f you enjoy this article and feel inspired then you may find that ANW is the perfect internet platform for you to celebrate your love of naturism. ANW celebrates the freedom and natural independence that naturism offers but also recognises the importance that national federations and local clubs holds in the naturist community - our past, present and future. We have a passion for naturism and invite anyone who feels the same to join us. 


Introduction

We had 942 responses (we didn't take part) with 46% from the UK, 29% from North America, 12% from Australia and New Zealand, 10% from other European countries, and 3% from across Asia, Africa and South America. The survey was anonymous with members being able to leave their username and contact if they wished. The differentiation between UK and USA responses is quite interesting because the membership on ANW of people for both countries is approximately the same. About 27% of ANW members are from the UK.

What was nice to see was that all those that took part in the survey took it seriously. A testament to naturism and the ANW community. We would imagine most surveys completed on line would have a selection of rude, silly and sarcastic replies that would lead to a discrepancy in the reliability of the results.

Beaches

We asked about favourite beaches. There was a lot of beaches with a few votes but a few were more popular than others.

Armands beach in Australia. In the USA Gunnison, New Jersey, Black's Beach, California, Haulover and Blind Creek in Florida, and Little beach in Hawaii. Wreck beach got the most votes in Canada. Orient beach in St Martin. In Europe with so many beaches to chose from on Serignan in France and Vera Playa in Spain really stood out. Morfa Dyffryn, Pedn Vounder and Holkham scored well in the UK, but by far the most popular beach of the entire survey was Studland Beach in Devon.

We asked the 34% who said they didn't visit beaches: Why Not? 3% said they did not like beaches, 8% blamed bad behaviour; many explained that it was the behaviour of those that are not naturists rather than other naturists, 63% said distance was an issue which included some who had no naturist beaches in their country and 26% explained that they found access too difficult; interestingly many mentioned the ease of access when they listed their favourite beach.

Landed Clubs

We asked the respondents if they were members of a landed naturist club. 75% said they were not. The votes for the other 25% were a healthy mix from all over the world including Africa, various European countries, Australia and Canada. A high percentage of the respondents from New Zealand and the USA were members of landed clubs. Club membership in the UK was not so high. No individual club stood out in the survey though some clubs were surprisingly absent.

We asked those who were club members what the clubs did right. Year round activities, family friendly events, being welcoming and friendly and having well kept grounds and facilities all scored high. The ability to be naked and the encouragement of nudity many seem obvious but it was regularly mentioned . As was the ability to be with other like minded people and being in a secure and monitored environment.

When asking those who were landed club members what the club did wrong the idea that the clubs had too many rules, were clique and elitist and didn't promote themselves and naturism adequately were see as issues. Tired and dated facilities also caused complaint. Putting the above positive of nudity into context several people complained too many people wearing clothes too often. A need for more families and young members was a common concern.

Those that were members of landed clubs voted on cost of membership: 46% thought fees were fair while only 11% thought the fees were not fair, with 43% remaining neutral.

When we asked those that were not members of landed clubs to vote on why not. 9% quoted fees, 69% saw distance as a problem, 4% complained that they did not like the rules and the way their local club was run and 18% said they were unable to join because of being single men.

The most common additional reason was the idea that the respondent wouldn't use the club enough to make it worth while, that they were too busy or preferred to travel to different places.

Non-Landed Clubs

We asked the survey if they were members of non-landed clubs. 52% said they were not. The remaining respondents shared a huge range of clubs that they had joined around the world. Once again none particularly stood out as more popular than others. A lot of members in the UK registered as being part of local swims confirming how important these are to naturists through the year. It would be nice if everyone could have a naturist swim within a sensible distance of their homes.

When asked about the prime reason for joining. 36% voted that it was because of it being Local Community based, 16% because the Club was based on another Secondary interest such as Motorbiking, 35% that it involved travelling to different Naturist Venues and 14% that it was Meet Ups at Members Homes. Other reasons shared included the lack of nearby landed clubs, the ability to organise walks and beach visits and most popular the ability to connect with like minded people.

Those respondents who were not part of a non-landed club were asked if they would join one if there was one available to them in the future. 39% said Yes, 54 voted Maybe and only 7% said No.

National Bodies

The response to national body membership was a 50/50 split with 3 more members saying No.

