My journey to social nudity (probably, for me, more accurately described as naturism, but I will get to that in a bit) has been a slow, meandering  trek, and I wish that I had discovered a lot of the things that I know now a bit earlier in my life. I also want to start out by clarifying that my identity as a naturist does not define me, but I have found it to be something that I really enjoy.  

It all started when I was a child. Like most young children, I enjoyed the feeling of having no clothes on. I loved running around the house naked when I could, but my parents discouraged me from doing so. They did not shame me for wanting to be naked, but I learned that it wasn’t proper behavior, so the only real time that I was naked was when I changed clothes or took a bath or shower. I would occasionally walk around my house naked for a thrill if no one else was home, even when I got a little older, but I would not have felt comfortable if my parents or siblings or anyone else was around. I do remember one time when I was very young seeing my mother getting dressed in her bedroom and saying, “Wouldn’t it be nice if people didn’t have to wear clothes?” She didn’t disagree with me, as I recall, so maybe my parents were actually more open than I knew. 

As I got older, being naked became something to be hidden from others, so when I entered junior high school, I was a bit anxious about changing and showering in the locker room with the other boys during PE class.  It was a requirement, though, so I adapted to it and soon didn’t give it much thought. When I entered high school, in addition to the regular PE sections, we also had a swimming section. When my older brother was in high school, the boys swam nude, but they had changed that policy by the time I got to high school. I think that I would have been nervous at first if I had to swim nude in PE class, but now, after swimming nude many times, I think that it would have felt very natural and normal after first getting used to it. 

When I got to college, I had several different roommates, and one of them slept nude every night. I didn’t think too much of it, but sometimes other people in the dorm would laugh about it if they happened to come into the room while he was sleeping.  When I was growing up, my parents had me wear pajamas to sleep in, and, although I had wanted to try sleeping nude, I was too afraid that my parents would see me. I usually wore shorts and a t-shirt to bed in college and didn’t sleep nude until I had my own apartment after college. 

During my last two years of college, my roommate mentioned a place off-campus where he and others would sometimes go skinny dipping. The idea of going skinny dipping sounded very intriguing to me, especially if girls were involved. As a note, I was not a Christian at this point in my life, although I had attended church growing up. Even though I did still enjoy the feeling of being clothes-free, I had come to associate nudity with sex because that is what our culture taught us, from magazines like Playboy, to advertising, to skimpy swimwear. I did go skinny dipping with my roommate a few times, and one time his brother and Mary, a friend of ours, went with us, but Mary didn’t take her clothes off that time. She had been skinny dipping before, but I think that she was self-conscious about being the only girl with three naked guys. I did feel a bit self-conscious, myself, being nude in front of  Mary, but we were swimming and running around most of the time, so it wasn’t like I was being scrutinized by her, at least I don’t think I was… 

After college, I lived at home for a short time before getting my own apartment.  I could finally be nude whenever I wanted, and I did sleep and walk around the apartment nude some of the time, but I really didn’t have the desire to  be nude all of the time. For me, I really enjoyed the feeling of being nude outdoors more than being nude indoors. However, there was no place close to the city to go skinny dipping, so  it would be a few more years before I could enjoy that again. 

After dating several girls in my early twenties and living in three different apartments, I got married and started a family soon after that. My wife, Julie, and I were very comfortable with nudity, but we lived a conventional lifestyle, for the most part. One night I was rolling around in bed because I had gotten tangled up in my bed clothes, and I was too warm, and Julie, said to me, “Why don’t you just sleep nude?” I had slept nude at times in the past, but I mostly slept in shorts and a t-shirt. Julie would usually sleep in a nightgown or pajamas because she would get cold, but at her suggestion, I doffed the shorts and t-shirt for good and never looked back. Sleeping nude is so much more comfortable than sleeping with clothes on and has some health benefits, too. Some of the reported benefits include better, deeper sleep; balanced cortisol; cooling of the body, which allows melatonin and the growth hormone to do their work; a reduction in yeast infections for women; improved circulation and more. 

