What's your reason?

[eyesup]

I had this post ready for posting and didn't get to, so here it is here. Besides, it's not quite noon here and the temperature is 110°.

I was reading on another site and I ran across this statement about being naked out in public or nature: "I find being naked in a semi-public place very sexy. It should be daring and risky."
                                                                               
"Sexy, Daring" and "Risky"

This may be true for some, but not me.  I go out to do naked hikes for the calm and relaxed feelings I achieve when out in nature or at home. It has more to do with finding a place of peace and calm. I have noticed recently that the more technology begins to impinge on my world the more I yearn to head out to remote parts and toss all the gadgets and clothes.

Sexy, like beauty, is subjective.  It is dependant on the observer. My reasons for going out naked have nothing to do with the opinions or reactions of others. I do hope I am sexy to my wife at least. Trying to be sexy in general does not interest me. It is parading around seeking approval from others.

When I think of going out on a naked hike or even if I were to go to a CO resort, I don't think of sexy.

Nor do I think of daring and risky.

I understand that there is an element of risk to being outdoors naked, as in some locales it is illegal. But where I live there has to be intent to offend or titillate. Intentionally going to a remote spot to hike naked would not meet that criteria.

I have been on backpacking trips where everything I needed to survive, I carried on my back.  I have been rock climbing (back when I was much younger and more pliable), where instead of walking up a perfectly good trail, I climbed a rock face. I have strapped long pieces of polished wood on my feet and descended snow covered mountains in a controlled (for the most part), fall to the bottom. Those things are to me, daring and risky. Even though I am prepared, it's risky. I suppose you could do all those things while naked but I don't consider an additional aspect to my naked hiking as necessary to the naked hike. Being naked while doing another activity would enhance the other activity. Doing them naked is what I care about.

When I think of being naked outside, I don't think of sexy, daring or risky. Maybe the author of that opinion was much younger than me.

There is also a small element of a refusal to kowtow to convention. It's small but it's there. It may not be a desirable trait but it is one I have had most of my life. Maybe I'm being too picky and irritable. I guess you could call me the "inner geezer" hiker.

Excluding the legal reasons if caught, the overriding reason I have no desire to attempt risky outdoor nudity is that it would be the opposite of what I am actively seeking. I look to leave behind those things that make demands for my attention. I wouldn't want to have to worry about whether my actions were putting me at risk of any stripe.

Not wearing clothes and carrying only what is essential makes it much easier to find that quiet and remote spot that is so attractive to me.

Duane

[milfmog]

Duane,

I'm right with you there. It is simply a matter of comfort and freedom from the constraints of society.

Feeling closer to nature is also a major part of the reward for me. I wrote the following piece for another site some time ago (and think I ran the draft past my erstwhile colleagues at TSNS), it pretty much covers how I feel about being naked in nature:

I guess I’ve been a naturist all my life, even though I did not recognise it. As a kid, I remember going unclothed whenever I was allowed to, though that seems to have been stopped about the time I started school. However, on and off, I have gone through phases of preferring to be naked, usually at times when I was stressed for one reason or another. I remember leaving the house in the dead of night as a teenager and seeing how far I could get naked and unseen. I did this a number of times and, so far as I know, I was never seen.

Later, during my university years, I used to visit a number of local beauty spots and walk naked when they were quiet. This resulted in a few distant encounters, but none that caused me any grief. After university, there was a gap of several years before I started walking naked again. I’d been made redundant, shortly after taking on a mortgage, and the penny suddenly dropped; walking naked was a powerful way of de-stressing. I could go out wound tighter than a clock spring but return feeling mellow and relaxed and, unlike some people's methods of relaxing, I had no noxious chemicals sloshing around in my system afterwards.

Despite this realisation, I stopped again for a number of years until I was asked to help my employer move premises. We had six weeks until we had to be out and about 6 months worth of work to do. Stressed? Oh yeah! It came to a head and I realised that I needed to vent the pressure in a controlled fashion or I’d have a problem… As I was cycling home cross country that night, I realised how warm it was and decided to deviate for a swim. A local flooded gravel pit provided a spot where, being quiet, the lack of a costume was not an issue. Just a few minutes and I felt better, sitting on the grass to dry off I could feel the tensions draining away as the water ran off my skin.

That day I learned the lesson. Being naked in nature is the most effective way of relaxing I’ve ever discovered. I started to search the internet looking for information about nudism. (I’d not come across the term “naturism” at that point.) I was amazed; the more I read, the more I realised I’d been a nudist / naturist all my life, even though I had never applied the label to myself.

I started getting familiar with the legal position (there is no law specifically prohibiting nudity in public in England and Wales) and looking into the options of joining a local club. Prospects did not look good due to a widely reported bias against males who would attend on their own. However, when I stopped to think about it I came to the conclusion that I’d find the limited size of the sites too restrictive. I realised that my walking “off the reservation” was not difficult, allowed me plenty of variety of location and scenery, cost nothing and, with care, was available more or less whenever it suited me. I gave the clubs a miss (apart from the Singles Outdoor Club; they did what I’d always enjoyed doing, but in organised groups).