Those that were members of national bodies were asked to share what they thought the organisations were doing right. The overwhelming response was that their mere existence heightened the awareness of naturism in that country helping to inform, campaign and advocate naturism. The second most popular reason was providing information on clubs and events in that country. Legal protection was next with organising events being the other noticeable reason.

When asked what they do wrong the members of these bodies were a lot more vocal! The biggest concern was the internal politics, bureaucracy and the idea that the organisations were run to pamper to the egos of a elite few: often words like condescending, thought police, too controlling were used. Concerns that they mistreat their members, they ignore the needs and wants of the members, not interested in individuals kept being repeated. The second highest complaint was that they are not visible enough and do not do enough to promote naturism in their country. Next was the concern that they do not do enough for families. The worry that they are not interested in some regions of their country was next, Then that the fees are too high and they seem profit driven. That they do not do enough for local clubs and seem more interested in promoting foreign holidays. Sadly the idea “that they don't do anything right” was mentioned far too often. The idea that they are attempting to be too woke was mentioned several times, the concern of over segregating was also brought up several times. Other regularly repeated ideas were that they are too interested in organising events and not in naturism as a lifestyle and that they no longer respect real naturism.

It seems through many of the comments that lots of people opt to be members of their national body simply because it exists and they feel they should show support to naturism in their country irrespective of the failings they see. Better to support a national body that lets them down than not have one at all, there is a sad logic in that, but it should not be that way. There is no drive for them to put their failing right if they know they will be supported no matter what.

It is worth noting that the bodies in certain countries scored much higher in the positives and others scored much higher in the negatives, which is why some of the positive issues are also seen as failings. We would be happy to chat with any representatives of national bodies about how they faired in the survey. Just drop us a line at [email protected].

We asked those respondents who were not members of their national body why not? 18% said cost, 8% said they were not happy with their national body, 12% said that they were not aware of their country having a national body and 62% said that they had no reason to join. Many of those that left extra comments stated that they had been been a member and had left due to being disappointed.

Naturist Holidays

53% said that they had been on a naturist holiday. 47% said that they had not.

Those that had been shared their favourite venues. Many different locations around the world with Charco Palo and Vera Playa both registering as high. La Jenny, EuroNat, Lake Como and Cypress Cove also stood out as popular venues.

When asked what these venues did right the most popular answers were in descending order: friendly and welcoming, the quality of the rooms and facilities, family friendly, totally naturist, beach nearby, being in nature and lots of activities.

When asked what they did wrong the most popular complaints were: overpriced, appearing dated and run down, areas and times when clothing was expected, allowing non-naturists in and taking on a sexualised nature.

We asked those who hadn't been on a naturist holiday why not? 7% said cost, 67% referred to personal circumstance (such as single person or partner not being interested) and 26% said

distance was an issue.

51% of voters said they preferred to holiday in their own country and 49% said they preferred to holiday abroad.

The Naturist Year

We asked the survey how many days they estimated that they enjoyed naturism through the year.

20% said 0-49, 11% said 50-99, 14% said 100-149, 8% said 150-199, 6% said 200-249, 6% said 250-299 and 35% said 300 plus.

Cold Days

The vote on whether you put on clothes and turn up the heating on cold days was a 50/50 split with only three more people opting for clothing.

Naturist Gardening

61% of the survey said they enjoyed gardening naked. 9% said they had no garden and 30% said that naked gardening was an issue due to privacy.

Telling Family and Friends

54.5% said they told some of their family and friends about their naturism and 45.5% said they did not. 33% of those feared disapproval, 8% feared embarrassment, 22% said they had difficulty approaching the subject and 37% said that a reason to talk about it had not arisen.

General Social Media

The split between those that shared naturism on general social media was again split 50/50 with 3 more members of the survey saying they didn't. Those that don't explained why. 36% said they do not use general social media, 33% said they did not want their naturism to be common knowledge and 31% said they did not want the negative attention that sharing naturism would bring them for other social media users.

 




Adult Only Events

We asked the survey what they thought about adult only events. 26% thought they were good for naturism, 32% were undecided and 42% thought they were bad for naturism.

When asked to shared reasons behind their vote. The most common response was that the priority should be placed on families and the similar idea of children are the future of naturism. Many thought it gives the wrong impression of naturism and some were convinced that adult only meant Sex! Others were against segregation saying naturism is for all. A few saw a positivity in it. Mainly that it may be nice if you are seeking peace and quiet. Emphasising that as long as it is non-sexual then it is OK occasionally. That some things may be considered boring for children and families.

