Today I read a newsletter from a naturist body that states "The fact that more clubs and venues are becoming interested in sponsoring women-only events is fantastic."

I can understand the argument that women may find it safe to first try naturism among other women rather than in a mixed group. A stepping stone to genuine naturism - a stepping stone experience that we have maybe lost in as much as nudity in sports, swimming pools and school changing rooms - shops even used to have large shared fitting rooms.

It is surely understandable that women may find it easier getting used to the judgement of other women before being naked in front of men. Though peers are also often the toughest judges of their comrades. It is much easier for a person uncomfortable with their body to compare their perceived inadequacies to others that they may consider direct competition. 

But isn't it the case that naturism teaches us that no one really judges each other but accepts each other - we are all equally perfect or imperfect depending on your attitude.

I also wonder if segregated events are continuing and feeding an unnatural attitude towards nudity that naturism should be combatting. Should naturism not be encouraging integration - should we be saying - it doesn't matter what gender we are? After all naturism teaches us that everyone is equal in a naked situation.  

There is an irony that as the world looks at removing genders from other aspects of society that naturism is encouraging a stronger gender differentiation. Actors and actresses may be up against each other in the Oscars but not in naturism. 

Is there not also the case that many people today are looking more and more at transgender topics, sexual orientation and some individuals may wish to not be considered as women even though traditionally they would have been seen as such, and others may wish to see themselves as women who traditionally would not have been considered as such.  How does such segregated events allow for such ideas? 

The idea that single sex events can remove any sexual tension - is also surely not the case. 

Segregation of for example females may work well for those that are not in a relationship or not wishing to be in a male/female relationship, but what about those with male partners or those with children. Are we not in danger of not encouraging these individuals to try naturism as a couple or family? Try naturism with the people who they love the most and trust the most? Do any of these segregated events allow women to bringing their babies and children with them - even if their partners are not welcome?

Black and white, male and female, sexual orientation, age, religion, ethnicity - are they important in naturist terms and if we consider them important are we in danger of losing our perception of true equality and integration and failing on some level?

By suggesting that women are safer apart from men - are we not putting thoughts of danger in their heads and maybe setting up a new trend. Will we see more and more events, locations and venues directed to a specific group. Women, men, LGBT, couples and families areas on beaches!  We are already seeing less and less opportunities for families and children - as naturism continues to steer itself suicidally to an 18+ lifestyle. A hand full of family opportunities are not the solution but merely a way of pretending that naturism still cares about families. Surely the only solution is full integration. 

So are segregated events wonderful opportunities to encourage new naturists or in danger of confusing and damaging the growth of naturism? What do you think?

The world at the moment is a very divided place, where a minority appear to hold sway with their opinions over the majority, especially when it comes to the heated topics of gender, sex, trans, and women, it appears men are not to be mentioned, as they are painted as the oppressor of everything, and we feel it is a very pervasive and dangerous mindset. For some time, it appears like it has been creeping into naturism, which in itself goes against the narrative of what naturism is, and what it should be, which is “inclusive to all.”

 

Being naked has nothing at all to do with your gender, race, colour, or sexuality, naturism is the bridge that for decades has set the example of what every aspect of life should be, which as stated above, is open to everyone who wants to participate, and there is a rich history of proof to back that up, and yet select groups are being told you may not be safe unless we stick together, and to be honest it is rubbish.

 

There are bad actors is every aspect of life today, and we are sure there may be one or two within naturism, but we are of the opinion, that as naturists, it is our duty to weed them out and protect and preserve what for us is the core value of what naturism should be, which is inclusion.

 

Bare Oaks in Canada we feel considers this and has a sensible way of dealing with it, as it is open to all, and yet it does have a section that allows for only women, who may feel a little uncertain and vulnerable. It works, it allows those people a place to settle down, talk and then garner the courage to take small steps into the wider community, and this allows for positive integration into all other aspects of their site. It is a common sense policy that works, why is naturism not watching and learning in the UK.

