We all start life in the nude. While most of us spent the rest of it clothed, being nude with other people was once a unifying human experience. Many ancient cultures spent most of their time unclothed. Enter industrialism, capitalism and much more … and textiled-life became the norm.
The modern movement to shed clothes with others began in Germany in the early 20th century and blossomed into an active global community. Naturists and nudists seek out opportunities to be socially nude, whether that's at a campground, a pool, a beach or in the comfort of their own home. Unlinking sex from nudity is one of the core tenets of the movements.
Host Anita Rao learns more about naturism from four people who practice it: Naomi Brown, a reporter and host at WUNC; Jay Shapiro, the lead coordinator and president of Triangle Area Naturists LLC; and Sam and Aleah, a couple in Florida who created Our Natural Blog and work to bring more young folks into naturism in Florida.
Special thanks to Billy Warden for the inspiration for this show! And to the listeners we heard from: Margot, Jill, Earl from the website Clothes Free Life, Patricka from the Black Naturists Association and Nick and Lins from Naked Wanderings.
Interview Highlights:
Naomi Brown about nudity in her house as a child:
Growing up, I always remember hanging out with my mom while she would be getting dressed to go to an event or something like that. And of course, she'd be naked in the process of putting on a ball gown or whatever. And I don't know if that — seeing her naked and seeing, like, her cesarean scar, and how she just didn't care about it — I don't know if that just was like osmosis to me or something. ... Definitely seeing my mom naked a lot of times helped, but it wasn't anything that we were like completely for or against in our house.
Jay Shapiro on his personal philosophy behind naturism:
It's a matter of just getting to know people for who they are. You're not concerned with how you look, with what they're thinking of you, with how they look. You're just meeting sort of mind to mind, eyes to eyes. You don't know what anybody does for a living. You don't know what their economic status is. They're just exceptionally open and friendly people. And that's just immensely appealing.
Nudism and naturism are nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. It's the society that makes us believe otherwise and limits us to a certain level when we should be living our lives as free as possible.- Shem Jay
Sam on how naturism helped him accept his body:
For me, [naturism] was an avenue of breaking free of a lot of insecurity. The first time I went to a nude beach, I was 19, and I challenged myself. I'm like: If I can do this, maybe I can learn to be okay with myself and gain some confidence and sort of accept myself for who I am. And it did, it helped me. It was amazing to see these … older people on the beach. And here I am, I'm 19, and I can't even leave my towel because I think I look terrible. And there's like, these old people with scars and just the wear and tear of life who aren't looking perfect, but who are not giving a care to the world and just going seashell hunting. And I was like: What's wrong with me? And it got me really to have a bit of a paradigm shift, to see things a little differently.
Aleah on raising her kids in clothing-optional communities:
Seeing us, seeing our friends, {seeing] different body types, different genders, different races … hey're getting exposed to that and seeing that as: That's just a person. That's just a person that's making their own choices in life. And I really believe that they're going to grow up to be more conscientious young men who aren't looking — you know, they're not boob crazy. They look at women as individuals or at people as individuals beyond their bodies. And I think that if more people could grow up like that, it would be brilliant.
Please note: This episode originally aired on August 27, 2021.
