RE:LOOKING FOR HELP TO PROMOTE THE NUDE LIFESTYLE

I am really pleased with the response to my feed on helping promote the nude lifestyle. Currently 15 different members have provided personal insight that has given me valuable information and I have already applied some things into my blog as I get ready to open it up to the world. One thing that I am a little disappointed in is that I haven't gotten any responses from any women. I believe its crucially important that any effort to promote things should include the female dynamic. The only way that will happen is if they provide some significant insight as we look for ways to be successful in promoting things. Those of you who are reading this, if you know of ANY female nudists, encourage them to read over my feed and add their two cents. It doesn't matter how involved in nudism they are or any other of the varying characteristics that exists among females. All views matter and will go a long way towards building a strong foundation in anything we do. And this might sound a little incredulous here, but even someone who is more textile bound could give is feedback that helps us incorporate our efforts in becoming more acceptable to others.

I was thinking about some non-traditional ways at presenting nudism to "outsiders" as a means towards reaching acceptance at a greater level so that its legitimacy becomes more acknowledgeable. What do you think about making this effort a non-profit designation? I know there's a lot that goes into these kinds of things and requires serious organizational structure, but if there's enough support out there and people willing to assist me in establishing such a thing, then I'm willing to dig in and do the required research and at the appropriate time, be the lead in formulating things. What I'm asking from you right now is, do you think that such an idea can work from the concept of promoting both nude socialization and body acceptance? A lot of you have more experience out there and have a better feel on how the wind blows within the confines of this lifestyle, so please let me know your thoughts because if this seems like a viable concept, I'd really like to make it a huge part of my whole blogging experience. Looking forward to what all of you have to say!

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RE:LOOKING FOR HELP TO PROMOTE THE NUDE LIFESTYLE

Have you talked to TNS, The Naturist Society, its a non profit that has as part of it NEF, Naturist Education Foundation. It might be worth getting involved so you dont spend time reinventing the wheel but instead add your ideas and efforts to make the whole effort better.

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RE:LOOKING FOR HELP TO PROMOTE THE NUDE LIFESTYLE

FullSun wrote:

Have you talked to TNS, The Naturist Society, its a non profit that has as part of it NEF, Naturist Education Foundation. It might be worth getting involved so you don't spend time reinventing the wheel but instead add your ideas and efforts to make the whole effort better.

I would go further: find out where the TNS and AANR are holding organizational meetings and try to attend them and listen to the seminars, and try to talk to some of the people in charge. We on the sidelines can suggest things, but the people who are actually doing stuff might give you better advice and insight.

These organizations usually list the upcoming meetings on their web site. And the AANR, at least, have regional meetings all over the country.

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RE:LOOKING FOR HELP TO PROMOTE THE NUDE LIFESTYLE

We have traveled the country far and wide... probably have been to more nudist resorts overall than most... OUR experience in INDIANA was very very strange... WE visited Sunshower - very nice place.... did an interview of the owner for TNS magazine for which I use to write... HE and HIS wife both stated that their very own children don't even know they own a nudist resort... Imagine the will reading when ta dah.... hey kids you own a nudist resort... We have discovered each region/state have there own standards and customs when it comes to nudism. FL - varies county by county (PASCO Co.... numerous resorts) East Coast has 4 clothing optional beaches -

I have mentioned before that NUDISM / Nudity has become the last taboo::: MARRY a monkey / no problem... transgender / all good... kick an old lady / poor decision... GO OUTSIDE NUDE and possibly with others who may actually see your genitals / OH HELL NO - are you some kind of pervert???

We have many Pilipino friends and the Pilipino women especially avoid darkening in the sun as a sign of status... darker bad / poor... AND we can thank all of the wonderful missionaries that went out in to the natural world and taught nudity is bad / parts of your body are bad... I wish you the best in your endeavor to make the world a more NUDIST friendly world - AANR would be a great source of information...