 

It appears to us that we have reached a point in society where we are too quick to be offended and outraged, and as a knee jerk response, many are adopting these pervasive ideas and implementing them without full consideration, and if left unchecked, it will corrode what has for decades been an open and friendly, welcoming past time, and as naturists all of us should do everything we can to speak out in support of full inclusion for all, regardless of who they are.

 

There is no greater example of this in action today than ANW, which has built a community on equality and respect, as all of us have been welcomed in with complete acceptance and been given a place where we can communicate as equals. It is a shining example of what naturism should be, and we would say, if you are involved with a club, or part of a group, or involved with organising an event, follow the lead of ANW and welcome everyone with warmth, for that is the true naturist way.

 

It is worrying that society is acting so blindly in this respect. Everyone I speak to seems concerned that the attitudes that appear to be created to encourage a better understanding are actually creating more distrust, anger, bitterness and hate. I honestly believe that the world is becoming more racist, sexist, ageist,  homophobic despite it being so "trended against." The media may love force feeding us propaganda about how equal and accepting society is becoming - but that is worryingly a view that is actually more and more fake. It is the same with the whole body acceptance movement. We can pretend that society is changing but it is mainly patronising articles or articles attempting to show fairness that are surrounded by proof that all forms of media are still obsessed with their perceived ideals. It is just ticking boxes to appear like things have changed rather than things having actually changed. But it is the very pretence that seems to force a fake perception and it is breeding contempt. The best way towards equality and acceptance is to stop pointing fingers and stop placing people outside of a place of importance.

How can my son be told by a career advice officer that because he is a white English male he will struggle to find a job? While society places colour, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability as a matter of importance in our work place, our school place, our communities then there will always be an underlying awareness of difference, an imbalance. All lives matter, all people deserve equality, all people deserve a fair crack at the whip, all deserve to be trusted - and unless they prove otherwise that trust should be based purely on their character, skills and ability. We cannot live in a world of ratios and ticking boxes. The best person for the job each and every time. The best society we can build - no matter what. Equality for everyone is the only way and the current trends are missing the point completely. If an article states the point that the person in the article is for arguments sake a plus sized woman - then it says several things - an article about large women is unusual, large women need special recognition, large women are shocking, large women are different to just "women," and the woman in the article is being chosen simply because she is large. This does nothing to help with the acceptance of the size of women. Do it too regularly and it makes smaller women feel unfairly treated and long term will make these women want to become large, do it rarely and it makes large women an obstacle of interest- almost worse than not doing it at all. 

These articles should simply not care - surely there is more to the article than the fact that the woman is large - and if there isn't then that just reinforces all of the above. Integrate large women into media without it being forced and without underlining it and without ignoring other size women and that is equality - equality that allows the woman to be of interest for who she is and not how she looks. This is the same with all aspects of society. We have to stop expressing an unnatural interest in differences to find equality. When I read an article do I care about what minorities or majorities the person is in - no I do not I care about whether the article is interesting. We should not ignore injustice and inequality that exists in places around the world - we need to combat that - but these are topics that need confronting honestly and placed into context. If a man beats his dog in one country it is unfair for the dogs in another country to be biting the innocent and fair hand that feeds them. 

Here at ANW I hope everyone feels welcome. All that really matters is that we are all here with a mutual love of naturism - other differences just add to the spectrum of who we are and what we may talk about and the personal histories we bring to the community. 

I can see how women only events may be a safe step towards naturism for some women - but I do think the learning curve of naturism and the actual way society real works is being ignored. The joy is actually that we are all naked together. A naturist woman isn't safe because she is kept distant from men, a naturist woman is safe because naturists are decent people - fair people - caring people. If an individual breaks that trust - them it doesn't matter if they are a man or woman - they are causing harm and hurting naturism and unwelcome. 

I worry about the amount of families in naturism. If we attempt to just that the way forward is to segregate families from non families then what is that teaching the families, the children and the non-naturists looking at our lifestyle? One easy suggestion is that children in naturism need protecting from perverts. And that is exactly why naturism has had protests, that some people feel naturism is not for families and why promoting naturism as a family friendly lifestyle is happening less and less. Suggesting women are better off segregated is possibly putting more women off naturism than encouraging them. As it begs the question why? And some of the possible answers are very negative. So would a woman want to bother? Would a woman want to take that risk?

