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Hill Country Nudists

As the old saying goes, "If you have to live in Texas, you might as well live in Austin."

Not exactly a compliment, but they do have a point. Austin is a happening place with hundreds of techies, state government types, Tex-Mex and barbecue joints, such as Threadgill's where Janis Joplin got her start, and of course, the University of Texas ("Hook em Horns").

And leave it to the UT college newspaper to be the unlikely source of a great plug for nudism. http://www.dailytexanonline.com/nudist-club-gets-down-to-the-essentials-1.1639833

Among the major perception problems for nudism in America is the fact it is seen as too male and too middle aged....and along comes Daily Texan writer, Roxanna Asgarian, who is both young and female.....She decided to take the plunge at a Hill Country Nudists (non-landed Austin club to find out what it was like to socialize....sans clothing) www.hillcountrynudists.com

"I shyly ring the bell and look through the glass front door into the house, and see an awesome view of Lake Travis, which lines the backyard," she wrote. "A naked man appears in my line of vision. I blush as he beckons me in.

“'Here goes,” I think, as I strategically avoid his lower region with my eyes as he directs me to a room to change. On the way, I glance at 10 or so middle-aged people, mostly couples, hanging out by the bar. Most of them are naked, although some have on a shirt or a sash covering select parts of their bodies."

Roxanna did her homework before attending the event overlooking Lake Travis, particularly the impact of nudism on those hailing from the fairer gender.

“Women have an additional barrier to nudism,” one man said. “Many women don’t know whether nudism in a group setting will be safe, when actually it’s incredibly safe. It’s safer than going out to a bar, because you know and trust these people.”

Now it was time for the moment of truth.

"I thought it was funny that, before I went to the Hill Country Nudists’ gathering, all my friends asked, 'What are you going to wear there?' as if my outfit would be even more important since it would only be on for five minutes. I have on yoga pants and a T-shirt, and when John drops me off in the guest room with two other changing women, I peel them off.

"The youngest woman there, besides me, is 24 and also a UT student. Other than that, the crowd is primarily middle-aged and most of them have their partners with them, which helps me loosen up and let my arms hang by my sides, rather than gripping tightly around my body."

Roxanna's fears and preconceptions of a nudist event seem to melt away as reality replaced anxiety.

"I had been worried leading up to the event that I’d arrive to find some massive middle-aged orgy, or that I wouldn’t be able to stop looking at all the penises on display," she wrote. "But no orgies (at least in front of me) and I only sometimes glance at the penises, a little. The ceviche and empanadas are divine, and the atmosphere is relaxed, friendly and respectful."

Sitting nude with two middle-aged men in a hot tub produces a discussion about....Roxanna's career goals once she graduated from UT. Talk about a sexually charged atmosphere!

"I’m serious. They’re asking me about my career goals and I am responding openly," she wrote. "I definitely feel naked, but I don’t feel exposed or sexually objectified.I realize that these people are onto something, and that it takes maturity to be able to hold it down like this when you’re all nude.

"At the end of the evening, after retreating to the guest bedroom to put my clothes back on, I say my goodbyes. I am invited back and told to bring friends. I take their invitation seriously, but am not sure if I want to become a lifetime member just yet. I hug the women and men and promise to come back. And on the way out, I don’t even glance at the penises."

Nude Women's Perspective

Nancy Tiemann, Bare-Necessities Tour and Travel president, has every reason in the world to be a cheerleader for nude recreation.

After all, her company sponsors two or three clothing optional cruises per year and she needs to put (literally) butts in cabins, sun decks and lounge chairs even in a crummy economy.

And she knows the vast majority of these au naturel travelers, whether to the Greek Isles, Caribbean, Tahiti etc. are couples. And if the "Mrs." isn't happy, then no one is happy. So Nancy devoted her online-essay to the real decision maker about nude cruising.....the prettier half of the couple. http://www.bare-necessities.com/why_nude.html

She is not bashful about going after the most common misconception about public nudity: sex.

