It seems like just about every week we hear at least one story in the news of a teacher (usually young and female) being fired and / or arrested for engaging in inappropriate behavior (usually sexual) with a student.

Statistically speaking, it should be no surprise that a teacher caught in a compromising position with a student is female. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about three-quarters of all public school teachers are female. Teaching has, like nursing and a few other fields, long been considered a female profession. Which is why I very nearly passed over the story of Olivia Sprauer, a young, female teacher in Florida who was fired a couple of weeks ago for allegedly improper behavior.

Ms. Sprauer’s case, however, is different. She was not fired for inappropriate interaction with a student. Nor was she fired for appearing in a pornographic film. Rather, she was fired for having professional photos taken of herself – wearing a bikini.

Ms. Sprauer apparently knew she was taking a risk by being photographed in skimpy swimwear. Employment contracts for many classes of public employees contain “conduct clauses” which dictate that behavior outside of work hours can be taken into account when rating overall job performance. Teachers are (perhaps unfairly) more affected by these conduct clauses, since their primary audience is children – and it is assumed that children will be more negatively affected by alleged immoral behavior on the part of their teachers than fellow adults would.

Aside from parents, the adults that children spend most of their time with are teachers. As a parent of two young children in public school, I understand (and expect) that teachers have a “role model” component to their jobs. But I can also categorically state that if one of my children’s teachers (who are both female) did some bikini modeling on the side, I wouldn’t be bothered at all.

As nudists, we understand that “morality” is an enormous grey area, and “community standards” vary from state to state and region to region. So perhaps we’re not as bothered by bikini photos in New York as they are in Florida (oh, the irony!). Though I think we can all agree that the first thing we want from our teachers is competence. Did Ms. Sprauer’s outside-of-work photo sessions impair her ability to teach? If she had been surreptitiously photographed wearing a bikini at a public beach, would that have been immoral conduct? Or was it only a problem that she posed and got paid for it? As long as she was effectively facilitating learning in the classroom, what does it matter?

Conduct policies are integral to many jobs, and can be particularly important in an educational environment. My wife has been a professor at a couple of different universities, and most higher education institutions ban relationships between professors/staff and students – even though the students are generally over the age of 18 and therefore legally adults. Problems of favoritism and academic dishonesty can arise as a result of professor-student relationships, which can be extremely detrimental to the learning environment.

Younger children are certainly impressionable. We can therefore hold teachers in elementary through high schools to a somewhat higher standard of conduct. Any number of out-of-school activities can affect how a teacher presents her- or himself in the classroom. Would I want my children being taught by someone who uses illegal drugs, engages in prostitution, or makes porn movies – even if that activity didn’t materially affect the classroom environment? It’s a difficult question, and I could make arguments for and against that teacher continuing in their position.

But in the case of Olivia Sprauer, is the simple act of being photographed nearly nude adequate grounds for dismissal? Or is it an overreaction driven by society’s tendency to equate nudity with sex?

The battle continues.

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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Practicing Nudism

Practicing Nudism - Nudism or Naturism is also practiced around the world to various degrees. Doctors in France and Slovenia advocate for nudism as part of their treatments and Germany boasts a particularly strong naturist culture called the FKK – “free body culture.”

Many overseas tourist attractions capitalize on the nudist movement by offering nude beaches and nudist resorts. Some of what we would see as “nudist communities” are actually cultures where nakedness is a simply a way of life. There, being naked has never been an issue.
Religions such as Wicca advocate going “sky clad” to be closer with nature. Some tribes in South Africa forgo clothes as a matter of tradition and limited resources.

It’s safe to say that nudity is complex issue and the world won’t be agreeing on it anytime soon. History has shown us that attitudes are ever-shifting when it comes to nudity (especially social nudity) and that still holds true for modern culture.

Regardless of the reasons, nudists and naturists everywhere are gaining exposure and more widespread mainstream acceptance. There may come a day when our children will look back on our obsession with modesty and wonder, “What was the big deal with clothes?”

Many naturists join a nudist / naturist community to enjoy nudist activities with other like-minded individuals. Naturist communities also free their people from the judgment of society. Detractors claim that nudists are objectifying themselves by exhibiting their bodies in public. On the other hand, nudists argue that practicing nudism takes confidence and self-respect to bare their naked body in public, despite society’s disapproval.

In most nudist communities, no one is judged on superficial qualities such as age, weight, or body type. The naturist movement also objects to the argument that nudity is an inherently sexual state. For this reason many nudist communities and clothes-free beaches accept and even welcome young couples with children.

Young Naturists And Nudists America YNA

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Nudist Websites

Information about nudism and naturism is certainly accessible online. That said, it seems like the nudist industry has been quite slow to adapt to an increasingly digital world. Most of the nudist resorts and naturist clubs have websites. The problem is that they look like they were designed back in 1995. This is one of the main reasons nudism has such a bad image problem.

These nudist websites may also be hard to find in a basic online search. It sounds hard to believe, but some nudist clubs are just now setting up a Facebook page or don’t even have one yet, let alone pages on other social networks like twitter!

How are young people going to find these nudie friendly places? Furthermore, what will they think and how will they react once they see these poorly constructed and designed nudist websites? If you’ve stumbled across one and thought you fell into a time warp to the past, don’t worry; rest assured you’re not alone.

Through our own website, we are trying to give nudist resorts and nudie friendly businesses more exposure. Through our YNA nudist clubs affiliates program, we publish real reviews, and information. On a bigger scale, we organize young naturist gatherings at clubs that are open to hosting us.

Businesses can also purchase a site-wide ad for even greater exposure and consistent increase in traffic. Last but not least, we offer services in social media, web design, SEO and more. We hope to help nudism further adapt to the online world and to make the nudie lifestyle more accessible, attractive and accepted to / by young adults of the digital age!

What we have come to realize is that the nudist movement today has an image problem. The reality is that when most people think of nudists, they think of people who are in the twilight of their lives, for the most part overweight and not too much fun to be around.

YNA aims to change that perception and so far we have feel that we have been doing a pretty good job. But we need your support if we are to succeed. Putting together all this information takes time and money so feel free to sign up and become a member of Young Naturists and Nudists America YNA. We could use all the help we can get! So if you have some time, and are a responsible, dedicated person then why not volunteer and lend a hand? We could always use interesting articles, personal stories and a helping hand with managing our online presence.

We hope that some day soon, most nudist business owners will begin to think like business owners. Once this will happen, we hope to see nudism expand and grow :)

In the meantime, check out our website. Here you can find a wealth of information about nude beaches, nudist websites, nudist and clothing optional resort reviews, nudist blogs, naturist articles and so much more nudie-related information and events.

Young Naturists And Nudists America YNA

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If You See Something Say Something

Violence and Social Issues In America Today 

Each year brings change. People evolve, society evolves, and crime rates are affected. At times the crimes decrease, but sometimes the opposite occurs. The following article is a look at some of the most worrisome crimes in the United States and reveals the statistical changes that have occurred within each crime.

Sexual assault

Sexual assaults are sexually verbal and physical attacks that do not include rape. Similar to rape, sexual assaults have seen a decline of 64% from 1995 to 2005. There was a significant increase in 2003. At that time, the rate of sexual assaults was 56%, when in 1995, the numbers were 29%. In 2010 the percentage of sexual assaults reported dropped to 35%.

The current average of sexual assault victims is over 200,000. The numbers relate to 1 victim every 2 minutes.

Teenage Rape

Studies show that teenage rape incidents have significantly dropped by nearly half since 1993, but it continues to be a very pervasive and grave issue. According to Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), a rape or an attempted rape occurs every six minutes in the United States, and the targets of these rapes or attempts are mostly teenagers.

To put these numbers into perspective, let’s look at the statistics of 2002. During that year 247,730 cases of rape were reported, and nearly half, 44%, of the victims are under 18 years of age. Close to half of all victims are teenagers!

In 2005, reports demonstrate that teenagers are 3 times more likely than any other age group to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault. Teenagers are believed to be more susceptible to falling victim to rape because of the rise in technology. Ninety percent of teens go online and use a social networking site. Nearly 80% of these teens post photos online and almost half of them have sent “sexual” type messages. The message is then shared with people other than the intended recipient. This inadvertently increases the possibility of rape.

Teenage girls continue to be four times more likely to be raped than any other demographic. 54% of the 1 in 6 rape victims in the United States are teenagers. Of the 22 million reported rape incidents, over 11 million are teenagers. The cases of rape as a whole decline, but the number of teenage victims are increasing.

Date rape

Date rape was only recognized as an actual crime in the 80′s. This category of rape occurs during a date or outing with someone who is, at least, relatively familiar. At times drugs and alcohol may be present before the crime, but this is not always the case. In the mid 1990s, it was reported that date rape occurs with 57% of current rapes. 38% percent of victims say that the rapist was a friend, relative, or acquaintance. Rape cases may be declining as a whole, but date rape accounts for more than half of those incidents.

The use of the term “date rape” became prominent in the 90’s and has been a focus since. So although rape as a whole is declining, of those rapes, more than half happen with someone the victim just met, slightly knows, or has known for some time. The numbers of date rape victims continue to rise. Since 2005, more than 70% of rapes, that were reported, were considered date rape.

Rape (over the age of 18)

Rape is a violent and demeaning crime that has existed all over the world for centuries. Over the years, rape has been recognized as a crime derived for the perpetrator’s need for power and control over the victim more than it is about the sex act itself. Regardless of the perpetrator’s reason for committing the crime, rape deprives the victim of any say over what occurs to her or his body. Usually the victims are women, but males also fall victim to this demoralizing crime.