For me naturism needs to be promote as universal - open to all - and the starting point of trust in the lifestyle has to come from an awareness that it is suitable for families. Until that point is recognised then we cannot really move forward with strengthening our acceptance. 

Anna said as much in a woman's live debate and one woman replied - Well you want families in naturism because you have children! - this is exactly the problem isn't it. Everyone thinks that each of our life set ups should make a difference. 

I have no children so let's look at adult only events. I don't trust men so let's look at women only events. 

We are already a minority - we have to consider all and that includes majorities - families make up a huge proportion of society. If I didn't have children I would not be blind to this fact. The existence of children and families also ensure that behaviour is suitable for all - and that is a good thing to keep firmly in our minds. For non-naturists it helps to clarify certain concerns.

If we want the best for the positive growth of naturism we need to forget segregation and look at ensuring that all are welcome and all are fully involved. Society has to stop ignoring majorities and it has to stop make such a big deal about our differences. 

If women want to hang together at a club for a chat, or families want to connect so children can play - that makes sense - but keeping others away to allow such things to happen only breeds mistrust and contempt. As a society we learn to trust and accept each other by integrating. Women will only trust being naked with men if they get to do so, children will only learn to understand how to behave in larger society if they get the opportunity to do so. We will only learn to become less prejudice and accept equality if we are allowed to meet everyone on equal terms and recognise them for who they are and not what they are.

It is a year since anyone added to this topic and the subject of inclusion and segregation is one that has been brought back to Steve and me while working together to compile the results of the recent ANW survey. 

Although many people can see a relevance in segregating as a way of making people more comfortable in their first tasters of naturism and to ensure they feel they have a placed in naturism it seems that the concerns outweigh the positives, and there is a need to state that it should only be used as a way of starting people on their naturist journey, that it should be rare and never allowed to be the norm.

Lots of people over and over again have said things like age doesn't matter, gender doesn't matter and the concern of it creating a fake approach to naturism that is fundamentally undermining and damaging is a common thread. Does Adult Only lead naturism to be sexualised? Does it create the wrong idea to those exploring naturism? Does Under 30 take naturism into a dating and rave environment? Does Women Only suggest men cannot be trusted?  And none of these encourage families and actually put families off.

Real naturism is about inclusion. It is about showing that we can be naked as a mixed group in a completely appropriate fashion. These experiences may allow people to be naked but do they allow people to try naturism? Eating a slice of bread  is not the same as eating a slice of toast. It seems many people appreciate the intention of these concepts but feel that even considering them is a sad sign of the current situation that naturism and society finds itself in and that taking such steps is a desperate measure that doesn't represent true naturism, doesn't solve the issues and will probably lead to further segregation, further damage, further confusion and continued undermining of the true nature and understanding of naturism. 

One of the things that came up within the positives shared in the survey - in reference to clubs, venues, national bodies and very much with ANW - was the importance so many people place on inclusion, acceptance, being made welcome, community, respect and simply sharing naturism with a whole range of other people. This seems to be at the heart of what people want from naturism and what they value in naturism and segregation is moving away from these values.

I look forward to hearing your views - and we will share the full results of the survey very soon - we have almost completed collecting in and presenting all the data.  

I may sound like a broken record, but what I love about naturism is respect. However, respect is what this world has lost. Respect for oneself (eating junk food, not exercising, asking without giving back...), respect for others (my rights are more important than yours, you're guilty for what your people 100 years ago did to my people...), respect for the environment (I don't care because nobody does, somebody will clean after me...). When you lose respect, you lose everything IMHO. With respect comes curiosity, understanding, care and love. Without respect comes entitlement, selfishness, rejection and hate. With populism rising acrose the planet, we see less and less respect and more and more hatred. However, I want to be optimist and naturism helps me with this, as naturism needs to cultivate respect, simplicity and love, and could become a leading force for a peaceful world.