Conference moira::naturism

    This will be a brief reply, no time to dissect the base note
    line-by-line. 
    1) PLEASE release the caps-lock on your terminal. I'd rather see
    all lower-case, if a choice must be made. CAPS ARE CONSIDERED
    SCREAMING!
    
    2) You reject all the non-sexual reasons given for enjoying not
    having clothes on; state what your reasons are/would be, and then
    ask "If my reasons aren't your true reasons, then what are". I suggest
    you go back and re-read; the answers are already there. If you reject
    what someone says out of hand at the outset, you can't really expect
    a rational discussion.
    
    3) Re-read your own final comment.
    
    Don Cooley
    

    Considering the fact that there wasn't anyone else at the beach
    the last time I went nuding, I don't think that there HAS to be
    any sexual connitations associated with nudism.
    
    Me?  I like nuding at the beach because it makes sense...as I stated
    in an earlier note.  If I'm going to be lying around on a beach,
    sweating away under the hot sun, I really don't need the confinement
    of clothing.  Can anyone really justify the wearing of swimsuits
    at a beach?  Going to the beach for a tan, and then covering parts
    of your body so you won't get a tan...?
    
    At the beach, I've seen lots of couples lounging around, sunbathing,
    reading, swimming, etc...nothing sexual about it.  
    
>>>           I AM CURIOUS ABOUT THE TRUE MOTIVATION OF PEOPLE WHO PRACTICE
>>>    NUDISM. THE REASONS GIVEN FOR GOING NUDE THAT I HAVE READ IS THAT 
>>>    "ITS A FEELING OF FREEDOM", "GETTING IN TOUCH WITH NATURE", "BEING
>>>    ACCEPTED BY OTHERS FOR WHO OR WHAT I AM", ETC; ETC. WHY IS IT I
>>>    FEEL SUSPICIOUS ABOUT THESE COMMENTS? 

    Of the nudist/naturists that I know, they are all fairly open-minded
    about their feelings on nudism.
    
>>>        - IF I WERE TO NUDE IN A NATURAL SETTING WITH A PERSON OF THE OPPOSITE
>>>      SEX IT WOULD DEFINITELY FEEL SENSUOUS.

    	Any MOTOS? or just with a sepcific person?  Think about it...
    	how many MOTOS's do you see every day and not pay any attention
    	to?  Seeing a MOTOS does not imply "instant lust".
    
>>>          IS THIS DESENSITIZING PROCESS SUPPOSE TO BE ONE OF THE BENEFITS
>>>      OF NUDISM? (NO THANKS)

    	Nudists tend to be more aware and comfortable with their
    	bodies.  I don't believe that seeing nude people on a regular
    	basis will desensitize anyone.
    
>>>       - I BELIEVE THAT NUDISM IS BASED ON SEXUALITY. I DON'T MEAN THAT
>>>      NUDISM IS PERVERTED. ITS JUST SOME FOLKS WAY OF EXPRESSING SEXUALITY

    	Hardly.  I like swimming and sunbathing in the nude.  I'd enjoy
    	it just as much alone as I would with a bunch of friends.  It
    	just feels nice; there doesn't have to be any hidden meanings.
    
	    
>>>    - I LOVE TO NUDE AT THE RIGHT TIME AND RIGHT PLACE WITH THE RIGHT
>>>      PERSON. HOWEVER IF FREQUENT NUDING MEANS NOT HAVING SEXUAL FEELINGS
>>>      FOR NAKED PEOPLE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX THEN WHAT FEELING WOULD I BE
>>>      GETTING IN RETURN FOR MY INVESTMENT? OH, I KNOW , "FEELINGS OF

    	**INVESTMENT**?????????
    
    	Nuding is not merely the removal of clothes.  It implies the
    	acceptance of the good points and faults of one's own body.
    	Sex and sexual feelings are not required with nudism, although
    	they can be there.

>>>        - PEOPLE WHO NUDE MUST BE GETTING SOMETHING OUT OF IT OR ELSE THEY
>>>      WOULDN'T BE DOING IT. IF ITS NOT SEXUALLY MOTIVATED TO ENHANCE
>>>      SEXUAL FEELINGS OR TO NUMB THEM THEN WHAT IS IT REALLY?