Despite living in a crowded corner of the Thames Valley I have been able to find large areas that are rarely visited by Joe Public and so with some basic craft I can walk, often for a couple of hours, unseen. Some care is required; I have no desire to upset anyone (no matter how illogical their reaction may seem to me, it is real and should not just be dismissed). Although you may initially find it stressful worrying about who else might be around and staying ready to take some simple avoiding action if required, I find that the increased awareness enhances my enjoyment of the natural world. I see more, hear more and certainly feel more of the world around me than I would clothed.

The way I see it, some folks get their dose of nature by watching it on TV. Others prefer to open the curtains and look out of the window or to get in their cars and drive out into nature. Yet others go a step further and get out of their cars and walk… me, I prefer to go right into nature with all the barriers removed. Naked in nature simply feels better!

Have fun,


Ian.

[jbeegoode]

Ian, do you still have that poll as to why we do what we do? I remember one time that I mentioned it and you had it right there. That was a good one. I may have it somewhere in my disorganized old graduate school stuff, as I think that I was going to, or did, quote it in a paper.
Jbee

[reubenT]

when a person's mind revolves around sex stuff,   everything is sexy,   whether it is or not.  I've heard the term applied to inanimate objects and machines.   Like the stupid song that has a line   "she thinks my tractor's sexy"     And then when a person isn't accustomed to going naked outside,  it can feel exhilarating in that way at first,  but then as time passes and more time is spent doing ordinary things naked outside,  it becomes part of ordinary life,   although it still feels cooler when it's hot,  and better even when it's not.    But particularly when it's hot it can feel like quite a relief to get rid of the covering and feel some breeze all over. 

  I remember when I was a new teen and first feeling such things for myself,   just the simple act of laying in bed naked under a blanket and uncovering my rear to the air would feel "sexy"       Now I can work naked all day,  feel good for doing so,  but it's not a "sexy" feeling.    I don't need that feeling anyway to enjoy life, there's too many other wonderful things to enjoy.     I also remember feeling self conscious if I was around our goats naked.    LOL!     That's how bad that feeling was 35 years ago.   I think my common sense took care of that before too long,  just knowing they didn't care and wouldn't tell anyone.

   Yah;  I think my original reason for going naked was the sexy feeling.   But now it's entirely different.    Partly just because I enjoy the air and sunshine,  and partly to make sure my mind stays conditioned to nudity in everyday life without the "sexy" feelings, so they won't try to pop up when I see someone else nude.    And if such feelings do try to pop up I'll squash them with vengeance. 

[milfmog]

Ian, do you still have that poll as to why we do what we do? I remember one time that I mentioned it and you had it right there. That was a good one. I may have it somewhere in my disorganized old graduate school stuff, as I think that I was going to, or did, quote it in a paper.
Jbee

Sadly, I think it was a victim of the switch off. It was a long time ago and I was not composing posts off line in those days*. I'll check, but please don't hold your breath (you could go a very strange colour).

Have fun,


Ian.

* I only tend to compose longer posts offline, if the system crashes and I lose a short post it is only the work of a moment to recreate it.

[eyesup]

Yah;  I think my original reason for going naked was the sexy feeling.   But now it's entirely different.

I guess you are probably right. With me, in my early teens, it wasn't about sexy but more about the risky/daring part. Now, as you say, it's just old hat.

Duane

[jbeegoode]

There was sexy at times in early teens. I had been indoctrinated with skin exposure is sexy. I had new hormonal drives coming up that I had no clear plan how to adjust to. There were also other times that weren’t sexy, like running amuck in the woods naked and being extremely drunk as the excuse and a lubricant to do away with inhibition, or just be crazy funny. Then, around 16, there was a shift and I began to contemplate the world, question it, and find that I got a certain kick out of girls. After taking my first shower with my girlfriend, I realized that there was something natural and wholesome, not just sexy naked about nude bodies. The hippydom, freak individuality that I was going through was solidified by the “Woodstock” movie skinnydip scenes. It was suddenly cool. I found cohorts to be cool with in nature, swimming holes, etc., loving naked being and thus first touched free range naturism.
Why do it? Nearly everything is better when done naked. That’s millions of reasons. I now know that it is a natural integral piece of my humanity. To do otherwise is to deny and separate from “what is”, which is something of gratitude, even sacred.
Here are the results from a poll from the old TSNS site. I can identify with the major reasons at times.

[eyesup]

I don't know if this qualifies as a reason, but I have had a significant change in my outlook toward people in general. I have stopped considering the appearance of people I meet and see. The relaxed change in attitudes and requirements with regard to clothing has contributed to it also.

A majority of the time people don't set out to create the look and appearance they have. It's just an accumulation of decisions, compromises, surrenders to the ravages of time and weather and it becomes too much of an effort to combat those effects.

Besides, I like seeing those effects on people. It's like a road map of where they've been, what they've done and what has happened. It alters the way they look at the world and the way I see them. To be constantly in the presence of what is considered beauty or perfection would get boring and repetitive after a while.