Women Only Events

27% thought the idea was good for naturism, 30% were undecided and 43% thought it was bad for naturism.

We asked for other thoughts. Naturism should be for all was the most common response. Some members pointed out that they would not want to attend an event without their partner and/or family. The trend for segregation worries many people; that is isn't real naturism, it is becoming dangerously more popular, it suggests men cannot be trusted and doesn't solve any issues. Some of the survey said it could help as a taster into naturism, but only as a way of find comfort with nudity and the body, after that initial try out women should not wish to be segregated.

Under 30 Events

21% said it was good for naturism, 32% were undecided and 47% thought it was bad for naturism.

This may be surprising as there is a common want to encourage younger people into naturism. However many suggested that under 30 events once again ruled out families. Shared concerns about segregating in general and also concerns about under 30 events being or appearing to be sexualised. Some voiced that segregating in naturism is doing more than just ruining events, more venues are becoming segregated, more non-landed clubs and it is also effecting non-organised naturism, with less families visiting beaches as well. Many pointed out that it shouldn't matter what age you are and events should appeal to all with a range of activities.

Some people responded that it could be a good way of encouraging younger people into naturism and that the young are the future of naturism. Though they often followed this up with thoughts like “as a taster only” or but that should include under 18's and their parents too.

ANW

We asked:

What do you like about ANW?

78% shared a range of positive likes.

The most common theme was based on praise about the community itself, being with like minded people, the site being welcoming and friendly, non -judgemental, genuine, honest and open and inclusive, respectful, positive, fresh and safe. The range of members and the easy going and non-political approach with balanced and fair attitudes. Several people mentioning that it is like a big, happy family

After this people praised the range of information shared and the fact that ANW is supporting and promoting real naturism, with an emphasis on family naturism.

Next was praise aimed at “Anna and Steve,” our passion, our support, our input, attitude and the effort that we have put into creating and maintaining a well run naturist website.

The range of articles and blogs came next. The insights into ours and others lives, the regular users activity and the fact that ANW reveals true naturism and allows people to really understand what naturism is and how it can be lived and enjoyed in many different ways.

Security scored high, with people appreciating the verification service, the membership levels and associated areas, the emphasis on appropriate behaviour with a non-sexual and non-pestering approach, and the lack of commercialism and adverts ruining articles.

Ease of use and all the different features and areas also scored high with the survey

The multinational aspect of ANW also gained lots of praise with people enjoying connecting to people around the world and finding out about naturism and other attitudes beyond their own country.

Around 30 people simply said things like “All of it!” “Everything” “ANW is awesome” and “What is not to like?”

Though that leads us onto to the question:

What do you not like about ANW?

23% shared various complaints.

The most common being speed with 6.5% of the survey saying they found the site “clunky,” slow at times or always slow, some finding it painfully slow! We are preparing to move the site over to a new development team and perform some upgrades and changes that will help to speed up the site for those members who have speed issues. We want everyone to have the best experience that we can offer with ANW and we will make ongoing tweaks to speed up both computer and mobile viewing.

The second biggest complaint was having subscription fees. There is a direct connection to this and the point above, as well as many of the aspects of the positive points shared about ANW. We keep it advertising free, we keep it genuine safe and secure, we have well run and respectful areas that are appropriately used. For many the membership levels are a great positive in keeping ANW genuine. We spend a huge amount on storing, developing and upgrading the site. Every photo costs to be stored, it is a small amount for each image, but with over 26, 500 currently listed in the albums area the monthly cost keeps going up. Sending newsletter, notifications, emails, hosting, domain names, safety certificates....the list goes on. Then there is the work we do everyday 365 days a year. Not just the activity we share but also all the work behind the scenes, the messages, the emails, the fixing, the verifications, dealing with maintaining ANW as a genuine and secure site. Your support allows this to happen. Our presence is not just about welcoming people to the site, but also guiding them and ensuring the site stays relevant to naturism. This is more than full-time work for us, it is a life choice, it is a passion, and it is always a part of our day. We are seldom able to switch off because A Naturist World doesn't switch off. Your time on ANW is your own, you are not being tracked and sold to, you are not having your details sold to third parties, all our funding is as honest and as open as naturism is. We feel that is very important for a naturist community, as many do not want their naturism broadcast to others, but we also feel that it is something that more websites should do. Respectfully raise money in honest ways. Running a website is very expensive and time consuming and being real about this is a genuine approach.