    	There's nothing wrong with just liking to go nuding, for it's
    	own sake.  There doesn't have to be any hidden agenda.
    
>>>        - AGAIN, I'M NOT AGAINST IT, I GUESS WE JUST DO IT FOR DIFFERENT
>>>      REASONS....    

    	I guess this explains it all.  There are alot of different people
    	who like to go nuding.

    re: .0
    
    	   I find it amusing that you cannot see a naked body without
    	getting sexually aroused.  To my way of thinking, that is a 
    	very significant statement about the level of repression our
    	society imposes on us.  People have become so accustomed to
    	seeing each other naked only in sexual situations that they
    	have equated to two, and have completely forgotten that nude
    	is not only natural, but extremely comfortable (no confinement),
    	relaxing, and healthy (from a psychological perspective).
    
    	   By hiding beneath our clothes all of the time we build
    	a strong mystique around the body, and particularly those
    	parts that are considered 'obscene' when exposed in public.
    	Please, try to explain to me what is obscene about a breast?
    	Why is a penis obscene?  Why do we demand that everyone hide
    	these things?
    
    	   This repression impacts us indirectly in many aspects
    	of our lives.  Advertisers know the value of alluding to the
    	sexuality we now equate with the naked body, and they entice
    	us with teasing little glances.  These not-so-subtle messages
    	only work because we are so repressed and puritanical in our
    	attitudes about our bodies.
    
    	   I, for one, am not ashamed of my body.  I did not buy into
    	the crap that the church and society tried to spoon-feed me
    	from childhood on.  The guilt trips they tried to lay on me 
    	affected my early years, and now I have cast them aside and
    	made my own decisions.  
    
    	   In the end, for me it boils down to freedom.  I live for
    	my freedom, and strive for ever more.
    
    	- Greg

    As for the question of getting "desensitized" to nudity as a sexual
    arouser, please go back and read notes 62.* ("Nude all the time?").
    In short, many of us find no *intrinisic* coupling between nudity
    and sex.  That doesn't mean that I'm not turned on by my naked wife
    when we make love.  It means that when I look at a naked woman at a
    nude beach, I do so with the same sort of feelings and appreciation
    as when I look at any woman anywhere, *not* the sort of feelings and
    appreciation I have when making love with my wife.
    
    	-Neil

re: .0

We were all born naked right?  So there shouldn't be anything wrong with
nudity...and there isn't!
  
I love nudity in nature.  I love the feeling of the sun, the breeze, and no 
elastic bands or constricting wastebands around me.  AND it is a sensuous
feeling particularly when the sun is baking parts of me that haven't seen
the sun for a while. ;-)
 
Being nude with a MOTOS and having senseous feelings would depend on who I'm 
with.  If you have intentions and already had in mind something along that 
line such as you'd like to get it on with someone, it will probably be VERY
sensuous.  If I don't have that in mind, I don't have that tendancy.  It is
nice to look at nude bods but it doesn't have to be a sexual thing.  AND that
is very hard to explain and get across to someone that has never experienced
it.
  
I haven't been desensitized yet...I get turned on by nude bodies IF I'M IN THE
MOOD to be turned on.  Just because I'm nude with someone doesn't mean either
one of us should take it as a sexual thing.  And like Neil, I still get very
turned on when I have sex with my spouse...and after 17+ years, that's not 
bad! ;-)
   
>>    - I LOVE TO NUDE AT THE RIGHT TIME AND RIGHT PLACE WITH THE RIGHT
>>      PERSON. HOWEVER IF FREQUENT NUDING MEANS NOT HAVING SEXUAL FEELINGS
>>      FOR NAKED PEOPLE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX THEN WHAT FEELING WOULD I BE
>>      GETTING IN RETURN FOR MY INVESTMENT? OH, I KNOW , "FEELINGS OF
>>      FREEDOM", "IN TOUCH WITH NATURE, "ACCEPTANCE", ETC; ETC.

