Steve has written a new Article that is relevant to this subject https://anaturistworld.com/article/men-are-from-earth-women-are-from-earth and we would love to have your thoughts and comments there. But I wonder if upon reading the article it will spur of new angles in this topic?
One thing I thought while reading through the article prior to it going live (we always read, tweak and make suggestions to each others articles and blogs) was how very cruel and prejudice we are being in treating men as second class naturists and giving so much attention to encouraging women. This is only a part of the issue, as we are currently seeing naturism being actively aimed at other sexual orientations and minority groups. While parents, families and children are virtually ignored along with the rejected single man.
Naturism seems to no longer be aimed at a united and equal community but instead at a divided society where some people are seen as more important and valuable than others. Naturism seems to have fallen into the huge cultural trap of thinking that certain groups are more appealing than others and certain groups deserve more attention than others and preferential treatment. The daily idea of living in a world of positive discrimination.
Naturism should be free of these modern trappings, just like it is free of other modern emotional inventions like the need to cover up certain parts of our body, the obsession with clothing, the addiction to nudity and the censorship and sexualisation of the human body. Everything we see in promoting naturism to certain sectors as opposed to all is simply reinforcing these modern preoccupations and ensuring that society is unable to see that naturism actually has a healthy, genuine and natural approach to the human body that is healing, safe and logical. We cannot argue the case for the positives of naturism when we continue to show a lack of equality in naturism and behave like naturism is just as preoccupied with segregation, discrimination, sex and genders as the rest of the modern world.
Equality can only be found when we stop imagining we will find it through inequality.
Mark wrote in https://www.anaturistworld.com/forums/topic/372/online-naturism-finding-equality "I was talking to a female officer from BN this summer about attracting women to naturism. I pondered if the problem would still exist if both men and women appeared the same externally (had the same “bits”). She replied that it would still happen, but the focus of attention would change from the status quo to your legs are too long/short/stubby/etc. I think she is right."
And I thought it was an interesting thought to share here.
Here are more thoughts, and I would love to read yours....
A couple of things come to mind. The first is understanding why there is a problem.
The above quote "the focus of attention would change from the status quo to your legs are too long/short/stubby/etc." seems to me to be suggesting that the problem of bringing women into naturism is self inflicted. That women choose to not be naturists because of how they perceive they look, dissatisfaction with their legs in this scenario.
Yet the popular answer to encouraging more women into naturism seems to be about offering them safe spaces away from men.
If we take the reasoning above and consider it with the current ideas of offering segregation it seems we are trying to find the answer with the solution to a different problem. Giving women safe spaces from men is only a possible solution if women are not choosing naturism because of a fear of men. If they are not choosing naturism because of how they view their bodies then different solutions need to be considered.
Let us imagine the problem is stemmed by a feeling of not being good enough to be seen naked. My legs are too short, for example. The best answer to this is being accepted by everyone, and seeing that there is a whole spectrum of different legs out there and that men, women, old, young, really don't care. Placing yourself in a female only environment will not give you true reassurance, and can actually be more upsetting. It is a lot easier to compare yourself as inferior to other women when in a women only environment, think about single gender (either sex) changing rooms at school. Gender mixing actually encourages people to play nicer, and encourages a better confidence building experience. When we are in a single sex situation we focus more on our single gender comparison differences. rather than our comparison differences across gender.
Now if the issue of women not becoming naturists is based on fearing the behaviour of men then surely looking the same would have to help that. If we were unable to tell the difference between the genders then we wouldn't have to fear being treated badly by men as men would not be able to tell who were the women to treat badly, and women would not be able to tell who were the men they should fear. If we all had the same bits then we would be on a equal footing. Yes we may still feel our legs are too short, but it would be a feeling that was felt by both genders and so would not discourage one gender more than the other.
Unless we are thinking that it is not a physical thing at all, but an emotional thing. That women worry more about how they look than men. If that is true there has to be reasons for that. Upbringing: are girls encouraged to be pretty by parents? are they encouraged to be vain? are they encouraged to be more confident if they look a certain way? and social: are women told by the media that they should look a certain way and behave a certain way? Do both genders then learn to see women as sex objects? Do women both resent being an object of attraction that but also yearn to be an object of attraction. The length of your legs only matter if you think they matter: if you compare your legs to others and feel jealousy, or want others to look at your legs and be attracted to them.
If we looked the same the need for society and parents to place a stronger emphasis on how a women looks over how a man looks would not exist in the first place, so the whole scenario of upbringing and learning wouldn't exist. The emphasis on how to choose a partner would be based on other things like intelligence, kindness, sense of humour etc. We wouldn't have a cross gender issue to consider within naturism, because our bodies wouldn't matter in the same way. Yes we may still feel some people are in better shape than others, but that wouldn't be a specific gender issue, so it wouldn't be a concern to the male/female ratio in naturism.
We also have to remember that men also carry such fears of inadequacy. Not tall enough, not muscular enough, their penis is too small etc. So we have to ask why this doesn't have an equal effect on those joining naturism.
I think the problems we face in answering these questions is that we carry with us thousands of years of experience and learning. If we were made the same we would have a whole history of different learning.
Most of the issues we face as society are based on concentrating on our differences. We place huge importance on the breasts and genitals because they place differences between the genders. Social problems develop because of differences, and not just gender, but differences in religion, skin colour and so forth. It is places the importance on differences rather than similarities that creates the divide. We are encouraged to trust the familiar. To fear the differences.