Julie  grew up in a resort area in Northern Wisconsin and enjoyed going skinny dipping when she was growing up, and we did have several occasions early in our marriage to enjoy going skinny dipping together when we were away from the city. Our kids were not aware of this side of their mother, so one time Julie and I were driving in the car with our two youngest children in the back seat, and she casually mentioned to the kids that she used to enjoy swimming and sunbathing  without clothes when she was growing up. We waited to see what their response would be, but there was only silence from the back seat. I think that the kids may have been embarrassed to think of their mother skinny dipping, but, alternatively, maybe they actually thought that it was pretty cool and didn’t want to admit it. 

A bit later in our marriage, we were busy with work and raising our four children, so we really didn’t pursue any skinny dipping opportunities. We really didn’t talk about body issues with our children and weren’t very open about being undressed in front of our children, either. It wasn’t that we were ashamed or embarrassed about nudity; we simply raised our children the way we were raised. We never even really considered what it might be like to raise children in a nudist household or at least in a household where situational nudity is natural and normal. In retrospect, I wish that we had been completely open about this with our children and had instilled in them that  nudity is perfectly natural and normal. Of course, there are times when clothing is required and/or appropriate, unless you live in a nudist community… Also, it is important to teach children that everyone does not have an open attitude towards nudity. Our children are grown up now and are not opposed to nudity, but they are not as comfortable or open about it as they would have been had we talked about it and been more open about it when they were growing up. It is a terrible shame that our culture has inextricably linked nudity and sex because, while God intended sex in marriage as a good thing, it was meant to be private, whereas nudity can be enjoyed without being private and without being linked to sex. I firmly believe that boys who are raised with an open attitude towards nudity grow up with a much healthier and respectful attitude towards girls and women. I think that the real and disturbing problem that we have with our “rape culture” today is fueled by the objectification of women and the use of nudity to arouse lustful thoughts in boys and men. We are told by our church leaders that the solution is for girls and women to cover up and for boys and men to not look at women, when the real solution is for parents and our society to teach boys and men that girls and women are not sex objects and that they are to be treated with respect. We live in a sinful world, and there is no absolute solution, short of the second coming of Christ, but I do not believe that more open societies have the problem of crimes against women to the degree that we have in America. 

As you can probably tell, I am a Christian. I grew up going to church, but it was more of a ritual than anything. However, after the sudden death of my father from a heart attack, I really started thinking more seriously about the meaning of life and my eternal destination. I started listening to some Christian radio programs and then found a church to attend with my children. Julie was not on board with me at this point and even thought I was going off the deep end, but God used me to eventually lead Julie and our children to Christ. I specifically mention my faith because many Christians and others believe that public nudity is sinful or wrong in and of itself and because of its association with sex. As I discussed above, this view is reinforced by what our culture teaches us. I have had some serious questions about whether my interest in nudism was compatible with my Christian faith. I did not want to do anything that would compromise my faith, and I was unsure whether one could actually be a nudist and still call oneself a Christian. There are some excellent resources that address this, and I am not going to go into a detailed discussion of nudism and Biblical theology, but the conclusion that I have come to is that there is no Biblical prohibition against nudity. When God created Adam and Eve, they were created in God’s image, and they were naked, and He pronounced it as good. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and hid from God in the Garden of Eden, it was not because they were ashamed of their nakedness; it was because they were ashamed of disobeying God. And when God clothed Adam and Eve, it was because they would need clothes to protect them against the elements in the fallen world that they would be living in. The lesson for today is that we should feel shame for sinning against God, but we shouldn’t be ashamed of our nakedness. I have not found anything in the Bible, even in the verses that address modesty, that would lead me to a different conclusion. Nudity is not a Biblical mandate, but there is freedom in knowing that it can be enjoyed without shame. 

