Some naturists I know who are wide open about their naturist lifestyle, always say that once you have told others that you're a naturist as if it's not a thing, you will question why telling others seemed to be such a big deal beforehand.

The same can be said about being nude in a social setting for the first time.  The question after is always - why didn't I do it earlier? 

I have been a social naturist for two decades but indeed I never broadcast that I'm a naturist wherever I go.  As mentioned in my blog before, I'm still waiting for that moment that I meet up with someone I know at a naturist venue or event.  I promised myself that I won't hide or be shy about such encounters.  In fact, I will be thrilled! 

Back to the case of our friend at 30.  Regardless whether it's family or peer pressure that he decides to keep his clothes on at all times from now on, we should respect that choice.  We all should live a life that we're comfortable with.  If not being in harmony with families and friends makes us more uncomfortable than having clothes on, for sure we should keep our clothes on.

For those of us who are "rebellious" enough to take our clothes off in front of others, we will have to anticipate the negativity that could explode in front of us when the "wrong people" found out about our way of life.  For some that negativity won't cause much damage, but for some others, that may not be the case.

Many of us shared the same struggles so it's great to have a forum like ANW to acknowledge our common pain, and know that we're not alone.  It's a great reinforcement to keep us committed to what we know is right, and definitely not wrong.

This has given us a lot of food for thought, although we stand by our initial comments, that this young man’s mother has no right to say what he can and cannot do. We do wonder how important naturism is to him, because as we wrote above, when given the ultimatum to stop, we knew that was not something we were prepared to do, because naturism for us is an important part of our life.

He is thirty, and as we now know in the USA, so we must ask, how much exposure to naturism has this man had? we may be judging, but we feel it is possibly not as much as say us here in the UK, and so we would ask, how much opportunity has this man had to really get to be a part of true social naturism? We may be wrong, but we feel it is not that big an amount, which maybe, is why this young man has been so easily convinced to stop.

In regard to other people finding out, or asking us, we have never hidden our naturism, but again, we also do not advertise it. We have told friends who are not naturists, because we know that at times friends want to visit us, and so they do have a head’s up, that on warm sunny days to arrive unannounced could surprise them, so we do have a no one visits with calling first policy.

No one has objected strongly to date. One of Rin’s good friends has been with us wearing a small bikini, and talked of how much she really wanted the confidence to do it, as she admired the fact we could do it, and she almost did, but lost her nerve at the last moment. However, she has allowed her daughters to be naked when playing with our kids in the pool and garden a few years back.

We have another friend who is pretty out there and she knows, and although we are always dressed around her, she does ask a lot of questions, she has loved seeing the pictures of the two camps this summer, she finds it all very interesting and has no issues with it, she has even said she would love to try it and join us on one of our events, so to be honest, we have seen it is possible to have friends who know, and it does not cause waves.

We think there is a balance, in a sense we have been able to work out who we feel will be accepting of the fact we are naturists. We never push it with people, and if they wish to join us and try it, we will allow that, because talking about naturism is the best way to get others to understand. At the end of the day, we have found those who do not agree always use the line, “Well, I could never do that” we always respond that it is fine, they do not have to, and they appear happy with that.

We honestly believe that there is a lot of unnecessary fear around naturism, and that a lot of the concerns naturists have are to a degree blown out of proportion, and hiding or not talking about naturism is actually one of the reasons people perceive it wrongly. We are naturists, and we should not hide when it comes to having a conversation which highlights the normalcy or benefits of it, after all, if we do not set the record straight, who will?

I guess there are levels of commitment. 

Say I had been a vegetarian for two weeks and I was invited to a family dinner and my family had made a big roast and aksed me to join them. It would certainly be easier than if I had been a vegetarian for 2 decades and the sitiuation arose. 

Similarly what if someone got nasty? Would I be more or less likely to eat the meat? Fight back or simply adjust for peace? 

If the young man was a newbie and looking to get mnore involved in naturism but hadn't found his niche yet, then it would be easier to wish to keep family peace and think "oh well." Without betraying any confidences the man said that what we are doing for naturism here on ANW is marvellous but family for him has to come first. So he certainly understands the nuances of naturism. Personally I believe you can have both.

Even if your wife or husband hates naturism you can still enjoy it and they can still be happy for you to enjoy even if they want to keep a distance from it. But if they think it is perverse and sexualised - then what must they think of you? If they believe you are that way inclined do they understand you at all - and if they do not, then are you right as a couple? 

We have read so often about children being punished by their parents for wanting to be naked when youngsters and returning to it when grown up. So parents do seem to be a big part of stamping out the innocence of nudity. So it is hardly surprising that some continue into old age. 

If my parents (or Steve's) were dead against us being naturists then we would not stop, we would just keep it as an uncommunicated fact. They would know we are and we would know they do not like it - but that is the end of that. But we would want to ensure they had the facts first. I would not want anyone to think I am a pervert - and that concern is what puts off some people from talking about thier naturism and other from even being naturists. 

One obstacle that some people face is being parents to young children. Fearing that naturism is not right for their children, for families and keeping their naturism hidden or waiting for the children to grow up and leave home. This may be an obstacle that I feel is not right for anyone to have, but I have heard it many times.  

I would say social norms were at one point a barrier for me. However, they certainly aren't anymore. 

You have nothing to fear but fear itself - that is true but fear itself can be hugely scary. My biggest obstacle was a overwhelming fear. And I have write about how that fear was based on self loathing and hate in this blog post. https://www.anaturistworld.com/member-blog/45831/a-naturist-family-me-and-my-body-7-learning-to-accept-yourself

But even after that there was other obstacles. Having a partner who not only didn't like naturism but undermined me whenever she had the chance made it tough to find times to enjoy naturism. I would grab moments here and there and would read the occasional H&E to remind myself that I was not alone. 

It wasn't really untill I met Anna that I was able to enjoy naturism obstacle free. 

And even then it took us some time before we felt confident enough to tell family and friends about our naturism. 

Now the only obstacle that stands in our way is a want to protect our children from bullying, gossiping peers. We have to tread carefully with promoting naturism, the media we use and using local beaches. We do still use local beaches but our son keeps an eye out for children at his school that may spot us. We should not worry about bullies - but fear can be hugely scary - especially to a teen - I can get that!