"And what about the sex?" she asked. "After all, nude, naked, clothing optional....they're all about sex, aren't they? I would be the first to admit that social nudity can be a sensual experience (author's note: Amen!), particularly at first when the taboo of centuries of puritan values about social modesty are broken with one simple but freeing act of being nude in a social setting.

"We Americans have been trained from childhood that sex is dirty or sinful and nudity means sex. After all, we pay to see nudity, don't we? It's in our movies to titillate us, isn't it? When I am no longer the voyeur, looking in on someone else's nudity, but rather a participant, as nude as everyone else, all that's left is an appreciation for the gift I am given. The gift of knowing that I am ok, exactly the way I am.....perfect in my imperfection."

Not only does Nancy do an excellent job in attacking the nudity concerns of women, but she also confronts a major fear of the knuckle-dragging gender....the fear of very public standing ovations.

"One of the most frequently asked questions by men is, 'What happens if I get an erection?' You know, in 16 years of producing two-or-three cruise ship charters a year; I have never once seen a man succumb to his worse fear - a public erection!," Nancy wrote. "Does that say something about the fantasy of social nudity and its reality? Perhaps."

Nancy then implores her readers to give social nudity a try: "Vacation with us just once, and we'll change the way you vacation forever. All you have to lose are centuries of false conditioning. Believe me, once free of that extra baggage you will be much lighter....and happier, naturally!"

Nude Body Potential?

Shortly after the earth cooled, the Naturist Society http://www.naturistsociety.com/ and its dearly departed founder Lee Baxandall promoted the notion of "body acceptance" by means of nude recreation.

This concept is not the easiest sell, considering most people's almost mortal fear of being seen in public without clothes, and the virtually unattainable image of nude perfection that permeates from the "beautiful people" in the media. Not everyone can be Michaelangelo's "David" or Pam Anderson.

So does mean that you should merely accept yourself as you are, and therefore force others to do the same? Or can you be the perfect Barbie Doll or AH-NOLD when he won Mr. Olympia? Unless you are genetically gifted and really chose your parents well, the answer is most likely "no."

Do we have a quandary here? On one hand we have to be realistic about our bodies and accept what we have or don't have, but on the other we should try to reach the potential of our bodies......Exactly!

David Chizum, a 65-year-old Texan, has started the "Fitness Buff" Special Interest Group for members of the Naturist Society. He is a former fitness instructor and looks damn good for a seasoned citizen.

Many in the textile community revolt against nudism as they state openly that naked bodies are ugly...and then it the next breath they say that they would love to see (insert famous beautiful personality here) completely nude. Believe it or not this contradiction is very logical, and can explain why many in their 20s with nice, young, verile bodies leave nudity to those over 30, over 40, over 50......

"Maybe if we 'seniors' (I'm now 65 myself) paid attention to building our bodies up instead of letting them deteriorate, we could show the younger set a brighter future for their own aging process," Chizum wrote.

Chizum promotes aerobic exercise, strength training, weight management (e.g. Body Mass Index) http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/bmi_tbl.pdf and sensible nutrition as the keys to looking as good as possible without clothes. In a way this recipe is a continuous cycle....if you work on aerobics, and combine with resistance training....and then "eat less; exercise more"....then you will look better in the nude....and in your clothes.....You will be more confident and feel better about yourself.....You will want to continue your exercise....continue your sensible nutrition....and continue running around without any clothes.

Kind of makes sense doesn't it?

World Record Skinny Dip?

Set your watch for 3 pm, Saturday, July 11.....That is 3 pm in God's time zone, Eastern Daylight Time.

Why's that?

For an industry, movement, trend or whatever you want to call it, American nudism actually has an activity planned that may not translate into a typical PR (public relations) disaster.

In this particular case, the American Association for Nude Recreation http://www.aanr.com/skinny-dip.html is coordinating with Guinness World Records for.....you guessed it.....a world record skinny dip. At the precise time nationwide, nudists will simultaneously jump into swimming pools, lakes, rivers, streams adorned only in their birthday suits. What could be more innocently naughty than a little old fashioned skinny dipping for the record books?

