Reading down this thread so far, it does show how introducing naturism into casual conversation makes a difference to bringing awareness of naturism as a lifestyle. Not only that, it does give people a chance to go away and consider it.
We have had a lot of conversations, and both of us never fear mentioning it to the people we know. Our mind set has never been that we have to convert the world, it has always simply been, that it is important that the world knows about naturists, and that around them, there are possibly others that also enjoy a naked life.
When you tell someone, their reaction is not necessarily the most important point, what happens after is. When you enter it into a conversation in an almost casual and unimportant way, it presents an image to a person of normality. People who go over board and make it a huge thing, actually lose impact, because that can at times appear to be too in your face, almost like a sales person selling something, which can actually work against you.
Being casual and accepting, like you would be talking about a meal you just had, or a purchase you made for the house, presents naturism in a very normalised way, and it creates the impression it is just another part of life, Norman’s example above where he casually slips in he travels so far because that is where the naturist swim is, implies it is just another of the many varied aspects of his normal life, and that is what gets the attention.
What he does, is give the neighbour a safe casual space, to think, rather than react, and so the neighbour can feel safe in that space and talk equally as casually, it is so important to the conversation, and you can guarantee, when the conversation was over, they would have considered it long after they left.
We have always believed that talking about naturism to none naturists is not about conversion of the masses, but more about adding it to life in such a natural way, it allows the person to consider it fully, and when they do, they will consider if they can do it, or not. The point here is, during that process of consideration, and even if they decided it is not for them, you have managed to get one more person to accept naturism, which is the result of the consideration.
They may not do it themselves, but knowing you do it, and there are others like you, and they can understand and accept that, breeds a wider acceptance of naturists, and that is one less person who is against naturism.
Casual conversation is our strongest means of bringing awareness and acceptance, and that is why it is so important that naturists do not hide it. Think of it this way, your neighbour or friend know you, they meet and talk and can see you are a simple ordinary and respectful person, so when they encounter things like news articles and magazines where a piece is written to ridicule, because they know you, and know you are not like that, they do not take much heed of the news article, because your conversation has shown them the truth of naturism, and once again, that chips a little bit away from the power of the media.
There are many ways to promote naturism, telling others is an important one, not all promotion has to be shouting from the roof tops, the gentle approach has far more impact than you realise. Back in the 70’s and 80’s the gay movement grew towards acceptance not because of all of the campaigning, it grew because the members of that community came out of the closet. The more gay people admitted that they were a member, the more people got to see what the community was about, simply by knowing a gay person, and the very same principle should be applied to naturists.
Not everyone gets it, not everyone will do it, some will, others never will, but that has never been the point, regardless of their ability to join us, simply knowing a member of our community brings far more acceptance, and that is a very important reason why we should all be a little more open in membership of this wonderful community.
at May 18, 2024 3:58 PM BST 
This is so true and it is a part of something we wish to put over in the Get Real campaign. As naturists we should be more real about how we present naturism, how we talk about it and how we perceive it. If we act afraid, ashamed or embarrassed and hide it then we create a mystery about it and a shock value to it. If we push it at people we also create a shock value and confuse people with the idea of exhibitionism and we also without think about it invite them to be voyeurs. If not done with care we can confuse people by creating an idea that naturism is a seedy life choice that would make people feel uncomfortable about joining. But if we just talk about it in passing, mention it on social media as one would a day at the races or a night at the opera then it places naturism into the public consciousness without a fuss. Those that wish to ask more are then entering into the learning process on their own accord, they are no longer voyeurs but curious. You are no longer an exhibitionist but a helpful teacher.
The example of the gay community as mentioned by RnR is a good one. Just come out of the closet in a casual way. If I was gay and I would go on about it to everyone with no purpose, but I would not hide it either, and I wouldn't say "I am gay and to prove it here are some pictures of me with my partner." I am a vegetarian and that has become more and more casually accepted over the last few years, but I own mention it if it is relevant, I do not post pictures of veggie sausages on social media, but if anyone wants to talk about it then I am happy to chat back. To often the only way people consider sharing naturism on general social media is by posting nudes. It often does more harm than good. Sexual sharers and exhibitionist are well known for sharing nudes and most non-naturist will not take the time out to differentiate. Most people will just think I : why are you showing me your breasts or penis? Now if you just said: I went to a naturist swim/club/beach this weekend and didn't share a nude of yourself, then a more comfortable message is shared, one that is not misinterpreted. One that does not make people feel uncomfortable. If you say things like: I love the website A Naturist World because the people are so friendly and the community is really respectful, then it promotes naturism, promotes ANW and allows people to think without shock. Places like ANW are suitable for sharing naturism through images because it is a naturist venue - just like a beach or a club. The curious can come here knowing what to expect and learn about naturism without being shocked or considering it exhibitionism. Just as if they visited a veggie website they would expect debate, images and sharing of veggie food.
In fact a naturist website that acts coy about nudity actually teaches wrong ideas. Are naturists still afraid of breast and genitals? are they still obsessed with them? do they still see them as rude, shocking and naughty? A naturist website should treat the body with equality. The breasts and penises shouldn't be placed with greater importance than any other part of the body, by either hiding them or by showing them beyond all else. Sometimes naturist writers, websites, bloggers etc treat nudity in the same way Facebook does. The message from this is dreadful! Why would anyone promoting naturism wish to hide parts of themselves? Why would they ever consider differentiating between these parts and others? We are not talking about an average person wishing to keep a low profile of their naturism in case their bosses see. We are talking about people who actually work in naturism and write about naturism, and make money out of naturism. Why would they ever wish to hide when doing this with an honest passion and belief in naturism? The message they are sharing is that even in naturism people fear being seen naked, and that the visibility of the breasts and genitals remains a big deal. This sort of behaviour is possibly just as damaging as the people who post images on the internet that suggest: I am a naturist so look at my penis or breasts. No naturist in reality would wish to have either attitude so why do it on the internet? Most internet users will second guess the reason - naturists are perverts, nudity is shocking, and seeing breasts and penises is a naughty thing that is either coyly hidden or aggressively shoved in your face.
at May 18, 2024 7:47 PM BST 
I thought I would revisit this topic as part of Naturist Information Day.
