Conference moira::naturism

382.0. "The Bare Truth - article in Trailer Life magazine" by GENRAL::KILGORE (Utah desert rat) Mon Jul 13 1992 02:19

Outdoor living, close friends and enhanced self-confidence are enjoyed by
nudist campers

by Irene Clepper

The rig is hooked up, and you're tired from the day's travel, so you relax
in a deck chair.  There's just a hint of an evening breeze.  The pool 
shimmers invitingly in the glow of underwater lights.  You accept the 
invitation and dive in, naked, gliding through the water and feeling
gloriously free.

This is skinny-dipping the way you may remember it from childhood -- and
one of the reasons most often mentioned by RVers for checking in at nudist
campgrounds, either as a destination or on their travels.

But there is more motivation.  Beth is about to start her own business --
boosted along, she says, by the self-confidence she developed as a nudist.
"I knew, the day I played my guitar and sang for a wedding at Avatan
[campground] that, if I could play and sing while naked, to a naked audience,
I could do anything."

Nudists generally talk of the health benefits, including skin-absorbed
vitamin D.  They also key in to freedom, a relaxed lifestyle and the physical
comfort gained from shedding restrictive clothing.

At their most serious, they emphasis that nudism cuts away artificiality,
the dress-for-success pattern that dominates many interpersonal relationships
in what they term "textile world."

Nude camping appears to be a fast-growing segment of RVing.  Campgrounds
report running out of brochures and receiving 200 to 300 membership
applications a year.  Whether you are full-timing, taking vacation trips
or camping only on weekends, you are seldom more than 200 miles from a 
nudist campground.  Directories, including those of the American Sunbathing
Association and the Naturalist (sic) Society, list locations.

There are even two nudist campgrounds in Minnesota, whose members field
questions about the wind-chill factor half of the year and industrial-
strength mosquitoes the other half.  (The play cribbage indoors during the
winter, meet at the clubhouse for Halloween, Thanksgiving and St. Patrick's
Day celebrations, and sometimes take winter holidays in Jamaica.  One 
campground even has installed a repellent fogger, after consultation with
University of Minnesota environmental experts, to fend off the insect
vampires.)

Nudist campgrounds are not sexual playgrounds, members emphasize.  Nudism
is defined in terms of the family.  Everybody is carefully screened, and
singles, if admitted at all by the clubs, are usually limited.

Time and again, nudists stress that nudism diminishes sexual tension because
there is no mystery, therefore no fantasy, about the opposite sex.  There
are explicit rules governing behavior.  The nudist rule of thumb is to 
exercise behavior requiring no apology.

Everyone's second-worst nightmare, right after the fear of falling, is
appearing naked in public.  Nudists often admit that they have had that
nightmare, but only before they became nudists.  The fear factor probably
is generated by doubts about appearance, such as obesity, scars, mastectomies,
underendowment, overendowment, etc.

"There are very few perfect 10s," nudists point out.  "You aren't judged 
on physical appearance, no one really notices your body.  They are more apt
to identify you as `driving a red car,' `the expert on Faulkner' or `the
one who makes those great shrimp-and-egg rolls'."

We talked with several nudist RV families, ranging from couples with young
children to retirees, to find out what attracts them to nudism, the specific
benefits, and what, if any, problems they encounter.  Their accounts provide
answers to most of our questions about nudism, including the effect on 
children, safety, possible embarrassment about menstruation and arousal,
attitude by the outside world (including employers, family and friends),
and the danger of skin cancer from exposure to the sun.

Jerry and Debbie both work.  They have two daughters, ages 9 and 10.  
Introduced to nude camping when they met another couple from Indiana
while vacationing, they found, after a timid beginning, that they liked 
it.  Among the advantages they list is that their daughters, have been 
exposed to many nude bodies, don't have to ask most of the usual questions.
Debbie, who had never been comfortable with her body, has a new self-
confidence.  And the whole family feels healthier.

Campers since 1976, the couple like the "controlled atmosphere" of nudist
campgrounds.  It's not only secure, but privacy is completely respected.
"You don't know who's wealthy or who is just making ends meet," Debbie
says.  "It's the personhood that counts."

Jerry and Debbie had camped a lot, first with tents and then trailers, and
often with family members.  "We don't do anything that we didn't do before,"
Debbie says.  "We just enjoy it more."

