History UsefulNotes / Nudism

* NakedPeopleAreFunny: But in a "odd" way. People who go to nudist clubs to look at attractive naked people instead often see about the same ratio of attractive/normal/ugly that they see in clothed people at the grocery store.

The basic tenets of modern Nudism are varied and difficult to put into words. Some people claim a difference between Nudism and Naturism — these people suggest that Nudism is more focused on the social aspect of clothesfreedom, Naturism more focused on the health benefits. Others expand nudism to a belief in social equality, environmentalism, veganism, etc. There is also casual nudism, where people do not belong to any nudist groups but simply enjoy hanging around their home naked.

The basic tenets of modern Nudism are varied and difficult to put into words. Some people claim a difference between Nudism and Naturism — these people suggest that Nudism is more focused on the social aspect of clothesfreedom, Naturism more focused on the health benefits. Others expand nudism to a belief in social equality, environmentalism, veganism, etc. There is also casual nudism, where people do not belong to any nudist groups but simply enjoy [[HomeNudist hanging around their home naked]].

The basic tenets of modern Nudism are varied and difficult to put into words. Some people claim a difference between Nudism and Naturism — these people suggest that Nudism is more focused on the social aspect of clothesfreedom, Naturism more focused on the health benefits. Others expand nudism to a belief in social equality, environmentalism, veganism, etc. There is also casual nudism, where people do not belong to any nudist groups but simply enjoy hanging around their home naked.

* According to surveys, the average nudist has a college education and is in the upper middle income bracket.

* RealityEnsues: Terri Sue Webb and Andrew Martinez both tried to pull the Hollywood, "naked everywhere" style [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl nudist trope]] as a form of protest. The result? Andrew Martinez was expelled from school, his town gained a draconian anti-nudity law, and he later committed suicide in jail (his presence in there to begin with being unrelated). Terri Sue Webb was jailed multiple times, her jail sentences extended multiple times due to her refusal to dress during her jail sentences, and later put in a mental institution by the Judge, who used a legal loophole to keep her there despite her being perfectly sane. She's now much more mellow about her clothesfreedom activism, mostly at the [[StopBeingStereotypical behest of the AANR]], who rightfully pointed out that she was actually causing more harm than good.
** The British answer is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Gough Stephen Gough]], aka "The Naked Rambler", who spent most of the period 2006-15 in prison due to his refusal to wear clothes (like Webb, he was repeatedly released from jail and almost immediately arrested again after stripping off). In 2014, the European Court of Human Rights [[http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2014/1156.html decided]] that laws against public nudity did not breach the rights to freedom of expression or privacy.

* YourNormalIsOurTaboo: Zigzagged. Most people that aren't nudists usually see being naked, other than washing your body, as taboo and they fear the idea of anyone they don't know personally, (their lover or their kids) seeing them naked. If a non-nudist were to accidentally stumble upon a nudist beach/clothing optional beach, they would likely see the people walking around naked as very weird, while said nudists likely wouldn't see anything wrong with walking around naked. Similarly, a nudist sees nothing wrong with being in their home naked with the rest of his family, which may include their children, while a non-nudist might view it as creepy and wrong.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: It isn't exactly illegal to take pictures at a nudist camp, but it is ''strongly'' suggested that you always ask permission first and respect people's wishes. This goes double ''and triple'' when it comes to pictures of children. People going around with a camera taking pictures of everyone without asking first tend to get asked to either stop or leave - and the staff is not at all embarrassed about calling in the local authorities (who are fully aware they have a nudist camp nearby and don't have a problem with that) to step in in extreme cases. Despite how "rustic" the camp may be, [[GenreSavvy everyone is aware any picture you take could be on the Internet in seconds flat]].

** Playing the trope directly, it's important to note that unlike in the media, the average nudist is just that — average. Think about that the next time you walk by, say, [=McDonald's=].

* ExposedToTheElements: Averted again. Nudists wear clothing when it's appropriate. The idea is that there's nothing wrong with being nude, not that it's wrong to be clothed. If it's a chilly morning at the camp, folks throw on a shirt.

* NakedPeopleAreFunny: But in a "odd" way. People who go to nudist clubs to look at attractive naked people instead often see about the same ratio of attractive/normal/ugly that they see in clothed people at the grocery store.
** Lampshaded in an early ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' comic: "The biggest problem with nudist camps is the lack of quality control."

The basic tenets of modern Nudism are varied and difficult to put into words. Some people claim a difference between Nudism and Naturism — these people suggest that Nudism is more focused on the social aspect of clothesfreedom, Naturism more focused on the health benefits. Others expand nudism to a belief in social equality, environmentalism, veganism, etc.

* Being naked is much more fun, and oftentimes more practical, than being clothed.

One of the more misunderstood philosophies of the modern era, Nudism (also known as Naturism, Social Nudity, or Clothesfree) is at its heart a belief in the lack of inherent sexuality in the nude human body and embracing the naturalness of it.

** The British answer is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Gough Stephen Gough]], aka "The Naked Rambler", who spent most of the period 2006-15 in prison due to his refusal to wear clothes (like Webb, he was repeatedly released from jail and almost immediately take his clothes off and get arrested again). In 2014, the European Court of Human Rights [[http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2014/1156.html decided]] that laws against public nudity did not breach the rights to freedom of expression or privacy.

