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Today is Children's Day in the UK, and this time of year has been chosen as opposed to November (in some other parts of the world) because it allows children to get out and about and enjoy themselves instead of spending the day cooped up indoors. Naturism celebrated Women's Day but will it celebrate Children's Day? It should but I wonder if it will?
In February 2019 we were running our naturist blog A Naturist Family and building what is now known to you all as A Naturist World.
We had made some great friends around the world and many of them are with us now on ANW. Although we may never meet some of you, you have become part of our extended naturist family and you have been part of our adventures and watched as our own little family has grown. Sharing our family naturism has always been very important to us; and our followers know that it can be done while still respecting our son's privacy. When we started were already aware that families were not actively promoted in naturism and we wanted to make a stand, but also we wanted to show a down to earth side to naturism. Our blog was not going to be about encouraging armchair travelling and jealousy. It was going to be about ordinary people wanting to show that naturism is something you can do at your local beach, in your local woods, in your garden and in your home. That everyone can do it and everyone should do it. To us the average person is represented by family. A fact born out by statistics. Over half of the people in our country live in a home with children under 18. Families are the biggest group in society. We wanted naturism to appeal to the masses. We also saw a deeper meaning. People that joined us and followed our adventures and thoughts were joining a family of naturists, and this week that family on ANW has gone past the 10 000 mark!
Back to February 2019. We were living in Spain and we read about protests against family naturism in the UK. It incensed us and we wrote a blog post about it. Complaining about the nonsense and exploring the argument through the eyes of an adult that had been at the receiving end of real (and not imagined abuse) and how in Anna's eyes naturism was actually protecting and nurturing and not dangerous. That not only is naturism not at all a danger to children but can actually be viewed as adding to children's safe and secure upbringing. We posted My Life Before Naturism & Families at Naturist Events in March of 2019 and we revisited the help that naturism can offer in Survival as part of our Women's Day articles in March this year.
The blog post struck a cord and we were invited to add it to the April 2019 H&E. The headline on the cover read “Why Naturism Needs Families.” This represented our first article in H&E and 35 entries later the May 2023 H&E has our article “Teach Your Children.” Arguing that naturism is in deed for everyone and that does very much include families. Sadly four years on we feel the argument is needed more now than it was in 2019. A small number of protestors having lead to a complete retreat of promoting naturism as family friendly. Venues insisting that events and swim clubs go 18+ and more and more naturists opportunities now cater just for adults. The crazy thing is that it would have been so easy to fight back. There is no evidence at all to suggest that children are in any danger from naturism and lots of thoughts suggesting that they are actually going to get some positive good from naturism. On top of that, in the UK there are reportedly 7 million naturists supported by a federation of 9 000 members. Surely we had the numbers to argue against a handful of badly informed protestors. Instead it seems to outsiders that we have turned our back on families and in doing so it appears that we agreed with the protestors that families and naturism does not mix. Even this week we see the loss of another high profile naturist event for families and it being replaced by another adult only party.
As if planned, since writing our latest piece in H&E arguing for families in naturism Professor Keon West has shared his research on the positive effects of naturism on children and we have shared the article on ANW in Naturism in The News : Think of the Children. It is worth reading.
While we lived in Spain, for 6 years, we were not really aware of the damage that was being done to family naturism in Britain. Spanish naturist beaches are full of families. Children play together, or with their family or in groups of families. Mothers come to beaches with other mothers and children play while the fathers is at work. The fathers then join them during lunch break or after work. Visit one of the many resorts in Vera Playa and you will see naturist families from all over Europe enjoying naturism at its best. So when we moved back to the UK we were shocked to find that families had disappeared from beaches during our time away. Our sons were so fed up that we sent out about 30 messages to clubs around the UK asking about a good time for us to visit so they could meet some other naturists their age. Only 1 of the 30 replied and they told us they never really have children visit. Finding naturist families is not easy! We did have a great time at NKD last year but unfortunately this year it starts during term time so even that is now out of the question.
Why? Are we that afraid of a few protestors? Or is something else at play? In the last ten years we have seen a growth of fear towards children mixing in society. A general fear of strangers has grown unhealthily and I am sure that has much to do with it. Interestingly the Spanish who still actively enjoy family naturism do not carry such fears of strangers. If a child falls over in the street there is a mad rush to come to its aid and hug it better. In the UK there is a mad fleeing to distance yourself from that child. When I was a child children were often expected to be seen but not heard. Today we do not want to see them either. Another issue is the huge growth of available pornography on the internet and unhealthy social media behaviour that has placed children in a much more vulnerable position and also linked nudity to sex in greater numbers than ever before. There is an idea that the Victorians had, unhealthy attitudes towards the human body. But in comparison to modern society seem they were rather laid back. Today we have sexual sharing on a grand scale on the internet and that has lead to an extreme fear of nudity being considered as innocent. Look at the way the recent TV programme Naked Education found such notoriety simply because it allowed children to see real human bodies. Gone are the days of school shower rooms and even male and female changing rooms in sports centres often carry notices asking people to remain covered when washing and changing. The internet has also made children fear a new level of bullying and fitting in. Social media is a tough place for a youngster and if it becomes known that your family are naturists it could lead to all sorts of accusations. As our son says “Children love spreading lies about other children” – and social media is a great place to do it. Even adults fear heading to a beach in case people post images of them on the internet. Fittingly the protestors at the naturist events used that as a threat – saying they would take photos of people going to the event and post them to Facebook with claims attached that they were paedophiles.
No wonder naturism is struggling to find families and naturist bodies, clubs and events either don't allow children or keep the family side of things rather hush hush.
The problem is not just UK based. Similar concerns are voiced all over the world.
