How photographing naturists helped me to love my body

A wonderful article by Cosmopolitan UK about the book Naked Britain.

[The author] explains how shadowing British Naturism clubs for two years changed her perception of ‘beauty’, and helped her learn to love her body.

“there’s more to life than how your body looks. It isn’t the be all and end all”. The naked body isn’t sexual, or creepy, but rather fulfilling the purpose of keeping you alive.

And another quote from the article

“It’s about being the best version of yourself as opposed to striving for something unattainable, or letting your surroundings shape your idea of ‘beautiful’.

Of course, it’s wonderful to read such an interview in a regular on-line magazine. It will sure help disseminate the truth about naturism: a wonderful lifestyle shared by million people across the world!

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Some great advice on hiking nude

Naked hiking is gaining momentum and increased visibility with this article from Mens Journal. I’ve written on naked hiking, and have given 10 good reasons to do so. Although this article focuses on the US and particularly on US National parks, it comes with two sound advices:

1. Ask permission
2. Join a group

Let’s look at why those are great advice.

Ask permission

Asking permission is pretty straightforward. In most cases, permission will be granted, as non sexual nudity is generally accepted. There are numerous articles on this activity that demonstrates the acceptance of it by a majority of people. Asking permission is particularly important if your hike crosses private land.

Permission granted, you will hike more relaxes and will enjoy more your hike. In some countries, like Austria for instance, non sexual nudity is allowed by law, therefore you can enjoy freely. In others, like France, the law is unclear and you may drop on the wrong side of the fence without really wanting it. Better safe than sorry, keep handy something to cover yourself in case of encountering somebody and have your naturist federation card with you.

Join a group

Joining a group is probably the best thing to do if you wish to hike in your birthday suit. There are more and more naked hikers group in most countries, look for them around you and join. An online network like naktiv.net whose mission is to provide a safe place for people to post Naked and Active content may help you to find like-minded people around you.

Furthermore, beyond being a safer choice, hiking naked as a group is much more fun and social. Naturism is all about sharing, and joining a group will bring your naked hiking practice to another level. Not only you may increase the number of your naturist friends, you will increase the number of naked hikes you will participate in, because most of the groups are really active.

Beware though, naked hiking is addictive. Once you have started, it’s very difficult to hike again with clothes on. The feeling of freedom of hiking naked is unmatched. Give it a try, you will probably never regret it!

If you look for more information on naked hiking and want to hear from experienced naked hikers, I recommend wonderful book Naked Hiking, that exists in French, under the title Randonue.

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The “volunteer” – A review

Let me put it straight: I loved this novel. I loved it so much that I read it in just two busy days. The story is impeccably written, the plot entirely plausible and the novel really enjoyable.

IMHO

It’s a must to have in any naturist library. It touches a ton of topics regarding naturism, including body shame, naturist vs textile, health benefits of naturism and naturism acceptance.

What I liked about the book

Everything, but first and foremost, the credibility. The story is about Dani, a college student, who is “volunteered” into a psychological experiment : live naked 24×7 until the term of the semester. Of course, Dani is no nudist and she never thought of becoming one. However, we see how slowly but surely she becomes comfortable in her own skin. Of course, she goes through the normal phase of felling good being seen, on the edge of exhibitionism.

But she goes beyond the sexual feeling and embraces the comfort of being naked, as nature intended. Whether you are a nudist or not, you will be thinking : what if it were me? Could have I done it? Would have I done it? And you may be feel uncomfortable with the idea of being naked in the middle of clothed people.

With 4.4 stars on Amazon and no 1 star review, it’s definitely seen as a good book to read.

What you will discover in the book

The more you go into the story, the more you understand the nudism benefits. The more you go into the story, the more you understand it could have happened, The more you go into the story, the more you feel non sexual nudity should be a authorized clothing option, as a naked body is nothing to be ashamed of.

The plot is very well thought out. You flip through the pages, fearing what could happen next and sometimes it happen. The lows are low, and the highs get higher. I am not going to disclose how the plot goes, including the end of chapters cliffhangers, but it’s a book very difficult to close, as you will want to know more.

The author, a nudist, understands the psychology of nudists. He has thoroughly researched the topic and put a lot of his thinking into the book, whether it’s others reaction to Dani’s decision to live naked or Dani’s psychological evolution, including the wellness of nudity as well as the satisfaction she’s doing something useful for humanity.

Final thoughts

I want more! The end of the Volunteer seems to have been written faster. It’s clear the author wanted to end the story and leave it open for a sequel. Which is something I’m looking forward to. What will be next? Will Dani continue to live naked? Will other join her (this would be great)? Will she embrace nudism as her lifestyle? So many questions we want the answer to in the next novel!

Next Month, I’ll review Nice Girls can be Nudists too! by Liz Egger. Stay Tuned!

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The Complete Guide to Nudism, Naturism & Nudists – A Review

Last month, I introduced you to The Complete Guide to Nudism, Naturism & Nudists and announcing a review of it. I just finished the book and here comes the review.

IMHO

The title says it, and the content stands to the promise. It is really a complete guide. I enjoyed it thoroughly from the start until the end. It’s well written, informative and… complete. This is a book any aspiring nudist should read, and every nudist should have in his/her library. In other words, it’s a must-have and must-read.

