Posted by Brad on February 21, 2005 at 20:54:46:
In Reply to: Clothing optional or required nudity? posted by CO couple on February 21, 2005 at 10:59:38:
Here is my $.02...
I think your question is highly dependent upon the circumstances and context, and, I'll add a twist at the end.
First, if the context is that of your own home, and, if your friends and relatives know to expect nudity from you while there, then the answer as to what is appropriate is what you and your significant other prefer as this is YOUR home. The tradeoff might be that if you host, say, a backyard barbeque, and require nudity of all, the crowd coming may be limited, but only you can determine that.
As it pertains to more public venues such as clothing optional beaches and nudist resorts, I believe there should be different rules for the genders. Unfortunately, public nude beaches often have as many as 90% male, much of it being the gawking men that come in droves and parade back and forth on the beach, completely clothed. Here in California, we have the "chollos", which are gangs of Mexicans that come wearing slacks, long sleeve shirts, boots or black leather shoes, gold chains, etc. and will walk back and forth on the beach to spy on any female nudity they can.
Making matters worse are the females that want to come, experience a nude beach or nude resort, and slowly migrate to possibly exploring what it feels like to be either topless or nude. If these women cannot first come, and feel comfortable remaining clothed, then they simply don't come. Further, some women would prefer wearing bottoms when they are at their time of the month as they don't like having that tampon string dangling announcing it to the world, or worse.
As it pertains to the voyeurs, I have *rarely* seen any women gawk at the nude men, and when they do, well, the men LOVE it and strike a pose. However, I have walked down Blacks Beach in San Diego with a very attractive and nude girl, and watched the men sitting on the beach and walking by. It was amazing, if there were 20 guys sitting there, EVERY SINGLE male starred her like a dog stares at his feeding bowl prior to his owner letting him eat!
Given all this, I believe *all* nude venues should be mandatory nude for males...all males, and clothing optional for women, with a general atmosphere that is inviting to even those women that never want to be nude but just enjoy the surroundings (which will ultimately help bring the gender ratio a *little* closer to being in balance).
OK, I've waxed on enuff.
Brad
: Just curious. When you are nude and socializing with friends, do you prefer the event to be clothing optional or are you more comfortable with everyone having to be nude? (This question is raised by discussions taking place on another website and includes our thoughts that we posted there. We want the opinions of posters to other sites.) Our opinions follow below.
: We are a nudist couple, and we have both nudist and non-nudist friends. We remain nude no matter who visits our home—relatives, friends, neighbors, nudist or textile. We’ve done this for so many years that people who visit us know that we are going to be totally nude. We do not feel awkward about being nude all the time, and, if anyone is uneasy with our nudity, they do not have to visit us.
: Most social occasions that we attend with our friends are clothing optional. We are all mutually respectful of each other’s decisions on what to wear. A few of our friends never undress at these parties; others shed some of their clothing; some like to wear provocative nighties; many, like us, are always completely nude. Most times there are a good number of nudes. On occasion, we are the only two people, or two of a few, who are nude at a party full of clothed people. Rather than feel embarrassed or awkward, we find it extremely exciting and stimulating. I know nude is nude—but if you ever want to feel really nude, just try being the only one (or ones) nude.