It is rather interesting and touching that all the replies in this topic have pointed out positives about ANW and the ANW community. When Anna and I chatted about this topic this morning it didn't feel like we would be encouraging a reminder of the genuine approach captured by ANW but just raising a few topics that we have found ourselves worried about recently and talking about quite a bit more since yesterday. 

The idea that real naturism is presented by real naturists, not be misinformed journalist, expensive PR machines, naturist websites owned by people with priorities that don't really include naturism, and Bladerunner style skin jobs offering thoughts and words put into their mouths by third parties, with AI voices that don't even know how to pronounce naturism. Funny how all these voices make the same mistake as the images create dubious lip syncs. It isn't spelt with two 't's!

To me these AI photos and videos create a false view of naturism that would be similar to us taking blow up dolls and lying them on the beaches. It isn't real and it sends out the wrong messages. What is nasty is that they are not really being used to sell naturism to non-naturist, but being used to sell a website. The message is more about how amazing these fake people find the website, rather than how delightful naturism is. It is tacky, self serving and to me feels like the website is a total scam. If the plan is to do good for naturism, then a massive rethink is in order. Fake images are lies, and lying isn't a way of building trust. Yet this person is also suggesting that the naturist community crowd fund a state of the art naturist venue. Yet I cannot help but feel that the website comes over as legitimate as a spiv down a back alley selling knocked off watches  out of his pinstriped jacket. Amazing how all of this is given credibility in the pages of a trusted magazine. 

Maybe I see things through idealised eyes, but the naturist community is something that should be protected, and we have to be a little more choosy sometimes about the things we give the thumbs up to. Anna and I have turned down more enquiries from "advertisers" than we have accepted, placing a simple rule of thumb: do they actually appear to be offering a naturist service. Sometimes it is obvious they do, a family club for example, but sometimes it takes a lot of chatting, asking rather awkward questions and searching through their websites to ensure they have naturism's best interest at heart. Everything we try to do through ANW always has to be true to our passion for naturism, and that is the first and only deciding factor. If it doesn't appear to be true to naturism it isn't ANW. 

Maybe that is why we are rather bemused that a national body would contract out their promoting to a non-naturists third party. It seems to be missing a huge important point, we are a vast community of millions of people around the world and if we are unable to present naturism at its best why would a hip non-naturist business be able to do a more legitimate job. They may have all the bells and whistles but naturism isn't about dressing up, it is about stripping down. Too much importance today is placed on appearing to be in vogue, but naturism isn't a fashion house. There is something simple, honest and real about naturism, and promoting firms have never seemed to place any importance on those sort of merits. If we want naturism to be aimed at everyone then let's use honest and real naturists to do it. If we want naturism to be aimed at a select, trendy, media popular minority then lets get a company obsessed with such ideals to promote it, even if they have no idea what real naturism is. 

I guess when I think about it it is hardly surprising that the replies above have latched on to the positives of the ANW community.  ANW offers real naturism to real people from real naturists, and maybe that is not as common as it should be. 

My short answer to this question is no. I do not believe naturism can be positively encouraged by non naturists. Not with a genuine feeling of conviction anyway.

I do not think its an overstatement to say that genuine naturists have a real passion in being naturists. I went on one of my solo naturist walks this week and loved every second of it. When I have explained to non naturist friends the halcyon feelings it brings to me, they look slightly puzzled. I have no doubt they would understand if they tried it for themselves.

We are not helped by the over-zealous promotion of naturism by “celebrities” who want nothing else but to increase their social media coverage. Their naturist photos seem to be limited to being topless in a thong, looking back at the camera! Or standing behind a well placed prop with a silly innate grin.

But we all want to normalise naturism, nudity and being allowed to be free far more than we currently are permitted. So I suppose, if someone with a genuine interest in trying out our most delightful way of life is encouraged by a non (genuine) naturist, that cannot be a bad thing?

As far as the use of AI is concerned, it smacks of the Stepford Wives. And that didn’t end too well if I recall!

So true Mark. You can talk to people about it and they may be accepting and say things like "I wouldn't dare" or "That is cool but not for me" but they can never really begin to understand it until they try it. How can they then begin to appreciate it in a way that could allow them to then sensibly encourage others to try it? 

The Stepford Wives reference is very apt, because what is quite worrying about some of these AI images and videos is that they appear at first sight to be real, real but with a feeling of oddness. Which if nothing else could just make naturists appear odd. I feel it undermines genuine naturism and genuine naturists.

The trouble with scams on the internet whether it is fake fund-me requests, emails that are supposed to be from your bank, emails from people pretending to need help to escape a tyrannical country, copy cat sites of famous high street shops, and so forth is that you know they do it because a percentage of people fall for it. There are going to be people buying into and supporting websites like this because they believe in the hype and jargon thrown at them accompanied by AI naturists. It is taking advantage of the fact that naturists have a passion for the lifestyle and wish to support its growth.  

The biggest problem with AI, is that the criminals also have access to it, and they are more motivated to use than your average person. No matter what we do, criminals and fakes will gain an upper hand.

There is so much crime being committed via the internet it is out of control.