Envious

It’s the best time to be a young adult naturist.  A lot of people are bemoaning the lack of young people in nude recreation.  They make it sound like there is a young naturist apocalypse happening, but I beg to differ.

When I was a budding naturist there was no internet, Facebook, or online forums.  There was no way to get information on naturism or connect with other naturists.  The only way to ask questions about naturism/nudism was by actually meeting a naturist in person. I remember having to snail mail The Naturist Society and wait a few weeks for a paper informational pamphlet to arrive.

The only nude images available was in Penthouse, Playboy, or Hustler magazine.  The only way to view non-sexual nudity was in nudist magazines or works of art.  I remember waiting for the next issue of “Nude and Natural” magazine to be delivered by the mailman.

Most nudist clubs, when I was a young adult, were family oriented and actively discouraged young people from joining, especially single males.  And if a young person joined, they had to pay full price for membership.  Also nudist clubs back in the day were very conservative, some didn’t even allow people to hug people of the opposite sex. God forbid that you had tattoos, shaved, or had body piercings.

I could remember being one of the few young adult naturists at my club.  I remember the boredom.  The only activities were TSV: tanning, swimming, and volleyball.  There was no way to reach out or find other naturists my age.

However, today there is a way for young adult naturists to connect with each other.  A new naturist can join an online community and ask questions about nude recreation.  A new naturist can view images of non-sexual nudity and see for themselves that mere nudity does not equal sexuality.  Many clubs and organizations now offer reduced memberships for young naturists.  Also many clubs have dropped arcane rules and allow body piercings, tattoos, and single males.  Many of the young naturists I have encountered today are better informed about nude recreation.  They have a more tolerant view of gender, race, and sexuality than the previous generation.

Then why are there less young naturists??  Simply, traditional nude recreation is boring and does not offer activities they want to do.  Young naturists are not tied to traditional landed clubs were people lay around on lawn chairs working on their tans.  They like music which we hate, and are loud, in which we also hate.  Plus many young adult naturist today are busy, many have two jobs or in are college, or both.  Their nude activities are more impromptu and not relegated to a beach or a club.  A young adult naturist is more likely to be at Burning Man or World Naked Bike Ride.

So I’m not worried about today’s young adult naturist, I’m envious.