BEST WISHES

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RE:LOOKING FOR HELP TO PROMOTE THE NUDE LIFESTYLE

Well, I truly appreciate the response here. My initial reasoning for asking was to determine the viability of the non profit end of things. Also, I knew about the TNS and ANNR relationship through my research and actually reviewing the information about these things on websites. Their focus seems a bit different than mine, and while I dont want to disparage these organizational efforts, it seems to me that their efforts - from the perspective of person who participates in the nude lifestyle - have fallen flat in regards to actually igniting initiatives designed to improve perceptive values towards nudity. Its almost as if its there in name only and not making any effort to go beyond the status quo. I definitely dont want to "compete" with something that is already happening. But if the consensus is that there's already a sufficient non-profit entity out there, then even appearing to duplicate this would do more harm than good. It was just a thought. As for seeking to involve myself to the point of attending meetings and such, just the uncertainty of its value would discourage me. I have sent emails to some people from a variety of places associated with nudism and have never received a reply. That alone signals to me a huge warning that's there's a problem. Besides, 'm not interested in becoming involved in the mechanics of established organizations. I know what its like to attend meetings over and over again only to be seen as a body rather than a valued contributor. You are right Woodsman21, they are the appropriate resource for getting the inside track on what their organizations are up to and how I can help them succeed. But as I alluded to before, their mission doesn't seem to be energized enough to coincide with what it is I want to do here.

Stoneandy, while I agree that two organizations should be enough to address nudist cultural issues, the fact remains that they haven't. What is amazing to me is, nudist resorts are not required to follow "cultural rules", yet their actions have become complacent without a care towards a unified solution . Cultures are constantly evolving and they are supposed to acclimate themselves as things change. Organizations like the AANR are supposed to be like a "guiding light" in smoothing out changes as they become needed. They act somewhat similar to a leadership role to keep things together. When conflict arises, it is their responsibility to provide guidance and resources to help successfully mitigate issues relevant to a cultures survival.

The obstacle towards attaining a woman's perspective lies in the way they are treated as nudists. I personally have no direct direct knowledge as to how women are generally treated, but there are some facts that can provide insight that can provide some idea about this. We know that through observation that when seeing nudist events, the "crowd" is overwhelmingly male. Some resorts placate this with limits on access to single men, but open unrestricted for women. Think maybe women feel a little intimidated being outnumbered like that, or how about when attempting to acclimate themselves in the lifestyle, their ability to meet single male nudists can seem restrictive in some environments that blindly block out that option? On top of that, BigDudemans outlook that women are hesitant to speak up doesnt help. And what was his remark that I would have better luck if I was part of a couple? Is that another put down towards single men? For your information, I am married but my wife is not comfortable with nudity and I respect that, just as she respects my comfortability being nude. I refuse to believe that even having a status as a single man would have any bearing on how a woman responds. You need to give them more credit. I have met many intelligent women in my life which shows me that their sex has nothing to do with contributing to a conversation with a man.

In closing up this response, I dont want to implicate that the organizations that we have to represent our lifestyle are not beneficial, because they are. They do provide a lot of knowledge and in their own way provide organization to the highly misunderstood concept of nude socialization. The fact that they still exist is testament to the value that they have towards our cause. I am only commenting based on my own personal observations that this value appears to have "stalled" and we have to do something about that. To that end, I will be going live August 1 with my blog with the specific purpose of promoting social nudism and body acceptance. I have committed myself to maintaining that blog for at least 1 year and if I determine that it has proven to be relevant to its purpose, it will surely continue and grow. Once I've finalized it, I will let everyone know here and I hope you will all at least give it a visit and provide me with constructive criticisms, and hopefully accolades as well. In the meantime, I'll continue this feed until then, building on the feedback that is provided. It is most certainly appreciated!

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RE:LOOKING FOR HELP TO PROMOTE THE NUDE LIFESTYLE

The experiences by stoneandy and some others do not represent all experiences or club environments. What Ive seen at Laguna Del Sol over the years is pretty significant growth in the number of people visiting except since COVID. I regularly see many single guys, some single women, children, some with one parent, some with both, gay couples, the whole mix. Stoneandy, I seriously doubt you would have trouble attending with your children unless there are other issues or attitudes that we dont know about here. From what I see here is that it definitely appears to be a local or regional culture issue at a club level, not a National or national organization issue.

