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Conference moira::naturism

Title:Naturism
Notice:Site report index is in topic 7
Moderator:GENRAL::KILGORE
Created:Tue Jan 26 1988
Last Modified:Thu May 08 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:457
Total number of notes:3687

376.0. "_The Boston Phoenix_ June 5, 1992" by 11SRUS::LUCIA (Stop The Outfall Pipe) Tue Jun 09 1992 20:20

    In _The Boston Phoenix_ on June 5, 1992, there was a section on Summer
    1992.  It included a section on clothing-optional recreation, including
    some of the local sites from _The World Guide_.  It was refreshing to
    see this mentioned in a larger newspaper (250K readers).  I hope it
    doesn't overpopulate my favorite places, however.
    
    Tim
    
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
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376.1GNUVAX::QUIRIYCyanide or champagne?Wed Jun 10 1992 15:342
    
    Thanks!  I haven't thrown mine out yet!
376.2could you by any chance post the article ... ASIMOV::DITOMMASOI cant get use to this lifestyleThu Jun 11 1992 16:395
  (if not, thats OK)

  thanks
  paul
376.311SRUS::LUCIAStop The Outfall PipeTue Jun 23 1992 19:574
It is rather lengthly.  If I still have it at home (cleaned up this weekend),
I'll try to post some snippets.  It was originally a full page.

Tim
376.4DANGER::JBELLAleph naught bottles of beer on the wall...Tue Jun 23 1992 23:37179
    This is the article from the Boston Phoenix 1992 Guide to Summer.
    Copied without permission.


    180 lines..... Has anybody QAR'ed decwindows notes yet?



                        GETTING NAKED

        Slip out and slip in: the bare facts about nude bathing

                    by Mark Leibovich


        There's a third grader in all of us that can't help but
    giggle when the topic is naked human bodies.  But please, for the
    next few minutes, no talk of weenies or willies, or titties or or
    tushies, or anything like that.  This is a serious discussion of
    skinnydipping, and nude recreation in general.  We are all mature
    here, and we assume, for the purposes of this discussion, that
    birthday suits, no matter what their gender, age, or shape, are
    intrinsically beautiful.  So stifle yourselves.  Banish all
    children from the room.  We speak here of a very grown-up notion
    of perfection.

        The total liberation that comes with baring all, lying out,
    and jumping in, is a basic form of human pleasure, to rival
    laughter, food, and sex.  Clothes are such a standard part of
    western life, it's easy to forget that they are, by nature,
    strictive.  When the body is left to commune unemcumbered with
    natural elements  like sun and water, nakedness takes on an
    idyllic life of its own.

        Sadly, as is the case with most sources of pure pleasure,
    beauty-in-the-buff can come with a price.  For example, a friend
    of mine once had the hare-brained idea of skinny dipping in the
    frigid, filthy waters of the Charles River.  He insists that he
    (and his female companion) found the experience invigorating, and
    quite sublime at the time. But three days later, he was laid up
    with a miserable cold, and a rash that lingered on his privates
    for several weeks.

        Beyond health considerations (just avoid the Charles, and
    we'll leave it at that), public disrobing faces a number of
    potential problems. For one thing, it's usually illegal.  In
    Boston, for instance, according to Boston Police detective George
    Lotti, public nudity could carry a felony charge of Open and
    Gross Lewdness, punishable by a jail sentence. (Lotti says,
    however, that the charge is usually reduced to a Disorderly
    Conduct misdemeanor.)  In Edgartown, the offense is punishable by
    a fine of up to, but not exceeding, $50.

        The regulation vary, depending on municipality bylaws.  They
    can be vague, too. (Many local authorities cite "unspoken
    statutes" against nudity.)  Moreover, it's hard to get the naked
    truth from the authorities on where and whether nudity is allowed
    in their jurisdictions.  For instance, when asked about
    skinny-dipping possibilities in the town of Tisbury, (Martha's
    Vinyard), a local police officer replied: "Shame on you.  Only I
    do that and never before midnight."  A woman at the Martha's
    Vinyard Chamber of Commerce office responded: "You won't hear a
    word from me," and quickly hung up.

        Regardless, nudophiles can always find safe havens, places
    where getting naked is not only tolerated, but celebrated.  The
    following suggestions are taken from Lee Baxadall's
    _WORLD_GUIDE_TO_NUDE_BEACHES_AND_RECREATION_ published by N
    Editions, a division of Naturists Incorporated.