Difficulty in navigation is the third complaint. We have already started tweaking this and we will continue to hone the site and make it more user friendly with out losing any of the valuable features. Once the upgrade work is done we will revisit the layout and areas. One person mentioned issues navigating the forum. We are not sure how that is difficult but if you send us a message we will do what we can to help.

Next are some complaints about little glitches. Once again we take this onboard and aim to remove these glitches with the upcoming development work.

After this the complaints were more community based.

It would be nice to see more members being active. Well absolutely, there can never be enough. ANW continues to grow and more and more people continue to participate, but it would be great to see more. Encourage your friends, tell fellow club members and your internet followers about us. Inspire existing members to become verified and to take Life or Annual membership, and share – blogs, articles, groups, albums, the forum debates, activity on the home page...

“Too UK/Europe based,” “Not enough USA” and “Not enough Australians,” came up a few times. The USA has always been the most represented country on ANW, with the UK coming a close second and Australia third. There are members from all over the globe, through all of Europe, Asia, Africa, Central and South America, as well as Canada and New Zealand. You can encourage more by telling your fellow countrymen and your contacts and your national bodies and clubs. We want ANW to be relevant all over the globe, because naturism is about community. There are plenty of Life and Annual members from around the world who already have the ability to share blogs, create posts, talk about their country in the forum, share information about naturism where they live, create localised meet-up and interest groups, take part in interviews. All you have to do is make a start, and if you are not sure how to just ask, we will always be happy to help. ANW is here for you to add your impact too and represent your country with pride.

“Too many men.” This is a problem within naturism and also within the internet in general. We will be writing more about this as part of Get Real. At the moment women mistrust the internet and certainly mistrust promoting naturism on it. We are trying to break some habits. Ensure that you never pester or treat anyone on ANW with anything but respect and this will encourage greater trust in the site and eventually the women here will do more and more, and then more women will come. Spread the word to other men, women, couples and families.

The rest of the issues were single queries and problems. Always feel free to send messages to either of us or emails with any questions, but we will cover some now that came up that may be of help to some of you.

Unsure about the benefits of membership – Check out this page Maximise your Membership – for a brief over view and do ask questions of us and other active members.

Features Limited for Non-Subscribers – There are a huge range of free features and areas, more than you would get on most websites. Articles, Blogs, Groups, News Items, a vast Explore section with over 4100 pages (that we understand to be the biggest in the world) and more. Take part in the Free Verification Service too as this allows the sharing of a profile photo, the joining of groups and further posting/commenting ability, as well as helping to make friends and connections.

Fear of sharing personal details and also sending ID images. We have set it up that profile information only has to be based on reality. User names are fine, approximate birthdate, nearest large town for a location. ID images for verification can have unique information obscured if you wish. We just need to see your town or state, your year of birth and your photograph. All images can be sent via Google forms that are safer than emails, and they are deleted upon viewing. All information shared on ANW is used purely for making friends and building trust within the community.

I don't think there is enough storage as a member to share many photos. Many members have shared many hundreds of photos, some since we launched in May 2020, and no one has used up their storage space. As mentioned above we currently have over 26,500 photos shared.

Unsure if I would get much as a member, being a single man. Many of our members are single men, and they enjoy the connections that ANW gives them that they often cannot get elsewhere. We welcome everyone to the site in a fully inclusive way.

Thumbnails display centre of photos. At the moment we would suggest that if your profile icon does not display your face use a different photo which displays your face or crop the one you have used and upload again.

Do not promote enough naturist/nudist places. The explore section has over 4100 opportunities worldwide and if we are missing any do let us know. We write about places we visit and encourage others to do the same. We also invite representatives of these various opportunities to take ownership of their pages and add more information and connect with the community. If you are interested do reach out.

Your (Anna and Steve's) Blogs and Articles are not in order. We have a Suggested Reading Order that we update with all new entries into a timeline. This allows us to add new experiences, as well as continue to share old ones that we have not shared yet.

ANW Membership

We asked the survey if they were subscribing members of ANW. 16% were Life Members, 31% were Annual Members and 53% were neither.

We asked those that were not Annual or Life Members: Why not? 19.5% replied cost, 17.5% said they get enough for free membership, 35.5% said they were not sure whether they would get enough use out of paying membership and 27.5% said they were considering upgrading in the future. If anyone has any questions about membership and upgrading do send us a message or email.