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RE:LOOKING FOR HELP TO PROMOTE THE NUDE LIFESTYLE

You cannot force privately held clubs to welcome anyone they do not want to be included... I TOTALLY agree they are missing a giant market as many wives don't or won't participate in nudism.... WHAT we really need is a NATIONAL movement to get over BODY SHAMING and stop sexualizing the human body... WE are far from a normal M/F couple... WE have found the gay campground way more welcoming than most of the AANR / TNS involved clubs! AS we have begun to recover from CoVid - we have seen a tremendous up tick in people getting involved in the nudist lifestyle... The clothing optional / nudist beaches on the East Coast of FL as packed every weekend. Fourth of July there were over 400 nudist / naturist accepting folks on the tiny little spot PASSAGE KEY at the mouth of Tampa Bay. We've been to Cypress Cove and there was no spots left of RV's and huge crowds around the pool. I feel for those of you who have been discriminated on in the past and currently... AND maybe it is a regional type thing... we have seen every type of couple / throuple / single male / female /trans combination possible at most (if not ALL) the local resorts we have attended within the last 8 months....

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RE:LOOKING FOR HELP TO PROMOTE THE NUDE LIFESTYLE

There have been many valuable points taken among the postings here. One thing I have noticed a lot of, is the manner in which we perceive things is not a uniform way in having a realistic understanding of what is being discussed. Here we are, within a nudist environment, having varying degrees of how a particular topic is being assessed. Imagine how those outside a nude environment come to their conclusions. Right or wrong, how we perceive things are the basis of our arguments when having these discussions. One recent comment concerning the AANR caught my attention,
"...because it is set up to promote nudism as a business model, and not all the people who pursuing it as a business are as tolerant as others". Nudism as a business.... that concept doesnt surprise me, but if this is in fact true, then the true original purpose of its founding becomes obscure and its focus is no longer clearly defined. If this effort has proven successful, then there is no initiative to change it. Then it comes down to whats more important, the money or the cause? Some will argue that you cant have one without the other, especially since nearly every aspect of our lives revolves around the need for money. I dont see any worthwhile organization abandoning any monetizing efforts in order to keep it alive. But when this happens, it should be structured as a separate entity. The true focus should stay on the purpose intended and that any financial aspect are separated outside of its mission.

Getting back to perceptions, its very easy to become fooled. Sometimes what we think we see or observe does not completely represent the true nature of everything. Perceptions should only be relied on to the extent that they are nothing more than pieces to a larger picture. That is precisely what we are fighting from those outside the realms of our lifestyle. From my own point of view, I have always seen AANR as the predominate representation for the nudist lifestyle. It has a lot of historic value in keeping some sustenance for nudity outside the confines of the social norms which are restricting it. But if the perception of a "business model" proves to be true, it will no longer maintain the face of legitimacy for nudism.

The point is, our perceptions can become tainted if were not careful in the way we support those thoughts. There needs to be a reasonable grounding in these thought processes so that if we want others to have an accurate understanding of where we are coming from, it gives more credibility to what is being said. In the example I quoted above, there was additional information supporting that thought which is why I personally took note of it and with personal introspection was able to understand this position and gain some clarity for myself. That clarity has not been presented to the general social structure in America. Just because we know and appreciate what true nudism is about doesn't automatically transfer to others. More importantly, the negative association towards nudity may seem somewhat abated in some places, but overall its perception has not changed. To that end, I consider it a failure for organizations such as the AANR and the TNS in helping improve the status of nudity in our lives. Much more needs to be done but relying on any business model is not the answer.

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RE:LOOKING FOR HELP TO PROMOTE THE NUDE LIFESTYLE

If you don't think the resorts are the problem, then your research needs awakening. We are a couple nd frequent nude resorts in FL. When a couple daily rate is $30 on a weekend and a single male is $175, thats discrimination.

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RE:LOOKING FOR HELP TO PROMOTE THE NUDE LIFESTYLE

This past Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times published a two page article on nude recreation highlighting resorts in the local area.They also quoted AANR statistics concerning the age demographics of nudists and highlighted that the 60's and 70's generations were the old core of nudists but since covid, the youger demographics of the under 30 age group has increased dramatically.

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