Rape occurs once every 2 minutes in the United States. Of the nearly 208,000 victims, over 80 percent are over 30 years of age. Similar to rape among teens, the cases of rape are declining steadily over the years. In 2009 rape decreased nearly 3 percent from 2008.
The statistics were more than 6.5 percent lower than in 2005 and more than 2 percent lower than 2000. So while any amount of rape cases is upsetting, it is a good sign to see the numbers of incidents declining.

Law officials do offer some uncertainty on the accuracy of these figures and voice some concern on how difficult it is to truly understand the scope of the problem. Lack of reporting a rape coupled with false reporting cause a distortion in the numbers. A positive note is that false reporting has decreased to 2% since the assigning of female police officers to rape cases. But if we want to see the numbers truly decline, then we need every victim to report the crime!

Teenage suicide

Suicide among teens is continuously on an alarmingly steady climb. It has been determined that about 1 in 6 teenagers have thought about committing suicide at some point in their life. Of those teens, 1 in 12 actually attempts the suicide. More females than males attempt suicide, but more men than women actually commit suicide. Many girls may attempt suicide in an effort to ask for help. Boys attempt suicide with the intent to end their lives.

Suicide among teens in America increased by 8% in 2004; this is the largest increase in decades. A decline was witnessed before 2003 when the rate of suicide was 6.78 suicides per 100,000 adolescents in comparison to 1990 figures of 9.48 per 100,000.

Suddenly there was a shift and the numbers began climbing again. In 2003 there were 4,232 suicides, and in 2004 the number jumped to 4,599. Teen suicide increased from 6.3% in 2009 to 7.8% in 2011. Current statistics show that nearly 10 in 100,000 teenagers attempt suicide, and each day there are 11 teenage suicide victims. 11 dead teenagers every single day!

Teenage Eating Disorders

It was recorded in 1991 that 40% of those diagnosed with eating disorders of bulimia nervosa and / or anorexia nervosa were teenagers. More than 5 million teenage girls and 500,000 teenage boys suffered with at least one of the eating disorders. Those numbers have been climbing ever since.

In 2004, the numbers were a staggering! There were 12 million teenagers suffering from eating disorders!!! The numbers more than doubled in a little over a decade. Current studies show that 25,000 per every million teenagers suffer from at least one eating disorder.

Bullying (in school)

Bullying among children in school appears to be on the rise, probably due to the various ways children can communicate in today’s tech savvy world. With cell phones, computers, and other means of reaching an outlet to say cruel and hurtful remarks, students are able to say things that they may not say in a face-to-face situation. 

Even while in class, students are taking pictures, posting comments on social media and sending texts with their cell phones. Bullying occurs within the school or on school grounds 79% of the time. Bullying does not need to be done through actual physical interaction, regardless of location.

Current studies indicate that 20.8 percent of students admit to participating in some form of bullying while at school. This translates into 1 in 7 students either being the bully or being the victim of bullying. Perhaps shocking to many is the fact that bullying has decreased to 41 % in 2008 from 52 % in 2001. Statistics show that bullying is steadily decreasing, but the increasing severity of the bullying is still an issue.

School Shootings

It seems like school shootings are all too familiar news stories in today’s world, yet reports show that school shootings are not on the rise. This fact may seem surprising since the media may tend to indicate otherwise. The first shooting in a school was recorded in 1966. Since then there have been 90 school shootings with a total of 231 deaths.

There was a sudden increase in school shootings during the 1990′s and early 2000′s and then they quickly dropped again. These incidents are always shocking, devastating, and difficult to process, but they are considered atypical and rare. 33 deaths were reported as a result of school shootings in the 2009 – 2010 school year. This is a dramatic change from the 63 deaths recorded in 2006 – 2007. Taking into consideration that there are over 50 million children in school in the United States, these statistics relate to a 1 in 2 million probability.

1995 experienced a significant drop from the year before, and it was also the lowest incidents of school shootings since 1985. While the incidents may spike up suddenly, studies demonstrate that the numbers do drop significantly (and quite quickly). As we have seen with the dramatic change between 2003 and the current number of report incidents.

School Violence

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 53 violent crimes in 1993. Forty-two of these crimes ended in death.

In 2000, more than 80% of schools reported school violence in their school. The crimes were recorded as 40 crimes per every 1,000 students. Many of these crimes were so violent that they were criminal and needed police involvement. Approximately 15 crimes per 1,000 students were involved in a violent act requiring the police to be contacted. In 2010 those numbers were very different. The number of violent crimes dropped to 2 per 1,000 students.

Guns at School

In the 1990s it was reported that 25% of students carried a gun to school at some point during the school year. The numbers have been on a decline since then. In 1995, the numbers dropped to 20% of students, and since then the numbers have remained quite steady. In 2001, findings show it was discovered that 17% of students brought guns to school.

Since the all time low in 2001, the statistics have remained steady, with little fluctuation. In 2011, there was a reporting that 15% of students had carried a gun to school.

* While these students do not always use the guns, the weapons are a danger and should not be in the hands of young children while in a school setting.

Teenage Drug Use (not marijuana)

Teenagers were recently surveyed on personal drug use, and many easily and willingly admitted to using some form of a drug. More than seventy percent used alcohol, 10 percent used some form of stimulants or uppers, more than 9 percent used opiates, more than 7 percent used tranquilizers, 6.5 used sedatives, more than 6 percent used hallucinogens, cocaine use was more than 5 percent, inhalants use was more than 5 percent, steroid use was at 2.5 percent, and heroin use was nearly 1 percent.

The drug use among teens was on a steady decline between the mid 90′s until mid year in 2000, but now is steadily increasing. In the 90s, drug use among teens was over 75%. The number of teenagers using drugs began declining by about 3% per year.

In 1995, “only” 65% teenagers reported using any drugs. The numbers were still high, but significantly declining. The numbers remained similar over the next few years until they reached a low in 2000 of 60%. While there was still room for improvement, it appears that the statistics were going on the rise again. With current studies showing that 70% of students admit to using some form of drugs at some point in their lives the fact is simple… teenagers are in fact using more drugs these days.

Drunk Driving

In 1982 there were a total of 26,173 alcohol related fatalities. In 1991, the numbers of underage drunk driving fatalities were 3.8 per 100,000 people. This was the highest number of fatalities resulted from underage drunk driving in the past two decades.

The number of fatalities has decreased, and this shows that teenagers are not getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking alcohol. Between 1995 and 2007, the number remained under 3 fatalities per 100,000 people. In 2010, we witnessed the lowest number of fatalities with a recorded 1.3 per 100.00.

The numbers have significantly reduced to 9,878 in 2011 and lets hope the number of fatalities continues to decline.

Gang Related Violence

Over 40 percent of United States cities with a population of more than 20,000 people have been witness to an increase in gang violence over the past few years. Although there was an approximate 8 percent drop in gang related violence between 1999 and 2000, the numbers are continuing to grow.

In 1999, there were 27,000 gangs in the United States. The number of gangs and gang-related violence was decreasing every year until it reached its lowest in 2003, with “only” 20,000 gangs. The very next year there was a spike in the number of gangs and their violent actions.

Gang members were recorded as accounting for 6% of crimes from the end of the 1990s to the early 2000s. The numbers translate to over 350,000 of the over 6 million crimes reported. The number of gang related crimes has dropped over the last decade. 1994 demonstrated an all-time high of 5.2 per every 1,000 persons or 1.1 million. In 2003, the numbers were 1.4 victims per 1,000 persons or 341,000 victims.

*Although victims reported crime as being gang-related, over 50% of the time this was not the case after investigation.

If you see something, say something!

The most troubling of all these stats is the fact that people are filing less complaints. The police can only act when a crime is reported and charges are filed. If you are a victim of a crime (sexual or otherwise), you MUST speak up. You should not be ashamed – you are the victim. 

No one will think less of you! If on the off chance that someone says or acts in a non supportive way you should cut them out of your life. People like that — HATERS — are not worthy of your time! You are so worth more than that!

Here are phone numbers that you can call – You Are Not Alone! And you don’t have to give your name:

1-800-SUICIDE – National Suicide Hotline

1-800-656-HOPE (4673) - Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network

1-800-621-4000 – National Runaway Safeline

1-866-331-9474 - loveisrespect, National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline

1-800-230-PLAN (7526) - Planned Parenthood

1-800-799-SAFE (7233) - National Domestic Violence Hotline

1-800-422-4453 – National Child Abuse Hotline

1-800-931-2237 - National Association For Eating Disorders

1-800-662-HELP - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism

1-866-SPEAK-UP (773-2587) – School Violence - SPEAK UP

1-800-843-5678 - Cyber Bullying Tipline

1-800-273-TALK (8255) - National Mental Health Association Hotline

1-800-246-PRIDE (7743) - GLBT National Youth Talkline

Young Naturists America YNA

References:

Www.cdc.gov
Www.crimeinamerica.net
Www.fbi.gov
Www.nationalgangcenter.gov
Www.Rainn.org
Www.rapecrisisonline.com

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Willamettans Nudist Resort in Oregon

The Willamettans is a co-operative family nudist resort in Springfield, Oregon, a place where I love to enjoy nature and all the naked fun. I have been a part of this club for a little over two years now.  I found the people to be really friendly and welcoming. The resort is set in a property of over 40 acres in a secluded area. It is a close-gated community and that is what I first really appreciated. They have the best in mind for their members and children and that made my wife and I feel safe there. Upon arriving and asking for the gates to be open, you know you’ll be entering a safe, private place and will enjoy every second. After going a little bit down the road you can see various RV’s and homes around where people have lived for years. Every now and then they have their restaurant open, which they call “Rest-ur-Rump.” They make pretty good food for very reasonable prices; most meals are only $5. For events they have an area across from their restaurant where people have drinks and sing karaoke. We may not always be the best singers there, but they sure do know how to have a good time. Everyone is always filled with laughter and good conversations. It’s hard not to feel like you’re part of one big family there.

