'naturism made me a social phobic'

[johnnyconfessional]

I can remember reading this article
in the guardian newspaper a few years back,
kinda sad really, but interesting:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2006/jul/29/familyandrelationships1

what do u all think?

[prodigal_son]

That is a perspective that I hadn't heard or thought of before. As he said, he was a sensitive child and in a tough school anything that seperated you out as different was seen as a weakness, so he was very unfortunate in that way. I would hope that 99.99% of people who grow up in a naturist family don't grow up to feel like that.

[rc]

it is a sad article

[kensington25]

A very sad article indeed. People who are marked as different are often picked on. It does not mean necessarily that the bullies dislike naturists or naturism but more that they will find a hook with which to beat a person and that will be what ever makes them different whether they are over weight, a naturist, gay, black etc. My own experiences have been fortunate in that I have never had anybody react badly to my naturism that I have told. It does of course all depend on who you tell and the culture or traditions of the country where you tell people. Sadly school bullies can be the worst and most vindictive kind of bullies. This persons experiences are very sad though.

[Noodie]

There is an unfortunate reference to being 'forced' in the article. Many people will reject any kind of belief, religion, philosophy or lifestyle that is forced onto them. Those sorts of things have to be consciously chosen.

It's an interesting choice of word... there's nothing to explicitly suggest that the author was actually dragged along and forced to get naked. He mentions his sister's rejection of naturism as she grew older. This is not uncommon in naturist families - many leave naturism in their early teens, as insecurities kick in and/or consciousness of being 'different' develops, or as it becomes seemingly less relevant to them as they look around and see few other naturists their own age.

I wonder how much of this being 'forced' is in the author's own mind though. I never feel 'forced' to bare everything in the way that the author describes... I react negatively to people telling others that they must get naked, as I've mentioned in other threads. I do it because I want to... because it feels right and makes me feel free in those moments. I can, as I'm sure we all can, envisage situations where being naked would be very uncomfortable and would constitute a state that I absolutely would not want to be in. The author seems to have developed a problem in disassociating the two...

I think that you just need to have some understanding of where naturism begins and ends, and of where your and other people's boundaries are. You shouldn't be forcing yourself into it and other people shouldn't be forcing you into it. But I feel that if you embrace it for what it is, on your terms, it can't be anything other than a truly freeing, liberating experience that will have quite the opposite effect to that described by the author.

I don't see the need for everyone to know about it either. I can imagine that being the "weird naked boy" must have been horrible. It's not something that I feel kids should be encouraged to talk about and share widely about at school. Kids can be cruel, as prodigal_son has alluded to, and anything like that is bound to provide ammunition for bullies.

[Bostonian26]

I agree with what others have said. The nude body is nothing to be ashamed of, and I think socializing children to accept this is a healthy thing, however it cannot be forced. As much as some kids may take "like ducks to water" to being nude, others may not and that should be respected. It certainly sounds like that wasn't always the case for the author of this article. I wasn't raised as a nudist, but trying to put myself in the authors shoes, I can imagine it would be somewhat embarrassing, particularly at a young age to have such exposed pictures of family vacations around the house where others might see them and might make rude comments about them. He certainly seems to have some "father issues" as well.

I don't think the article reflects the impact of nudism on the average nudist or the average child raised in a nudist household, but it does bring forht some things to be mindful of when practicing nudism, talking to others about it, and encouraging them to join in.

[johnnyconfessional]

yeeah i agree..its sad,
though i think in this guy's case,
the problem was with his parents,
not in of itself..the naturism..

i mean..why would u have the holiday photos
at naturist resorts up around the house? i can understand
this lad's embarrasment at inviting friends round...

well..hasnt stopped me being a naturist:-)