A few people added some extra thoughts. Mentioning current financial issues, a limitation on time and partners not approving. Some showed concern about Paypal and currency changeover. We introduced Paypal because of popular demand. It is a payment gateway that many people have heard of and already use, though obviously that means some people already do not like it. The other payment gateway we use is Stripe which is used by many large websites (like Amazon) and most of you will have used it before without realising as it is an integrated check out using debit or credit cards so it is very easy and very secure. Currency is exchanged at a live rate and both gateways take most currencies and no exchange fees are added. The payment gateways take their fees from the subscriptions you pay before passing on the money to ANW.

Conclusion

The information is there for you to digest and consider on your own terms but here are some findings got from being able to view the whole survey and relate certain answers to certain countries and threads.

Favourite locations and venues often involved travelling abroad but those members in more unreliable climates were just as happy to holiday in their own countries as those with more sun.

The huge choice of naturist opportunities out there meant that people offered a variety of favourite venues and clubs rather than any specific ones standing out. A good sign of there being many positive choices to make.

It seems that certain national bodies are making their members happier than others. However concerns on being too low profile were voiced by some of the more positive bodies. One national body in particular seems to be offending it's members through some choices those members feel are against the best interest in naturism and too profit lead and as these members also feel the board doesn't care about their viewpoints, they also worry these issues will not be put right. It appears that many people opt for national membership for the promise of legal support and others purely because they feel duty bound to show support to naturism in their country despite the disappointment with policies.

Naturists want to be seen to support naturism. There is a want to put the best interest of naturism first and that can lead to various quandaries.

This comes through in many other aspects of the survey. There is a want to support segregation if it helps encourage naturism, but a deeper love and respect for naturism often leaves people in the undecided bracket or against the idea as a general principal. The value of family friendly, naturism for all is what really counts.

The positive threads are often linked to inclusion, respect, sharing time with fellow naturists, being welcomed and feeling part of a community. Although cost is important, and keeping things clean, tidy and up-to-date is vital, safety and security is very important, as well as offering a range of fun and interesting activities for all, it is primarily the feeling of belonging, being respected and not being judged that matters. The genuine, honest and open virtues of naturism really matter.

This also seems to be one of the big positives ANW is getting right. The introduction of our Get Real! Campaign recognises that. The broad range of positive features of ANW has allowed a strong and respectful community to develop where people do not just see naturism being supported, and find a wealth of information, but also feel at home and even part of a “family.” The kindness aimed at “Anna and Steve” and the effort and passion we put into ANW means more than just praise to us, it shows that the ability to be “in charge” and also be part of the community is possible and positive. The negative threads in the survey often came from the idea that those making the decisions did so to massage their own egos and desires. Naturism is about the people. It is nothing without the community and that is an important message for beaches, landed clubs, holiday venues, non-landed clubs and national bodies. Those that put naturists first will succeed.

One last thing we saw cropping up again and again is the ability to be a naturist. It may seem obvious but it was mentioned so many times its relevance cannot be ignored. Naturism may be about much more than just removing your clothes, but that is where it starts and it is an idea that we cannot place enough importance on. Naturism isn't about segregation, it isn't about worrying about woke attitudes, it isn't about exotic locations, it is about spending time clothes free. The way it makes you feel, the connection you make with those around you, as mentioned above, the lack of judgement, the respect and the genuine feeling of belonging. The reclaiming of your natural self and getting back to nature. The value of being in an environment where everyone can be naked is so rewarding, and the loss of that to people wearing clothes is a worry shared by many. Naturism represents an escape and clothing hinders that escape, replaces the barriers and deadens the experience. The fear of segregation and the want to be accepted in an inclusive naturist community is a huge message of this survey, and clothing use is another part of adding segregation. Naturism at its best should offer equality to all in an easy going, welcoming and honest environment. That is a big part of Get Real! And it is what the ANW community is about.

Thank you for reading, and thank you to all the members who took part in the survey. Any questions about anything in this article or any personal queries about ANW please do reach out to us. In the meantime share your thoughts and comments about the results of this survey below.

Thanks for reading, Anna and Steve

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Anna and Steve have shared over 200 articles and blog posts on www.anaturistworld.com and write regularly for naturist publications. If you would like to collaborate with them on any naturist / nudist promotional activity, articles or interviews or quote from any of their work please contact them via email at [email protected]