At the Willamettans they have court yards for tennis, and they even have a big pool behind the main building where there is a television, saunas, hot tubs, and basic work-out equipment. The members and visitors enjoy coming together and play card games, watching the game and playing water volleyball. Sometimes they have naked yoga on the weekends for anyone who wants to join.

With great pleasure, I am now announcing my first event for YNA Oregon: a weekend gathering at The Willamettans May 24-27, 2013! This is their “spring fling” weekend, and it will be a FREE event, with free camping overnight! The will be live music, water volleyball and so much more. The restaurant will be open or you can bring your own food. They have permission to hike naked behind their property, so I hope to do some free hiking with everyone that wants to join me. I look forward to meeting you all and bringing together more young naturists in Oregon! Whatever we do, I am sure it will be a blast. I hope to see you at spring fling at The Willamettans at 37000 Parsons Creek Rd, Springfield OR. If you want to sign up please contact me at ynaoregon@gmail.com. Again, price is free. Please join us and get in on the fun.

Learn more about The Willamettans on their website: http://www.willamettans.com

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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Guest blog by: Paulette LaRoche

Steph’s Pond

Not far from Lake Ontario, in a little town called Williamson in upstate New York, there is a place you could drive by every single day without ever knowing it’s a nudist park. You just have to know it’s there. Steph’s Pond, which just opened for the 2013 season on May 1st, is only marked by 4 numbers on a post at the end of the driveway. Drive a minute or so down the dirt path through the wooded land, and you’ll arrive at a house at which you must check in. A security camera halfway down the driveway tips them off to approaching guests, and more often than not, at least one of the hosts will greet you outside.

Gary and Judy reside in this house, and about 40 years ago, the 65 acres of land were turned into a campground for naked nature-lovers of all ages to enjoy as well.  Families ($30), couples ($30), and some singles ($20) may enjoy a day in the sun at this carry-in, carry-out park in the woods. Go for the day, stay for the weekend, or rent a place if you just want to hang out even longer. There are small cabins, campers, and areas available for tents. I can’t particularly describe the lodging options since I never stayed overnight, but I have heard there is no electric, so be sure to ask about this before visiting. Also flashlights and lamps are always good to have in the car.

As far as showers and bathrooms, there is an outdoor shower, as well as an outhouse, not very far from Gary and Judy’s house. The outdoor shower has an assortment of shampoos, conditioners, soaps, etc, or you can bring your own. The outhouse…where do I start? I have personally never seen an outhouse with leg room! Or style. Or comfort. Really, this is the most impressive outhouse I’ve ever seen. It’s enclosed, but still with the ground as the floor; decorated; slightly curved in shape. And the toilet actually flushes, but not like the ones in basically every home. There is a pedal under the bowl. The whole thing is really something that must be seen to be appreciated.

Hikers will enjoy the beautiful scenery, peace, and exercise offered up by the trails. Just keep track of your direction; I managed to get lost once or twice. Is wandering through the woods not your cup of tea? Gather your friends and play some volleyball with the net they have set up in the sun! For those who might rather play a game that allows them to hold a beer in one hand the whole time, there is also a nearby horseshoe pit.  Getting hungry? Take a break from the games for a snack. There are picnic tables available, or you can find a clearing and have a good old-fashioned blanket-style picnic! But make sure to bring in your own food, as there is no restaurant on the grounds.

On to my absolute favorite way to relax, and the reason for the name of the park: The POND! Use a nice long stick to push the raft out to the middle of the 2.5 acre pond, kick back, and watch the clouds. Or scope out the wildlife! Birds, fish, turtles, whatever else might be enjoying the pond with you. See and hear nothing but nature (and Judy & Gary’s house!) When the sun gets too hot, there is one particular area of the pond that is perfect for taking a dip. Try not to keep still for too long, however, as the fish seem to really enjoy nipping at toes!

Judy also loves flowers, and shows it by adorning the park with a breathtaking assortment of them throughout the grounds. The new Steph’s Pond website has pictures of some of what you’ll be able to see when you visit!

You may have noticed that their website says “invitation only,” which means any interested parties visiting for the first time should call ahead and tell Judy or Gary that you plan on stopping by. Also tell them how you found out about their place! This is especially important for singles. I’m sure they want to know that people are visiting with nothing but good intentions. Ask for a brief tour when you get there; they will be more than happy to help you find your way around and answer any questions you may have. Judy is the bubbly brunette with the ever-beaming smile, and Gary is a kind and friendly man.

I hope to see you all there after May 1st!

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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Guest Blog by: Steve of YNA Upstate New York

An example of how nudity is so often tied into sexuality

Change is a fact of life; sometimes subtle, sometimes dramatic.  An area of change in our culture and naturism is sexuality.  I would like to focus on this topic and its impacts on naturism in a short series of blogs.  These blogs will lead up to my sex-positive workshop at the Northeast Naturist Festival in upstate New York (July 30-August 4th, 2013). Within YNA we are working to embrace sexual change in a positive way i.e. sex-positive ways of thinking, doing, and being within a newer, emergent naturism.  This first blog, entitled, “Why Sex-Positive?” is going to focus on dealing with the changing aspects of sexuality within naturism, first in terms of mere language.  We are going to look at some basic reasons of why our claim that naturism is completely non-sexual seems so strange to the textile world, and what that means for us as naturists and nudists. 

I do not consider myself an expert in either sex-positive development, or naturism – I am relatively new to both.  But an area in which I have a master’s degree and years of experience is cross cultural communication.  I have been a translator and problem solver between many diverse people and language groups in foreign refugee camps, including sexual issues.  I also have years of personal cross-cultural experience, having been immersed cold turkey into German culture as a young professional and new husband. I look back now with humor at the mind boggling conflicts that arose cross-culturally over the subtlest linguistic, or body language misunderstandings.  Make no mistake, the problem of bridging the naturism-textile gap is a matter of cross-cultural communication every bit as complex as being dumped into a “foreign” culture and having to learn the language and culture to survive.  In the case of naturism it’s not just culture like, music or food – it’s culture at its most formidable, because few cultural issues are more controversial than sexuality.  Unfortunately in our culture naked = sex.  That is almost a universal association in people’s psyche for many reasons, and one which the pornographers have promoted and perfected for the purposes of sordid gain.  This linguistic association is the first of many cross-cultural reasons that we will explore in these blogs about why naturism needs to embrace sexual change if we are to reach our textile world.  So, in this blog we are going to talk about this mere linguistic association between nudity and sex.

Whether we like it or not, naturism continues to have an uphill battle when it comes to a non-sexual message to the textile world.  Consider an example; the German word for “gay”  (schwul) and “humid” (schwϋl) is nearly identical.  The difference is a very subtle matter of pronunciation, represented only by the “umlaut”, or double points above the letter ‘u’.  I knew a very macho American soldier who could not speak German well, but was too egotistical to know when to keep quiet.  At a German dinner party he insisted on telling the Germans that it was uncomfortably hot and humid.  What he did not realize was that he, the tough macho soldier, was insisting to everyone that he was “gay.”  He didn’t get the pronunciation difference – he was actually saying, schwul, when he meant, schwϋl! The contrast was too much and the laughter was uproarious. No offense to gay people – trust me, you would have all been embarrassed for him while trying like everyone to contain your mirth!  Well, it can be kind of like that when we insist to the textile world, that our nudity is non-sexual.  I mean, let’s be blunt. How is that teenage son or daughter supposed to understand that mom and dad who have never done anything crazy before, and may even go to church every Sunday, are now jumping in a hot tub with a bunch of naked people and it’s not supposed to be an orgy?  Without any supporting context or common experience, the kid’s hormones and sense of propriety inherited from his pre-naturist parents, simply protest the notion. We think we are explaining things one way in our mind, like the macho soldier.  But the language just isn’t there, especially when it has a history of very different meaning.

To a non-naturist friend or family member, naked = sex. Period. The naturism-textile cross-cultural communication gap is a vast void, consisting of a lack of common experience and language to connect two worlds as foreign as the Ithaca area, upstate New York culture I left, and the Hessisch and Pfälzer German culture I was suddenly immersed into.  The nudie has little or no precise language to communicate her new experience, and the non-nudie has no experience base from which to interpret the vague language.  Metaphorically speaking we may think we are saying “schwϋl” but we are really saying “schwul” when we insist to the textile, that naturism is non-sexual nudity.  Then we wonder why the non-nudist frowns, freaks, furrows his brow, or bursts out in laughter.  It’s really not even the right place to start the conversation.

