We have heard from so many people over the years who have said things like "I want to be a naturist but my partner hates it" or "There are no opportunities where I live to enjoy naturism," some people have to contend with naturism being illegal - there are many obstacles in people's way. Many will assume it is illegal in their country when it isn't. A big issue for many is the fear of being misjudged, mainly because naturism is misunderstood and abused and so confusion abounds. 

We place social obstacles in our way. Some wait until their children leave home because there is a growing idea that it is not suitable for families. Some even fear having their children removed from their care. A fear I have heard about many times in the USA, though I am not sure if it has actually ever happened. 

Many of us create our own obstacles. What goes on in our heads may be imagined but these problems are often just as real to us as a 3D issue. In fact an emotional obstacle can be much tougher to deal with than a physical one. Much of our imagined obstacles are going to be based on whether or not we can allow ourselves to be naturists. 

"My body is not suitable to be seen naked" is of course a totally incorrect argument but as an obstacle it can take some climbing over. We know that no one can be too skinny, too fat, too old, too out of condition. No one cares about the size of your breasts or penis; and disabilities and body imperfections are something naturists take in their stride. No one is perfect, and no one cares about your imperfections. Some people lose faith in themselves after an operation or after having children but they fail to see the bigger picture, their body was no more acceptable when it was young and less "used" than it is now. Thinking you body is attractive enough to be shown off, is just as silly as thinking it is not attractive enough to be shown off. 

My abuse as a child mixed with my parents attitude towards nudity placed me in a situation where I was very uncomfortable with nudity and disliked myself and my body. Believing that my body should be hidden from everyone and that people are basically sex-mad didn't help. If you are not allowed to have innocence with nudity as a child how can you find it as an adult. I had layers of obstacles built into my personality that I had to deal with in all aspects of my life, and certainly they lay in front of me obstructing my way to naturism. I had to face these obstacles to try naturism, but in turn naturism helped me deal with my emotional obstacles and move forward and away from the pain of my childhood and young adult life.

Wow, there's a lot to unpack on this topic and the various comments/adds. From the top of my mind, what stands/stood in my way to enjoy (more) naturism is two things:

1. The judgment of others
2. The fear of retaliation

On the first one, it's slowly but surely subsiding and as shared recently in my blog post (https://www.anaturistworld.com/blog/46363/being-comfortable-naked-when-everybody-else-is-clothed), it's even go to a point, that I don't really care about what others think, as long as I'm not causing distress (this can be true when people are seeing nudity as offensive for them or their children due to past traumas or social/cultural/religious indoctrination). The latter point should lead to a serious conversation if possible.

On the second one, unfortunately, society is (still) seeing nudity as "bad" and "indecent", linking it to sexual behavior and misdemeanor. Hence, it can (still) have bad personal consequences, leading you to a court house, even if your intentions are good. Although it's true that behavior may speak louder than some "offensed" people, society can label you as sexual predator because you enjoy simple nudity. It's still something that keeps popping into my mind, as I hate trouble and conflict, particularly facing loud extrovert people who seem to be enjoying trouble and conflict, and are prone to call the police instead of having a decent and respectful conversation.

As passionate naturists, we walk on fine lines. We know we are not doing anything wrong, which is not the case of non-naturists who see nudity as wrong for many personal reasons. Shall this stop us from being naturists and enjoy simple and social nudity? Hell no! It's just a matter of judgment, courage and comfort.

Is it us, or do we feel like we are living in a society of busy bodies, who have nothing better to do than rant and rave about things they have absolutely no knowledge of?

From our point of view, we as people have always lived by the philosophy of “Be You, Appreciate Everyone.” There are so many aspects of society that we have seen or Rob has worked with, and a lot of them, we are happy to say this is not for us, but we do not lecture or rant at other people who would do things we do not feel is right for us.

It has always amused us, that we have no problem at all with dressed people, it bothers us not one jot, and yet, the dressed have issues with naturists, and the main reason behind that is ignorance, they stand in judgement of something they are utterly clueless about, and like appears to be common these days, we are labelled with labels so far from reality, you have to wonder if they are on drugs.

There is an old saying that is “What a person thinks of you, says far more about them, than it ever will you.” And that does appear to be case in every accusation of lewd, perverted, sex menace, etc, which is hurled at naturists these days, so are they really showing you the insides of their own minds?

Once again, we question the motives of this poor guy’s mother, because in truth, it appears to us, this is more about what she thinks and feels, than how he thinks and feels. As Anna has pointed out, within naturism there are many who openly admit their partner is against naturism, but happy to allow their partner to do it.

We can understand this man wants to be open and honest about being a naturist, and we actually commend him for being brave enough to openly admit it to his family, we feel that was a valiant thing, especially when we have encountered people who are naturists who admit, they keep it very secret, something we feel does not help the cause at all.

If we could say anything to this young man, it would be to ask him how much he enjoys it and what does he benefit from the experience, and then politely advise him to continue and just not talk about it with his family, because ultimately, this is his life, and he should be free to live it as he sees fit, as long as he harms no one. Maybe once again the old saying applies here. “What his mother does not know, will not hurt her.”

I would say in my late 20s the primary obstacle to participating in naturism was the assumptions (or at leat my perception of the assumptions) as to the single male. It made it somewhat challenging to attend events, clubs, or even beaches in an attempt to find others of similar interests.  My now wife has said for her it was more of a lingering personal security concern even recognizing the vast majority participating were entirely safe and well meaning.  We consider ourselves amazingly fortunate to have been introduced by chance at Haulover Beach in Florida when each of us was visiting.  Now with late-elementary aged children, while we love the body positivity, healthy attitudes, and self confidence they have, there can be obstacles as have been discussed at lenth in these forums to participating as a family.  For example, one of our now closest clothing optional beaches is Gunnison in New Jersey, however, while many are welcoming, there are some who somewhat convey that kids in attendance feels like an intrusion to them even though ours are clearly comfortable on a nude beach. That's perhaps one of the most gratifying experiences having been able to take them to beaches and camps in Spain and France where family naturism is welcome and well attended with others their age.

I have been pondering this question since I saw it. For me I see the biggest obstacle is parents finding out. But parents finding out seems like an inevitable since we have a little one that we assume will leak the details one day. And I feel like I have left enough clues that it won't be completely a surprise and I am hopeful they will be respectful about it too. 

But on my wife's side there are more worries and concerns about "what if?"s mainly due to shared social groups. But those "what if?"s cases assume that people will be strongly opinionated and be a hassle but that is rarely the case. Got to remember it is better to live life than worry what others think about how you are living it (Especially if you like to overthink).