And this is getting worse. We are creating bigger divides in society. Women are being encouraged to hate and fear men simply because they are men, children are being brought up to fear adults. It feels that there is a greater level of value put on our differences in colour, religion, and sexual orientation than ever before. We are pushing society into groups based on differences rather than bringing us together based on our shared humanity.
Naturism seems to me to be following these growing trends. Offering segregation over integration, even if the arguments for it make no sense. It is because it is expected. If naturism isn't seen to offer adult only and reject families, if it isn't seen to offer LGBT or female only events it is not following modern trends and so fears that it looks out of sync with the whole world and (unnecessarily) fears the rejection of various aspects of society if it doesn't encourage segregation. But naturism is not about trendy fears, it is about traditional values. Naturism is also about turning the expected on its head. We have been out of sync for over 100 years in suggesting that we can be naked without concern. And a vitally important aspect of that nudity is that it is across all people men, women, children, grandparents etc it is the ability to be naked without it being an issue that is the learning experience of naturism. The whole point is that we do not have to worry about differences, sexuality, genders, age and body parts. The complete opposite to segregation.
If we want to attract more women to naturism, we need to encourage an understanding of safety and respect. We need to encourage an understanding of body parts and body shapes and sizes do not matter, and that is better done by positive integration across the whole spectrum of society. We need to remind people that modern concerns can be ignored in naturism, instead of pandering to them.
Over the years, I’ve had countless conversations with naturists—newcomers, veterans, hesitant partners, confident nudists, and everyone in between. The question keeps coming back: do men and women actually experience naturism differently? And just behind it, often whispered, hides another: what about jealousy?
After living this lifestyle for so long, here’s what I’ve seen again and again.
Most people don’t arrive in naturism neutral. We carry our culture on our shoulders.
Not because they want attention—quite the opposite. Society trains women to expect judgment, comparison, and unwanted eyes. So the idea of stepping into a space where everyone is naked can feel like stepping into a spotlight.
Decades of warnings—“don’t stare, don’t look creepy, don’t be inappropriate”—follow men everywhere. In a naturist space, that pressure can intensify: “Will people think I’m here for the wrong reason?”
These starting points are different, but they both come from the same societal misunderstanding: that nudity automatically equals sexuality.
This is what should be the core focus when we want to recruit more naturists!
because once accepted, naturism destroys the sexual myth very quickly.
One of the most beautiful things about naturism is how rapidly those initial fears dissolve. Give most people five minutes—sometimes ten—and everything softens.
People fall into the same rhythm:
stretching out in the sun,
swimming,
chatting,
walking along the shore,
reading,
grilling,
hiking,
simply being.
Once the clothes are off, the behaviour becomes almost identical. There’s no “female naturist activity” or “male naturist reaction.” It’s just humans living without barriers.
Naturism strips away performance—no fashion, no coded signals, no status games. Gender matters far less than people imagine.
This is the part most people are too embarrassed to bring up, yet it sits quietly under the surface of many partners’ reluctance.
When someone says, “I don’t want to see other naked people,” they’re rarely talking about nudity itself. They’re talking about what they fear the nudity represents.
From years of listening, it’s almost always one of these:
Being surrounded by naked bodies can trigger old insecurities:
“I don’t look like them.”
“I’m too old / too soft / too whatever.”
This pressure is especially strong for people who’ve been judged by appearance most of their lives.
This is the raw, honest form of jealousy. Not sexual jealousy—emotional jealousy.
Questions like:
“Will my partner find someone else more attractive?”
“If everyone is naked, is my nudity still special?”
“Will he look at others in a way that hurts me?”
These fears are normal. They don’t make someone “not a naturist.” They make them human.
Outside naturism, nudity is sexualized everywhere—ads, media, culture.
People imagine chaos: staring, flirting, ****** tension.
Then they step into a real naturist place and realize…it’s calmer than most textile beaches.
It’s funny—we expect the opposite. But naturism has a way of dissolving jealousy instead of feeding it.
Why?
No posturing.
No performative bodies.
No seductive swimsuits.
Just people inhabiting their skins.
When you see bodies of all ages, shapes, and textures, the fantasy of “perfect bodies everywhere” disappears immediately.
Your couple becomes stronger, more honest, more grounded.
Especially women. I’ve heard this dozens of times: “I actually feel less judged here than at a regular beach.”
That’s the quiet power of naturism: it reveals truths instead of hiding them.
Because they’re carrying different cultural fears.
Because naturism levels human beings. Bodies stop being weapons or trophies or anxieties. They become… normal. Men and women end up behaving the same, relaxing the same, and enjoying the same freedom.
The real differences lie in the emotional luggage we bring—not in how we live once we’re naked.
If jealousy or discomfort shows up, there’s nothing wrong. It’s part of the journey. What works best is simple:
Choice equals safety.
A naked walk at home.
A private nook in nature.
A clothing-optional resort where a sarong or robe is perfectly OK.
Understanding always beats persuasion.
Men and women aren’t that different once they’re in naturism. What differs is the emotional conditioning they carry on the way in—comparison, insecurity, fear of being seen, fear of being judged, fear of losing connection.
Naturism, lived honestly, tends to soften all of that. It brings people back to themselves. And it brings couples back to each other.
Because once the clothes are gone, the only things left are honesty, presence, and humanity. And those are the foundations of trust—not barriers to it.
Get Nude, Stay Nude, Live Nude and Share the Nude Love!
