I couldn't see a suitable existing topic, but feel free to move this comment if necessary.  I'm curious about naturists' views on exposing the general public to our naked bodies.  I know that some people will be naked in their homes and gardens and not be too bothered if they can be seen from neighbouring houses or even from the street.  Some people go on naked walks or bike rides, visit naturist beaches etc., and may therefore be seen by non-naturists who weren't expecting to see naked bodies.  What are you comfortable with yourself, and to what extent do you think non-naturists should be 'protected' from seeing naked people when they didn't choose or expect to?

Personally I'm OK with going to naturist beaches, but not so sure about naked walks or bike rides - partly because of consideration for others who might be genuinely shocked to encounter a naked person, and partly out of concern for myself about people's reactions.

This post was edited by John R at May 31, 2026 11:58 AM BST

These are my thoughts, which I feel are relevant for me now, but might change in the future.

I go to naturist beaches, campsites and am a member of a Club, so to a degree I feel normalised to nudity in those situations. A lot of clothed people on naturist beaches, (mainly dog walkers) seem oblivious to our state of undress and probably finding a little titillating if the truth be known. My main gripe is people who walk down to the naturist end, lay down their towels and wear bikinis or shorts ! what’s that about ?

At home, I sleep naked and walk around the house naked if I don’t have to go out. I have a patio out the back that gets the sun in the mornings so am happy there to be clothes free if the sun is shining. My wife doesn’t share the same attitude towards nudity as I, so will try and cover up if the bedroom curtains are open for example, but I get that women feel differently about these things and I accept that is her way of coping and is what makes us all different.

The garden is different territory, and we are relatively private but can be overlooked by the neighbours, so my wife is not happy if I stray, so let’s say my naked gardening usually happens when she is not around.

I live on a busy road, with traffic going by and people walking along the pavement. Our door is on the side of the house so not directly out into the street, which again gives us some privacy.

I have stood on the doorstep many times as cars and people walk by but no one ever seems to glance down the side of the house, so I just carry on as normal, but without clothes.

Last week the car was in for a service and MOT at a garage just up the road. One of the mechanics wanted to talk about a problem, but rather than ringing, called at the house. My wife was on the phone and directed him around the back where I was getting some sun. He was very apologetic when he found me naked but we overcame the issue and talked about the problem with the car. In retrospect, he was invading my territory so was the apologetic one, but I wouldn’t want to shock in a public place.

Yesterday, the sun was shining, the wife was out, the neighbours not around so the garden lawn got cut and tended with me naked. I find I do more when I’m not wearing clothes.

I have cycled naked on holiday at Euronat but never done a naked bike ride. It’s on my bucket list to do a naked hike / ramble, but I haven’t mustered enough courage up yet to do it. But the more time goes on and the more comfortable you become when naked, I don’t think is that far away.

We have rules at our club regarding being clothed in areas open to the public, which I respect as no one wants to deliberately shock. (main gates)

I have though on occasions driven naked and am a member of the Carnuding group on ANW, but I know my routes and places that I will be passing through so don’t do it all the time.

So in a nutshell, I’m happy in my own body and space or at designated places for nudity but wouldn’t go out of my way to shock.

No true naturist would want to go out and deliberately shock people with their nudity. There are occasions when nudity comes into the public domain, and at those times they are exposed to the real naked human form, and so at those times, all parties have to consider each other.

Let’s begin with the myth that everyone who dresses is offended by nudity, which is sent around all naturist venues and is pushed as a main narrative within naturism, as we are all told, we must fear the public when naked.

We have been out and about at events and bike rides, so we have seen public nudity first hand and taken part in it. We are of course in the UK where public nudity is not a crime if it is carried out in such a manner that it is not being done in order to shock or intimidate, other countries will differ. Not only have we taken part at bike rides, we have also taken the time to talk to people from the dressed public to ask them their opinion of events such as the naked bike ride and their feelings toward it.

Are the public offended at seeing a naked people? In general, most are not, there tends to be a consensus of each to their own. Is there a minority that will complain and make the nudity a huge deal? Yes, there is. On the average Naked Bike Ride, the group will cycle past thousands of people, many of whom will line the streets in anticipation and cheer as the riders pass by. They do not condemn it, they applauded it. We took the time at bike rides to talk to the public, and we got some good feed back on how the public who watch the rides really feel.

The most popular answer we have received has been that those individuals would love to do it, they just cannot as they do not have the guts, and have body insecurities around themselves. Most woman have told us, if they could lose some weight and tone up their bodies, then they would feel better about themselves and would definitely do it. It surprised us to find out, a very large amount of people have it on their bucket list, but have not found the courage to do it yet.

There will always be someone who complains and is offended by nudity, and it is either for religious, what about the children, or is down to some perverted reason that lives in their thoughts, should we deliberately go out of our way to antagonise them? No, we should not.

Most newspaper articles will ridicule naturism, and those articles will draw out mainly objectors. We have all seen the silly school boy mentality of reporters show when they write about nudity, and yes, the tone of the article will reflect the comments below, but we have to take into account that this is not the majority, it is a minority with an agenda.

We have found through experience and in person conversations with the public, that the mainstream majority is aware that naturists exist, and they are not that concerned about them, if anything, they have far more bigger issues in their life to deal, rather than worry about people who want to live naked. Most of the public are happy to leave naturists to do their own thing, whilst they go off to something else. A lot of people would join us if they did not have as many insecurities about their bodies, which say a great deal about how the public get their information delivered to them, and how it makes them feel bad about themselves.

We honestly believe that public nude beaches and bike rides are well understood and accepted by the majority, but we also feel that naturists should avoid creating confrontational situations on purpose, and avoid shocking people who are not prepared to encounter nudity.