For as long as I can remember I would wonder what it would be like to live in a world without clothes, but unfortunately throughout my childhood I never got the chance to experience it. While I was growing up 'shame' was the rule around our household, and that 'normal' people have no interest whatsoever in the naked human body (though deep down I never fully understood why).
I never even heard of organized nudism/naturism until I was introduced to the Internet in the mid-90's after I was all grown up. I had heard of the 'nudist colony' (Sunny Haven) near town, but knew very, very little about it until then. After some research I learned about the AANR and TNS and what they represent, but I was still wasn't quite convinced to join yet.
It was then I learned about Mazo Beach in Wisconsin, and because of the fact it was the closest free nudist beach to where I lived, I decided to give it a shot. So one Saturday morning I took the 4+ hour drive to the beach, not exactly knowing what to expect when I got there. As soon as I found a spot to settle in on the beach I slowly started to strip down, all the time I wondered if I would be an 'embarrassed male' by the state of my undress, but I quickly discovered I had nothing to worry about, and it would not happen.
I spent the next few hours getting some sun on my VERY WHITE skin, and occasionally taking a dip in the river, the whole time feeling strangely liberated and free without wearing a swimsuit. The only downside to the experience was I happened to develop a slight heat rash in my groin area that had never seen or felt the sun before that point. As soon as I got home that night I immediately brought up the info for AANR and sent in my subscription for one year.
Once my membership was approved I planned a particular Saturday to check out Sunny Haven, when it turned out to be the same weekend the AANR was holding its Midwest Convention there. The place was completely packed with a lot going on, it was hard for me to decide what to do, but before long I began to feel very self-conscious about myself as a single male. The whole time I was there I felt like I was under scrutiny by everyone else, wondering why I was there and what my intentions were. Because of that I pretty much kept to myself during my visit, too afraid to speak to anyone, and especially felt very uncomfortable around kids. I think it was because of this self-consciousness I had not been back to Sunny Haven since, and I let my AANR membership lapse without renewing it.
Since then I just limited my nudism to home whenever I got the chance, until almost 3 years ago when I met my now-girlfriend/ fiancé Linda. I explained to her my feelings about nudism and the human body, and although she doesn't quite share my ideas about it, she fully understands why it's important to me, and supports my participation in nudism, and since our moving in together she allows me to go nude at home anytime I want, once in a while even joining me (if only briefly).
Over the past couple months I discovered the websites True Nudists and more importantly Nudist Clubhouse, and my interests in social nudism began to increase. Since then I have been spending most of my evenings chatting on NCH (and once in a great while TN) and made quite a few cyber-acquaintances to hang out with.
I never even heard of organized nudism/naturism until I was introduced to the Internet in the mid-90's after I was all grown up. I had heard of the 'nudist colony' (Sunny Haven) near town, but knew very, very little about it until then. After some research I learned about the AANR and TNS and what they represent, but I was still wasn't quite convinced to join yet.
It was then I learned about Mazo Beach in Wisconsin, and because of the fact it was the closest free nudist beach to where I lived, I decided to give it a shot. So one Saturday morning I took the 4+ hour drive to the beach, not exactly knowing what to expect when I got there. As soon as I found a spot to settle in on the beach I slowly started to strip down, all the time I wondered if I would be an 'embarrassed male' by the state of my undress, but I quickly discovered I had nothing to worry about, and it would not happen.
I spent the next few hours getting some sun on my VERY WHITE skin, and occasionally taking a dip in the river, the whole time feeling strangely liberated and free without wearing a swimsuit. The only downside to the experience was I happened to develop a slight heat rash in my groin area that had never seen or felt the sun before that point. As soon as I got home that night I immediately brought up the info for AANR and sent in my subscription for one year.
Once my membership was approved I planned a particular Saturday to check out Sunny Haven, when it turned out to be the same weekend the AANR was holding its Midwest Convention there. The place was completely packed with a lot going on, it was hard for me to decide what to do, but before long I began to feel very self-conscious about myself as a single male. The whole time I was there I felt like I was under scrutiny by everyone else, wondering why I was there and what my intentions were. Because of that I pretty much kept to myself during my visit, too afraid to speak to anyone, and especially felt very uncomfortable around kids. I think it was because of this self-consciousness I had not been back to Sunny Haven since, and I let my AANR membership lapse without renewing it.
Since then I just limited my nudism to home whenever I got the chance, until almost 3 years ago when I met my now-girlfriend/ fiancé Linda. I explained to her my feelings about nudism and the human body, and although she doesn't quite share my ideas about it, she fully understands why it's important to me, and supports my participation in nudism, and since our moving in together she allows me to go nude at home anytime I want, once in a while even joining me (if only briefly).
Over the past couple months I discovered the websites True Nudists and more importantly Nudist Clubhouse, and my interests in social nudism began to increase. Since then I have been spending most of my evenings chatting on NCH (and once in a great while TN) and made quite a few cyber-acquaintances to hang out with.
It was then I decided to join Indiana Naturists and am looking forward to attending many gatherings with its members. Linda is still not comfortable with the idea of social nudism herself, but she fully supports me in enjoying myself and making new friends. Since I know she's behind me I feel more confident and relaxed with social nudism than I was when I was single and alone, though I must admit I feel that part of my upbringing still haunts me to where I still don't feel comfortable practicing nudism/naturism around kids; I know there's no logic to this, I just feel more comfortable around adults until I can hopefully get over this hurdle.
Author – Jamie, IndianaNaturists member
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jamie.
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't feel uncomfortable around kids who are also naturists. It really isn't any different than being around kids with clothes. Just make sure you are properly acquainted with the kid's parents and that they know who you are.
ReplyDelete