Julie became ill in 2003, and she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She had surgery and chemotherapy, and she experienced a period of remission. During that time we attended a cancer survivors’ picnic, and she entered a drawing and won a free Caribbean cruise. Neither of us had ever been on a cruise, and she wasn’t even sure that she would like it, but ended up having a wonderful and relaxing time, and I believe that this was a blessing from God. We visited various Caribbean ports, including St. Maarten, where we made a stop at Orient Bay Beach during our tour. Orient Bay Beach has a clothing-optional area at one end of the beach, and, while we didn’t participate that time, the people we saw seemed very comfortable and normal and were of all ages, shapes and sizes. It did get me to thinking about whether I could ever see myself going nude at a beach with other people. Fast forward a couple of years, and Julie had a recurrence of her cancer, but she had again gone into remission. We decided to take another Caribbean cruise, but this time we also had a veranda on our cabin. The veranda seemed private enough, so I decided that I wanted to sit out and try for an overall tan. Julie was not feeling good about her body after all that she had been through, but she was fine with me enjoying the open air sans clothing. I love the ocean, waves and beaches, so I was in heaven sitting out on the veranda soaking up the sun and the ocean breeze.  I wasn’t the only one with that idea, as we found out that our neighbors in the next cabin were doing the same thing. We couldn’t actually see though the frosted plastic partition, but we caught a reflection of the husband jumping up and going into the cabin to get his bathing suit when we came out. We did talk to them later on and found out that they were Christians, too, and I even told them that we didn’t mind if they wanted to sunbathe “unencumbered,” but they didn’t want to admit that they enjoyed nude sunbathing and even seemed annoyed if we were on our verandas at the same time, although we couldn’t see each other. One interesting comment that Julie made on one of the days that I was sunbathing au naturel was that she could see how much I was enjoying it and that I would probably want to join a nudist club when I retired! I told her that I didn’t know that I would feel comfortable being nude in a social setting… Hold on to that thought. That was the last cruise that Julie and I went on, and she succumbed to her cancer in 2009. I miss Julie very much, but I am grateful for the years that we had together. 

After Julie passed, I would sometimes go to a beach on Lake Michigan. I have always found beaches and water to be soothing and relaxing, and it was a good place to get away by myself and think and talk to God. If there was no one around I would sometimes sunbathe nude or go skinny dipping in the lake. It felt like I had my own private nude beach at times, and although I had read that other people sometimes went skinny dipping there, I never saw anyone else doing it, and there was always the risk of being spotted by someone or a ranger. I don’t think I would have minded other nudists being there, but I never felt completely at ease because of the risk of being seen. 

About a year after Julie passed, I decided that it would be good to go on another cruise and take my son and my youngest daughter with me. We visited some of the same ports and some different ports in the Caribbean than I had been to before and had a great time. There was no nudity on that cruise, but I started to thinking about how I would like to go back to St. Maarten someday. I got the chance when I decided to go on a cruise with my oldest daughter and my youngest daughter earlier this year. My oldest daughter, Anne, picked the cruise itinerary, and she diligently researched the ports of call and our excursion choices. Low and behold, our first port of call was St. Maarten, and, in her research of St. Maarten beaches, Anne had asked me if I would mind if the beaches were clothing-optional. I told her that it would not bother me at all, but she was quick to say that she intended to keep her bathing suit on and that she expected me to keep mine on, too. When the ship stopped at St. Maarten, we took a taxi to Orient Bay Beach and later visited another smaller clothing-optional beach. Most of the women at the main beach at Orient Bay were wearing bikini tops, but there were a few topless women. We did some sunbathing and even tried snorkeling, and later we split up to go exploring the beach. I walked down to one end of the beach and then walked to the other end, which was the clothing-optional section. The beach was not overly-crowded, but there were various people, both clothed and unclothed, walking along the beach, swimming in the ocean or sitting in the sun. I looked at my watch, and it was time to meet my daughters for lunch, so I made my way back to our meeting spot. After lunch, we split up again, and I walked down to the clothing-optional section again. Everyone there seemed so comfortable and relaxed, and I wanted to join them and see what it was like, but I was nervous at the same time. Finally, I decided that I might not get another chance anytime soon, so I picked a spot and set my things down, and off came my suit. I can only describe the feeling as exhilarating! It felt so good to feel the warm sun and the ocean breeze on my entire body. I looked around, a little nervous that people might be looking at me, but no one was looking. I ran into the water and felt the refreshing waves lap over my body, and then, feeling confident, I proceeded to stroll along the beach, carrying my towel, just in case I needed a quick cover-up. I went back in the water and then decided to take another stroll on the beach, this time without the towel. I didn’t see anyone watching me on my first stroll, and I felt accepted and that there would be no need for the towel on my second stroll. It was nirvana!  During my second stroll, I did, however, spot my daughters walking towards me some ways down the beach, so I did an abrupt about-face and walked quickly back to my towel and belongings. I wrapped my towel around my body and prepared to offer them some quick explanation, but they had decided to turn back and hadn’t seen me on the beach. Later, back on the ship, Anne mentioned something about the nude beach, and I said that I had walked down there. She asked about whether I had gone down there to enjoy the “scenery,” and I said, “No, to participate…” She seemed a little surprised, but she was perfectly okay with it. She even volunteered that she and her husband would sometimes be nude at home. Later, my youngest daughter, Heather, was telling us that she saw some people nude at the beach and that she thought it was cool, so I told her that I had done it, too. My daughters were fine with it, but they said that they were glad that they didn’t see me when I was ”participating.” 