I thing you got the picture.  We all have our own motives for going nude.  Just
like different people have different motives for having sex...some it is pure
gratification, others are trying to create another human being, some use it
to relief stress, others it is a stress creator, etc.  Same with food, our
jobs, choice of mates, where you go on vacation, why do you have that breed of
dog or cat....this list goes on and on.  Different reasons, different people... 
that's what makes the world go round! :-)

Judy

	I believe there is *some* truth in what you have to say.  Judy seems
to feel the same way that I do, in the fact that nudism can be sensuous, and
you're right in the sense that nudism can become somewhat erotic when you're
with the right person, and you're in the right place, (right person and 
place of course, is always the individual's choice).  However, sensuous 
feelings we receive can be as different as the individual, and they don't
have to be sexual feelings.  Perhaps lying in a cool stream with the water
trickling over your body on a hot summer day could be sensuous.  I know it
is for me, but that doesn't make me want to jump the first naked woman I see!

	I've read your note, over and over again.  You've said in one 
paragraph that you're not someone who is obsessed with sexual feelings, but
yet the rest of your note certainly implies that your are.  The fact that 
it seems you are not able to take your clothes off without feeling sexually
stimulated, whether it be in a naturist environment or not, is the overtone
of your overall message.

	I beleive (forgive fellow naturists), that nudism/naturism does give
all of us, to some degree, some sexual stimulation.  I would be lying to you
if I were to say that I hadn't at some time thought about what sex would be
like with one of the naked women I've seen at naturist park, but I'd also be
lying if I said I hadn't thought about the same thing on a clothed beach.
Think about it for a minute.  Think about what other people have already 
said in their replys.  Our society regards sex as a taboo, and being a taboo, 
commercially exploits sex as the most powerful advertising tool known to man!
Products from soft drinks to shampoo, from powerboats to pantyhose all use 
sexual connotations in their selling campaigns.  I beleive you are caught up in
a publicly accepted generalization of sexual attitudes, in other words, "it's
OK to go a strip club and watch people take their clothes off, it's OK to
purchase porn magazines and videos, etc, BUT... God forbid that I let someone
see me naked, especially in public".  It disturbs me to know that those who 
are most verbally against public nudity, are generally either sexually 
deviant, or have some severe psychological hangups, commonly inflicted 
during childhood.

	Yes, Naturism can be sensous, but it's all a state of mind.  Like
anything in life, naturism is what you make of it, so make the most of it.
One of the things that naturism is to me, is a healthy and healing process
of ridding myself of the overload of subconscious sexual stimuli I get each
day, and turn inward to find my balance between society and nature.

						Darrell

    Darrell,
    
    I presume that you *didn't* mean to suggest that the author of .0 is
    sexually deviant or has some severe psychological hangups?
    
    In any case, I would be careful with the generalization.  I don't
    doubt that there are people whose hostility to public nudity results
    from a projection of their own psychological problems; but I am
    willing to grant that many or most opponents of nudism are acting
    out of an honest (if mistaken) moral belief.
    
    	-Neil
    

>    I presume that you *didn't* mean to suggest that the author of .0 is
>    sexually deviant or has some severe psychological hangups?
    
	You presumed correctly.  I am not in any way suggesting that the
	author is sexually deviant or has psychological hangups.  If 
	anyone (including the author) misinterpreted my meaning, I sincerely
	apologize.  

	Yes, I was making a generalization of the more severely verbally 
	abusive individuals against naturism that I have personally met.
	
	Thank-you Neil, for your constructive criticism.  I'll be more 
	careful with my generalizations in all future correspondence.

							Darrell

        I agree with Darrel, in that society for so long has bombarded
    us with sexuality to sell product that our lives seem to be constantly
    filled with it, and all the confusion that goes along with it. Such
    as it's ok to be almost nude to sell soft drinks, but to go topless
    at the lake is a no no, it creates alot of subconcious confusion.
    when you dress you can be what you want to be sexy,mean or a slob.
    But when nude no-one sees the fancy packaging they just see you.
    And it's up to the individual how they will percieve others and
    themselves. It's up to your self to make the choice.
    