Choosing to ignore and to discard all the trappings that hide, cover and sometimes with intent, deceive makes, as was discussed elsewhere, people watching so interesting and fun.

All the battle scars, large and small are there for the viewing.

Duane

[balead]

Yah;  I think my original reason for going naked was the sexy feeling.

I think that's true for most, although they might not want to admit it. At 73 I haven't got much sexy feeling left, but being ouside in the sun and air still feels sensual.

[Peter S]

Sensual is the word for it. Too often, wrapped in textile, we forget what 'sensual' is and confuse any such feeling with sexual. But being naked exposes all our senses, gives us such a good buzz.

Peter

[nuduke]

Firstly Hurrah!  Dave - you are here!  As per another post this evening I was worried we might have lost you in the shipwreck.
But no!  Redoubtable as ever you have swum to the fair shores of Freerange Island.  I'm so glad you're still in the group.

Second, Is it Daring, sexy etc.?

I seem to remember offering this opinion before but since Danggggg!  there's no way to check, here is my view:

My ambition is that the naturism I experience is totally devoid of danger and excitement.  I just want to be able to go about my business naked where possible.  I don't particularly want to be sociable about it but that's not to say I don't enjoy sociable situations naked if they arise.  I'm an SN because I like to be in nature and outside but, like us all, have to keep out of sight of opprobrious textiles.  How I wish I had places where I could walk and not be alert for being discovered.  So no, there are no activities that I want to do that purposely risk discovery and the danger of discovery is a negative aspect not a positive goal to seek.

As to sexy - I believe we simply choose what we think and do.  Sexuality and sexual arousal are under entirely conscious control. Nudity in itself isn't sexy but it's always sensual.  Those two things are not the same.  Being warmed by the sun or cooled by the breeze, feeling the grass on your back and a fly on your chest as you lie in a field or eating a piece of chocolate or comfortably falling asleep after a hard day's work are all sensual events that are nothing to do with sex.  For me that's part of my reason for being a naturist* - all of that stuff is better naked. 

As to sexuality, as I say, it's under conscious control.  When I'm on the train and a pretty girl sits opposite or when I work with an attractive person, I can appreciate their attributes but entirely supress any sexual content to my thoughts.  {I just read that back and it sounded as if I spend my commuting and working life supressing sexuality- what I meant was, that it just doesn't occur in those circumstances}. 

Equally, one is not sexually aroused just by one's own nudity, otherwise just think of the inconvenience of being priapic every time you did the washing up or the obvious dangers of being thus aroused when slicing cucumber!  Sexuality for me anyway is entirely voluntary and nakedness makes no difference to being able to turn it on or off. 

That's not to say that one can't mix the two, however.  I have been entirely alone in the dappled sun in woodland lying on soft, slightly prickly dry leaves (possibly with a fly on my chest! ) and allowed the sensual and the sexual to merge with the obvious orgasmic result.  Equally, I have been in the same circumstances and simply enjoyed the birdsong and the cool breeze.  In the same way I can lie in bed with my wife and talk about what we did that day etc., and in the same circumstances at other times come together in bodily union ("Gosh he turns a lovely euphemistic phrase, doesn't he?").  It's just a matter of choice.

Nudity is a choice of a way of being that enhances the life force for those of us that are of that mindset.  I am sure that there are three types of people that climb Munros:  Those that are fully clothed and never give a thought or desire to being naked at the top, those that are fully clothed and wish they could get naked at the top but feel too inhibited to do so and Stuart & Karla who get naked at the top and enhance their being with the freedom and extra sensual dimensions that being naked brings.

I commend the assembled company to my case and discussion, Madam Chair!

John

*The other part is the curious, difficult-to-explain and beautiful freedom of both body and soul felt whilst naked.

[balead]

Firstly Hurrah!  Dave - you are here!  As per another post this evening I was worried we might have lost you in the shipwreck.
But no!  Redoubtable as ever you have swum to the fair shores of Freerange Island.  I'm so glad you're still in the group.

Thanks John, it's good to see you here too.

[eyesup]

. . . I seem to remember offering this opinion before . . .

I was ready to post this on TSNS when things went agly. And yes it was a response to a post there so that's probably why it sounds familiar.

Duane

[JOhnGw]

I think it's simply that I feel more like myself when I'm naked and not like a dressed up doll.

[nudewalker]

I think it's simply that I feel more like myself when I'm naked and not like a dressed up doll.

Simple and to the point although I share more of Jbee's spiritual feeling when naked in nature. One of Mrs. Walkers favorite questions when I return from my forays is "Did you have a good talk with your God?". I did have a copy of "God of the Wilderness" and I'm quite upset that it is misplaced and the author's name escapes me. However, she did make a point that in the Old Testament God made his big pronouncements outdoors! Leave it to a Rabbi to point out that the ten commandments were given to Moses at the top of a mountain where he would be too out of breath to argue!

I often thought JOhn that being a "dressed up doll" fits the bill perfectly. I often ask the wife if my attire is "good enough" for the event or venue we are about to attend. How thing would be so much better nude!