The Awareness of Social Nudism 1n Modern Society - University of ...

feel a wave of immaturity, well up inside for me, as I took pride in the feeling of my mission
finally being accomplished. I literally had very little concept of what social nudism was
really about as I crossed the threshold into this theater of nakedness. The first lesson I
learned was that I had to be comfortable with my own body. I first observed a sign posted
which read, clothing optional, but nudity is encouraged. That provided a comfortable signal
for me to shed my shirt, but to leave my shorts and topsiders on. After gazing around a bit
at all the unclothed people, I came to the realization that much individual thought goes into
feeling comfortable with the bodies that God has blessed us with. Saying yes to being
«naked and unashamed," is not for the weak, but for the strong of mind and spirit.
As we made our way through the seemingly herd of human anatomy, I began to feel
more comfortable with my presence and acceptance of each and every female and male
body. At this point, I will confess that I had assumed that I would objectify the female
population and ignore the males in attendance for fear that I would be seen as strange or
homophobic. Ironically, I became very comfortable and engaged in conversation with many
of the Naturists, both male and female.
That day in May, 2001, would continue on with watching naked men and women
compete in a SK run. I experienced nothing sexual or sensational as the younger, more in
shape, athletic men and women dominated the race. I did think to myself that some of the
women would have been more comfortable running with a sports bra, as the men would
have been, with jock straps. Joyce and I would compete in the 2.5K walk later on that
morning. I will make mention that we walked briskly and behind a group of reasonably
attractive young naked women. At this point I realized that I was paying particular
attention to a young woman who wore a very pretty red sarong draped about her hips and
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