OK fellow nudies, can’t we just admit it?  We have a cross-cultural communication problem of major proportions.  If we continue to insist to the textile world that naturism is purely non-sexual, especially in an increasingly hypersexual world, we are going to have to find better language to do it.  Our language, when it comes to sexology, is pretty weak.  Consider the Eskimos. They have 13 words for snow in a highly developed culture of snow.  They share common snow language and common snow experience.  Sex is a bit more complex than snow, so we can do better than to insist that being naked is somehow absolutely void of sexuality.  After all, in naturism, our genitalia, our sex if you will, is in plain sight.  If you take offense at someone seeing your penis or vulva, then of course you would not be a nudist.  On the other hand, most textiles would consider exposure of their naked body to anyone other than their spouse, either underhanded seduction, or some form of sexual abuse.  So, isn’t it kind of odd that we insist so strongly that our social nudity is non-sexual?  After all, it’s not the “neutral” parts of our bodies, like our elbows, fingers, or toes that elicit such strong emotions.  NO!  It is explicitly our exposed sexuality that brings out such reactions.  I think if we hope to win the battles of today to grow naturism it’s important to be honest with ourselves, and to understand where many of the textiles we are trying to reach may be coming from.   And it won’t do to insist that “schwul” isn’t “schwϋl” – non-nudists don’t get the difference!

In view of the above, sex-positive is a great start at developing a whole new, fuller, richer vocabulary surrounding naturism and sexuality.  Let’s stop pretending naturism has nothing to do with sexuality – in the non-nudist mind it does, and we need to start there.  Furthermore, for us naturists, sex-positive is a way to start being more confident about our own sexuality and therefore more genuine with the textile world.  Instead of being reactive and negative about sexuality, maybe we can take a lead role in teaching about truly fulfilling sexuality.  This in turn challenges us to a deeper understanding of our naked experiences and our sexuality, and how we may relate them metaphorically to similar textile experiences in a way that makes the non-naturist want to consider naturism as a real option.  Maybe we should consider this precisely because many textiles are looking for a way to bring balance, meaning, and fulfillment to their sexuality.   And so we must take a deeper look inside and really ask, is our naturism as non-sexual as we seem to say to the non-naturist?  What are we are afraid of, that keeps us from confronting sexuality in naturism?   Does the textile world see something that we don’t want to see?  All of this is why we need at least some change in our understanding, our experience, and our development of new language as we face changing sexuality within textile culture and naturism.  Sex-positive.  It is the first step in dealing with these changes, and hopefully in reaching many new people, so that they too may experience the freedom and joy that we have experienced.

In this blog we have considered that a large problem in reaching the textile world is that there is a cross-cultural communication gap between our world and theirs.  There is a lack of common language and experience to bridge this gap or deal with changing sexuality.   We need the sex-positive movement, because we need to start where non-nudists start – whether or not we like it, they start with nudity = sex.  Maybe, beyond this fear, they are even trying to gain a deeper understanding of their own sexuality. So that is where we start and it is sex-positive.  Once we accept this we can begin to examine what this means in terms of real experience within naturism and our encounters with the textile world.

In the next blog I will address one of the first and most formidable barriers we face with regard to changing sexuality and sex-positive, and relating naturism to the textile world. We are going to drop the insistence that naturism is completely void of sexuality and we are going to introduce the idea of breaking sexual silence.  

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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Gloria, Director of AANR East

It came to my attention that AANR-East is changing their approach. So with that in mind, I reached out to Gloria who is the person spearheading this new endeavor.  Let’s find out more about Gloria and the new AANR-East initiative!

How long have you been a nudist?

Now, if I tell you how long I have been a nudist I will be giving away my age! But that is OK with me because I am OK with ME. So with that said…. I have been a nudist for 38 years and have loved every minute of it.

When did you actually become a nudist?

I became a closet nudist, if I might use that term, when I was 18 and in college. But my love for social nudity began much earlier.

When I was a child, I loved skinny dipping. I was actually allowed to go skinny dipping as long as I did so at night. At the time, I thought it was strange that it was OK at night but not during the day… But since I was allowed to go, I never questioned it.

When I was about 26 years old, I went to my first nudist club in Pennsylvania. To be perfectly honest, I was scared to death! I had the same inhibitions that most women do. I had my share of insecurities about the way I looked and was afraid of what other people might think or say.

What was the most difficult part of your first nudist experience?

The worst part of that first experience was removing my shorts. I sat at a picnic table for at least an hour, talking with a few people that were nude. But I still couldn’t bring myself to take everything off – I felt terrified at the thought of removing my bottoms.

Finally, I got a rush of courage and decided that it is now or never! I stood up, got completely undressed and walked down to the pool area. I sat in a lounge chair by the pool and slowly began to feel more comfortable (not to mention really hot while I was sitting and baking in the sun).

Then, I finally got the courage to stand up. I made my way towards the pool, all the while trying to make it look like I didn’t notice all the other people that were there.  That first moment, as I entered the water, I knew that being a nudist was going to be for ME!

How long have you been active in the nudist movement?

It is difficult for me to say exactly how long I have been active in the nudist movement. For a long time I didn’t even see it as a movement. I was going to clubs and having a great time but never considered the aspects of WHY I was allowed to be a nudist just as long as I was behind those gates. 

When I became a director for AANR-East (quite a few years back) I realized that we needed to change.  I couldn’t pinpoint the specifics at the time, but there didn’t seem to be much cohesiveness to what we were doing.

About 6 years ago, I ran again for a director’s position. This time I was much more aware of what I believed needed to happen in order to change the opinions of the world around us.

About two years ago, I came to the realization that a major overhaul was needed if we want to continue being around. Therefore I began, with the aid of a few great people from AANR-East, to develop a new strategic plan to make that happen. 

So to answer your question, I have been somewhat active approximately 10 years now, and very active for the last six.

We believe that nudism is just about the nudity while naturism is about a certain value system. What are your thoughts on this issue?

As you know, naturism is a philosophy that dates back to the 19th century. It is one of health and fitness through the concept of returning to nature.  In Germany it is called the “free body culture” / FKK.

Nudism is about the nudity. But it is, in my opinion, much more than just being nude.  Nudists are able to experience and enjoy body freedom by accepting our own physical appearance and we reject the mainstream view that nudity and sexuality are one and the same.  We (those of us who consider ourselves nudists) must be accepting of people. Body types, sexual orientations, religions and so forth are far less important than the essence of who each person is.

I believe that defining the terms is important. It is a goal that needs to be addressed and accepted by a vast majority of people who enjoy being clothes free.  (I hate the word “lifestyle.”) Defining the terms will help identify who we really are and what we are about.

In today’s society, nudity and the naked body is quickly associated with sex. As nudists, we must actively challenge these notions and work together to define our terms and goals. The ambiguity of the terms makes it very difficult to defend why we choose to be nudists.

Personal aesthetics and sexual appeal are key factors in the mainstream cultural norm. Therefore, I believe, that as nudists, we must rise above the superficial and demonstrate to the world that we can live openly without fear of oppressive conformity while having the ability to accept people for who they are and judge them based on how they behave rather than what they look like.

We recently posted an article about nudist clothing (the lingerie article). What are your thoughts on the subject?

I believe that lingerie is totally unacceptable. Women in society feel it is necessary to wear something to be attractive or feel sexy. Women have been taught that their social status is based mostly on what they wear and how they look. This is why girls feel overwhelming pressure to be attractive, to be perfect.

Since we are nudists, I feel that such attire should not be allowed at any nudist venue. We should be raising the bar and not feel the need to accessorize in order to feel good about ourselves. That is what acceptance is about.

Body acceptance and self-worth allows women to find freedom. It allows them to break away from the oppressive cultural norms that have dictated our lives for years. Being a nudist allows women to accept themselves as human beings for who they truly are.

On a side note, I don’t think it makes sense going to a nudist location just to wear clothing. There are enough and even more places where people can go and enjoy being clothed. Don’t you agree?

What is the relationship between AANR-National and AANR-East?

AANR-East is a region within AANR. While they are two separate entities, we are part of the national association. The actual relationship between AANR and all the regions vary for a variety of reasons.  Basically, AANR sets the ruling documents (by-laws and procedures) which the regions use to set their own by-laws and procedures, however if there are any discerning differences, then the AANR ruling documents take precedence. That said, all regions have a lot of free will to act in the best interest of their region.

AANR National is predominantly a vendor-driven organization (by vendor-driven, I mean selling memberships). AANR-East believes that we should be more of a movement and as such, we set our goals and objectives based on that notion. 

Our own members lack the understanding of the nudist movement, its history, missions and achievements. AANR-East believes that it should not be about selling memberships.  By focusing on nudist issues, it does away with the mindset of “what does AANR for me.”

Becoming a movement driven organization affords us the opportunity to focus on information and activism. By becoming an educational and issue driven organization, we enable our members to be proud of their nudist practices and beliefs. AANR-East believes that we can contribute to social change by promoting body acceptance through social nudity.

While AANR is primarily vendor-driven, I personally believe that most of the top officials, committee chairs and trustees all want what will best serve social nudity and nudists.

YNA gets a ton of love from AANR’s regional groups but AANR National is not that fond of YNA. Do you know why?

I do not know why the relationship between YNA and AANR is not strong. I can however, make an educated guess that it is simply a matter of communication.  Communication involves many aspects and one of those aspects is the ability to listen. Sadly, many people are not good at communicating or listening.  But when the intentions are pure then all the conflicts can be resolved.  That said, it takes two equally devoted partners to work out differences.

Recently we participated in a young nudist meeting. YNA had the only current group leaders in attendance. Other group leaders either couldn’t go or boycotted the meeting, and due to the storm TNS was unable to attend.  Since the “summit” we have not heard of any developments. Can you tell us if AANR (National or East) are working on expanding their following to younger people?

I am aware of the summit meeting that was held at White Tail Resort in Virginia. But I am not aware of any results or continuations of the meeting, as I was not tasked with overseeing it.

As one of 8 directors for AANR-East I am team leader for many different projects. These projects consume a great deal of my time and therefore I try to focus on the tasks I was given. Not because I have no interest, but because there is only so much one “older than dirt” brain can consume. 