    .
    .
    .
    [ world guide 3rd edition descriptions for Cape Cod,
      M.V. and Nantucket elided.  The entry for Gay Head,
      for example no longer applies. ]
    .
    .
    .

                   ----0----

        Half the fun of public nudity, however, is the sheer
    subversiveness of it.  The _chance_ that you might get caught
    with you pants down, or off, can add a distinct measure of
    titillation.  It's one thing to be amid other people reveling in
    their nakedness. But it's another thing to be _naughty_.

        When you act alone (or with friends, or with a significant
    other) getting naked can become a brash statement of
    self-emancipation.  It flies in the face of conventions (not to
    mention laws), but hey, to hell with that.  Not that we publicly
    advocate nudity where it is forbidden -- that would be
    irresponsible.  But, off the record, we suggest:


            Walden Pond, Concord

    What better way to pay tribute to Henry David (who most certainly
    splashed bare in these waters) than to act defiantly on his old
    turf.  Walden Pond has historically been a hotbed of skinny
    dipping, though it also vigilantly patrolled by the State Police.
    Walden is an especially popular venue for nubile young
    Boston-area college student bent on communing with nature.  The
    pond is big, surrounded by trees and full of closed-in spaces for
    instant intimacy, especially at night. According to an officer at
    the State Police Concord Barracks, skinny dipping in Walden Pond
    is an "arrestable offense."  So be careful, and if you happen to
    get caught, there's always civil disobedience.


            Lake Waban, Wellesley College campus

    Lake Waban is big and beautiful, and lies in a cozy, Gothic
    setting with ideas in the air.  It is also well patrolled by the
    Wellesley College security force. Skinny dipping here usually
    requires parking somewhere off campus, sneaking onto the grounds
    on foot and then getting to a secluded spot unseen. Beware of
    poison ivy, too.  The water is well out of view of passing cars,
    and for some reason, warmer than most local lakes.


            Other Sites

    An informal canvass of occaisional-to-frequent practitioners of
    public nakedness yielded the following:

    Spy Pond, Arlington (take Mass Ave to Lynwood Street)

    Totten Pond, Waltham (just off I-95 exit 27A)

    Farm Pond, Sherbourne (tightly restricted to town residents
    by day, so the defiance is twice as sweet by night.)

    The State Resevoir just off the Hampshire College campus
    in Amherst (the skinny dipping spot of choice for Amherst-area
    college students).

    Birch Acres, a 119-acre nudist resort in the Berkshires,
    which offers rooms, cabins, 140 RV sites, and 150 tent sites;
    call (413)738-5968 for info and reservations.

    Vacationing neighbors' pools (or, better yet, hot tubs).


            ---O---


    Miscellaneous Warnings and Advice
    
    1. Hide your clothes, so no one else ca.
    
    2. Don't skinny dip alone, especially at night, in parts
       unfamiliar.
    
    3. Don't swim drunk.
    
    4. Never, ever skinny dip within 10 miles if the Kennedy Compound.
    
    5. Be suspicious of the person in a group (usually male)
       who loudly suggests skinny dipping.  Nine times out of 10,
       such people are usually out for a cheap thrill, and defeat
       the purpose.
    
    6. Note to men: erections, though common, are undignified in
       such a setting.  Don't stare, and if you can't control
       yourself, think of, oh, the 1979 World Championship Seattle
       Super Sonics (starting lineup: Gus Williams, Dennis Johnson
       at guards, Johnny Johnson and lonnie Shelton at forwards,
       Jack Sikna at center).

    
            ---O---

    
    To order Lee Baxandall's World Guide to Nude Beaches and Recreation,
    call (414)426-5009.  Cost is $21.95, plus $3 shipping and handling.
    A beginner's guide to skinny dipping is available on video for $31.95.
376.5GNUVAX::QUIRIYAlways in the middle of a revolution...Wed Jun 24 1992 21:365
    
    Oh, thanks!  I forgot about this when I threw out my old Phoenix's this
    morning!  The trash men took them away.
    
    Cq
376.6WRKSYS::REITHJim WRKSYS::Reith MLO1-2/c37 223-2021Tue Jun 21 1994 19:3210
The Worcester version of the Pheonix has a Summer 1994 Nude Beach
section this week (came out last friday) and it covers most of the CO
beaches/spots in New England and some of the regulations. I haven't
read the entire thing but I figured I'd post before it was off the
newsstands. There's a lot of info, too much to reprint here. Perhaps if
a few people get them the various sites in indevidual topics woulc be
updated? NENA is prominently mentioned and it seemed to be World Guide
quality stuff.

Jim (mostly RO)