The Naked Revolution

Why does one become a naturist?

Some people will tell you that this question is irrelevant. You were born naked and in the first years of your life, clothes may have felt more of a burden than it does to the average adult naturist. Being naked is our natural state and being clothed is nothing but learned behaviour.

Those are very valid statements, of course, which we can't argue with. But later in your life, long after your parents told you that you have reached an age when running around naked in the neighbourhood isn't really appropriate anymore, social nudity becomes a choice. Either you choose to give it a try, or you don't. So, why do people choose it?

Young European naturists

We took our first steps into social nudity when we were in our mid-twenties. When we talk to naturists our age today, it feels like we really got a head start. Many of them had just discovered it recently.

This is partly because of our generation. Just like the need to wear clothes, also the need to build a "structured life" has been spoon-fed to us from an early age. You study, you graduate (or not), you get a mortgage and make some babies. As most parents will probably agree, from that moment your hobbies get very much aligned with your children's. And few kids ask their parents whether they can join a naturist club.

The fact that we decided to question this default way of building a "successful" life at quite a young age and that we were curious about what alternatives are possible, may have been an important trigger to find out about social nudity much earlier than many of our peers.

On the other hand, when we talk to naturists who are much older than ourselves, it's definitely not uncommon to hear that they learned about social nudity in their twenties if not their late teens. They are children of the revolution, who spent their young years protesting against the influence of the church, the war in Vietnam, and the status quo in general. For them, social nudity became a way to express their feelings and motives.

The demographics of social nudity

This use of social nudity as an element of a wider revolution is not a unique occurrence in history. We see this happening again today in countries where people are fighting against old traditions and restrictive cultures, like in Latin America and Asia. Naturism is fairly young in these parts of the world, and typically, so are the naturists.

South Africa has a long history of institutionalized racial segregation called "apartheid" which was only lifted in the early 1990s. Naturism has long existed in this country but was pretty much uniquely for the white community. Only recently, it also got a foot on the ground in the black community. When we went to a "white" naturist event, we were among the youngest. At a black naturist event, we were among the oldest.

Throughout our travels, we even met naturists from strictly religious places like the Middle East. Women who are used to covering hair, wrists, and ankles at home go full monty on a vacation to France or Thailand. In those moments, we realise that for them, going naked means so much more and must create such a greater feeling of freedom than it does to us, who consider it mostly something comfortable and recreational.

The stabilisation years

Throughout the years, naturism has built a decent foundation in Europe and North America. When the revolution was over, the communities turned into resorts and social nudity became more like a hobby or a pastime.

But without the source of those who felt dissatisfied with society, fewer and fewer felt the need to try naturism. The age gap became more and more apparent. In fact, one of the reasons why we started Naked Wanderings years ago, was to show the world that naturism isn't uniquely for your grandparents but can also be fun for people our age. It worked, to a certain extent. At least that's what we like to believe.

The new naked generation

What eventually worked better to bring naturism back into the picture than a thousand of Naked Wanderings were stress, environmental issues, and COVID. Three huge worldwide problems of today to which naturism can maybe give a better answer than any other philosophy or pastime.

Especially during the COVID pandemic, we saw people much younger than ourselves finding their way to naturism. Nature: Check. Social distancing: Check. Freedom from societal restrictions: Check. A new experience close to home: Check. Everything you were looking for was available at the naturist resort. The fact that you also had to take off your clothes was something many happily took with the package.

Environmental problems probably don't need further explanation, but also stress relief is an important issue in today's society that can be helped by going naked. We're not just talking about stress at work, but mostly in everyday life. Expectations are higher than ever. We have to be wealthy, we have to look good, we have to be successful, and "enough" just doesn't exist anymore. Naturist resorts provide you with a way to, at least temporarily, step out of this endless chase for success. Here, nobody cares what you do, how much you earn, or how you look.

Naked with a purpose

We often wondered why commercial naturist resorts seem to be booming while smaller naturist clubs are regularly reporting a decline in guests or members. Well, to be totally honest, we wonder why back in the days when we first discovered naturism, we yearly went on one or more naked vacations but never felt the need to to join a local club where we could be naked every weekend.

For us, naked vacations had a lot of advantages. Many times before on this blog, we've mentioned the comfort of not having to consider clothing when you're camping in a small tent. At naturist resorts, we could also be certain that we wouldn't be stacked like sardines during the high season as is so common at textile campgrounds where it often feels as like if you just reach a bit further, you can touch the person in the tent next to yours. Then there's the no tan lines element and the joy of swimming naked. All things that improved the quality of our vacation.

We all like to have purpose in the things we do. We read because we want to learn, we do sports because we want to feel healthier, and we hang out with friends because we want to feel part of a community. With all these new 21st-century problems to which naturism has a decent answer, we wonder if people will once again find their purpose in going naked.