Having said that, one of the AANR-East goals is to involve young people in every way possible. Since we are all nudists, we should all share a common bond, core beliefs and values. If we are to remain strong we must build sustainable relationships that will be there after people my age are no longer around.

We hear AANR-East has been working on an exciting new approach. Would you be willing to share this new approach with us?

Yes! Over the last two years, a small team of people has been involved in developing a new Strategic Plan for AANR-East.  It is has been a long process as we examined where we were, where we are and where we would like to be. 

It was determined that we must stop being a vendor-driven model and become a movement (as our forefathers developed originally). 

The Eastern Sunbathing Association (or ESA as it was informally called) came about due to some very forward thinking people.  Somewhere along the way we slowly drifted away from the thought processes of our forefathers.

AANR-East is a political and cultural movement promoting and supporting social nudity.  We have been, and will continue to live, plan and work together. Our beliefs challenge many assumptions of the world around us. These include presuppositions about human sexuality, social life, privacy, transparency and morality.  Our predecessors worked and fought for the privileges nudists enjoy today. But the struggle is still far from over for our nudist way of life.

Our mission statement clearly tells everyone what we as AANR-East will do.  But our Guiding Vision is the force that will drive us into the future of social nudity. 

Here are the main thoughts and ideas that will be guiding AANR-East:

We envision AANR-East to provide settings where people can expect harmony, respect and freedom:
•    Harmony involves the recognition that movements benefit from clear and tangible missions / goals.
•    Respect involves holding all people in high esteem.
•    Freedom means that all persons are at liberty to make choices.

Our mission is:  “To promote and support societal acceptance of social nudity in our region”

We recognize that social nudity challenges current social views and values as they pertain to the human body. These norms include erroneous myths, prejudices and preconceptions. These issues stand in the way of greater interpersonal understanding, self-acceptance, and acceptance of others. 

These social norms are unfortunately reinforced by restrictive laws, political barriers, conformist opinion and massive textile advertising efforts. Our movement actively challenges these patterns of misconception and restriction. 

We are also aware of the sexual innuendos associated with nudity. We will challenge these issues by bringing our sexuality out into the open. By talking about sex and sexuality and the power of these topics to intimidate will be greatly diminished.

Nudists can control their own sexuality and so can others.  Through this understanding, nudists lose the fears of their bodies that are associated with sexuality.

Our Guiding Vision points the way to the future we desire.  Our Mission Statement clarifies what business we are in.  Our Strategic Intent clarifies what AANR-East MUST accomplish in order to realize the Guiding Vision and to fulfill our Mission. 

Our Strategic Intent is to:  “Make Social Nudity Cool”

The Strategic Intent provides a specific point of view of our future aspirations.  It conveys a sense of direction, provides an opportunity to explore new possibilities and stimulate a sense of discovery.

This is a very brief overview of our new future. It provides a clear understanding and one that I am committed to fulfilling in order to propel AANR-East forward.

—–

Thanks Gloria!  By the way, as part of their new goal to “make social nudity cool,” AANR East is one of the sponsors of the upcoming Naked Painting Party!

What do you think of the current nudist movement and of AANR-East’s new initiative?

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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Guest Blog by: Paulette LaRoche

Angela Shelton, actress who grew up as a nudist

The April 10, 2013 episode of Ricki (The New Ricki Lake Show), titled, “Stolen Childhoods,” featured a woman named Angela Shelton. She was there discussing her 2004 documentary, “Searching For Angela Shelton.” The film’s main subject is sexual abuse, inspired by her own abuse as a child, allegedly from her father and step-mother. She begins her story on the Ricki show, and one of the first things she says is, (this is not verbatim, by the way, but close enough.) “We were that normal, perfect family with the white picket fence…and we also went to nudist resorts.”  She continues with her story, and I never heard nudist resorts mentioned again. I even located another article that says her father told her, “I made stupid mistakes about the nudist colony and the running around with your clothes off…” However, despite the fact that there was never any link specifically made between nudism and molestation, her casual comment in her introduction heavily implied that there is a clear one.

I was so angry when I heard Angela say that to Ricki! I thought it was completely irresponsible and misleading, as if ALL children who go to nudist resorts are automatic targets of sexual abuse. There is a huge difference between a family-friendly nudist resort and an orgy.  One is a place where adults go to have sex, and the other is a place for people of all ages to enjoy leisurely activities while nude. A terribly mistaken thought is that nudity is purely sexual. When a small child tears off his or her diaper and exclaims, “I’m nakey,” it is never for any sexual purpose. It’s because it’s natural, and they haven’t been taught that it’s bad or shameful to be naked. I think this healthy attitude should not be stomped on. That is part of what leads to body shame and phobia.

What Angela Shelton has done to help others, and to get closure for herself, is commendable indeed. I can also understand how her personal views of nudism and nudist resorts would be a negative one if it were directly linked to her abuse. But to imply that the two are automatically linked is what I have an issue with. A child is no more likely to be abused naked than they are clothed. Of all the terrible stories I’ve heard in the news about similar occurrences, I’ve never heard one talking about nudism.

This reminds me of something I saw on a nudist website (can’t recall the particular site) where someone posed the question, “Aren’t you worried that someone may see your child and want to harm him/her in some way?” and the answer was so spot on: “Of course! But that’s because I’m a mom, not because my child is nude.”  In the words of every Family Feud contestant ever: “Good Answer!”

If you liked this article, check out “Nudists on TV: Modern Family Not So Modern?“

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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Being a website about naturism / nudism, I thought we should have one of these standard magazine articles on “How to look good naked.”  What many people are wondering, right? This phrase gets searched over 18,000 times per month on Google.  Maybe you’ve thought about trying social nudity, but first you thought, “Well if I’m gonna get naked, I need to look good!”

Well it’s about to get a little anti-climactic because there are only two steps to How To Look Good Naked – YNA Style:

1. Take all your clothes off
2. Smile

I just added in the “smile” step to be cute.  Really all you have to do is take your clothes off.  It’s that simple!

The “How To Look Good Naked” article constantly appears in most women’s magazines (and probably in some men’s mags too) at some point.  They usually have as many as 16 (or more) steps that include: products you need to buy, work-out regimens, positioning your body at certain angles, dietary advice, etc.  It’s mostly a focus on how to get thinner or how to make yourself appear thinner.

It’s such a popular topic that there have even been entire television series dedicated to it.  One series entitled “How to Look Good Naked” started in the UK, and then came an American version with Carson Kessley on Lifetime in 2008.  It only lasted for two seasons, and some of its tactics were questionable (like blowing up the woman’s image in her underwear to put on the side of a building), but it was otherwise way better than any other makeover show I’ve seen.  Instead of subjecting the women to plastic surgery and quick-fix dieting, Kessley actually focused on helping women love and accept their bodies.  He says to the first contestant, Layla, in the mirror: “This is Layla.. Is she perfect? No. Is she beautiful? Yes!”  You can still see all of the show’s episodes on hulu.com.

The great thing about naturism is that it’s not about playing up your sexiest features or changing your body to look a certain way.  Sure, exercise and nutritious food will make you feel good from the inside out, but good news: neither is required to look good naked.  Exercise, don’t exercise.  Have cake for breakfast or have fruit. Put on makeup or go totally bare. You are free to do what you want with your body.

Naturism is a way of escaping a world that’s centered around superficial qualities like appearance and sex appeal.  For naturism, all you need to do is get naked and be yourself.  If the body confidence isn’t there, a day at the nude beach might just give it to you.

Also, people are going to look at you weird if you try to stand like this all day. 

I use the term “naturism” in this article because in my opinion, “nudism” in the U.S. doesn’t have any body acceptance philosophy behind it.  As an example, a nudist publication called NUSA Sun also printed an article about looking good naked. It was called, “Doffing, Donning & Bling: Chel’s 11 Rules for Disrobing in a Crowd.”  Not steps, but rules!  It was a list directed at women that basically focused on how to have sex appeal while naked.  Her rules included shaving pubic hair, applying sunscreen slowly in public, and wearing heels.  The online quality is not great, but you can see it at www.nusasun.com.  It appeared in the January 2013 issue.

So if you were looking for an article about exercise and posture tips, I’m sorry to disappoint.  If you want to learn how to accept and love your body as it is, see my article “Nudism Improves Self-Esteem.”  I also recently found this fat acceptance blog with a cool e-course called “How To Be a Fat Bitch.”

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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Fat Shaming Celebrities

Fat Shaming Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian Pregnant

Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera Fat Shaming

Melissa McCarthy

Melissa McCarthy Fat Shaming

 Celebrity Shaming

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Guest blog by: Kevin W.

Baby in tree hole

Social Acceptance - Sitting atop a hill on a crisp cool morning watching the sun wake and rise, thoughts on life steadily flow.

A slight gentile breeze strolls through followed by an increasing wind as the sun starts to shine ever so brightly.

Looking all around, I see a tree I’ve watched grow old over the years. Back in the day, it was quite lively, full of leaves, full of song birds proudly singing their songs for me, chipmunks and squirrels chasing each other up and down and through the branches.

Today I sit reminiscing Mother Nature’s shows I’ve watched none of repeats, all new and different. Here I sit pondering what Mother Nature’s life lesson is for me. There are no birds, no chipmunks, nor squirrels to be seen at this once lively tree. This tree now stands broken, missing all but a portion of its trunk. The tree’s trunk tells a story of many woodpecker attacks, wood boring insects, and evidence of being once lived in by squirrels. There lies its branch turning into soil.

