Naturism vs Nudism
If you were to ask most people about the origins of naturism as a lifestyle it would not be unusual for them to imply that its roots stemmed from around the same time as the freedom movement of the 1960’s and 70’s sometimes referred to as the ‘Hippy’ movement. There is no denying that during this time there was a lot more nude activity however this does not make the people who practiced it naturists.
The term naturism predates the vibrant 1960’s and even predates the first known iteration of the term gymnosophy by over 100 years. A gentleman named Jean Baptiste Luc Planchon (1734 – 1781) is referred to as having used the French version of the word – naturisme to advocate the nude lifestyle as a way of improving hygiene or healthy living.The first known nude oriented club was opened in India (British owned at the time) in 1891 by Charles Edward Crawford who was a judge for the Bombay Civil Service.
The trust was called the ‘Fellowship of the Naked Trust’ and had only three registered members – Crawford himself and two sons of an Anglican Missionary.Regrettably the club disbanded three years later when Crawford was transferred to Ratnagiri and consequently died. In 1902 a Dr Heinrich Pudor coined the term “NacktKulture” which he went on to use as the title of a trilogy of books discussing the benefits of nudity which in a way can be said to have given life to the naturist/nudist movement.
During the 1920’s and 30’s it spread across Europe and eventually to the United States and has maintained a healthy number throughout the decades that have followed. The fact of the matter is that, no matter how popular the true nudist lifestyle has become over the years it has still held misconceptions even within communities of those who actively live and promote nudity. In its most basic format the act of nudism and naturism both hold the same principle – that being that it is a regular lifestyle with the same activities as a person would do in a clothed community but with the preference to be nude while doing the activities.
This has, of course sparked not only some questions about the safety of performing acts while nude but triggered some blurred lines as people on both sides of the nude argument do their best to clarify what is considered naturism/nudism and what isn’t.
The harsh truth is that, the term naturism or nudism has been categorised as something that is linked specifically to the older generations (reflecting again on the hippy movement) and secondly that it is a male dominant lifestyle – which is regrettably still a relatively accurate assessment but that is slowly changing.
There is a new generation, a generation that is more internet based admittedly however this has grown to a more physical base since COVID that have veered away from the traditional labelling.
In the new context there are individuals and/or groups who live in a lifestyle that would have at one time existed somewhere on the line in between naturism and exhibitionism (potentially) but now in an effort to separate themselves from traditional classification simply refer to themselves as being ‘Naked People’
Why do I refer to them as on the line between naturist and exhibitionist?
Simply because they promote their lifestyle online meaning that they are encouraging others to notice them. traditionally speaking, drawing attention to a naked activity would not be considered pure naturist as the intent of a naturist or nudist is not to draw attention to themselves however we, as clothing optional lifestylers have to acknowledge the digital generation that is prominent in todays culture
Some of these #naked people# are going as far as using it in a hashtag format of #NakedPerson in an effort to attract the attention of others who use social media to discuss their nude lifestyle.
There is also the additional label or I should probably say reference to what has been called ‘Permanudes’ which are, by definition of the term, permanently nude people – AKA nudists however the newer term has a much looser definition of what is considered permanent.
Alas - the thin fleshy line continues to grow even thinner...