When I got back from the cruise, I began to wish that there was someplace close to me where I could enjoy the feeling of sunbathing and swimming without clothes again. The previous summer I had done some research online and found a nudist club that was about an hour-and-a-half from me. I actually went  to check it out that summer after I had been at a nearby beach. I pulled up to the gate in my car, but I chickened out and left before actually seeing what it looked like.  After the cruise, I decided that I wanted to give it another shot, but I still had some concerns. Some of my concerns were that I would feel uncomfortable being naked in a group of people; that people would stare at me; that I would become aroused and/or have lustful thoughts about women; that I would stare at other people; that the atmosphere would be sexual, that nudist clubs attract pedophiles and perverts; that people would not be friendly to me, especially being a single male; that the people at nudist clubs are all old, overweight, weird people; and that social nudity is un-Biblical, immoral and sinful. I have already covered my Biblical concerns, and my anxiety about being nude in a group of people was somewhat allayed when I went to the beach in St. Maarten, but I hadn’t had to interact with other people at the beach, and I would have to interact with others at a nudist club. I decided that there was only one way that I was going to find out the truth, though, so I picked a day and packed my lunch and set off for the nudist club. I picked a weekday, thinking that there would be less people to interact with and so that I could ease into the idea slowly. When I got to the gate this time, I made myself push the call button, and when the gatekeeper responded, I spoke confidently and announced that I was there to visit, even though I wasn’t feeling all that confident. The gate opened, and I drove in. I was now officially in a nudist club… I parked my car and made my way to the office to sign in and pay my fee. On the way to the office, I passed by the pool, and there were a handful of people sunning themselves by the pool.  They looked like normal, everyday people, definitely not model material, and they didn’t have any clothes on… I realized that I would soon be joining them, and I felt both excited and apprehensive at the same time. I got to the office and was greeted by an older woman who had shorts on but no top. She was very friendly and put me at ease as she explained to me what the club’s amenities were. They had a swimming pool, an indoor hot tub, tennis courts, a camping area, a lake for boating and swimming and a hiking trail, quite a nice setup. Many of the members lived on the grounds. I gave her my credit card, and when she handed me the charge slip for a signature my hand shook a bit as I signed it. I then asked her where I should get undressed, as I did not know nudist club protocol, and she told me that people undressed at their cars. I then thanked her and headed out to my car.  