Once upon a time, this tree was a seed in the soil laying in wait for the day it got the strength and courage to sprout out on its own adventure. Through its life, it had obstacles to overcome and accept.

Let’s bring this tree’s life into ours.

One day you were brought onto earth with nothing but your innocent naked body. You had no worries and no care in the world except to be loved and fed. Nothing mattered to you, not even what your body looked like or anyone else’s body. The media doesn’t speak baby so you weren’t told what bodies are attractive or what bodies you should see as disgusting, gross, fat, ugly, sickly skinny, and so on. All you knew was that you were you and that other person was just another person that wanted only to be loved and fed just like you.

Life Acceptance

As time went on you got older, you noticed others around you who are much older and have views that were modified by society saying that the Natural Life is to be regarded as bad and shall be frowned upon. A little older now and you’re beginning your school career, not doing much yet but learning how to play and share toys with your peers. Elders in your life direct what and how you will conduct yourself. Elders say you will be dressed at all times except when bathing. You don’t understand as you spent your first few years of life running around outside in nothing but your skin.

You are dazed in confusion but do as told; you wear clothing in fear of getting in trouble. You’re uncomfortable as the summer heat is making you sweat and your clothes are sticking to you. Your told to put this on as your going to the beach, your thinking, wait, how come? When we went to the beach before, we never wore anything. You put on the swimsuit, go to the beach, play in the sand, sand is trapped between your skin and suit, scratching you, making you sore and bloody. You get in the water and wash out the sand, ah comfort, coolness, now lying on your towel sunbathing. Sunbathing was a fond memory, now your fighting the swimsuit that all wet, sticking to you, bunching up, giving you wedgies, the elastic is hurting your crotch, you try to fix it but you get yelled at by an elder for “touching yourself”. Ouch the pain and now humiliation. What are you supposed to do, endure the pain and hope nothing goes wrong medically with your “parts” because the elder scolded you for trying to fix your swimsuit? Think not, done with going to the beach ever again.

Time passes, memories are fleeting, you don’t think about anything but what to wear. Years later, someone says, remember when… Oh the days of camp, how wonderful to be free. You listen carefully and ask what changed. You’re told, school. “What, school?” Yes, the school’s staff said we could no longer take you to camp in fear you’d be different than your peers. “My peers?” Yes, your peers, your classmates. “My peers like other kids at camp?” No, school. We will never go to camp again due to the school.

You are much older now and thinking about what’s missing in life. You remember camp and how you loved the freedom and worry free atmosphere. You didn’t care then about your body’s appearance nor anyone else’s. Will it be the same now as then?

Remembering the “school” fear, you realize you must be secretive. Let’s research camps, resorts, and beaches and see if any appeal to you or you can figure out what one you went to as a kid. Searching and searching, ah, yes, here’s some near by. Contact…Yes, come on down for a visit. Ok.

Arrive at one camp, hmm, not familiar but quite welcoming and family style. You’re invited to join in a game of volleyball and a snack with a bit of sunbathing, quite lovely and relaxing.

Life Acceptance

Arrival at second camp, hmm, a feeling, a remembrance, it’s ever so slowly coming back, yes, yes it is, this is where I spent my first few years of life. Ah, home. I’m home. But look around, hardly anyone around, cabins are gone, club house looks so very small to me now, there are trailers now not tents, and now I’m all alone going to camp, when I can.

Just like the old tree, we started out full of life, had a fun filled youthful life, and now we are dwindling down. Many moved on and left us with only memories. As the tree hopes to not be forgotten, we hope that life as Mother Nature intended it to be will never be denied and others will come checkout a life of freedom. There’s nothing better than the feeling of freedom, feeling of relaxation, basking in the realization that your body’s appearance means nothing as you are you and that’s all anyone shall love you for. Don’t deny yourself, don’t deny nor disrespect Mother Nature for creating you as you are. Mother Nature sees you as exquisitely beautiful. Leave your worries behind you and visit a camp, resort, or beach as you’ll see that no one cares what you look like and you may make a lot of friends that you’ve been missing out on your whole life.

Social Acceptance

Young Nudists And Naturists America YNA

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We received an interesting question the other day in an email about going naked on one’s own property.  I thought I would share my reply and also share this with the community to get others’ thoughts on this too!

Here’s what the email said (it was from a guy): 

“I am most comfortable while nude, [my wife], not so much.  We have a large and rather private property.  I am still trying to avoid the ‘run and hide’ feeling when an unexpected visitor arrives.  Options?  Run and hide.  Carry a wrap.  (Seems kinda dumb on my property.)  Approach the visitor?  Then what do I say?  Really don’t mind being seen nude, just would like a proper response when it happens.”

My reply:

“Well, it’s a good question about etiquette. Societal norms would dictate that you cover up every time, but it is your own (private) property, and most people can handle nudity given enough time to adjust.

It’s hard to predict how any visitor will react, although I suppose that can depend on how well your visitors know you! haha. You could just approach them nude and then put something on if they appear to be uncomfortable. If you know the person approaching is uncomfortable with it, then you could go and fetch something to put on, asking them to wait while you go grab something. They can always look away for the time being.

That would seem less awkward than the ‘run and hide,’ which I can imagine also resulting in paranoia, where you’d constantly feel like you have to be on guard, on your own property. And it gives the impression that you’re doing something wrong / shameful, which you’re not, as there’s nothing wrong with hanging out naked at home. If you act calm and casual about it, then that will help show them that it’s not a big deal. You can tell them you just like to be nude because it’s more comfortable.

You could also put up a sign on your property that says something like, ‘You are entering a clothing-optional zone.’ “

——

The home nudist replied that he had in fact already placed a sign at the entrance to his property, but still felt a little paranoid.

What do you think?  If you are a home nudist, what do you do when an unexpected visitor catches you by surprise?  

By the way, here we are talking about visitors showing up on private property, but you might be wondering about the legality of being naked in your backyard if you are visible to neighbors / passers-by.  It actually varies by state, so it is wise to look up your local nudity laws.  In some (or most?) states it’s legal as long as you have a fence around you or other barrier.  Check out this discussion on AskANudist.com to see how others handle it: “Regulations on Backyard Nudism?” 

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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Guest Post By: Chet Kresiak

Nudist Children - America has been stunned recently by the horrific allegations about child abuse at Penn State University. Scandals involving sexual molestation of children have rocked many of our most revered institutions, such as the Boy Scouts, the Catholic Church and in our schools. It’s clear that child abuse is a societal problem, not restricted to any particular organization or institution. Even the naturist population has been victimized by those who would exploit children for sexual purposes, although it is very rare.

Nudist Kids

Any person or group planning naturist activities must be aware of the current cultural climate, which is becoming increasingly intolerant of any activities involving children who could be misconstrued as being inappropriate or harmful. Naturists believe that people of all ages should be able to participate in nude recreation, that rejecting shame when it comes to the human body is beneficial to physical, mental and sexual health. The presence of children is a necessary component of the philosophy, and to remove them from naturist activities would significantly redefine the modern movement which began in Germany in 1903.

Morley Schloss, board member of the Naturist Action Committee, operates a nudist youth camp at Sunsport Gardens in Florida, and debunks the notion that children are somehow at risk in naturist settings. “From what I read, children are safer at naturist resorts than in scout camps, church groups or malls. Most nudist resorts are gated communities. Members and guests are screened for criminal activity. Children have many people looking out for them, adults and other children. Since naturist children are generally comfortable with their bodies, they would not be hesitant to report any approaches to them with which they are uncomfortable. For these reasons, children are quite safe from abuse in naturist venues.”

In January of 2010, acting on an anonymous complaint, The Florida State Department of Children and Families paid a visit to Sunsport Gardens. Mr. Schloss welcomed them in, showed them photos of children having fun at the youth camp, and the officials left satisfied that Sunsport offered a safe, caring environment.

Still, overzealous politicians or prosecutors are always looking for “hot button” issues with which to stir public sentiment in their favor, such as in 2003 when U. S. Representative Mark Foley (R) Florida read an article in the New York Times about an AANR nudist youth camp at Lake Como Resort in Land O‘Lakes. Foley was running for Senator at the time and felt he needed a “family values“ issue to take attention away from rumors swirling around that he was gay, so he seized the opportunity to began a crusade against the youth camps, accusing them of “exploiting nudity among minor children to make money.”

The story about the youth camps went nationwide, with Foley appearing on Fox News, and Time Magazine running an article asking the question “are they any place for kids?” The firestorm had begun.

In Florida, naturists took action, meeting directly with Congressman Foley, and gradually the issue faded away, certainly due in part to the political strength of the naturist population in Pasco County. Governor Jeb Bush’s office released a statement saying that “The rights of parents to impart their values in their children and raise their children as they see fit are sacred.”

Nudist Children

At about the same time, since the Times article mentioned that a young naturist camp was also being held in Arizona and future camps were being planned in both Texas and Virginia, anti-camp bills were quickly introduced in those state.

There were also ultimately no political consequences in Arizona, but in February of 2004 the Virginia House of Delegates voted 98-1 to require parental supervision at camps for young nudists, later approved by the Senate 40-0. The single vote was against the act because the bill did not go far enough. In 2005 a bill was introduced to modify the language in the nudist camp legislation, which would have effectively banned children from all nudist and naturist venues, but that legislation was tabled for future consideration.

