Smooth Hound

[BlueTrain]

No one that goes to a gym believes in body acceptance.

Piercings are not necessarily permanent. Of course, there are those who put tubes in their ear lobes. Those are unlikely to grow back.

There are temporary tattoos, sort of. There is a Middle Eastern practice of using henna to paint or trace patterns on hands, faces and feet for certain occasions. A young woman banking acquaintance showed up one day with the back of her hand and fingers "painted," or however you would put it and I got a first hand (literally) explanation of the practice, now mostly forgotten. The young woman's sister was getting married.

[jbeegoode]

A friend of mine made a few million on temporary Tats, a more practical adjustment. But I think that she was promoting the real deal by okaying the temps.
Jbee

[ric]

the skin is quite a complicated organ... perhaps its best known function is regulation of temperature by sweat.   but it also allows light into the sub surface tissues... tattoos are bound to interfere with its function,   and . a lot of them look crap

as to hair , i sometimes wonder why i shave my face most days..but logically if you dont shave you grow the full bushy setup and im no fan of them. aint prepared to spend the time shaving the rest of the body and see no need to do so.

[jbeegoode]

Yea, I couldn't imagine hassling with shaving the rest of me everyday. I don't hassle with my face, if i can avoid it. I'm not ready for a white scraggly beard either, until the top colors in kind.

The last time I shaved a body part it was a medical thing on my belly and it grew back thicker. Too much of it, but DF likes it, so okay, rub my belly and get lucky DF.
Jbee

[eyesup]

For me, hair can be a nuisance. Hair on the head gets cut when I start to notice that it’s there. I get comments from Mrs. E about whisker burn and I’ll make it a point to shave. I worry less about hair than I do clothes.

If someone wants to shave all the hair off their body, that’s their choice. I don’t do it because it is more work and hassle for nothing more important than hair. Hair grows back so you have to keep on doing it. I’ve better things to do with my time than worry about my appearance.

Tatoos, I don’t care for much.

I prefer the canvas of skin that we are born with. All the aspects and features each person is born with and the roadmap of the skin that tells a story. Freckles, birthmarks, skin tones and color changes. Skin that sparkles and skin that sucks in all the light and yields nothing. It’s all amazing.

And all the battle scars are like medals that we earn or pick up through chance in life. You don’t even need to hear the story behind them. By a certain point in life, you recognize them.

Why tinker with it?

Mrs. E’s opinion is the only one I care about hearing. I’ll listen and if I think it needs addressing, I’ll consider a change. Why wouldn’t I?

Duane

[eyesup]

Bob Knows – “Of course, you have freedom to be as ugly and unnatural as you want, but don't expect me to enjoy seeing it.”

BlueTrain – “That's what other people say about naked men, isn't it?”

If it’s anyone other than my wife, I don’t worry.

There is another forum I check on occasionally and there is a member that frequently posts about naked outings at the beach. It is a woman posting and as far as I can tell it’s the only place where she engages in public nudity. She has written about how she has “progressed” in being nude in the public. It’s a great story about how she has gone from teen, to college, to married, to mom and has enjoyed the liberating experience with her family and friends.

What always catches my attention, though is when she talks about how she and others react to the appearance of a naked person and in particular what she refers to as, “their reaction to a naked person that is ‘ugly’. “ I guess I know what she means by that but the question I would ask if I were there is, “What do you mean by ugly”.

There are different kinds of ugly. Appearance, attitude, outlook, philosophy, etc.

Like art or beauty, that is a completely subjective observation and always gives a bit of insight to what the speaker is thinking. I catch myself doing it and have decided to correct the thought process. It’s an eye opening realization, how frequently we do that.

I can see how Bob has used it to refer to what some people do to themselves. Changing what was given to them to try and become something else. Who are they trying to convince? But that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms. Fortunately, ugly is in the eye of the beholder

Duane

[eyesup]

In some cultures, the Maori for example, the tatoo is a ritual and done at becoming a man. It has cultural and religious meaning for  them. In the west, it more a form of artistic expression or protest.

Different strokes, et.al.

Duane

[eyesup]

No one that goes to a gym believes in body acceptance.

You have a data set? Examples? Interviews?

There are more things in heaven and earth, etc. etc.

Duane

[eyesup]

Baden-Powell, founder of Boy Scouts, said he became aware that boys he used as scouts during the Second Boer War (ca.1899), had very little trail craft. Very little in the way of survival skills. He began to write articles for boys on how to fend for  themselves. The booklets became popular and he began to organize groups to learn and practice his training. So popular that the, Scouting organization was born.

Had little to do with the formation of naturism.

