Saw this in the newsletter. Interesting and encouraging.
From “Pages of History”, Vol.2 #3 Newsletter of the NAC and NEF.
Page 4Naturist Action CommitteeNaturist Education FoundationPages of HistoryNaturistAction.orgNaturistEducation.
Is Nudity Programmed In?
By Richard Mason, NAC Board Member and SFFB President
In 1988, I became a board member of SFFB, Inc. (South Florida Free Beaches, Inc.) We were affiliated with the ASA (American Sunbathing Association, which became the American Association for Nude Recreation) and my name was given to ASA/Arnie Ericson as the ASA contact.This led to my receiving calls daily from people who were out of state, as well as people living in Florida, with general questions like: Where are the nude beaches in Florida?I found out that when people contacted the ASA asking about Florida, they were given my phone number. The number of calls were small in the beginning, averaging 2 to 5 a day. Starting in 1990, I became selfemployed with a home office and answering machine.After we established Haulover Beach in 1991, the calls increased, and one day I had counted 18 phone calls.These calls followed a pattern. Almost all were from a male. Most were from married men. The calls all started out asking where there is a nude beach in Florida.Being a marketing guy, I started asking them questions.I learned that most had never been to a nude beach or resort. A few had skinnydipped as a child, as a boy scout, or in the military.The main question I asked was: How long have you had this desire to want to swim nude at a nude beach?Almost all said they had this urge/desire since they were children. Most stated it involved going to a tropical beach and swimming nude. It was something that drifted in and out of their mind all their life.That was also my dream as a child. Particularly after I saw a movie about the South Seas with Maria Montez in the 1930s or early 1940s. When I dreamed about being on a tropical beach with a brownskinned women (Maria Montez) I wore a swimsuit. But, when I was alone, I was nude. But like most dreams, they get deferred and are put into the back of the mind.After a few years of these calls, I came to an understanding where I believe that there is something in our homosapien structure, whether we come from "Lucy" or Neanderthal, that accepts the normality of being nude.Many said they would feel safer on a beach than in a landed resort. Many stated that their wife had them make the call. A few feared that if they went behind a gated location, they could not leave if they were offended.About 8 years ago, I read in the local newspaper where a university professor was starting a study on this very subject. I clipped the article out and planned to contact him. Unfortunately, that article is in the pile of planned projects that Continued on next page.
Page 5Naturist Action CommitteeNaturist Education FoundationPages of HistoryNaturistAction.orgNaturistEducation.orgContinued from previous page.one as an activist never gets back too.[Editor's note: If you are aware of this study or the article, we would appreciate this information. Sadly, details were sparse and we weren’t able to find it.]The point here is that I believe a study will indicate that what we as nudists do is really just in the natural order of things. Those who have not experienced social nudity may have suppressed the natural order of the human species. That suppression is a learned, manmade, unnatural response to the many inhibitions that have been placed upon the general population.Why is this important to know?Because those in the Nudist/Naturist market segment, who want to grow the market segment, need only to communicate to the general population the whereabouts of nudist opportunities.Assuming this thesis, or accepting the ministudy I did when I was getting those phone calls, and later what Shirley and I did from 198991 when we held public meetings on the issue of nude beaches, the growth market in nude recreation is out there in the general population.Proof: Haulover Beach. There never was an advertisement run to promote this beach.When we open additional public beaches in Florida (or perhaps elsewhere) those beaches will fill up. For example, Blind Creek Beach. One media release to the travel sections of major market newspapers could easily have BCB loaded with 3000 to 5000 people per weekend within a year.America is loaded with prospective nudists who are waiting for the backs of their minds to be triggered. All we need to do is communicate where the opportunities are at.
This link may work:
http://naturisteducation.org/library/newsletters/2021_03.pdfJbee
