Althouse: "Germans love to get naked. They have been getting naked in public for over a hundred years..."

September 1, 2019

"Germans love to get naked. They have been getting naked in public for over a hundred years..."

"... when early naturists rebelled against the grime of industrialization and then the mass slaughter of World War I.... [E]ntire stretches of German waterfronts are designated as nudist beaches. There is a nudist hiking trail. There are sporting events from nude yoga to nude sledding. German saunas are mixed and naked. People regularly take their clothes off on television, too.... 'It’s all about freedom,' said John C. Kornblum, a former United States ambassador to Germany, who has lived here on and off since the 1960s, and was once shouted at by a naked German for not taking off his swimming shorts in a whirlpool. 'Germans are both afraid of freedom and deeply desire it,' Mr. Kornblum said. 'But hierarchy and rules are so embedded that direct political or social dissonance is simply not thinkable. When people walk down the beach naked, it allows them to feel a little rebellious,' he said.... One key to Germany’s relaxed attitude toward nudity, said Professor [Maren] Möhring [a cultural historian and nudism expert at Leipzig University], is that from the start nudism was sold as something utterly asexual. Bikinis, the argument went, sexualize the body. 'Nudism is about the cult of the natural,' she explained. Or as Stefan Wolle put it: 'It’s the most unerotic thing in the world.'"

From "A Very German Idea of Freedom: Nude Ping-Pong, Nude Sledding, Nude Just About Anything" (NYT)(fit-to-print photos at the link).

This gets my "men in shorts" tag. My objection to shorts is long, but I don't think I've ever before blogged the objection to shorts in the form of you ought to be naked.

What's your personal history of being outdoors naked? I believe that I have never been outdoors naked! Is that possible?

If you were both afraid of freedom and deeply desirous of it, would you hit upon the solution of going outdoors naked?

115 comments:

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: The New Green Deal requires we all live naked, outdoors, in a van down by the river.

Minus the van. Because vans use gas.; 9/1/19, 8:50 AM
Mark said...: When "freedom" becomes obligation, it is of course no longer freedom, and never really was.

Typical, though, that most of the "freedoms" demanded on the left end up becoming duty in some way.; 9/1/19, 8:51 AM
Beasts of England said...: ’What's your personal history of being outdoors naked?’

Is there a page limit for my reply?; 9/1/19, 8:51 AM
Fernandinande said...: When you say "Naked Germans",
you've said it all.; 9/1/19, 8:53 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Being out doors naked?

Not much.
Only time I was buck naked was at Strawberry Park Hot-springs outside of Steamboat Springs. It was night and very dark. But then it started to rain and the lighting forced everyone out of the pools and every-time the lightning would light up the sky -we were all exposed in our naked glory.
I was mortified. Then my towel went missing. I liked that towel. I still think about that towel.; 9/1/19, 8:56 AM
gspencer said...: A list of the "People I Might Want to See Naked" is rather small.

Matt Foley is not on that list.; 9/1/19, 8:59 AM
J. Farmer said...: Remember the general rule of thumb: the people most likely to want to be naked are the ones you least likely want to see naked.; 9/1/19, 8:59 AM
David Begley said...: Althouse, “I believe that I have never been outdoors naked! Is that possible?“

Still not too late to start.; 9/1/19, 9:02 AM
Swede said...: I don't let Germans yell at me.

Especially naked Germans.; 9/1/19, 9:03 AM
effinayright said...: In Maine one idyllic summer ages ago, a bunch of us 20-somethings went skinny-dipping, as it was called, in a cool, still pond.

My only real memory of the event was the marvelous, mesmerising pink pudenda adorning the cutest of the girls.

I denounce myself, of course.; 9/1/19, 9:12 AM
D 2 said...: Dance naked was one of Johnny Cougar's less appealing songs. Maybe he was trying to expand market share to Berlin.; 9/1/19, 9:15 AM
alanc709 said...: So, how long before we see half of Germany's people nude, the other half in burkah's?; 9/1/19, 9:17 AM
Mark said...: Does being naked under my clothes count?; 9/1/19, 9:18 AM
madAsHell said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/1/19, 9:21 AM
madAsHell said...: Meine eltern.; 9/1/19, 9:22 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: "John C. Kornblum, a former United States ambassador to Germany, who has lived here on and off since the 1960s, and was once shouted at by a naked German for not taking off his swimming shorts in a whirlpool."

