I thought I would introduce this topic on International Women's Day. 

Anna has written a brilliant Article https://www.anaturistworld.com/article/45809/women-and-naturism

and I want to open up some of those thoughts here. 

Are societies failing to encourage women by concentrating too much on the body confidence and personal growth side of things? Not to be discouraged but it isn't something all women are looking for. Is segregating society become too powerful a trend? Shouldn't we be looking at connecting through our similarities than always looking at aiming at specific target groups through their differences?

Are naturist bodies too guilty of ignoring families? Most women of a certain age will have children to consider and although retired naturist have more time on their hands we should be looking at younger generations to lead to greater growth. 

Should we be making campaigns to specifically find women? Can these campaigns actually make women wonder why the need is there? Should we concentrate on encouraging all positive growth in naturism and ignore gender? Would not a simple and more positive understanding of naturism encourage all people to the lifestyle? 

Should our main concern be distancing ourselves for the sexualisation of naturism (especially on the internet) which will put off many people from becoming naturists - not just women, but families and men. 

Please share you thoughts.

Reading through Anna’s post there’s a couple of observations I’d make.

 

The first is around media and the powerful hypnotic effect it has on people. By it’s very nature, television in particular, grabs your whole attention. It holds you in a passive trance while it transmits to you what’s wrong in the world. It reinforces the social mores of gender and racial segregation. It reinforces a given version of reality suggesting to you that life is an unfair struggle. You are inferior and unhappy. You need what the advertisers are peddling to feel good about yourself. Printed media reinforces this with a wilful focus on doom and gloom.

Simply unplugging from these information sources for a few weeks will quickly transform your perspective of the world. Hand in hand with engaging with nature you’ll soon discover a whole new version of reality where virtually anything is possible. The power of imagination and possibility returns to you just as it was when you were a kid.

The second observation is about abuse as a child which I too suffered in immeasurable ways.

It’s certainly an experience that can stay with someone a very long time. It need not define you, nor does it need to forever shape one’s thinking or behaviour.

It’s taken the better part of my life to free myself of the many impacts, but given time, the wisdom of reflection and the ability to wholly accept and love myself unconditionally, it’s been possible to free myself from victimhood.

What I see are not abusers but victims. I feel great remorse and sympathy for those people because unlike me, they’ve not freed themselves. They have continued to suffer. They live in the constant state of self loathing, anguish and unhappiness without ever understanding why.

Based on these two observations alone how is it possible to give everyone a red pill to wake them up from the illusionary reality they’ve been convinced of?

 

I think at best we live a different version of reality. I kind of fell out of naturism for 3-4 years. More accurately I fell out of the social aspects of naturism for a while.

What drew me back in was quite ordinary people talking about their discovery of naturism. I also noticed in part the face of naturism has changed a little over the last decade.

 

Younger people are getting involved on their terms in their way. They are owning their bodies.

Many haven’t grown up with traditional prejudices. They possibly had more open minded liberal parents.

 

Whatever the case may be I think the way forward, the answer to this question of inclusion is complete redefinition of what naturism is. In actual fact, a redeclaration of what it was originally intended to be.

 

A healthy wholesome pursuit of wellbeing through immersion in nature and balanced living in tune with the seasons and elements.

 

Naturism should be a regular way of living, not a special activity one goes out of their way to do at a club or special venue. Embedded into one’s life there is a place for clubs and venues, but they shouldn’t be the epicentre of engaging in naturism.

 

I’m certain that part of the benefit and healing process naturism can bring to a world suffering the abuses of wholesale exploitation, is ingraining it into everyday life in as many ways as possible.

 

People in the west have taken up yoga, mindfulness and meditation over the last couple of decades in their droves. Maybe 5% benefit because it isn’t just something in their diary they cram in. Not an app on their phone that reminds them to breath.

 

Naturism has a place on that list for similar reasons. It’s a way of discovering a more connected way of living. That’s what women, families and all demographics need to understand. Don’t just be a vegetarian or vegan. Be a naturist.

You want to be mindful? Be a naturist. Reconnect with a serene version of reality.

I agree people should not be defined by their abuse, and sadly I feel the media and things like Me Too encourage that. Self harm is no longer something done in private by individuals in pain, but also done a a symbolic badge by those after attention - which of the two types are actually hurting the most? The quiet sufferer or the person so desperate to appear troubled? 