    
       Thanks to all of you who replied to my note. I found your replies
    to be both informative and interesting.
    
       I think that more has to be said concerning the value of clothes
    however. Clothes were originally made to protect humans from the
    environment. Clothes eventually evolved in our society to become
    a statement of status, style, and individuality. Our clothes also
    serve a more basic need such as covering up bodies that should be 
    covered up. Lets face it, there are some people (maybe myself
    included) that should be outlawed from practicing public nudity
    due to their unsightly physical appearance. Yes I know that beauty
    is in the eye of the beholder but in some cases ugly is ugly.
    I'm also wondering how many of you would be willing to nude with
    your parents or grandparents? Anyways, getting back to clothes...
    Another basic need that clothes serve is to protect our immediate
    environment (such as furniture) from our bodies. I remember reading
    somewhere that some nudists have parties in their homes with other
    nudists and they protect their furniture by covering it with towels!
    How DISGUSTINGLY GROSS! Hey look, its one thing to be sittn' on a
    tree stump in the middle of a forest but keep yer butt off da furniture
    please! If nuding is natural, then its okay, right? Are you then saying
    that all things that are natural are good and should be publically viewed?
    I should think not! There are some NATURAL body functions that are not
    appealing to the eye. All I'm saying is NATURAL does not automatically
    mean that something is good or desirable. So lets not get carried away
    with the NATURAL bit. Today wearing clothes is considered normal by
    society the same as brushing your teeth, combing your hair, or as with
    most women, applying makeup. Animals don't do any of the above so why
    do humans? Because humans are a higher concious life form that recognizes
    that all things NATURAL are not desirable and that the human being's
    appearance and health can be enhanced by artificial means. I will agree
    that not all things imposed on us by society are good for us. I think
    that probably pornorgraphy is such a big "hit" with the masses today
    because of the restrictions imposed on us by society about nudity and
    sex. If you tell people they shouldn't do something they naturally
    want to do it all the more and it can get carried away.
            
    
    
    things imposed on us by society are goo
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Our clothes protect our immediate envir-
    onment (such as our furniture) from our bodies. I remember reading
    somewhere that some nudists invite other nudists into their homes
    and put towels on the furniture to protect it. HOW DIGUSTINGLY GROSS!
    
       
    
    

    RE: .10
    
    Are you saying that there are no situations where nudity is
    appropriate?
    
    From what I've read so far in this notesfile, and from what I've
    experienced, there are times when clothes should be worn and times
    when it's okay not to be clothed.  The notes here have not advocated
    nudity all the time.  Nudism is not having to be clothed when you
    don't have to.
    
    When would it be appropriate to be nude?
    
    	o  At a beach where it's allowed..
              why cover up parts of your body when you're tanning?
    	      getting sand in a swimsuit is a pain...

        o  swimming...
    	      why put clothes on just to get them wet?
    
        o  when it's hot and where it's appropriate...
    	      imagine putting on clothes to get cooler...?
    
	o  when you have to go outside in the rain and it's warm...?
    	      putting on clothes to purposely get wet?  I read somewhere
    	      about missionaries who visited some tropical isles hundreds
    	      of years ago and making the natives cover themselves up.
    	      The death rate shot up because so many natives were getting
    	      their clothes wet and catching the pneumonia.

    	o  Where it's appropriate...
        
    When would it be appropriate to wear clothes?
    
    	o  when around other people who might be offended and where
    	   it's not appropriate...
    	      ...such as textile beaches...
    
        o  when it's cold...
	      brrrrrr....!
    
	o  wherever it's appropriate...etc...
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------    
    Nudism/Naturism is intended for everyone, not just the people with
    the incredible Adonis/Venus bodies.  It makes no statement on what
    is a good-looking or bad-looking body.  The person inside is the
    important part.
    
    Regarding the nudity with family...
    Some people have relatives who are nudists and some don't.  I know
    of at least one person in this notesfile who used to go nuding with
    the in-laws.  Alot of people here probably would go nuding with
    relatives, if the relatives were into nudism.