In yesterday's virtual meet the common consensus is that we need to be more open about our naturism to encourage others to understand it, accept it, appreciate it and hopefully try it. Before some of you panic - this does not have to be posting images of your self naked on social media. It can be much subtler than that. One member of the virtual meet mentioned dropping naturism into his "newsletter" to friends and family with his Christmas card, and leaving a copy of a naturist magazine on his coffee table.
There are simple ways to drop naturism into every day conversation. If you are planning to visit a beach or a club at the weekend then do not be afraid to mention this to work colleagues when asked what your plans are, or mention it after the event on social media. For example, you can post a lovely photograph of a beach (with no one on it) and then say something like "Had a lovely day at "whatever" naturist beach on Saturday." You do not even have to mention you were naked. It can be implied by the text and may well have people asking you "So are you a naturist?" and other such questions.
You can also whenever you wish copy our ANW sharable posts https://anaturistworld.com/newsletter/anw-social-media-posts
or ANW public article links: https://anaturistworld.com/newsletter/share-public-articles
You don't have to talk about them or say "I am a naturist" you can simply share these posts and leave it with your friends, family and followers to ask questions if they wish.
These are just a few ideas. Do share your thoughts by adding to this topic.
When it comes to social media, and posting, we have always felt that there are pot holes naturists fall into without really understanding why. As they say, “Perception is everything,” and that really does apply to naturism.
Naturists at times are a little guilty of not really understanding the dressed public, and so make certain mistakes that can cause alarm to others. Contrary to popular naturist opinion, we need to consider that not everyone on social media is as comfortable with their naked body as we naturists are, and so to suddenly be confronted with a nude full frontal image, for them is quite shocking. When you consider this point as we have, and you try to put yourself in the shoes of a none naturist, you start to understand that in order to get a none naturist to consider your post, then you have to play down the amount of nudity you expose to them. When posting naturism to social media, you need to be aware that the viewers feelings actually matter much more than your own, which means to have think more carefully about how you are going to approach the subject to make them read it, without offending them.
Whether we agree with the textile view of the body or not, we have to accept that the textile world has a different opinion of what is often referred to as “The Naughty Bits.” Frankly put, the public do not want to see them, there are at a point where they are not ready to understand that we see them as normal, so if your image associated with a post is one with a person with their legs wide open, or a full frontal shot, a textiles first reaction is going to be one of surprise and dismissal.
Image carry a lot of power, and therefore we need to think them through carefully. Use images that show nudity, without exposing all of what are seen as the sexual organs. It is easy to pick a picture that shows someone doing something from behind, or are partially obscured by something in the image. These images come across as far more natural, they show an ordinary person engaged in an activity whilst undressed, and to a degree the image looks more natural. The bonus of this kind of image is that it holds the viewers attention for longer than a full frontal would, and so you have been able to engage them longer, as they consider the image. Those few extra moments of engagement are enough for the viewer to consider your point of view, so you take the viewer from what could have been a moment of shock, into a moment of consideration, and that is half the battle when it comes to winning over public sentiment.
One American based naturist club that has caught our attention, never uses naked images but rather takes the approach of using little slogans, such as, “Living naked means less washing… Money saver!” or “living Naked is better for the environment!” It is a clever way of getting the point across using aspects of Textile world that share something in common with them, such as saving money, or saving the planet. Both highlight the benefits of naked life by showing the textile world we share the same goals, so the message is a very positive one that more people can consider than say a full frontal naked image would. Anna’s example of the beach above is yet another perfect example, of how we can consider each viewers feelings whilst still delivering our message of a naturist life, and complete avoiding offending others in the process.
One of the biggest fundamental mistakes we make within naturism today is we are far too comfortable and accepting of nudity in images, which leads us at times to forget, others are not! A bikini image is only acceptable to society because those small bits of cloth, hide what the public are not yet ready to see in a natural setting, and as much as we may find it amusing that three inches of covering hides a wealth of social insecurity as naturists, we must always try to empathise with the dressed world and help them by showing them natural images that still imply full nudity, whilst persevering the textiles societal pressures to avoid nudity. It is a delicate balancing act when using images, but with some forward thinking and a more informed view of the textiles sensitivities, we can make breakthroughs that will allow us to get our message across in a safe and meaningful way. A moments pause is all it takes by asking the question when choosing an image. “How will this be perceived?”
Absolutely. There are ways we can protect ourselves if we worry about certain people being aware of our naturism, seeing us naked....(as some do with neighbours, work colleagues, employers, family etc) and there are ways we can also protect the non-naturist from being shocked and instantly turning off the idea before even considering it. We have to remember that for much of the world (who do not think things through) nudity equates to sexuality.
We have to ensure that information is shared in the right way, and that the right information is also shared. For more naturist to share naturism they need to realise it can be done subtly and without putting them out of their own comfort zone, that it needs to not put people off before they start to learn (we don't want to put people off by forcing nudity upon them and demanding they accept it - it will lead to barriers going up and ears closing. We also need to make sure that when they do listen they understand that it is a family friendly life choice, that is positive, healthy, non-sexual and respectful. We have to ensure that we pass on the right ideas about naturism to have any hope of it being better understood and accepted.