After weeks of nudist bashing as a result of Swiss Cantons banning nude hiking, and Miss California almost losing her crown for posing without her sash, and Caliente Resort in Florida losing its nude organization standing for allegedly reaching out to both nudists and swingers, it's time for nudism to get a little positive PR.

Backyard nudism and skinny dipping seem to be the best way to introduce nudism to a suspecting nation. And if a world record can be set in the process? All the better.

Nude Beauty Queen?

Once again, nudism and nudists are taking another public relations kick in the teeth....and it hurts and it is not deserved.

Godiva has a well-trained nose for politics and personal destruction, and nudity is collateral damage as a consequence. What am I yammering about?

Everyone knows that Miss California Carrie Prejean unleashed a torrent of abuse from the heterophobe community for stating that her opinion on gay marriage is the same as Barack Obama's: She considers marriage to be the sacred covenant between one man and one woman. As we all know, that's when it all started http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/05/07/2009-05-07_court_docs_miss_california_usa_carrie_prejean_used_homosexuality_as_an_insult.html

Just like Joe the Plumber needed to be destroyed, stories magically appeared about her breast implants and her earlier posing for semi-nude photos after she irked the gay-and-lesbian community.

We are going to avoid jumping into the merits of heterosexual vs. gay marriage....that subject has been raging for months and will continue to percolate. The subject here is the prohibitions by a young, beautiful beauty pageant contestant.....not just Miss California.....but any contestant about posing semi-nude or nude.

Earlier this month, we were all treated to reports out of Europe about a Swiss Canton saying "nein" to nude hiking in the Alps....as if this was some horrific crime. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8019766.stm

There is a continuing effort, intentional or unintentional, to portray those who pose in the nude, hike in the nude, garden in the nude, swim in the nude, sunbathe in the nude as freaks of society. And if someone has the audacity to utter opinions that are contrary to political correctness, then the boom gets lowered including charges that (gasp) so-and-so posed in the nude or hiked in the nude etc.

So a nudist's love of nudity has become a weapon?

The whole exercise is very chilling, and threatens the future of nudity and those who enjoy the innocent pleasure of just running around without their clothes.

Pretty soon, the one-party state will be fitting women into their burkas!

Outdoor Nudity

When comes to being naked, nude, au naturel or clothes free.....let's face it, for most people being without clothes is an indoor activity.

The traditional spots are the bedroom, the bath tub, the shower stall, the doctor's office or the gym locker room.....but even there many of your own gender will cover up sensitive areas heading to and from the shower.

But as the days grow longer (Northern Hemisphere) and the temperatures move upward, brighter colors and cooler clothes come out of the closet (no commentary on sexual choices being made here). And these clothes are worn outdoors because the fresh air season is upon us......Do we have to wear clothes?

Let's face it: The vast majority of people have never been or rarely have been nude outside. Most likely, they have never experienced the warm air or cool breezes against unexposed skin. And does that ever feel good!

Taking yet another look at the stunning nude photos of two-time Olympic Gold Medal ice princess Katarina Witt http://maxdae.multiply.com/journal/item/158 can easily remind one of the wonders of being naked in the great outdoors.

Yes it was slightly more than 10 years ago but the second sold out issue in Playboy's history (December 1998) features Katarina nude in Hawaii. We need to get past the fact that many wanted to know what she looked like without her skating costume, and concentrate on the freedom and beauty the photos project.

"The pictures are beautiful and pure and natural," she wrote in Playboy. "They're nude, but they still have a feeling of innocence. They're set in nature, in Hawaii, so it's appropriate that I'm naked, and I felt very relaxed. Every morning, for the three days we shot them, I would go see the stylist and ask, 'What will I wear today?' And of course, he'd say, 'Nothing.' That was our joke.

On Saturday May 2, the world will celebrate Nude Gardening Day. http://www.wngd.org/

 This is no joke. And a great opportunity to celebrate being outdoors in the nude, and maybe planting a flower or two.

Birthplace of Nudity?