In Texas, a county prosecutor succeeded in banning children from the Hippie Hollow clothing optional park, and State Rep. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) authored a bill which would have outlawed nudist youth camps, even though there were none operating in the entire state. Hughes called the camps “magnets for pedophiles”, perhaps seizing upon a portion of the original New York Times article which referred to “COGs – creepy outside guys” trying to get inside the camps, or peek through fences. Efforts by the NAC killed the legislation, but the Department of State Health Services amended the Texas Administrative Code rules on General Sanitation to read “a youth camp many not allow campers or staff to be nude, except when bathing, showering, changing clothes or receiving medical care”. This code effectively banned naturist youth camps in Texas.

All of this hysteria grew out of nothing more than ignorance, outright prejudice and unwarranted suspicions about nudism and naturism, and was a waste of time and public resources. There was absolutely no evidence that any harm was being done to any child. If anything, teens attending textile camps were found to be having sexual encounters, with others incurring physical harm from sports and other activities. Children attending nudist camps were happy, healthy and safe.

Bob Morton of the Naturist Action Committee wrote in the March 2004 Nude and Natural Newsletter that in “the case of the Virginia legislation, losing means a significant abridgement of the parental rights of naturists and the unmistakable message that social nudity is somehow unhealthy or unsafe for children.”

Bill Williamson wrote in the AANR Bulletin of May 2004 that “this Virginia initiative just further proves that we have a lot more work to do before we can enjoy the peace and tranquility of our serene environments without the constant overshadowing threat of unnecessary government intervention.”

In the May 2005 AANR Bulletin, Williamson wrote, “Obviously these are no longer isolated political attacks on nude recreation, but a concerted strategically planned effort to separate the family from social family nudism. These social conservatives believe that if they can prevent our children from sharing our wholesome participation in social family nudism, they can then designate nude recreation as simply another part of the adult entertainment industry instead of the most rapidly growing sector of the travel and resort industry.”

Nudist and naturist organizations continue to work with policymakers to advocate for nude recreation for all ages.

In 2006, Mark Foley left Congress in disgrace over his “sex-laced” emails and instant messages to teenagers serving as pages. The hypocrisy of his campaign against youth camps angered nudists and naturists everywhere, still struggling to restore reputations, mend family differences, and recover from loss of business. There was little vindication in Foley’s fall, just bitter memories.

Still, Morley Schloss is optimistic about the future of naturist youth camps. “I don’t see a crisis”, he said, “Naturist camps that have had problems have taught the children that they must be careful and distrustful, that naturist resorts are unsafe. Let’s be proactive. In words and photos, we must portray children and their families having fun at naturist resorts and naturist youth camps.”

Stephane Deschenes of Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park agrees. “We certainly must not give up on this point. Some naturists/nudists believe that we should keep quiet so that there won’t be any scrutiny. In fact, many people criticized AANR for running the (2003 New York Times) story about children’s camps in the first place. I disagree. When you keep something quiet and people find out, they are more likely to be shocked because it is a surprise. If we keep talking about it, then it normalizes the situation. That’s why I make sure that there are always lots of pictures of happy children on all our marketing materials.”

Although Rep. Mark Foley’s attacks failed in Florida, Texas was successful in banning the youth camps, and in Virginia, the requirement that parents or guardians always be present effectively killed them in that state, too. In addition, according to Paul LeValley of the Professors and Researchers Special Interest Group of The Naturist Society, the numbers of children overall at the youth camps has “plummeted“. The only exception is at the Sunsport Gardens Youth Camp, where attendance grows every year. Only two other camps took place last year (2011) in the United States, one was at Juniper Woods in New York, and the other was at Shangri La Ranch in Arizona.

This controversy over the youth camps is a clear illustration why nudists and naturists need strong representation from national organizations. While Foley failed in Florida, his demagoguery was damaging, and lasting. It’s perhaps just a matter of time before another “Mark Foley” comes forward to attack naturists, and all of us need to be prepared to push back and fight for our parental rights. When the attacks come, they will be at the children, not just on the youth camps issue, but on their participation in general.

Nudist Children

Young Naturists & Nudists America YNA

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I Have A Dream By Mariely Garcia

“Love Who You Are, Know You’re Not Alone”

Yesterday, Felicity and I went to show our support for Perfectly Made. Perfectly Made is the brainchild of young 17 year old  Mariely Garcia from New York City.

About a year ago, she founded http://perfectrevolution.org/ and there is no doubt that she has struck a cord with her teenage peers. It was a heartwarming sight to see so many teenagers chant messages of acceptance and love. She had put together performers who wrote and sang songs about everything from body image, bullying and teenage suicide to simple messages of acceptance and love.

A long banner where people could write positive messages at the rally

The video above is of Mariely Garcia – What can we say, other than the fact that she embodies everything that Young Naturists America stands for.

Please show here as much love and support as you can! With the world being what it is, and people being who they are, she is going to need it!

It’s all about the love and We Love Mariely Garcia!

YNA Twitter hashtag – #ItsAllAboutTheLove

Young Naturists And Nudists America YNA

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moobies

Facebook Loves Moobies

Facebook has crazy censorship policies. As most of you probably know, women’s breasts are outlawed from Facebook’s entire social media platform. That said, male breasts — “Moobies” — are totally acceptable and uncensored. Not only is this hypocritical, but the entire guidelines for censorship are outrageous.

Furthermore, Facebook is creating a higher level of restriction for art. Did you know that Facebook does not consider photography as a valid art form? This is what gives them the right to take down any images. Artistic or pornographic, for Facebook they are no different. We learned this shortly after the New Yorker’s “Nipplegate” incident when they were forced to explain their censorship policy. 

The nudity ban is generating a lot of critique among users too. Now that Facebook has explained that naked cartoons are completely okay you can feel free to post them. But can you really? Who knows since Facebook removes pretty much anything that gets reported. Thus their censorship policies are not in line with their own guidelines.

If this is not a backwards and insane rule, then I have no idea what is. I can’t help but wonder, what is next? Will Facebook ban all art with nudity?

For now at least, moobies (male breasts) are fair game. I put the Moobies to the test when I created and posted the above moobie picture as my profile picture. So far I am still good with Facebook. Oddly enough, when I posted on Google Plus, my profile got deleted. So perhaps Google is a bit more consistent. I guess there is a silver lining here – Google finds all nipples evil so at least they don’t discriminate! 

Where do we go from here? What will be the next type of censor? Perhaps women’s feet and arms will be banned from the walls and news feeds of Facebook? Maybe Facebook will only allow pictures of women in burkas? Or maybe no women with burkas?

It remains to be seen whether the censorship rules will get overturned or remain the same. Only time will tell how Facebook will positively or negatively grow their site. Maybe it is just me, but I just can’t wrap my head around this issue. What is so scary about nudity that it must be torn down from someone’s wall ASAP? What could possibly happen? 

Really people! I need your help here!

Young Naturists And Nudists America YNA

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(Guest Nudist Blog By Anon)

Naked Run

For years I struggled with my own body image. I spent nearly half my life dealing with issues concerning my appearance and self worth. Needless to say, I had eating disorders that stemmed from those issues as well.

The idea of being naked in public never really appealed to me. If I couldn’t accept myself for what I looked like and who I was (under my clothes), how could I expect anyone else to?

But the conceptual idea of nudism had always intrigued me on some level. It seemed like it would be a very freeing (and very brave) experience. Anyone who could shed all of the fabric and textile materials that masked their body from others had to be incredibly comfortable in their own skin. So I promised myself that someday, when I would be stronger and more accepting of myself, I would give naturism a try.

It took a long time, and several false starts. But then the day actually came and I was ready to be brave! A couple of years earlier I had heard about the Annual Sunny Buns Fun Naked Run that would take place in a town near me. It was only a mile run, through one of the more heavily wooded parks and didn’t gain a large audience of non-participants. It seemed like a reasonable place to take my clothes off and be naked in public for my first time. To me, the thought of doing a naked run sounded far more fun and enticing than just hanging out at a nude BBQ or pool party.

So I signed up for the Fun Naked Run and payed my entrance fee. I figured that even if I got scared and bailed at the last moment, the money really wouldn’t be going to waste (since it was a charity event). The day of the Naked Run dawned cloudy and gray but not terribly cold. I jumped in my vehicle and headed out to the park. I still wasn’t sure if I was going to be brave enough to do the event, but I at least was brave enough to show up.

To make a long story short, I have to admit that I wasn’t able to strip all the way down that day at the Sunny Buns Fun Naked Run. I arrived at the park and saw all of the other participants roaming around in various states of undress, talking and laughing and having a grand time. I must have looked freaked out because several ladies came over and started talking to me. They explained the event, told me a little about their first experiences with social nudity, and in the end calmed me down quite a bit. And I was able to take off most, but not quite all, of my clothing. I just couldn’t manage to let go of my underpants and bra at the last minute.

The Fun Naked Run was a huge step. Especially for someone like me, who has lived for so long afraid of her own skin. I haven’t been back to try an event again, but I’m sure I will at some point. I met some amazing people and had a one-of-a-kind experience, and I look forward to doing it again. And this time I’m going to try for fully nude.

Young Naturists And Nudists America YNA

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Yes, I know this question sounds like an oxymoron. But I really got to thinking about it after the Bare Necessities nude cruise. This was an adults-only cruise, so that definitely had an effect on the vibe and what people chose to wear. It was clothing-optional, and while most people were fully nude outdoors during the day, the scene changed a bit at night. You couldn’t wear lingerie or “fetish-wear” to the dining hall, but people wore it everywhere else. Some of it was like a sexy costume based on the theme of the night. Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t as if the boat suddenly became a fetish party boat, but there was a lot of freedom as far as what people could wear.  I saw a guy wearing the underwear pictured below, on the cruise in broad daylight. (This photo is courtesy of Babeland.com, the sex toy store.)