    "Natural" bodily functions have nothing to do with nudism.  "Natural"
    in this case refers to a biological function, as opposed to a
    emotional and mental state.   At the nudist places that I've visited,
    there are extensive private and secluded restroom facilities because
    natural bodily functions are considered one's personal business.
    
    Nudists are nude when and where it's appropriate.  When it's not,
    they get dressed.  Simply as that.  They don't HAVE to take off
    their clothes; at the same time, they don't have some inhuman
    compulsion to take off their clothes all the time.
    
    B.
    

    I for one know my mother wouldent see anything new.
    
    -j

    RE: .10
    
	I feel sorry for you that you have such a negative attitude
    about your body.  Believe me, I've seen bodies that might be classified
    by most persons in our society as "grotesque" in nudist environments,
    and I suppose when I first got into naturism, I probably saw a few
    of them and thought to myself "eeeh, gad ! put your clothes on
    mister!".  As time passed though, it was just another body.  People
    do NOT go nuding just to show off their fantastic figure !  God!
    If everyone who went nuding were only there to show off their body,
    then I doubt there would be naturist organizations at all !  Cause
    if there were, you'd end up having to meet specific qualifications
    just to gain entrance.  "Nope." says the guard at the gate, "this
    guy's biceps are too small, he can't come in." or "this man/woman
    is overweight, he/she can't come in either".  Let's get realistic!
    
    	If you've got a problem with the way your body looks, and you
    wish you could have Arnold Schwartzanager's body, (or Jane Fonda's,
    in case you're a woman) or whatever your ideal image of a body is,
    then that's YOUR problem.  Naturists DON'T have a problem with it.
    We accept people just as they are.  If you're unhappy with the way
    you look, and you can do something about it, then it's up to you
    to change.  If you can't do anything to change your physical
    appearance, SO WHAT !  We don't care !
    
    	So far in my life, I've met a lot of people who I felt could
    lose a couple hundred pounds (I'm not saying that you are someone
    who could stand to lose weight, cause I've never met you, and I
    don't know what grotesque physical appearance means to you), and
    by society's standards, these people are considered grotesque. 
    BUT, most of them, are about the nicest, most humane, wonderful people
    I have ever met !  Some (notice I didn't say ALL), of the beautiful 
    bodied people I've met, in my opinion, require a personality change.  
    They're the kind that have a great body and they KNOW IT.  Ohhh!  
    I hate that kind.  They're the type of people who most commonly stick 
    their noses up at me !  And it doesn't seem to matter if they are
    clothed or not, (however, unclothed people always have a tendency
    to be more open).
    
    	We're not going to try to convert you to be a naturist.  That's
    your decision.  After all, you are the person who first expressed
    an interest in naturism by putting in your base note.  We are
    expressing our views on naturism.  If you are unable to accept our
    views, as people who have been naturists for many years, and we
    know what we're talking about, then perhaps you shouldn't be a
    naturist.  All I ask is that you listen to us.  We are not here
    to be ridiculed.
    
    							Darrell
    
    
    

    re: .10
    
    	   Actually, it was my parents that turned me onto naturism.
    	We don't often got nuding together, though, because they
    	live in Tennessee, and I live in Texas.  Rather a long drive
    	for a day at the beach, if you take my meaning.
    
    	   My father has an enormous stomach, but he's not at all
    	sensitive about it.  He used to run around the house
    	naked all the time on the weekends, and nobody thought
    	anything of it.  Mom was always a bit more modest, but
    	she never really hid herself from us.  If she was naked when
    	we walked in the room she would not rush to cover herself.
    	I grew up in a very relaxed environment with regard to 
    	our bodies.  Nothing is gross or nasty about the body.
    	Nothing.
    
    	   By the way, while I don't really throw nude parties,
    	one of my neighbors frequently hangs out with me nude,
    	and we sit on the (expensive) furniture naked all the
    	time.  Believe me, towels are not necessary unless
    	you are incontinent.
    
    	- Greg

    
    One thing that has bothered me (and I consider myself to be
    VERY OPEN) is the following.
    