But is the problem really that bad? We have spent many thousands of hours at naturist beaches with our family over the years, In the UK, France and Spain and not once have we had any negative response from anyone at any of these locations. Protestors are part of a very small group and they protest to get attention. They have headed to a handful of events because that is where they get attention. They have no interest in going to a remote beach and pestering individuals. We have been promoting family naturism on the internet since 2016 yes we have had written messages and comments that are unpleasant but we have many many more people tell us that naturism is all about families, that it is the best way to bring up children and that they wish they could have been brought up that way themselves. On the whole people get it and they support it. We are often approached by other naturists who say how marvellous it is to see a genuine naturist family enjoying the beach and we see other children and families following our lead. Families add trust to naturism and they inspire others.
So why are we all not doing more to encourage it?
If there are 7 million naturists in the UK and similar numbers in other countries then that means there are around as many naturists as vegetarians. And look at how well supported vegetarians are in supermarkets and restaurants. Naturism has apparently grown post Covid so isn't now the ideal time to tell all these new naturist: Don't forget to include your whole family. Isn't it time to make it absolutely clear: Naturism is for everyone no matter what age. We live in a world where we should be accepting of all choices and variants in culture, origin, religion, sexuality and so much more – so why are we not expecting and receiving the same level of respect and understanding towards naturism? Because we are not asking for it and we are continuing to hide our naturism. Because we are not making it clear that naturism is universal, healthy and innocent. What is the best way we can do that? By ensuring it is understood that it is family friendly. We all know that “adult only” suggests that there is a good reason to keep children away. It is not hard to imagine what leaps into most non-naturists mind when they hear that an event which involves nudity is only for adults. No matter how well intentioned it may be, people simply will believe what they want to believe.
The problem is that we are creating a perception of naturism that we will not be able to undo. I was reading recently about a naturist charity walk and the receiving charity insists that the walkers are 18+ because they don't want to be involved with family nudity. Charities are happy to get our money but on their terms which involves seeing naturism as unsuitable for children. Unless we stop this trend now that is exactly what naturism will become. It will become linked to only to adult nudity, alcohol and partying and in many people's eyes that is not a life style they want to be associated with.
We have argued the case for Naturism and Families, highlighting why naturism is great for families and children, and that may be worth revisiting along with some brilliant blogs by other members of ANW on the subject. There are two very important points. Naturism encourages a better understanding of bodies and people and helps children become aware of themselves and others and naturism encourages family to bond, work and play together. Anyone considering safeguarding issues connected to naturism should have the worries addressed by these two things. Awareness, connection and communication are the things that keep children safe and secure. Naturism is a brilliant way to bring up a family.
Naturism grew as a healthy and affordable way to holiday in the country as a family and that should be as relevant now as ever. Get your children away from their mobile phones and computer screens and get active with them.
Wait a minute some people don't like children, some people have grown up children, others have no children, some like to holiday away from children, and others like to enjoy innocent late night discos with alcohol and other adults. Fair enough. Naturism is not just about families. It is for everyone and can offer all sorts of pleasant opportunities. There is no doubt that sometimes it can be nice to relax in a sauna without any distractions. But and this is the real big issue all these options should exist alongside the general attitude that naturism is primarily for everyone to enjoy. It isn't an either or, it is both. By maintaining naturism as a family life choice first and foremost, it means that these other options can exist and be understood, safe and appreciated. While naturism is clearly understood to be family friendly it means it is clearly understood to be non-sexual, which means that when someone goes to an adult only event they know that it isn't going to be an orgy and they know they will be respected and not pestered. There is a lot of effort put into encouraging more women to naturism- women will trust naturism a whole lot more if they know it is safe and family friendly will tell them that without any other need to explain.
Basically anyone who has naturism's best interest at heart and wants naturism to flourish and grow should want to see naturism promoted to families and encourage families to try naturism. It is the best way to ensure it stay safe and relevant to the naturism we all love. You don't have to be part of a family to understand that.
As we move towards our fourth year (next week) we want to really lift the profile of family naturism and we will be sharing plans for the year of 23/24 very soon. We have already added a little extra to our Nurturing Naturism line on social media. A Naturist World - Nurturing Naturism For Everyone - Forever
Here at ANW family bloggers RnR are working on a new logo that can be used to label website, events, clubs and venues as family friendly and encouraging of naturism. We would like your input and thoughts on their logo and the initiative and then we can properly be part of the launch of this idea.
We would also love to here about your country's attitudes towards family naturism and what your national body is doing to promote and support families. Let's start collating a world wide picture of the good and the bad and work out the best way forward. Leave comments below or if you like write a blog about you experiences in your country.
If you have a family get them out today for Children's Day and enjoy naturism with them or plan to ensure that they have a positive naturist experience this year.
Become a Verified Family on ANW and join the Verified Families Group and let's start talking about issues involving families where you are and help families connect locally. Let's organise beach meet ups and other such days out, because we all know it is easier to enjoy naturism with company, and sometimes those new to naturism need a little support.
If you know of any naturist families that are feeling frustrated or new to naturism guide them here. We want ANW to be a safe, suitable, welcoming and helpful place for all naturists and families are certainly a part of that. It is why we have always insisted that behaviour is not just non-sexual but also polite and respectful – because everyone should feel comfortable here and feel that they can share ANW with their own family without fear or concern.
Thanks as always from this Naturist Family to our extended Naturist Family – the ANW community.
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Anna and Steve and A Naturist Family have shared around 200 articles and blog posts on www.anaturistworld.com and write regularly for naturist publications. If you would like to collaborate with them on any naturist / nudist promotional activity, articles or interviews or quote from any of their work please contact them via email at [email protected]
