In the United States, interest in naturism—or a nudist lifestyle—began in earnest the late 1920s with the official establishment of members-only communities where naturists gathered to socialize and enjoy recreation without clothing in an environment designed to be no more sexual than if clothed.
Prior interest was more clandestine due to widespread puritanical views of nudity.
But once these so-called nudist colonies became part of popular culture, they stayed despite their popularity fluctuating over the years.
For people who never experienced naturism, curiosity about the lifestyle is common.
Reddit user WestTell2892 asked:
"Nudists. What's it like to live a nude life or growing up in a nudist lifestyle?"
Body Beautiful
"I didn't start going to resorts until a few years ago. The body confidence just skyrocketed, especially as a guy who is considered overweight (5 foot 7 at 185ish lbs trying to go for 150)."
"I found it liberating and completely natural. I do wish there was a younger ground for around my age since it'd be easier to connect on a social level."
"Most of them are older than my parents. Occasionally I'll meet someone around my age (late 20s), though I could probably count them with my hands."
"These days I just go there for my alone time, workout at the gym there (despite having a gym membership elsewhere) and go for long jogs around the grounds and on the hiking trail usually to an upwards of a 10k."
"It's honestly kinda addicting for how liberating it is. It just feels right."
~ AReallyAsianName
My Eyes Are Here
"You learn how to maintain eye contact really well."
~ sualk54
Big Deal
"It’s a big deal until you’re nude. And then suddenly you’re kind of taken aback by how not a big deal it is. It’s funny that way."
~ PIDthePID
Easy Peasy
"My parents weren’t into it in a big way, by any stretch. But we went to nude beaches as a family when we were younger maybe a handful of times? I think mainly in France and perhaps once in Spain."
"It’s certainly normalised it to me to the extent I think it’s a fine thing to do. I remember telling other people casually though and them being quite shocked. Some even thinking it was ‘abusive’ of my parents to have done that."
"Being pretty autistic about the whole thing, I just remembered thinking it was a whole lot easier. Nothing to trap sand; get wet (wet bathing suits gross!); easier to swim; no tan-lines etc... essentially all the bathing life-hacks."
"I always go topless and or/nude in any pool/spa/sauna/beach setting if it’s legal and permitted."
~ princessxha
Classless
"I’ve been going to a local nude beach for a few years now, and one thing I loved about it was when the clothes come off, so does your socioeconomic class."
"Also, it’s refreshing to see real bodies. We’re too inundated with artificially beautified bodies in movies, marketing, social media."
"Real bodies aren’t perfect, and even very attractive people have scars, wrinkles, stretch marks, moles, etc... It makes you feel a lot better about your own body when you see that other people have all the same 'faults'."
~ Jeramy_Jones
Comfort
"I grew up with nudist parents. They weren't very into the lifestyle, but we did go to nude beaches a few times and were generally naked inside the home."
"I found it comfortable, clothes are a bit of a pain, and I do prefer to just be tits out at all times. It definitely desexualized nakedness and helped me appreciate that humans come in all shapes and sizes."
"When people find out, they often act very shocked, but I had a positive experience. Even being a teenage girl in those spaces felt frankly much safer than regular beaches."
~ ZombiesRCoolIGuess
Dad
"Well I'm not a nudist, but my father was. I grew up around a lot of nudity and visited him once at a place just north of Houston."
"He and my stepmom at the time were nice enough to wear clothes, as did I (not nearly confident enough to walk around with my body nude unfortunately.)."
"Some interesting things I remember:
- - You take a towel everywhere, and sit on that. Makes sense
- - They had a store in the area. Nobody worked there. You just wrote down what you took and they billed you at the end of the month. Apparently being naked makes people a LOT more honest.
- - Since you don't have 'outfits', people would decorate themselves in other ways. Tattoos, jewelry, and shapes of pubic hair shaving all added to individuality.
- - It was rare to see somebody you *wanted* to see naked. They were typically older (like 50+), overweight, overly hairy, and for guys, typically only the well-endowed. Very few would have been attractive even in a nice suit/dress.
- - You end up looking people in the eyes more, at least when they are looking at you.
- - There was no sex allowed in public; it was family-oriented and just inappropriate."
"I admire the lifestyle, and saw it as positive and liberating. It also pointed out my culture failures in seeing nudity as a bad thing (not that I really did, but it REALLY opened my eyes)."
"I wish I could do it, as I love feeling the sun and breeze on my naked body when I get a chance (and nobody is looking)."
~ bad_syntax
Less Drag
"I grew up going to a nudist resort with my parents, starting going around the age of 11 or 12. I stopped going when I was about 18 because my then girlfriend didnt dig walking around nude."
"When I started going, it was prime age for getting a random erection, and I never got one when I was out and about walking around."
"My parents continued to go to the resort for almost 40 years. The only rule that required you to be naked was in the swimming pool."
~ Odd-Assistant65
No Judgment
"My experience with nudism is largely that it's impossible to be judgemental if everyone is naked. Everyone is friendly. And sexuality isn't a part of it."