Germans ordering people to remove their clothes?

That sounds familiar.

Ja, it's so "freeing" to be pressured to do what everyone else is doing.; 9/1/19, 9:23 AM
Rusty said...: Please refer to "Rusty's Law of Piercings, Spandex and Tatoos." The same applies to public nudity. Behave accordingly.; 9/1/19, 9:23 AM
BarrySanders20 said...: There has to be a German word for all of that.

Naked swimming translates to nackt schwimmen.

I like to go schwimmen
With nackt-legged wimmen; 9/1/19, 9:23 AM
Bob Boyd said...: When you say nude, you've said the word that means you like to do it all.; 9/1/19, 9:23 AM
chickelit said...: This may be tangenital, but are naked Germans a threat? To anyone?; 9/1/19, 9:24 AM
buwaya said...: The biggest problem with being naked, personally and collectively, is whether we look good naked.

I used to look good naked, long ago. I'm not THAT bad now, but still, I would not now add to the charm of the landscape.

That is part of that German naturism thing, that clothed people detract from the natural ambience. A collective good if you will.; 9/1/19, 9:26 AM
tcrosse said...: Naked swimming translates to nackt schwimmen.

It also translates to Shrinkage.; 9/1/19, 9:29 AM
chickelit said...: But even the President of the United States
Sometimes must have to stand naked (just not in public).; 9/1/19, 9:29 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: I once sunbathed naked with my then-boyfriend while we were renting a beach house near the Outer Banks in NC. That doesn't really count because nobody else was around In any case, it was a stupid thing to do, since my boobs and our tushes got burned, despite the sunscreen we slathered on.

I always thought being nude at the beach was pretty dumb. I don't want sand in my private parts. I don't want someone's bare ass on my beach towel. There are very few people on this earth I want to see naked.; 9/1/19, 9:37 AM
Lyle said...: I studied, worked, and lived in Germany for a bit. They would strip down in public parks in the middle of the city to swim in the park's ponds. You would also have the random old guy sunbathing naked in full view of passers by... some of them in hijab or more. I should have taken a photo of that. Sometimes it comes across as kind of pervy, but other times it is whole families doing it and that made it seem more normal. I know lots of German kids are instructed not to forget that they can't take their clothes off in public in the United States when they go on exchange programs. They've done it before.

I grew up in the country and you can run around there with no one seeing you normally. Couples getting "caught" outside by people aren't uncommon.; 9/1/19, 9:39 AM
Mark said...: What's your personal history of being outdoors naked?

The bigger question is whether women should wear hose when they are otherwise naked in the workplace?; 9/1/19, 9:39 AM
JackWayne said...: From 1971-1972 I saw many German men urinating in public. They were very open about it. They can keep that shit. Awful people.; 9/1/19, 9:39 AM
Temujin said...: Early 70's, college years. There were multiple outdoor naked moments. It would not be a hit today.

A few years ago I walked out of my hotel in downtown Seattle and walked- Smack!- into a swarm of naked paraders on bikes. Apparently it's one of those charming things about Seattle. It was pretty disgusting. Those who would take part in this sort of thing are typically not attractive-to-look-at people anyway. You remove all doubt and enhance the bad when their clothes are off and they are galumphing along on bikes, balls and breasts bouncing to the music.; 9/1/19, 9:39 AM
Sebastian said...: "If you were both afraid of freedom and deeply desirous of it, would you hit upon the solution of going outdoors naked?"

I am afraid of prog coercion in all its forms and deeply desirous to oppose it, so if going outdoors naked may upset the new prog puritanism I might hit upon that solution. I might bring a plastic bag for my clothes, just to be truly transgressive.; 9/1/19, 9:40 AM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: Perfect example of Germanhood.Till Lindeman fishing

Very slightly NSFW.; 9/1/19, 9:43 AM
stevew said...: I've skinny dipped, but otherwise not been outdoors naked. Not sure it it counts but taking a shower outdoors is the best. We have an outdoor shower at the Cape, nothing better than showering off the salt from a day at the beach out there.; 9/1/19, 9:45 AM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: Du hast? Du hast mich?; 9/1/19, 9:45 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: J. Farmer said...
Remember the general rule of thumb: the people most likely to want to be naked are the ones you least likely want to see naked.

