I'm Hardly a Nude Activist

I’m new to nudism but like most nudists I believe I am quite conventional and not at all a nude activist. We have likely all read about the nude activist at some point or seen him or her on television. The nude activist demands the right to go naked at all times with no restrictions on where and when. To make the point, the nude activist may stroll or bike down the public streets protesting for their cause or march along a busy highway in the buff to protest the war in Iraq. The nude activist views any restriction on nudity as a violation of his or her very civil liberties, conveniently ignoring the human rights of those who don't wish to see naked bodies outside McDonalds. In order to obtain maximum exposure the nude activist is prepared and seemingly anxious to go to jail for the cause.

Personally, I have no sympathy for nude activists. I support organizations who work hard for nudist rights, but I'll never be a nude activist. Many people consider nudity, even their own to be sinful, shameful or offensive. I personally find this hard to understand but I respect each person’s right to their own beliefs and opinions. Sometimes there are deep-rooted moral, religious or cultural beliefs that are at the foundation of these negative feelings towards nudity that just aren’t going to be changed by reason. Such people are genuinely upset at public displays of nudity and I respect their right not to see me naked. Certainly, I have a right to be nude, but there is a time and place for everything, and common sense tells me that Main Street is not it.

Unlike the nude activist, I don't care to be arrested, fined, jailed or subjected to lawsuits. In Texas and I suspect most other places, inappropriate public nudity inevitably invites predicable law enforcement intervention. Jails are from what I can tell very dispiriting places and thus places I'd rather avoid. Being expected to wear clothes in situations where it is considered the norm is not a denial of my basic human rights and my personal well-being or happiness are not materially effected by it. I wouldn’t enjoy being gawked at in public by those who don’t share my affinity for nudity or being thought of as a pervert or the “weird” guy who walks around bare ass naked.

I don’t believe that the antics of nude activists advance the cause of nudism. If anything I think they merely reinforce the negative opinions (perverts, exhibitionists) that many people already have about nudism and nudists in general. Conventional nudists, a group with which I identify, want to enjoy the right to hold our values and beliefs and to spend time nude but only under appropriate circumstances and within appropriate locations. We want the right to responsibly enjoy nudity within our homes and property without worrying that an ultra-prudish person peering through a knot hole in our backyard fence or using a telescope or binoculars to spy us through a window of our own home, will become offended and then call the police and make a complaint. We want the right to be parents and to exercise reasonable decision-making in the upbringing of our families in a manner consistent with our beliefs and without interference by others. We want the right to responsibly enjoy private property like our clubs and resorts in a state of nudity without interference. We want the right to enjoy nature by having separate but equal access to public lands like backcountry areas, national parks and beaches. We want the right to be free from adverse or retaliatory actions by our employers as a result of our lawful enjoyment of nudity when away from work. Finally, we want to be treated as law-abiding citizens rather than as criminals. There are plenty of resources available to be used by all and nudists and non-nudists could enjoy outdoor activities with just a little planning, signage, forbearance and mutual respect. It works in other countries, so why not here?

As a nudist I don’t want you or your family to be subjected to my nudity or anyone else’s if you find nudity to be offensive. It is your right to have your own morals and beliefs and I have a duty to respect them. But I have the right to enjoy my lifestyle responsibility as long as it doesn’t interfere with someone else’s rights. It may be surprising that I would be in favor of more laws regulating nudity but I am. There should be laws enacted for that specific purpose. Right now, nudity is regulated by sexual offense laws designed for dealing with indecency and lewdness. I think specific laws regulating nudity designed along the same lines of say the regulation of smoking in public. If a person is found smoking in a public no smoking area, they generally are not arrested for it or forced to register as a sex offender but that frequently happens to nudists. The smoker is usually told to extinguish the tobacco, possible even made to leave the area but unless they willfully persist in their inappropriate behavior, they are not arrested or even fined in most instances. In comparison to Europe, we are still a very young country but I feel it is high time that we grow up and develop a little more tolerance for people who happen to be different from the way we are and have different opinions and perspectives. I think we have a lot more important issues to spend our time worrying about than whether someone else enjoys spending time sans clothing.