I think abuse is something that you can deal with and contextualise and stop allowing it to effect your everyday life, but with any childhood trauma, it is always there in some way, no matter how well you deal with it. It is impossible to be the person you are today with out the after effects of the past, and the earlier things happen the more the waves of effects are built into your core. Also the negative changes abuse takes to your journey before you come to terms with it has other knock on effects. Secrets in the family, damage to the family, choosing the wrong friends or partners, self harm, drugs, drink, bad behaviour in school, lack of interest in school, sexual promiscuity, sexual frigidity, weight/eating disorders, continuing the cycle of abuse yourself, choosing people who will do it for you....it effects people in a myriad of different ways so not only do they have the abuse to put into context but also the after effects. No matter how balanced and happy I become it will always be a part of me, there will always be the memories, there will always be the loss of my childhood, the healing has taken place, the internal scars fade but like real scars remnants remain. Learning to live with them and not for them is the trick.

Media likes to live with them, constantly picking, making the scars rebleed and never heal. Hate, damage, anger, resentment, paranoia, social problems. They want victims of child abuse, victims of rape, victims of hate crime, racial, gender or sexual inequalities to shout and shout and shout. No answers just segregation. No positives just negatives. Turn the suffering into fame, wear it like a badge, join forums, groups, websites and stir it up - but with no answers, no plasters. Supermarkets, art galleries, even naturist bodies jump on the band wagon. By showing support and loyalty - it gives them credibility. Adverts used to be "Are you suffering from dandruff? then buy Scalpo-clean." today it is "Are you a (add a minority group of your choosing) then shop at/buy/join/we love you."

The media doesn't encourage us to hate the child abusers because it doesn't encourage us to understand who they are, it doesn't really even encourage us to hate the crime. Media encourages us to hate each other. All men, all celebrities. The national lottery used to say "It could be you" with abuse we are asked to believe - "it could be everyone." Despite all the PC behaviour and acceptance of everyone's differences. No film or TV show can be made today without a cast from all cultures, races, sexual orientation, abilities ....We seem to be becoming more and more hate filled and mistrusting every day. Because we are asked to consider everything as an insult to everyone. We are becoming more and more distanced from equality because we have pulled past the positive movements to equality and snapped the spring. 

My son is in senior school at the moment and he sees children every day attempting to fit into the new cool. Wanting to appear to count. But it isn't about watching the latest soap or comedy on TV or listening to the right music. It isn't even about smoking behind the bike sheds. It is about liking boys and girls, it is about going on social apps and making out you are depressed or mistreated by your parents, it is about wishing your skin was a different colour or hating your parents not because they are embarrassing but because they aren't divorced, aren't from a ethnic group or don't have same sex relationships. His contemporaries all want to have eating disorders, have scars on the arms, have emotional labels to excuse them from whatever mistakes they may opt to make. Far from encouraging people to all count, we have encouraged the majority to think they don't. It was wrong that in years gone by teenagers would get picked on for being the wrong colour or liking the wrong sex, but today far from saying it doesn't matter, teenagers are encouraged to believe it matters more than ever.

The problem is that it makes issues worse.

The hate filled vandals of today have their violence supported because they do it hidden behind trendy issues. White male skinheads destroy things and say they are doing it to fight racism or fight child abuse. Thugs protest outside naturist events making out they are trying to safeguard children. Riots break out at the drop of a hat, people are employed because they fit statistically equality rather than simply because they are the best person for the job, real victims of crime are lost in a sea of copycat victims wanting to get in on the act. Real abusers escape the limelight as abuse claims are thrown at the rich and famous. People lose credibility because of the people they know or the things they may have said, an innocent moment taken out of context can destroy a life. People are ostracised not from guilt, but from a need for people to protect their own careers by not going near anyone who has had the slightest bit of bad press - even if they are completely innocent. The world has never been so politically incorrect and yet it is in complete denial. There is so much stupidity around the whole situation that no matter how well intentioned it may appear it is doing harm. 

International women's day is no exception, it could be used to bring our attention to real global issues, but so much time is spent on random hatred of men that they serious issues are lost. Just like the real self harmers, racial victims, abused children are ignored while others shout out louder and create such a choppy sea that the weak are likely to drown with out being noticed. 

Naturism needs women, but that is so obvious it seems almost bizarre to mention it. By concentrating on suffering women, it ignores (just like the rest of media and the school playground) all those other women who aren't suffering. How many average women, with average husbands and 2.4 children are feeling rejected by naturism? Naturism does offer brilliant help for body confidence, body awareness, emotional support etc- we can not ignore that - but primarily it is natural, instinctive positive fun. All women and everyone else need to be aware of that. 

Society, naturism and the media need to stop people feeling inadequate simply because they are boring and normal. We need to reinvent normal - that you are normal no matter what colour, gender, sexuality, size etc. We are all uniquely and wonderfully normal. Just as we need to stop worrying about normalising nudity - when it already is so very normal. If we want equality, respect and fairness we have to stop highlighting some as more important than others. If we want naturism to grow we have to welcome everyone equally. The world would be a much better place if we actually started liking each other rather than being forced to by one hand of the media while the other hand encourages hate and mistrust.