In many respects it still is a global sport to stereotype the Germans, mainly because of 12 very unfortunate years (huge understatement) during the 20th Century.....If you need Godiva to tell you why, then you may want to seriously consider slithering back under your rock.

But let's give the Germans credit where credit is due. They are the fathers (and mothers) of Freikoerperkultur or the Free Body Culture, the modern-day nudist movement. This year is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the German FKK association with its 160 clubs and 45,000 members.

Germany's cousins from the cold Victorian-mindset island of the United Kingdom take absolute delight in stereotyping the Germans, including their zeal of running around without clothes. A perfect example is an account in the Times of London about a planned all nude hotel, the Hotel Rosengarten, in Freudenstadt in the Black Forest region of the Vaterland http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/destinations/germany/article6016553.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

"Even before the hotel opens strict house rules have been published, among them the stipulations that all guests must be naked at all times, and all must put towels on chairs and loungers before using them," the Times reported. "Lest anyone get the wrong idea, it is also made clear that there is to be strictly no sexual harassment of fellow guests and no smutty behaviour in communal areas. Those who disobey will have to put on the ultimate badge of nudist dishonour — clothing — and leave."

By all means, let's avoid this horrible dishonour or dishonor, depending on whether you speak English or American.

Speaking about Americans, its still tough to get them to let it all hang out even when they are in Europe. When in Germany, do as the.....ah....sorry, no. And that even applies to the ultra-elegant Friedrichsbad in Baden-Baden http://luxury-spas.suite101.com/article.cfm/top_spas_in_baden_baden_germany

Ueber tourist Rick Steves has made a fortune advising Yanks where to go in Europe, and for the most part they listen to him.....but apparently not when it comes to baring all in the spa at Baden-Baden http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/ricksteveseurope/2008350168_websteves04.html

"Since the Roman emperor bathed in the mineral waters of Baden-Baden, this town has welcomed those in need of a good soak," wrote Steves. "And it's always been naked. In the 19th century, it was Germany's ultimate spa resort, and even today the name Baden-Baden is synonymous with relaxation in a land where the government still pays its overworked citizens to take a little spa time.

"I happened to be here when one of my company's tour groups was in town. I told the guide that it was a great opportunity for her group to enjoy the spa. She said, "No one's going. They can't handle the nudity."

"It's long been a frustration for me as a guide — the difficulty of getting Americans into spas with naked Europeans. My first time was with my wife and some German friends — a classy, good-looking young couple. We were swept into the changing area with no explanation. Suddenly they were naked and I felt like the Road Runner just beyond the cliff's edge. Then — we eased up, and got naked. It's not sexy ... simply open and free."

Bingo, Steve! It is simply open and free. Just think we actually could learn something from the Germans....Imagine that.

No Nude Down There?

What about a woman's right to choose?

What about the constitutional right to privacy?

Abortion rights? No Brazilian waxing rights!

It appears that usually liberal New Jersey is considering a ban against bare-it-all Brazilians because two women were injured in their quest for a smooth bikini line http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20090319/ODD.Brazilian.Wax.Ban/

So what will it mean to the thousands of Garden State women and a few men if their right to bare genitals is taken away? Will they be the victims of back-alley waxing? Will they cross state lines in the middle of the night to remove these irritating hair follicles. Will they cross the border into Mexico for this procedure?

And what about the stimulative effects of Brazilian waxing, particularly on women? No, we are not talking about stimulating men (that's easy enough to do), but pumping additional dollars into the economy. Who needs Congress when we have women who want hair care down there?

Consider Cherry Hill spa owner Linda Orsulo, who performs an estimated 1,800 bikini waxes per year, most of them bare it all Brazilian style. "It's huge," she said, adding that her customers don't think their bikini lines are anyone's business but their own. "It's just not right."

If anyone pulls out a copy of Playboy published even 10 years ago and compares it to the overwhelming majority of the women who pose au naturel today, the conclusion is obvious: The bush era is over.

Nude Coexistence?