9/1/19, 8:59 AM

Yep. Instead of a beach filled with naked Claudia Schiffers, you get a beach filled with naked Angela Merkels.; 9/1/19, 9:45 AM
Jaq said...: German porn is where you go if you want to see women enjoying sex with normally equipped men. Or so my friend tells me.; 9/1/19, 9:46 AM
buwaya said...: "There are very few people on this earth I want to see naked."

A young man (and older ones too) is likely to have a very different opinion. Usually kept to himself out of prudence.

This is one of those things where ancient instinct keeps, er, emerging, it has never been quite overridden by civilization.; 9/1/19, 9:47 AM
Jaq said...: In Vermont, public nudity is legal, as long as you don’t remove your clothes in public. A safeguard against strippers, I suppose. There is a state park on an island in Lake Champlain with campgrounds that is reputed to be heavily frequented by nudists. I don’t know. The one boat I saw headed there was a couple in a pontoon boat that I in no way wanted to see naked. Thing probably would have capsized if they both went to the same side.; 9/1/19, 9:50 AM
john said...: The saying goes that if there were 100 people on the beach, and 99 were nude, the attention of all would be fixated on that one clothed person.; 9/1/19, 9:51 AM
john said...: We skinnydipped a lot as kids, we swam nude as scouts, and we still strip down to cool off in the streams when we hike or backpack, but not so much anymore.; 9/1/19, 9:51 AM
Anonymous said...: I used to go to Hippie Hollow in Austin where nudity is allowed. Swimming naked or laying on a raft in the cool water when the temperature was 100 degrees was very relaxing.; 9/1/19, 9:52 AM
Craig Howard said...: This may be tangenital, but are naked Germans a threat? To anyone?

Was that Freudian or intentional?

Either way, well done.; 9/1/19, 9:52 AM
Meade said...: “I was mortified. Then my towel went missing. I liked that towel. I still think about that towel.”

John Kerry still has that towel.; 9/1/19, 9:56 AM
Paco Wové said...: Insects. Sunburn. No thanks.; 9/1/19, 9:59 AM
chickelit said...: I hosted an underaged drinking party in high school. This was during the streaking craze in the late '70's. A few of us decided to get naked and go streaking at night. That was fun, but it began to rain and one of the guys slipped on a polished tile floor when we came back and conked his head. He bled if I recall correctly (and I doubt I can recall correctly). Anyways, we ended up having to call the kid's dad who came over and saw the nudity and wonder WTF was going on. Sure it looked homoerotic, but it really wasn't -- anymore so than that scene in "A Room With A View." That was the last time I got naked in public except for showers after football practice.; 9/1/19, 10:01 AM
MacMacConnell said...: Posed nude for an art class. I can't count the times skinny dipping in lakes, swimming pools and hot tubs on dates. The there was the time racing nude at 3:00AM around the frat house with and olive in the crack of my ass. Yes hazing was allowed, but we only ever put one pledge in Menningers.; 9/1/19, 10:01 AM
Mark said...: "There are very few people on this earth I want to see naked."
We skinnydipped a lot as kids, we swam nude as scouts

Yeah, people I don't want to see -- or be around -- naked are a bunch of guys, whatever age or physique.; 9/1/19, 10:03 AM
cf said...: Blink. Blink.

well, gee, uh, my experience on this is the opposite of Althouse.
i grew up skinny-dipping when possible or just necessary because me and Nancy Lou -- or Phyllis Lynn and johnnie Lee -- would arrive at a perfect surprise "cow tank" on our exploration hikes out on the Texas prairie that was our back yard. we lived at the edge of town, and could follow the railroad tracks north and branch out from there.

then, you know, the beatles happened and Bob Dylan and the pill and free love and, yeah man, by the time we hit college, i loved sunning naked on the broad, natural steps of limestone that bank Lake Travis outside Austin. "hippie hollow" they called it back then.

and yes, later in California, wilderness backpacking, are you kidding me?! who needs a bathing suit. I would always explore little falls and streams naked. shoot yeah!