Duane

[BlueTrain]

If a body accepted their body the way it was, why would they trouble themselves to go to the gym? There was a small gym where I used to work that was utilized by a core group of very body conscious individuals. The walls were covered with mirrors. What sort of proof would you need? Who would say they go to a gym but didn't care what their body was like?

I would call Baden-Powell a naturist but not a nudist. I still believe there is a difference. I don't understand why people dislike the term nudist. Probably political correctness or something. Anyway, there was no "formation" of naturism. It was a loose grouping of several movements in the late 19th century. They were largely unrelated, mostly western European and decidedly urban. I'd also say it was largely middle and upper class in participation, less so in some forms. One of the things they all seemed to have in common was the idea that the human race was in decline and needed to reconnect with nature. One of the results was what is sometimes referred to as the golden age of camping. It was also the period when many outdoor oriented magazines began publishing, most of which were centered around hunting and fishing. Nudism, in contrast, at least in the U.S., took a while for there to be a golden age, which we now think to have been in the 1950s and 1960s. But I doubt that Baden-Powell or any of the founders of the scouting movement like Daniel Carter Beard or Ernest Thompson Seton thought of themselves as naturists as we use the term in any sense. They all firmly believed in "boyhood." They were also all writers and in a way, would-be social reformers. There are some of those posting on this board (but that doesn't include me by any stretch of the imagination).

You never know when you're in a golden age.

[Glancer]

Baden-Powell, founder of Boy Scouts, said every man should have one of these pellet smokers and he became aware that boys he used as scouts during the Second Boer War (ca.1899), had very little trail craft. Very little in the way of survival skills. He began to write articles for boys on how to fend for  themselves. The booklets became popular and he began to organize groups to learn and practice his training. So popular that the, Scouting organization was born.

Had little to do with the formation of naturism.

Duane

There are individuals who go to the gym strictly for the health benefits, but they're in the minority. Most people that go to the gym do care what their body looks like.

[John P]

Welcome to Freerangenaturism, Glancer!

But I don't agree. I'm sure many people do go to the gym out of vanity, but by now everyone knows that exercise is good for you and being overweight is unhealthy, so there's mixed motivation. There was a time when naturism was seen as a way to improve people's lives (calisthenics at dawn, and carrot juice for breakfast) but now for most people it's more recreational. "Body acceptance" means that we don't make people feel bad about being out of shape; if you go to a nude beach, you'll see a pretty average bunch of people!

[BlueTrain]

Whenever the first American national organization about nudism was formed, it was called the American Sunbathing Society. It was clearly a euphemism. Now it called the American Association for Nude Recreation, which is a much better name, I think.

Although I still have a problem with the idea of body acceptance, there's only so much one can do with the body you wound up with, to be honest about it, and you'll never be any younger than you are now, which may be harder to accept. The roots of nudism are rather more complicated than you might think but that was over a hundred years ago. Today, you might as well get whatever you can out of it and forget the rest. It isn't 1890 now.

[Greenbare Woods]

Whenever the first American national organization about nudism was formed, it was called the American Sunbathing Society. It was clearly a euphemism. Now it called the American Association for Nude Recreation, which is a much better name, I think.

I joined the ASA.  I resigned from the AANR.   

The name change demonstrated its focus on nudist resorts instead of living naked.  AANR advocates keeping nude bodies illegal except at "appropriate places" on "private property."  As a Free Range naturist I'm not a supporter of limiting nudism to a 2 week annual vacation or resort recreation. 

In the US we now see ad-hoc organizations The Nudist Revolution, Grand Jct Co Naturists, and others are leading the way toward general acceptance of nude living.   BN has moved forward in England and Wales while AANR drags their feet as hard as they can.   

Although I still have a problem with the idea of body acceptance, there's only so much one can do with the body you wound up with, to be honest about it, and you'll never be any younger than you are now, which may be harder to accept. The roots of nudism are rather more complicated than you might think but that was over a hundred years ago. Today, you might as well get whatever you can out of it and forget the rest. It isn't 1890 now.

Today is the first day of the rest of our lives.  I'm old and will never be 22 again.  I live and enjoy every day as the person who I am. 

Bob

[John P]

BlueTrain, when you say you "have a problem with the idea of body acceptance" you're being ambiguous. Is it that you don't think anyone can achieve such a level of non-critical coexistence, or that you think it's a good idea but you personally can't do it, or is it that you feel it implies too much willingness to let people be unhealthy?

I think the naturist ideal is to agree that certain behavior leads to unhealthy bodies, which is recognizable in a person's appearance. We support good health, but we reject criticism of people's appearance. So when we go to a resort or a beach (or a group hike, far the best thing of course) we say "Every body is a good body", although privately we might say "This person ought to be taking better care of him/her self". But if that leads to a conflict, it's body acceptance that needs to win.