Musings on Social Nudity

Women Write about Social Nudity — Volume One

A collection of essays by female authors speaking out about the virtues of nakedness.

With awareness, practising social nudity is a form of self-care that goes beyond just the physical and can help us heal the essence of our being to create greater self-love and more respect for others. — Toma Creative

Perhaps the most common complaints about naturism in the United States are the persistent challenges related to gender imbalance. Nudist resorts in North America frequently have policies that range from admitting single men on a limited basis, while others ban them altogether.

The reasoning is simple. How do you expect a female to feel comfortable in her own skin when she is one of the few people amongst so many… how to say… penis bearers?! (Penis barers?)

In large part, this gender imbalance replicated on the internet as well. There are active communities for naturist banter on Twitter, Instagram, and especially Twitter, but those venues are heavily male dominated as well. I’ve heard stories time and again about women who join naturist message boards, only to find themselves besieged the next day with friend requests from earnest and eager men. Well, eager anyway.

I really wasn’t sure how the writing about social nudity thing was going to go on MEDIUM. It’s definitely a niche, and I think it’s fair to say, something I know quite a lot about. But it would be foolish to think I can do anything at all to assuage the trepidation of female readers experience— many of whom are leaders on the topics of Travel and Wellness — when placed in the vulnerable position of potential objectification. Isn’t getting naked in public simply putting yourself out there for all flavors of scrutiny ranging from judgment to condemnation?

Lo and behold, that’s about the time I started discovering female authors who write candidly about embracing the state of nakedness on MEDIUM. Some practice or teach naked yoga, some simply enjoy the comfort of being naked at home, and some are active in the naturist community as well, but the commonality seems to be a sense of body acceptance and a freedom to experience life to it’s fullest — which for many, involves leaving one’s clothing on the floor near the front door.

I’m hoping this will become a series of posts.

In this entry, I highlight ten stories by nine women who not only chose to write about nudity, but did so in a manner so eloquent that simply leaving 50 claps or responding to their stories seemed insufficient. In that vein, I have to give a huge shout out to Amy Sea and her publication, Breast Stories, a safe place for femmes to tell breast stories. It seems that, according to her submission guidelines, I could submit to be a writer for that pub, but I’d rather steer clear of writing there, but instead, advocated that people follow this collection of impassioned writers. As a guy who thought “he got it,” I can honestly say I’ve learned quite a lot from the excellent writing featured there.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: If you don’t have a MEDIUM subscription, you can read up to three articles a month for free. After that, you’ll need to subscribe. The cost is only $5 per month, and if you used the link below, over a third of that will come right back to me on a monthly basis to support future writing projects. A win-win I think!

So, without further ado, here we go on my first edition of highlighted stories on topics related to social nudity by female authors. They appear in random order, essentially in the same way that I stumbled across them.

8 Things to Know About Going to a Nude Beach

Caitlin Jill Anders writes for a pub called Sexology, where she published this insightful piece about going to a nude beach for the first time with her partner. Suffice it to say, she loved it! I especially love the quote, “The key is to people-watch the same way you do anywhere.” Enough said!

Topless On the Top Floor

Author and publication editor, Amy Sea, writes about her daily ritual of doffing the restrictions of clothing once the kids have left for school. We know lots of people stopped wearing pants during the pandemic, but going shirtless is a bit trickier. But it works for her!

My Experience (and earnings) Writing About Nudes

Jess the Avocado has found pretty good traction on MEDIUM by writing about nudity in art. She holds a masters in psychology, and while confessing to the truth that putting the word nude in the title helps boost her readership, she is, indeed, passionate about the topic.

Nude Awakening: How a Korean Spa Helped Me Finally Love and Appreciate My Body

“The Korean Spa is my Church. Nudity is the equalizer.” Powerful words from a girl raised Catholic, faced with the drama of a friends outing to a Korean spa. At least in the US, Korean spas have clothes-free facilities, but separated by gender. Seems this was a game changer for author Jessica DeFino.

I’m Getting Naked for My Art

Yael Wolfe has an admirable following of 30k readers! She frequently writes about body acceptance and all related topics from sexuality to censorship to eating disorders. In this case, she makes a compelling argument for owning her own body, as well as the rights to market images thereof. Perhaps a bit of a stretch for someone who’s still struggling with seeing themselves in the mirror when stepping out of the shower, but thought-provoking, nonetheless.

How Breasts Are Destroying Innocent American Families

I love this piece, once again by Yael Wolfe. This time, she’s not so much lobbying for the right to be naked, but simply pointing out the absurdity of all the commotion about casual nudity when people are literally dying in the schools, offices, and shopping malls as victims of mass shootings. Don’t we have bigger issues at hand than the exposure of the female breast?

I’m 46, Mid to Plus Sized, and I’m Going to Model Nude

Short, poetic, and to the point! If Lizzo can own it, why can’t everyone else? Author Melissa Steussy delivers on this one.

Naked Yoga: A Spiritual Healing Practice

So naked yoga is really a thing now! It used to be you could only find sessions in New York or Los Angeles, but during the pandemic, naked yoga sessions starting popping up all over the internet. Anya Light explains the what and why of it all, and how it just might change your life.

The Day I Swam Completely Nude Because That’s What Germans Do.

OK. I’m partial to this one since author Adrienne Beaumont calls me out right at the top of her story. A writing colleague and cyber-friend on Globetrotters, Adrienne has repeatedly confessed her affinity for nude bathing in hot springs. I’m trying to convince her to check out some of the more trendy spas in Germany and The Netherlands. Once you doff the swimsuit, there’s no looking back!

The Joy Of Social Nudity

Just stumbled across this piece a few days ago, which reminds me quite a lot of a piece I wrote a while back called The Joy of Living Naked, though way more powerful since it’s from a female perspective. If Toma Creative doesn’t persuade you of the virtues of getting naked, nothing will!

So that’s it.

Edition One of my Women on Nudity series. I think I have enough material to create two more top ten lists, hoping that in the meantime, other women will find inspiration in these words to speak out as well. We heard stories like these during our travels time and time again. They just need to be committed to their rightful place in cyberspace.

Thanks for reading. And please click through and follow these excellent writers! Nothing say encouragement like a surge in readership!

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