The Clothes Free Option

Regardless of how many disapprove of it to stereotype or label people, we all tend to do it. It’s simply I think how the human brain works. By classifying, grouping and organizing, we conceptualize what different people are about based on their proclivities and interests. Interestingly, despite the fact that we do it, at the same time, we all hate to be classified and labeled. We look at the label and we look at ourselves finding that the label is simply inadequate to explain who we are as a person. There is also the danger of misconceptions arising as a result of labeling. What a label means to one person, may mean something completely different to another.

There is sometimes a negative connotation associated with “nudist” and perhaps to a lesser degree “naturist”. I recently came across a very positive nudist web site which uses the term “clothes free” when referring to nudity because as they explain on the site, it doesn't label a person in the way the terms “nudist” or “naturist” sometimes do. They mention that “clothes free” seems to be catching on as the new friendly replacement to “nudist” observing that many resorts have adopted the practice of referring to their venues as clothes free resorts instead of nudist resorts.

I find myself in agreement with this philosophy as I think it really does contribute to lessening the issues of preconceptions among others about what nudism is really about and you have to admit, no sexual connotations leap to the mind when you say “clothes free” in the way it does with some people when they hear the word “nudist”.