There's an overload of nude related news in the British press. Here's a quick overview spanning no more than a week:
- Sunbathing naked in your own garden could break the law as police issue warning
- Walkers set to stride out in the nude at Horsham beauty spot
- Nude diners in Somerset pub 'sad' at backlash
- World Naked Bike Ride in York times, route and rules
- Hundreds of cyclists take part in Brighton Naked Bike Ride
Let me point out how these articles are focused on how you may be exposed to the nudity of others. You may disagree with public nudity, but, nevertheless, you may encounter it in your city, at your local pub or during you morning TV show. None of these articles are about how you would enjoy a nude beach if you and your family would go to this or that designated spot. Those are articles about how you may encounter nudity where least expected.
Some people argue that these are great to promote naturism. I'd like to know what Stéphane Deschênes, president of the INF thinks about this and I'll be sending him a link to this post.
I've been a naturist for more than 20 years, and yet I struggle with the idea that imposing nudity to the general public is morally adequate. I understand that nude beaches were created by the occupation of previously wild and mostly unused spaces. I do understand that sometimes you just need to find an appropriate spot and start a trend. Yet, I can't see how appearing naked and strategically blurred at a morning TV show does anything more than outrage people who will never go to a nude beach.
There's a thin line between activism and annoying others, therefor detracting from the same cause they're trying to advocate. Social media is a different beast altogether: you can't really find naturist information on Twitter without stumbling on erotic photography and the misuse of the term “naturist” to sell pay-per-view access to pornographic and exhibitionist content. Even naturist magazines promote people—now they're called influencers—who are basically erotic models. H&E Naturist has been promoting Jenny Scordamaglia systematically. The only connection I see between Jenny's content and naturism is that she is naked. Thus, it's akin to comparing the olympic sport of shooting with a school massacre based on the common ground of both using guns.
I'd like to start a discussion about some movements within naturism. The IAmTheFaceOfNaturism and—the one I consider very misleading—NormaliseNudity. The trend to post every single nude picture of you in every possible angle, the public city nudity events and how everything relates to a form of activism which, instead of engaging to the more conservative traditional types, tries very hard to demand regulation and diminishing returns in terms of personal freedom.