    When I was in the Navy (I've been out almost two years now)
    there was a guy in my living compartment - whom I shall call
    S - who was always walking around nude.  Now I'd hate to be
    prudish but this really use to bother me. On board ship, and
    both of us lived on board -in port and underway-, the living
    compartment, as you can imagine, was not all that big. And we
    had to share that space with as many as 60 other men.  Looking
    back maybe what bothered me is having an unclothed male contin-
    ually invading my personal space (and I didn't like him that much
    anyway).  I'm interested in your comments on this - I can take 
    the truth. (Oh and I might mention this person never washed 
    himself too meticulously and his clothes even less! Maybe we
    were luckier when he wore none!!

HI:

I might as well stick my $0.02 worth.

One morning a year or so ago, I managed to get my WASP (White, Anglo-Saxon 
Protestant) body into my car and drove into a beach.  It was at the 
southern coast of Rhode Island.  I was in a jacket and slax.  I grumbled at 
paying $20. to get in, but I did.  

Finding no club-house, I wound up on the beach.  It was textile just like 
all the rest of the beaches (or so I thought).  I walked up to a couple who 
was just settling down onto their pads, and asked where I could change.

"Right down there past the snow-fence ... You'll see the place." He 
replied.

I thanked him and went down past the snow-fence.

I found a place to change ... it was 700 feet long and about 75 feet wide. 
It was full of naked people.  Apparently they hadn't all changed 
completely, yet ... or something.  After walking through this very 
un-WASP-ish group I found nothing but another length of snow-fence at the 
other end of the changing-place.

I considered my options.  

I couldn't put on my bathing trunks without first doffing my street 
clothes.  Since there were no walls to prevent THEM from seeing ME, I 
suddenly decided that I was old enough to handle the situation.  I found me 
a spot, pulled off the clothes, and ... something wonderful happened:


     		ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

This world couldn't care less that old WASP-ish me was standing there in 
the buff.  That wasn't the wonderful thing, however....

I suddenly began to laugh inwardly at myself.  "All these years of WASP-ing 
it all over the world .. and now look at yourself!"

I relaxed like I had never relaxed before.

While I was trying to avoid "looking" at anyone else, I suddenly looked at 
my tummy.  My spare tire was enormous!  Most of the people there were very 
healthy looking.  I looked like a frumpy old sot!  Apparently I had let my 
clothes be a kind of shade to keep even me from knowing what I looked like. 
 UGH!

Right on the spot, I decided I would lose weight.

The next season I joined about 1000 Naturists at a beautiful place in 
Pennsylvania called Camp Akiba.  Families with children of all ages ... 
Grand parents ... singles ... you name it they were there.

I had gone down with the idea of setting up what I called a Cancer 
Screening Center.  The ideas was to get people to take skin cancer 
seriously.  I wanted husbands and wives to use their love as a tool to keep 
each other living long enough to spoil their grandchildren rotten ... and 
their great-grandchildren, too!

Well, I sat there under my sign and waited.  "Customers" began to drop by.  
I showed them the pamphlets, and suggested that they make a body map for 
each other, then use that body map as a way to recall the past while 
checking in the future.  I processed well over a hundred people.

Remember, the pamphlets tell you to see if that mole is larger or changed 
in some other way since the last time you checked it.  How can you tell, I 
reasoned with my customers, if you don't know how big and where it was back 
then?

So we measured moles and mapped them all afternoon, and for several hours 
each day thereafter.  It was a relaxed situation, but I have never been 
trusted so much before in my life.  Funny, when you're trusted, you become 
even more trustworthy.

The most important thing ... which was mentioned in some of the earlier 
replies:  After about 2 hours of this close work with other humans, I began 
to actually see the bodies simply as another kind of outfit.  There was a 
lady's outfit and a gentleman's outfit.  Looking at the outfits for 
blemishes was all I was doing after a while.  But the most wonderful part 
of it was talking to the persons inside those outfits.

I may be older than most of you, but I'm still human.  However, I found 
these people were friends, and I don't go around making gooney-eyes at 
friends!

Regarding Nudity and Nakedness ... fiddlesticks.  Based on my own personal 
experience with these wonderful people, I believe all that would happen if 
every place permitted people to wear whatever outfit they wanted, would be 
that the sick peek-a-boo sex we see on TV and in publications would fade 
away as a viable way to get attention.