It was Dave that talked Barbara into trying nudism, after he read a 1985
article in Trailer Life magazine.  Prejudiced against the idea because of
her strict, religious upbringing, Barbara nevertheless agreed to talk with
the couple the membership committee assigned.

"I was expecting something out of the hippie movement," she remembers.  "The
couple was about 15 years old than us (we're in our 40's now), but we found
we had a lot in common.  Meeting them just blew away all my preconceptions.
It [nudism] still involved a lot of working through because of my strict
upbringing.

"I grew up in camping, but nudist camping gives you closer friendships; we
keep in touch with our nudist friends year-round because we have formed
bonds that transcend nudism.  With your clothes off, you're more vulnerable.
You feel like, `Well, I've exposed myself physically; I might as well expose
myself mentally.'"

Clothing at a nudist campground is mostly clothes optional, except for the 
swimming pool - and even there, people who are allergic to the sun may wear
hats and/or t-shirts, although the rule is no suits.  The American Sunbathing
Association advises "clothing when practical, unclothes when possible."  If
the weather is cool or rainy, or if you're cooking at a campfire, it only 
makes sense to wear some clothing.

Volleyball is a favorite sport at many campgrounds, and some players choose
to wear support clothing.  A few women who have had mastectomies opt for
lacy blouses at first.  During menstrual periods, women wear shorts or other
coverings.  Babies who are not toilet-trained must wear diapers.  And every-
one must carry a towel along to sit on.

Physical arousal is rare; the circumstances just aren't conducive, men say.
If an erection occurs, the towel is available for concealment.  One man in 
a nudist campground who persisted in floating on his back in the pool while
in a state of arousal lost his membership.  Membership loss is serious
because it is records on a national roster.

Clothing is required for dancing, and one Minnesota campground holds formal
dances from time to time -- complete with corsages.

When his closest friend confided that he and his wife had joined a nudist
campground in Wisconsin, Warren remembered the fun in his childhood skinny-
dipping and was immediately interested in nudist camping.  Now Warren and
Faye live in a nudist resort in Florida in the winter and a nudist campground
in Minnesota in the summer, with trailers permanently hooked up north and
south.  They cherish their friendships in both places.  "When you meet some-
one, you immediately get to know the real inner person," Warren says.

The youngest member at the Minnesota campground where Faye and Warren summer
is three, and the oldest is a man in his 80's.  There's also a widowed great-
grandmother.  Faye likes the absence of age barriers in making friendships.
She also appreciates the security.

Brad has been a nudist for 26 years, starting when he and his first wife and
five children joined.  Talking about Avatan, where he camps now, he says,
"Kids are included in a membership.  The only rule is that a non-custodial
parent must have notarized permission from the custodial parent for the 
children to be in the campground."

His second wife, Doris, "understood that nudism came with the deal!"  The
couple has a Toyota van conversion and a permanent spot at a nudist camp-
ground, but they also go RVing around the country, armed with directories
so that they can plot their route to include stays at other nudist camp-
grounds.

A direct membership through the American Sunbathing Association costs $40
for a single, $57.50 for a couple or family.  Fees vary, along with membership
requirements, at various clubs.

Nudist campground members are like family, all the couples interviewed agreed.
"We care for each other.  Everyone watches out for the children."  In addition
to enjoying water and volleyball, horseshoes, shuffleboard and nature hikes,
members get together informally for cookouts or to watch movies on a VCR.

Ever since the first nudist campground - the Garden of Eden - there have been
practicing nudists.  Nudism was officially brought to the United States by a
German immigrant, Kurt Barthel, in 1929.  Surprised to learn that nudism was
not a recognized custom in his new home, he located three other couples who
were naturism enthusiasts in the Old Country.  The group found an isolated
spot upriver from New York City and founded the first nudism center.

Benjamin Franklin was one of the earliest Americans to recommend "air baths."
There have been recent studies about the value of skin absorption of vitamin
D - in moderation, of course.

If nudism sounds like a healthful, relaxing way to go RVing, more information
can be obtained by writing to:  The American Sunbathing Association, 1703 N.
Main Street, Kissimmee, Florida 34744, or to the Naturist Society, P.O. Box
132, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54902.

A seamless tan, friends who are like an extended family, healthful outdoor
living and enhanced self-confidence are among the advantages of RVing in 
the nude, say those who live this life.  And, as Faye says, "I never have 
to worry about what to wear -- or about finding a bathing suit that isn't 
too revealing!"

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Reprinted w/o permission from the August 1992 Trailer Life magazine.