What I liked about the book

The Complete Guide to Nudism, Naturism & Nudists is organized in 20 short chapters (5 to 20 pages) that are somehow independent from each other. You can find the complete table of content on the author web site. It’s therefore possible to read or share one chapter without reading the others. Now, when you read the title of those chapters, you quickly realize the authors are covering all the questions everybody asks about nudism and naturism: from history of nudity to FAQ, from sex and naturism to naturism and the law, and from nudist etiquettes to why it’s different for women to embrace nudism. No topic has been forgotten, and if any, the authors offer a form on their web site (http://lovenaturism.com/) to ask questions.

The Complete Guide du Nudism is well researched and well written. You can feel a lot of effort was thrown in ensuring the book is an easy read and comprehensive. Each chapter goes straight to the topic without circumvolutions or lengthy introductions. It’s therefore a pleasant read full of useful information.

What you will learn in the book

Of course, you will need to read the book to learn about all the topics related to nudism. But here are some ideas shared by the authors about nudism, naturisms and nudists. The authors do explain the differences between nudism and naturism, and throw them away to make the two terms meaning the same, which I agree. Nudists and naturists define the same people. Then they provide their own definition of naturism that I like a lot: “Naturism is the enjoyment of getting as naked as possible, wherever and whenever appropriate, alone or with others, just for its own sake”. I think it captures why nudists go nude.

You’ll learn about the naturist movement, who is naturist and how naturism is structured in most naturist friendly countries. Then, you will discover a brief history of nudity before jumping into the 12 reasons to become a nudist, which I find very reasonable (and no, I will not give them here, you will need to purchase the book to discover them, all I can say is they are grouped around physical, mental and social benefits). In the next chapter, you will go into details about where to go nude: from the nude beach to the nudist club, from nude hiking to nude sauna, the choices are many.

The authors go into the generally taboo topics of sex, religion and law. Why taboo? Because generally, for most people naturism equals sex, naturism is not allowed by religions and laws. End of the story! Well actually, most of this is wrong and you discover that naturism is not equal to sex, actually far from it, that religion (mostly Christian religion) does not forbid naturism and law is actually protecting naturism, although putting some fences around.

The following chapters go into the details of the single man and how women think and feel. The single man topic is important for all male aspiring naturists who do not have a female companion. The chapter is full of tips on how to be a single male naturist and ensuring you are not seen as a voyeur. However, I learned a lot about naturism and women in the following chapter and the personal story of Liz was insightful. A must read for all women exposed to naturism who think it’s not for them at all! The authors close those personal topics with nudism and relationships, and nudism and children. A great way to show that nudism is a family lifestyle and living naked as a family carries tons of benefits.

Closing chapters cover health and nudity from a dangers perspective, although most are not unique to nudism, then how to start through seven steps (the first begin to join your naturist association which I find very sensible), nudist etiquette, frequently asked questions, for all those questions that do not require a full chapter but need to be addressed and finally sharing other nudists experiences.

Final thoughts

As you may have understood, I took a lot of pleasure to read the Complete Guide to Nudism. Is it the ultimate guide, probably not and it’s not meant to be that. It’s a very practical, down to earth book for the aspiring nudist, for people who want to discover more about nudism and for naturists who want to read more about their lifestyle. I personally learned a lot by reading the book and I feel it belongs well in my library to be able to share with friends. With a rating of 4 out of 5 on Amazon, it stands pretty well among other books on naturism. I think overall it provides the bare minimum (pun intended) to start with naturism and provides pointers to discover more. So no brainer, grab a copy, read it, and share it with as many friends as possible, so naturism grows and the world becomes more and more nudist friendly!

Next month, I will review The “volunteer”, a novel by D.H. Jonathan, stay tuned!

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My #Nudist Book Pick of the Month

February Pick.

Here’s a new monthly topic: the nudist book of the month. Every month, I will share the nudist book I read, what made me chose it and in a subsequent post, I will write a review of it. This will be any kind of book whose theme will be nudism/naturism. On the blog, you will find reviews of books, like Naked Hiking, The Naked Triology, or Going Bare. These future posts won’t be really different, at the exception I intend it to be more regular.

Without much further ado, let’s kick start this new series of post, with this month, The Complete Guide to Nudism, Naturism and Nudists – Everything you need to to know about nudism (and why you should try it).

Why this book?

With 4 stars out of 5 on Amazon, it’s a fairly good rating. Here are two extracts of the blurb:

“The Complete Guide to Nudism, Naturism & Nudists tells you everything you need to know about nudism and nudists. It’s crammed full of the information, facts, experiences and insider tips that you’ll find invaluable if you want to discover this exotic, fashionable and fast-growing lifestyle”

“Whether you’re an experienced nudist, a nudist “wannabe” looking for guidance, a holiday-maker looking for a vacation with a difference, a student of alternative lifestyles and therapies, a casual browser after a fascinating read or just someone trying to keep abreast of the latest trends in a fast moving world, this book is for you.”

I could not resist long and got a hard copy of The Complete Guide to Nudism, Naturism and Nudists right from Amazon. I did not want the Kindle version for a change due to the nature of the book. With its title and its audience, I felt it’s a book that should belong to a nudist bookshelf so it can be shared with other fellow nudists or aspiring nudists. Now, on to reading the book.

Next Month, I will write a review if the book and will introduce my next nudist read of the month. Stay tuned!

While you wait…

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