and few years later, me and hubby and baby would venture down near San Diego there are a couple of nude beaches, one fave is next to a marine base, and there would be jeeps parked on those cliffs with binoculars enjoying the show. (once our baby girl passed 3 years, we "went straight", hah, for the children!)

i agree, bathing suits are much more flattering than naked. its all too funny.; 9/1/19, 10:04 AM
Meade said...: I’m old enough to remember when porn meant French postcards. And by French postcards I don’t mean German postcards.; 9/1/19, 10:05 AM
chickelit said...: My dear mother -- who recently passed away -- enjoyed telling this story of how my dad once tricked her into getting naked in public: link; 9/1/19, 10:05 AM
jwl said...: Wreck Beach, Vancouver BC is only place I've been nude sunbathing. Wreck Beach is lovely beach and it has long been anarchist beach where anything goes, it is weird location that is out of place in puritanical Canada. I've also streaked many times at University coming home from pub and it seemed like good idea to run around naked for a bit.

European nudists caught me off guard because there are often naked people in central locations and it took time to adjust. I remember walking through Munich's Englische Garten and coming across a bunch of people playing naked volleyball in slow moving stream. I did not know how to process the scene because there were also fully clothed families picnicking right near naked volleyball, cognitive dissonance was strong.; 9/1/19, 10:05 AM
Mark said...: My dear mother -- who recently passed away -- enjoyed telling this story of how my dad once tricked her into getting naked in public

And don't get me started on even thinking about mom or dad or grandma or grandpa naked.; 9/1/19, 10:06 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: I remember being at Gay Head beach on Martha's Vineyard back in the early '90's. There were a few nudists, but most people kept their suits on. The most memorable nekkid person was a hefty middle aged man with an impressive tan and no tan lines. He strolled up and down the beach for a while, looking like a bronze beach ball. He seemed to be under the impression that he was an Adonis. Then he rummaged around in his beach tote - and pulled out a banana. He resumed his walk while eating the banana. I do not remember if the banana was larger or smaller than his own equipment, since his own equipment was buried under deeply tanned blubber. He did succeed in making an impression. I buried my head in my beach towel and had a good laugh.; 9/1/19, 10:08 AM
mockturtle said...: IIRC, it was against the law in most places I have lived.; 9/1/19, 10:10 AM
chickelit said...: Meade said...I’m old enough to remember when porn meant French postcards. And by French postcards I don’t mean German postcards.

I remember "French ticklers." WTH was perverted about the French? Can we blame Rousseau?; 9/1/19, 10:12 AM
Barry Dauphin said...: This might give the DNC the idea to have naked Democratic debates.; 9/1/19, 10:12 AM
Paul said...: Twice in my life I skinny dipped. Once just us boys and we didn't want our cloths to get wet.

The other time with a girlfriend (but no one else was there.) It was fun, I'll say that!; 9/1/19, 10:15 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Barry Dauphin said...
This might give the DNC the idea to have naked Democratic debates.

9/1/19, 10:12 AM

Oh, that would be wonderful.

Trump landslide.

(Well, either that, or we end up with President Marianne Williamson.); 9/1/19, 10:21 AM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: Gay Head beach on Martha's Vineyard

Ok. Now I understand Obama buying that 14 million dollar mansion on Martha's Vineyard.; 9/1/19, 10:34 AM
Ralph L said...: YMCAs used to have segregated naked indoor swimming.

The first time I went to a nude beach was on Nantucket in 1985. A big wave knocked me ass over teakettle, and my spine hasn't been the same since.; 9/1/19, 10:39 AM
n.n said...: Just because you can... It doesn't follow that it's a good choice. Reconcile.; 9/1/19, 10:58 AM
Paul said...: Bill, Republic of Texas said...
"Ok. Now I understand Obama buying that 14 million dollar mansion on Martha's Vineyard."

Maybe Hurricane Dorian will fix that.; 9/1/19, 11:02 AM
jimbino said...: When I taught physics at a German Internat (boarding school), my Kamaradschaft (small social club I led--kids of 14 to 18) invited me and my girlfriend to go skinny dipping with them, which of course we enjoyed, though all the while I was thinking of the seriously gehemmte Amerikans I'd left behind, in more ways than one.