Inappropriate nudist clothing?

I like the idea of having the freedom to wear as much or as little clothing as I want, without having to worry about covering parts that the rest of society considers “indecent,” like nipples. I think other naturists would agree that it would be nice if this freedom weren’t exclusive to nudist settings.

But since society doesn’t yet give us this freedom, we’re stuck with our designated areas where we can go to be naked. Some places are nudity-required, but even for ones that don’t label themselves “clothing-optional,” we all know that sometimes people have to put on clothes. So back to the question. Is there clothing considered inappropriate for nudist places? It would seem most clubs have rules on nudity, but not so much on clothing. Why would they, right? Well, perhaps you’ve been to one of the clubs that has lingerie parties. Many clubs are a typical nudist setting during the day, and then things get a little more risqué in the club house dance or night club parties. From my own observations, mostly women put on lingerie, sexy accessories, tight see-through dresses and the like. Many places don’t advertise the lingerie thing, but I know of at least one family club that lists events on their website entitled “lingerie dance” and “leather and lace party.”

Playful dress or too sexual for naturism?

Now, are these places still considered nudist clubs? By AANR’s standards, yes they are, as long as no overt sexual activity occurs. Many of them are also family-oriented, or claim to be.

By logic, one would think that lingerie and such clothing does not have a place in nudist venues because:
1) Presumably, people visit nudist clubs because they want to be naked and textile-free.
2) The terms “nudism” and “naturism” have different meanings depending on who you talk to, but *I think* we can all agree that both are about non-sexual nudity.
3) Isn’t the purpose of lingerie to sexually entice or arouse others?

I understand that people like to dress up and feel pretty or sexy, whether they are a nudist or not. And clothing or accessories are also a way for people to express themselves. But based on the points above, I still ask, is such clothing appropriate in nudism / naturism? I posed this question to our community this week and got varied responses. Some were adamant about it being inappropriate.

Tweets in Response to: Is Lingerie Appropriate or Inappropriate in Nudist Settings?

A female friend on Facebook also said: “I don’t think lingerie has any place in nudism/naturism. Lingerie sexualizes the body and when that type of clothing is mixed in with nudism it can no longer be considered non sexual. That being said I have no problem wearing lingerie to a fetish party or something labeled like that. I was really surprised the first time I went to an aanr affiliated club that had a lingerie party at night. It still baffles me a bit and makes me think that people just are not capable of living a regular life clothes free… it has to be some kind of sexual expression because they just cannot separate the two in their heads.”

A comment on the AskANudist Facebook page had the opposite view:
“I think rules need a positive purpose to exist. I see no reason to restrict clothing in any way in a clothing optional situation. Even in those places where nudity is required, there should be exceptions for health and temperatures below 75F.  …If someone is sexually aroused by someone else’s clothing choices, it’s the problem of the aroused person to get their act together. I don’t care what other people wear or don’t wear.”

And there were also the “it depends” responses:
On AskANudist.com : “I think it is fine after the kid’s curfew at the resort so after around 9 or 10 pm. It is really the parent’s call then how much their children are exposed to it after that. We should not ignore our sexuality completely so in my opinion there is an appropriate time and an inappropriate time for it at a naturist resort and the same goes in a child’s development. …”

A Response on AskANudist.com

This question also reminds me of one of the group discussions at the Mid-Winter Naturist Festival entitled “Is nudism too conservative for mainstream America?”  The workshop leader was basically asking if nudists needed to relax the rules a bit on the sexuality front to draw in more people.  Not allowing public sex, but as an example, having more of a “spring break” environment with wet t-shirt contests and such.  If there were suddenly a nation-wide nudist rule against lingerie / any sexual clothing, would people suddenly start losing interest?  Would clubs lose membership?  If there were more leniency, would we gain more interest?  As I hinted above, there are no current rules on this.  Not even AANR has a policy.  So I guess it’s up to every individual and every club to determine what’s acceptable. 

So what does everybody think?  Should nudist clubs and resorts require nudity at parties and dances as well? Should they have rules on clothing or relax the rules more? Have you been to clubs with lingerie dances? 

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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Guest Blog by: Sarah Dowless

Being sex positive is important for your own life, your partner’s life and really, everyone you know as it ultimately makes you a confident, respectful and open-minded person. But what exactly is being sex positive? In its simplest form, sex positive is an attitude towards human sexuality that regards all sexual activities as healthy and pleasurable and encourages sexual pleasure and experimentation. Need a little more of an explanation? Be sure to check out the post we wrote about sex positivity and the nudist community.

Anyhow, becoming sex positive can be hard for people. We may not be able to wrap our mind around certain facets or emotions. Maybe we were born to think a certain way or maybe we just haven’t learned how to love ourselves yet. Whatever the case may be, there is absolutely room for improvement and with time, everyone can become a little more sex positive, even the most sex positive among us! Check out some of these tips and techniques for re-framing your attitude towards sex.

The first and most important step to becoming sex positive is to know who you are and what you want from your body, your sex life, etc. You can’t begin to be open, expressive and welcoming of others if you yourself do not accept who you are. Spend time getting to know your body, get comfortable in your own skin and stop judging yourself based on what you look like. Being sex positive means you love all bodies for what they look like and that means yours, too. Fat shaming, thin shaming or any kind of body shaming of another person runs counter to the sex positive movement and will only hurt others. Plus, there’s another reason to love your body. Some recent research showed that women with positive body image have better sex! It’s likely the same goes for men, too.

You also want to make sure you have a good understanding of your actual self, so also take the time to really learn what gets you turned on, what feels good and how you react. If this is a new thing for you, consider getting a toy or lube to really get you going. Use some of these Adam and Eve coupon codes to save yourself some money.

Secondly, you need to ditch the negativity. Stop looking at sex in terms of whether it’s slutty or not or thinking that certain fetishes are dirty and wrong. There is nothing dirty, slutty or wrong about sex as long as it’s occurring between consensual adults. People are into different things — that’s what makes our world go round. This one might take awhile, as you will literally have to change the way you think. Practice stopping yourself every time you want to make a judgment against someone else or yourself because of a sexual choice. If you find your friend or partner is judging you for how you look, or for your sexual choices, either make them aware of it so they stop, or simply get rid of that toxic relationship.

And last, in the same vein as above, you will want to stop categorizing some sex as more superior than others. Such as the idea that hetero-sex is better than homo-sex. Once again, as long as it’s consensual, no sex is better than the other. All sex is equal. You might also want to educate yourself about different genders (beyond male and female), lifestyles and sexual orientations. 

This is merely the beginning and is far from being an all-inclusive list. You can check out more ways to be sex positive by Laci Green, and you should never be afraid to reach out for outside help if you’re dealing with something you don’t think you can handle on your own. Becoming sex positive can and will take some time. Just be patient with yourself and continue to work in the right direction.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored blog post. Opinions expressed here are in line with YNA’s philosohy.

Young Naturists & Nudists America

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Gay Rights

The Issue Of Gay Marriage / Gay Rights

Last night, prompted by a Fox News segment, we posted the following post about gay rights on our official Young Naturists America Facebook Page Wall:

“Attn: Fox News !!!

We at YNA want to abolish the term marriage from the legislators’ vocabulary! Civil unions only! 

Marriage is a religious term only!

Gregory Angelo told Mike Huckabee that there are too many laws and legislation that have the word “marriage” in them and that disentangling them would be almost impossible… Young Naturists America is willing to step up and help explain to the government how to use the “find and replace” function in online text! 

Grow up and move on! Separation of Church and state for crying out loud!”

This post prompted two comments that I would like to address in more detail.

Gay Rights Post Comment / Question #1:

• “Although I totally understand where this is coming from, the bit about “civil unions only” gives me the idea that this page is anti-equality. Can you elaborate?”

Great question! For years, I personally have been advocating for this new approach to gay rights and marriage. Based on my world view, which is also part of the YNA philosophy, there needs to be a clear cut differentiation between church and state. The job of the government is to take care of its citizens – all of them! “We are all created equal” are not just words, they are a value system which needs to be upheld.

Today, when people want to be recognized as an “official” couple, they get “married.”  Individuals can go down to City Hall and apply for a marriage license. What I am suggesting is simple – states should issue only civil union certificates.

If people want a piece of paper that uses the term “Marriage,” they should only be able to get it from a religious institution. 

Words mean a lot and their meanings can stir up much emotion. By eliminating the term from the government’s record, we could finally take a step towards recognizing the fact that government is there to take of its citizens’ needs.  

Religious institutions are like private organizations. They can and do discriminate based on their beliefs and religious doctrine. But a government should be a place where all law-abiding citizens are treated equally regardless of race, religion, sexuality and so forth.

By eliminating the term marriage we eliminate religion from the process. Religious institutions will no longer be able to to argue that gay rights are, in some way, infringing on their religious beliefs or morals. It changes the piece of paper from being a religious one to a completely secular one.

Gay Rights Post Comment / Questions #2:

• “You do not have to have a civil union and gay to be nudist so why talk about it on here? Maybe safer to say about nude unions and nude freedom and top freedom.” 

 Young Naturists America is not just about nudism or “nude recreation.” There are other organizations that are solely focused on the nudity. YNA is focused on the individual as well as the core social issues that we believe need to be addressed. Gay rights are one issue that we have a problem with. Governments should not be looking at what an individual’s sexual preferences are. All government should look at is a person’s track record as a citizen.

For us, the social nudity is more of a means to an end. A way to break down social barriers and promote acceptance.

Gay Rights by:

Young Naturists And Nudists America YNA

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