'''Tropes generally associated with Nudism:'''

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* PantyShot: Averted. Some people, on their first trip to a nudist camp, think "I'm nervous, so I'll just strip to my underwear, that's halfway - right?" Then they look at the rules and see that walking around in your underwear is prohibited - which doesn't make sense to a first-timer. Firstly it's a ''Nudist'' camp, so you ought to go all the way or not at all; and secondly when you think about it partly-clothed is generally considered kinkier than stark-naked. Think about all the lingerie porn out there. Besides - are the underwear you are wearing right ''now'' in a state that you would want to present on the street?

* Nudity, in and of itself, is in no way obscene, rude or offensive. ("Nude not Lewd")

* Being naked is much more fun (and often times more practical) than being clothed.

** Some exceptions to the latter exist — for example, one nudist camp in the southern United States has a yearly beauty contest which has taken on a life of its own in recent years.

* NationalGeographicNudity: Nudism is directly responsible for breaking down the rules about nudity in film. Nudists fought for and earned the right to show nudity in films about nudism. In the 1950s, American filmmakers used this as a loophole to show nudity in their own films — cue a hundred thousand "Tales from a Nudist Colony" films, some of which were actually intended as {{pornography}}.

* NationalGeographicNudity: Nudism is directly responsible for breaking down the rules about nudity in film. Nudists fought for and earned the right to show nudity in films about nudism. In the 1950s, American filmmakers used this as a loophole to show nudity in their own films — cue a hundred thousand "Tales from a Nudist Colony" films.

* They are Nudist ''clubs'' or ''campgrounds'', never ''colonies''. Very few nudist areas have permanent residents.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: It isn't exactly illegal to take pictures at a nudist camp, but it is ''strongly'' suggested that you always ask permission first and respect people's wishes. This goes double ''and triple'' when it comes to pictures of children. People going around with a camera taking pictures of everyone without asking first tend to get asked to either stop or leave - and the staff is not at all embarrassed about calling in the local authorities to step in in extreme cases. Despite how "rustic" the camp may be, [[GenreSavvy everyone is aware any picture you take could be on the Internet in seconds flat]].

* ExposedToTheElements: Averted again. Nudists wear clothing when it's appropriate. The idea is that there's nothing wrong with being nude, not that it's wrong to be clothed.

** Modern "Nudism" movies, especially those sold online, tend to follow this trend -- most of them involve 4+ attractive nude women doing something otherwise normal, such as playing in a pool or randomly doing yoga. These have very little to do with actual nudism, as shown from the lack of average looking girls, any form of men, and the fact that [[SpotTheThread the actresses have tan lines.]] In fact, quite a few of these videos focus on petite or outright underage women, using the nudism moniker to get away with what amounts to softcore child pornography.

One of the more misunderstood philosophies of the modern era, Nudism (also known as Naturism, Social Nudity, or Clothesfree) is at its heart a belief in the lack of inherent sexuality in the nude human body.

** Lampshaded in an early SluggyFreelance comic: "The biggest problem with nudist camps is the lack of quality control."

* NotWhatItLooksLike: It isn't exactly illegal to take pictures at a nudist camp, but it is ''strongly'' suggested that you always ask permission first and respect people's wishes. This goes double ''and triple'' when it comes to pictures of children. People going around with a camera taking pictures of everyone without asking first tend to get asked to either stop or leave - and the staff is not at all embarrassed about calling in the local authorities to step in in extreme cases.

Modern nudism has its roots in India in 1891. This first nudist club (never [[DidNotDoTheResearch colony]]) had only three members and lasted less than a year, but inspired the roots of what would eventually grow into the Nudist movement. In the early 1900s, the book ''Nacktkultur'' was published in Germany by a doctor, who discussed the benefits of nudity in co-education and advocating nudity in athletic activities for health reasons. Two books by Richard Ungewitter (''Nacktheit'' and ''Nackt'') followed, citing nudity (alongside a healthy, athletic lifestyle) was the secret to a long and happy life. These books reached moderate success, and in 1903 the first organized nudist club, ''Freilichtpark'' (Open-Air Park), opened.

* DidNotDoTheResearch: See above. Nudists aren't swingers, hippies, perverts or religious health nuts just because they are Nudists (whether any given individual is is another matter). They don't live in colonies and aren't nearly so breathtakingly beautiful (or hilariously ugly, when used for a gag) as Hollywood wishes.

In the Netherlands, virtually all beaches have a nudist section, and topless sunbathing is legal everywhere. It's very common to see women sunbathing topless in parks, on campus, or on their own balcony. Nudity is not censored on television (on most channels - the evangelical channel is an obvious exception), and most Dutch films tend to include one or two nude scenes. In the Dutch film rating system, nudity was not a factor, but in recent years this has changed.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: It isn't exactly illegal to take pictures at a nudist camp, but it is ''strongly'' suggested that you always ask permission first and respect people's wishes. This goes double ''and triple'' when it comes to pictures of children. People going around with a camera taking pictures of everyone without asking first tend to get asked to either stop or leave - and the staff is not at all embarrassed about calling in the local authorities to step in in extreme cases.
* OlderThanTheyThink: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adamites Adamites]] were a Christian sect in the 2nd through 4th centuries AD who believed in returning to the innocence of the [[TheBible Garden of Eden]], including the shedding of all clothes. Modern Christian Naturists occasionally cite the Adamites as inspiration for their beliefs.

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