The moment of truth had arrived. At this point, I started to feel calmer, as the grounds and facilities looked wonderful and inviting, and the weather was warm, sunny and beautiful. It didn’t take long to get out of my clothes, and I made my way to the pool, with my towel in one hand and my bag in the other. I quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching me, but no one was paying any attention to me. It’s funny because I didn’t want to attract attention, but I also wanted people to acknowledge my “bravery” and to accept me as a fellow nudist. I did get a couple of friendly nods a little later when I was walking around, and it felt good to be accepted. I found a chair in the sun and spread my towel out, and it felt so natural and comfortable to be able to enjoy the summer weather with nothing in between my skin and the sun. I can honestly say that any nervousness that I had vanished pretty quickly because I felt so comfortable, and all of us  were there for the same reason, to enjoy the freedom of being outdoors without clothes on. I went in the pool, went in the hot tub, went on the hiking trail, and checked out the lake, and I even struck up some conversations with several new people that I met that day. At the end of the day, I didn’t want to leave. I had found a little piece of heaven on earth, and I made a note in my head that I was going to return as soon as possible. Julie was right with her prediction that I would want to join a nudist club! And I am semi-retired –several years earlier than I had planned to retire, but my job was eliminated, due to the loss of a contract, and this has turned into a blessing-in-disguise. 

That summer we had many beautiful, warm days, and I had twenty more social nudity experiences, including checking out three other clubs and joining a Meetup social nudity group, but the first club that I went to is still my favorite. I met lots of friendly people there, went kayaking on the lake, and one of the members even let me try his paddle-board a few times. I can say that I tried paddle-boarding for the first time this year, nude, no-less! I have since bought my own paddle board, and I have taken it to the club several times and let others try it and made some new friends, including a young couple with the same first names as my oldest daughter and her husband and  some others who I keep in contact with outside of the club. I look forward to visiting again next summer. 

I would probably consider myself to be more of a naturist than a nudist. As I understand it, nudists like to be without clothing whenever possible, and naturists like the feeling of being nude in nature, but don’t necessarily want to be nude all of the time. I enjoy being nude while swimming, sunbathing and doing other activities, but I also like clothes, and I don’t mind wearing clothes around the house. One thing that I will say, and everyone that I have met at the clubs would concur with this, is that once you go swimming without a bathing suit, you will never want to wear a suit again. No tan lines are a pretty nice benefit of nude sunbathing, too. 

I mentioned several concerns above that I had about visiting a nudist club. One of my concerns was that I would feel uncomfortable being nude in a group of people. This was proven to be false. I felt very comfortable in group settings because everyone else was nude, too, and everyone that I met seemed to be enjoying the freedom of not wearing clothes. It was like I had joined a new club, and everyone was happy and smiling. I don’t recall ever seeing anyone who was frowning or looked unhappy. 

I also had a concern that I would not be accepted at the nudist clubs, being a single male. I am aware that some clubs exclude or restrict the number of single males who visit, but I did not encounter that at the clubs that I visited. I would say that over half of the people that I saw at the nudist clubs were couples, but there were definitely some singles, men and women, and I did not notice anyone being excluded because they weren’t part of a couple. Everyone was friendly, and, for me personally, most of my close friends are couples, so I felt very comfortable interacting with the couples that I met, and I even made some new special friends. On a personal note, I do miss being part of a couple, and, while I will continue to visit clubs as a single, I do hope to find a woman who I can share the experience with. 

Another concern that I had was that people would stare at me and/or I would stare at other people, particularly women. Of course people looked at me, but I never felt uncomfortable, and we were all naked. And, yes, I did notice other people, particularly women, but there is a difference between looking at someone to identify them or even to appreciate how they look and looking at someone with lustful or judgmental thoughts. The atmosphere at a nudist club is very non-judgmental. I am in fairly good physical shape, but I saw people of all shapes and sizes, and everyone seemed comfortable with their bodies. I did not feel lustful or judgmental thoughts towards other people, and I felt happy to think that the women who were there felt comfortable enough to be nude in a mixed gender environment. I liked the fact that women trusted me, even before they got to know me. It felt very natural and normal, the way it should be, and I felt protective of these women. I would never give them a reason not to trust me, and I didn’t want anyone else to, either. The innocence and freedom felt wonderful, almost like being back in the Garden of Eden. 