"One time a guy was being kinda creepy with a friend of mine and his naked a** got dragged out of the resort by a burly man wearing nothing but a 'security' vest. It was awesome to witness!"
~ That_OneOstrich
No Puritans
"Well my family was never prude or averse to nudity, it wasn’t an everyday occurrence. Just normal North American household."
"However when I was 10 we moved overseas to Northern Europe, and my parents rented a house right near the beach which was great, especially for kids."
"Well, turns out the 1km beach we were on, was a naturist beach, so as a result we would have to get nude to go there in the summer. My parents never really liked that aspect, but as kids we loved it."
"Usually in the summer, it’d just be all of us kids in the town on the beach and we’d spend all day there. Many of my friends houses I’d go to would be nudist households, whereas ours wasn’t really."
"I got used to seeing everyone nude, it was normal. Though my parents never embraced it, they never stopped me or my siblings from going to the beach or friends houses."
"Looking back, it really was a way better time, there’s no way kids would be allowed to go by themselves to nude beaches at 10 years old today."
"Also - not once did myself or any of my friends, boys or girls, ever have any creepy experiences or encounters on the beach, which was good."
"How it affected me? Positively. I’m very comfortable in my own skin."
"The only downside was, it made me realize how perverted society is with its obsession with covering up. It isn’t healthy I feel for humans."
"We were born nude for a reason. I didn’t understand my friends back home in the USA when they got into their dad’s Playboy what the big deal was. Nudity was common in Europe even for non nudists, as advertisements and TV would show nudity as of it’s all normal, which it is."
~ MagnificentGeneral
Naturists
"I'm from the Netherlands. I grew up with 'naturist' parents in the seventies/eighties. There was a slight difference between nudists and naturists, but I can't remember what it was."
"We weren't naked all the time, but it was fine if you were. We went swimming naked every Sunday afternoon in the city public pool."
"I remember it felt totally normal for me to be naked in public, and seeing all these different body shapes and quirks."
"When I was about six or seven, my friend (whose family always came along too) and I put on goggles to watch people swimming. We discovered that large breasts move around in funny ways underwater."
"Sometimes there were curious people entering the pool terrace (indoors) to watch naked people for free. Nobody told them to leave, but they always did after five minutes. It's probably uncomfortable wearing clothes, while everyone else isn't."
"Sauna spa visits are also naked here, except for the occasional 'bathing suit days', for people who can't or won't be naked, but still want to enjoy the spa."
"I think more people are being shy about their naked body than when I was a kid. I'm still comfortable being naked around other naked (or even clothed) strangers, even though my body changed over the years (on the heavy side), and it allows me to not worry about the way I look."
"I reckon it's quite a task to keep up with what people think you should look like. I feel being nudist/naturist is good for being kind to yourself and the way you look."
~ Henkdroid
Say Cheese
"I'm not a nudist, but I participated in a photo shoot that involved thousands of nude people."
"After the first minute or so the novelty wears off and you're just standing around with a bunch of other naked people like it's a locker room. You get used to the nudity and then it's not a big deal."
"If anything, it's reassuring to see that hardly any normal people are really all that attractive when they are undressed. That said, the fit people definitely stand out…"
~ NoNotMyRealUsername
No Swimsuits
"It's great. Comfortable."
"Being outside in the summer is way better, swimming is really 10x better than normal, and you save loads of time not doing laundry."
"Swimsuits are the dumbest invention ever."
~ bitches_love_brie
Body Confidence
"I started going to beaches and resorts as an adult around five years ago, so I didn’t grow up in this, but a big reason I love it is the people. Nudists tend to be pretty open, accepting, friendly people—it’s hard to put up walls when you’re socializing naked with strangers!"
"This has also been really helpful for my general body confidence, embracing and accepting that everyone has flaws, being reminded of what people actually look like (compared to everything fake we see online), and learning to love my body more for what it’s capable of rather than how visually pleasing it is for others."
"Sure it was very scary taking my clothes off the first time, but then it’s just so COMFORTABLE. You’ll never want to wear a bathing suit again after swimming in the ocean or any natural water nude. And sunbathing!
"Being on your phone is also typically impolite in nudist environments and so it’s a great time to unplug and enjoy nature."
~ botherbother
Good Clients
"I do work for a nudist colony several times a year."
"Think of a really nice KOA brand campsite. They have pools, hot tubs, RC plane airfield, event buildings."
"The people there are just like you and me. They don’t give a sh*t about being modest or sexy. They don’t care if you are a mechanic or a CEO, because without clothes on it’s hard to tell who is worth a million bucks or broke."
"Every interaction I had with the members has been pleasant and not uncomfortable at all. Look up American association for nudist recreation."
"As far as I see it, the people enjoying themselves here are free of all the self conscious bullsh*t most of us live with everyday."
~ 1st-timer-over-here
More power to anyone this comfortable in their own skin, but I'm far too fussy about anything getting on me—dirt, bugs, critters—to walk in nature in the nude. Plus, it gets too cold where I live.
Have you ever been to a nude beach or naturist camp?
Would you ever consider an au naturel lifestyle?
