Should Nudists Be Labelled As Outcasts?

Yet again I’m writing this while fueled by a post someone wrote on one of the forums I frequent. And yet again the title of this post has a hint of sarcasm in it.

Someone posted a link on a forum about a reality TV episode that was filmed at a nudist resort. You can view the clip here:

Sadly, most of the people who commented on the post felt that the episode would do nudism harm. Well that’s where I have a problem and I feel that nudists in general need to get their head into reality and realize that kind of thinking is what’s doing a bad service to nudism.

This particular TV episode by itself won’t do much harm to the nudist movement. It just shows an idiot of a host who can’t handle simple nudity, and thus she acts like a child. It makes her look stupid and immature, but I seriously doubt anyone will think any different of nudist resorts after viewing the episode. In fact, I’d like to think it may entice some people to give nudism a try. Maybe we will see some girls show up looking for the guy with the towel. I think we are too quick to label things like this as negative, as if we have this daunting task to show everyone that we’re normal, and anything that doesn’t show nudists as perfect angels is a negative thing. It’s like we have to bend over backwards to ensure people aren’t offended. Is this TV episode of a girl who can’t handle the sight of nudity really going to harm the nudist movement? Give me a break. Nudism isn’t for everyone and we shouldn’t sweat it. Besides, it’s going to take a lot more than this stupid show to make people think we’re weird.

Now if that wasn’t enough, someone even went as far as to comment on the owners of the hotel themselves, as if this TV show had anything to do with them. The comment made referred to the hotel owners as ‘publicity whores’, and mentioned that they do anything for attention. Well actually I have spoken with them and find them to be very caring, open, and genuine people, and they happen to run one of the most successful hotels in Palm Springs. No, not one of the most successful clothing optional hotels, one of the most successful hotels PERIOD. And when it comes to running their hotel, they are extremely smart. The problem with most nudist resorts is they keep quiet and do little to advertise. Well what good is that going to do? It’s a business and the idea is to get people there! If we were talking about any textile resort, this couple wouldn’t be subjected to any negative comments with regards to their publicity. They are being smart about resort ownership and if anything, they are treating nude recreation with a fresh and bold flavour that we all should be enthusiastic about.

This is a problem with nudists in general; they keep their mouths shut, they’re afraid to talk about the joy of nude recreation to others. What’s the big idea? We want to move this nudist thing forward and here we are sitting in the dark ages, afraid to tell anyone about it. We don’t want to be labelled as outcasts, but we want people to know how great nudism is. We want people to know that clothing can actually be harmful to the body in some cases, we want people to ditch their negative perceptions of the human body. Well none of this is ever going to happen if we continue to apply outcast thinking to our cause and don’t treat it like a positive and worthwhile practice. Is there any minority group out there who gained rights and acceptance because they hid in the corner? Hell no, and it’s about time we stopped being afraid of pushing the envelope. We need to advertise our resorts with gusto and flair, and we need to promote the nudist movement as if we are proud of it and it is the best thing since sliced bread. Stand up, be loud, be proud, and step on some toes. It’s 2010 and here we are complaining about publicity. That’s why we are doomed to continue to be thought of as an outcast culture and the few youth who are involved will continue to wonder why more people like us don’t get into nudism.

Start talking about the joy of nudism and the wholesomeness of the human body right away. Tell everyone and promote the hell out of this thing. Let’s give the body acceptance movement a violent shove into the mainstream and we can all reap the benefits in the long run.