The sooner that happens, the sooner families will be able to get children 
into adults with a minimum of sex fuss.

Of course this would mean a great loss to those organizations (including 
those who pontificate on special days) who earn their money by selling 
outfits and propaganda on how nasty and untrustworthy people are.

People are nice, clothed or not.  I know this from experience now.

Oh, by the way, I dropped from 185 pounds to my present weight of 155-158 
(My three-pound YO-YO!).  I just aimed at 160 pounds, kept my eye on the 
scale, and simply melted down to the desired weight within about 6 months.
No diets either!  A year later when I went to Akiba, I felt much better, 
thank you.

Stan/

    P.S. If you'd like a map and a mole measurer, contact me by E-Mail.
     I have a few left.  SMS    

    I too was in the Army and had a roommate that walked around in the
    nude.  I found it most refreshing.  From that point on I going to
    nude beaches and walking around with out a stitch on.  Talk about
    a cool breeze!
    
    Tim

    
    	   Anybody besides me remember 'streaking' from the early
    	'70s?  I always thought is was an amusing thing to do,
    	and was particularly amused by the song 'The Streak'
    	(can't remember who did it, but I think it was the guy 
    	who played Snowman in Smokey and The Bandit... Jerry
    	something-or-other.)
    
    	   Anyway, since my family had pretty loose ideas about
    	nudity anyway I thought it was funny that people made
    	such a big deal about someone who chose to be naked in
    	public.  I never understood the mentality that said the
    	body should be hidden at all times.  I never understood 
    	why people were afraid of nudity.
    
    	   But I acknowledged that they were, and decided to suppress
    	my 'expression of freedom' in their presence.  Even today
    	I tend to avoid nuding except at home an in secluded places,
    	and that causes some emotional backpressure to build up in
    	me.   I heard somewhere that one of the reasons most people
    	find winter depressing is because the skin does not recieve
    	a sufficient amount of light.  I posit that the same can be
    	said of those who never bare themselves to the sun during the
    	year.
    
    	   Clothing protects you from the elements, true enough, and
    	I would not be caught in zub-zero tempeartures without it;
    	but it also creates a barrier between your body and the life-giving
    	sun.  Of course, in these days of high tech, even true prudes
    	can get enough sun simply by buying a tanning bed, but there
    	are risks involved with such unnatural approaches.  There are
    	risks involved in all of life.  Given the choice, I'll take
    	my chances in the sun (being careful to watch for skin cancer,
    	mind you).
    
    	- Greg

RE: .01

>>    I'm also wondering how many of you would be willing to nude with
>>    your parents or grandparents? 

I have nuded with my father-in-law.  He was a bit 'saggy' but nice and
tan all over.  My husband and I took a naturist type camping trip into
Utah.  The leader was in his 50's and a tall and big man.  There was 
also another gentleman from the state of Washington who was 76 years
young.  And my father-in-law, my husband and me.  We had a good time
together...and it didn't matter whether someone was overweight, ugly,
old, etc. or not.  We enjoyed each others company!

If my parents were into this I would nude with them....I think Grandma
would of if she'd had the chance.  Our next door neighbors want to go
with us to Valley View.  They are mother and daughter, ages late 60's
and late 40's.  The mother reminds me an awful lot like my grandma...
and we call her Grandma!  She of German descent and wears an apron (over
her dress...) all day long with her hose around her ankles just like my 
grandma...memories...:-)!

>>    Another basic need that clothes serve is to protect our immediate
>>    environment (such as furniture) from our bodies. I remember reading
>>    somewhere that some nudists have parties in their homes with other
>>    nudists and they protect their furniture by covering it with towels!
>>    How DISGUSTINGLY GROSS! 

We cover our furniture with towels when nuding not to protect the furniture
but to protect our b*tts from whoever or whatever had sat in the chair last.
Other chairs, public benches, etc. that were sat on previously are 'stuck'
on the bottom of your pants right now!  YUCK!!  ;-)  Just think about it.

Judy