I mentioned above that I did not experience lustful thoughts towards the women who I met at the nudist clubs. A common concern that I and other men have had about being in a mixed nudist setting is the possibility of becoming physically aroused.  This proved to be a non-issue, and I can say that I did not see any men or boys with an erection in any of my experiences. If this does occur, it is normal, and the proper protocol is for one to cover up with a towel or to cool off in the pool until it subsides. 

I discussed above how our culture, including our religious institutions, have linked nudity to sex. I was concerned that there would be a sexual overtone in a nudist club setting. A large majority of people do assume that a nudist environment equals sex. In a way, you can’t blame them because when we see nudity in advertising or in a movie, it is almost always connected to sex. Sex sells, and advertisers use partial nudity to lend an aura of sexuality to their products. It is unfortunate that people have the wrong idea about social nudity. There are clothing-optional or nudist clubs that cater to swinger /lifestyle people, but you typically won’t find these people at nudist clubs that bill themselves as family clubs and are American Association of Nude Recreation (AANR) or The Naturist Society (TNS) members. I can say that I have never seen any sort of sexual activity or sexual innuendo in my visits to family-oriented clubs.  

Prior to visiting the nudist clubs, I had read something online that said that nudist clubs were havens for pedophiles and perverts. This was a very unnerving thought for me because I was repulsed by the thought of sexual predators and wanted to have no association with such people or the places that they would be found at. I can say that I did not encounter anyone who I would identify as a pervert or pedophile in my experiences at the nudist clubs, so I am not convinced that the online article was true. I have found other nudists/naturists to be friendly, open and decent people. Of course I can’t read other people’s minds, but I think that I am fairly perceptive and would have noticed someone who was leering, and I am confident to say that others would probably have noticed such behavior, too, and would have quickly asked the offender to leave. 

I think that the common view of nudists is that they are mostly old and/or overweight and/or weird. I can say that, while the majority of the people who I met were probably 45 or older, I did meet a number of younger people, even a number of people in their twenties. I it was especially refreshing to see families enjoying nude recreation with their children, and the children that I saw all looked like they were having a blast. I did see some people who would be considered overweight, but the atmosphere was non-judgmental, and other nudists seem to look beyond a person’s physical appearance. As far as weird people, everyone seemed pretty normal to me. I guess we probably all have our own ideas as to what is weird, though, and all of us are probably a little weird in some way. 

I have now visited four family nudist clubs and two clothing-optional beaches. At a beach, you have the freedom to wear a bathing suit, be partially nude or fully nude. You can also determine how much, if any, interaction you have with other people. For someone exploring nude recreation, a clothing-optional beach is a good option for the above reasons. However, a nudist club, where everyone is nude, may feel more natural and comfortable. There is always the possibility of encountering voyeurs at a clothing-optional beach, and some people that I have met at the nudist clubs have complained about this. I love sandy beaches and being by the water, but I also l also like the fact that everyone at a nudist club is enjoying the experience with me. I guess going to a nude beach with a group of friends where everyone is nude would be the ideal nudist experience for me. 

I have told three of my four kids about my social nudity experiences, and I have told one of my best friends, my doctor and my financial advisor about it, and they were all fine with it. I wish that I could tell all of my friends, family and acquaintances, especially my church/Christian friends, how enjoyable and healthy social nudity is, but I don’t think that a lot of them would understand, unless they had already tried it themselves. I also haven’t had good luck with telling potential women who I was interested in dating about it. Perhaps I should consider relocating to Europe, where nudity is much more commonly accepted. I do hope that people will eventually come to see nudism as the good, clean, natural fun that it is. I heartily recommend trying social nudity. Nudists/naturists are some of the friendliest people that I have ever met, and they are very accepting of people of all ages, colors, shapes and sizes. Do it! And take your kids, too – they will love it! 

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