and families to step out from the fences and onto the beaches and hikes then the greater the trust in naturism will grow and the more we will see others follow suit. The best way for naturism (or anything else) to promote itself is for people to see other people being naturists. Our visible naturism sells naturism just as a person wearing a jumper with NEXT plastered across the front advertises Next to the people he/she passes. Seeing other people buying into something works better than any media based marketing campaign. We become walking billboards.
I live in the USA where being accused of being naked can have devastating consequences. Therefore we have to be very circumspect much as I would like to "get out and show the public that naturism is a harmless, pleasant and healthy life choice" ;o(
However I read this quote from our sheriff that “the sound of a gunshot doesn’t equal a crime” and wondered what it would take for him and his officers to realise that seeing a naked person also did not equal a crime ?