Is it possible for nudists and "textiles" (those that wear annoying bathing suits or costumes) to coexist side-by-side without anyone getting their noses or any other part of their anatomy bent out of shape?

And is it even more extraordinary that the majority of the nudists are members of the fairer gender? Sounds extraordinary, but according to the Spring edition of "N" magazine published by the Naturist Society www.naturistsociety.comthis form of unbelievable nirvana exists on the Spanish Mediterranean Island of Formentera.

Nick Mayhew-Smith suggests this may be the one place in which nudists should happily accept the presence of textiles, and the two groups seem to happily coexist on the beaches throughout the island, which is located next to its more celebrated cousin, Ibiza http://www.formentera.co.uk/naturism.htm

"So if you prefer a beach where nudity is the rule and you're safely buried in an expanse of naked bodies, then this island is not for you," Smith wrote. "But if you fancy going to a place where nudity is simply regarded as a choice of swimwear, just as you might pick red shorts or a polka dot bikini, then come and immerse yourself in Spanish beach culture for a while."

One happy side effect of this laid back culture and lack of fuss about nudity is the apparent female nude majority on the island's beaches. Is this status for real?

"....we ended up counting the bare bodies on one long stretch of Migjorn: it turned out to be about 60 percent women," Smith wrote. "Is it the lack of fuss about beach nudity that makes Formentera so welcoming to women? It certainly seems to help, and by the end of my stay I was also feeling entirely comfortable sharing my space with textiles."

Sorry guys, but Godiva has always contended that women....not hormonal men....is the future of nudism. The more places that make women feel comfortable and secure about nudity, the better for the chances of gaining greater acceptance with the public as a whole.

"Could this be the future for Naturism?" Smith asked. "It certainly seems to be the way parts of Spain are going." Viva Espana!

Naked Freaks and Swingers

As if those who enjoy running around nude didn't have enough public relations problems.....

And you wonder why so many would rather not let anyone at work, and heaven forbid, parents and close relatives, know about your love of being naked.

To you, it's closest thing to heaven on earth. You can't wait until the onset of warm weather to spend quality time sans clothes.....but if anyone found out....you would be "defined." The out-of-the-closet crowd knows this subject oh-so-well....."Did you know, he's gay?"....or "She's a lesbian" becomes the first reference rather than "he's an attorney" or "she's a nurse."

Well, how about "He's a nudist".....or "She likes to run around without clothes"?

And what contributes to this naked fear? Stories about the Swiss government considering laws to crack down on German nude hikers before the onset of summer weather in the Swiss Alps serve as a perfect example. http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Swiss_canton_of_Appenzell_Innerrhoden_fights_back_after_invasion_of_German_naked_hikers

This one looks like another contest between the always loved Germans and their devotion to Freikoerperkultur or the "Free Body Culture" and those who want to look the other way. What's wrong with non-sexual nude hiking with no intent to offend? Well, quite frankly, nothing (no pun intended).....but to the general public the question is: Why would people want to hike naked?

And then, there is the notion that all nudists are swingers.....AIDS be damned.

All the media attention, at best mixed, about Florida's Caliente Resort www.calienteresorts.comand and its appeal to both nudists and swingers with its "Arabian Nights" and "Eyes Wide Shut" parties and the "Lingerie Bowl" has drawn rebukes from the American Association for Nude Recreation www.aanr.com.

The latest addition to the swinging resort lineup is Costa Rica's MiAmor www.miammorresort.com to go with Mexico's two www.desireresorts.comsouth of Cancun and in the vicinity of Cabo San Lucas.

Godiva cannot completely fault the decision makers at Caliente for appealing to both nudists and swingers. You generally have to get naked in order to swing, but just because you are nude doesn't mean you are swinging. Besides, aren't we talking about big boys and girls here? And resorts need money to stay in business, and vacations are "discretoinary."

This is all true, but we also need to keep in mind that naked hikers and swingers have their Darwin-given rights to do what they do (as long as no one is harmed), but are they helping nudists even stay even in the public relations war? That is subject to debate.