The fact that people who think along lines of "the people you're likely to see naked are the ones you'd least like to see naked" won't visit a nude beach, sauna or hot tub is of course the perfect reason to spend time socializing in such places.; 9/1/19, 11:03 AM
Nichevo said...: The German porn is on its own level. Among other things it often features lots of public nudity and sex acts. The Berlin cabaret was not fictional in its degeneracy.

Foos, Kraut!; 9/1/19, 11:05 AM
rcocean said...: Going naked is expensive. All that sunscreen. I've been to the naked beach on Maui. And yes, most people need to keep their clothes on.; 9/1/19, 11:05 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Nacktheit macht frei.; 9/1/19, 11:13 AM
chickelit said...: @Yancey Ward: Just don't try making fries while naked.; 9/1/19, 11:16 AM
Wince said...: Germans love to get naked.

Which only goes to prove my theory....

"Germans love David Hasselhoff. "

-Norm MacDonald; 9/1/19, 11:16 AM
Narr said...: Me and my pack of goofs would get naked at night sometimes, in the overgrown tract behind the school; this would have ended by about middle school. Some years later the streaking craze was big on campus for about a week. I was over running around nude, though some of my friends decided to run around that way late one night at a kegger--future distinguished lawyers, educators, and clergy let it all hang out that night. It would have embarrassed the host, a friend who had recently been elected to the statehouse, had it become known.

Narr
Private showings only; 9/1/19, 11:22 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Good naked and bad naked.; 9/1/19, 11:23 AM
todd galle said...: Nakedness - heh - talk to any National or State Park Ranger. Weirdos being naked is almost a daily event. I could've made mint blackmailing the folks I caught banging their secretaries at lunch time. Missed opportunity, though I was young and found the coitus interruptus more fun. No phone cameras then, otherwise my executive secretary would be posting this.; 9/1/19, 11:34 AM
Michael said...: Spent a year down under near the city of Brisbane. Within a 45 minute drive there were 14-15 nudist camps. A woman I hooked up with there took me to at least 10. She had an average body, but an hot exhibitionist streak. Loved being naked and having others see her naked.

These places were no different than any family campground in America, save for the nudity. That meant a lot of pre-teens and teens. I'm no prude, but playing volleyball with budding girls was a bit uncomfortable.; 9/1/19, 11:37 AM
effinayright said...: JackWayne said...
From 1971-1972 I saw many German men urinating in public. They were very open about it. They can keep that shit. Awful people.
*********

Don't worry: feminism has made them all sitzpinklers now.; 9/1/19, 11:58 AM
AndrewV said...: This reminds me of the U.S. Berkeley Naked Guy, who got expelled from the college because he kept coming to class nude. I saw him once when I was walking down Telegraph Ave. and he stepped out from a store right in front of me. That was a don't look down moment.
I heard years later on the news he committed suicide in the Santa Clara Jail. Apparently he had a lot of mental issues which explained public nudity.; 9/1/19, 12:22 PM
AndrewV said...: UC Berkeley not U.S. Darn autocorrect.; 9/1/19, 12:24 PM
Amexpat said...: What's your personal history of being outdoors naked?

1976, I'm 19 hitching through Europe. In Italy, en route to Greece, I get a ride near Verona from an Italian guy who doesn't speak English. We drive into Yugoslavia and he invites me to go with him camping with some friends on the Istria Peninsula. It's a detour and I'm a bit concerned that he might be gay and will hit on me, but my instinct tells me it's OK.

When we drive into the camping complex we go past a store and I see all the shoppers are naked. When we come to the campsite a large group of his naked friends, of both genders, welcomed me.

I spent two days there, naked. It was very odd at first, especially eating meals, but I got used to it. There was nothing erotic or sexually about this nudist colony. It was only in the evening, when they dressed to dance, that there was a hint of sexuality.; 9/1/19, 12:26 PM
Ken B said...: Diane Kruger.

Well, a guy can dream can’t he?; 9/1/19, 12:31 PM
Jim said...: 1974, Summer between Junior and Senior years. Streaked the girls dorm at debate camp. Fun times. I’ve never felt so German in my life.; 9/1/19, 12:35 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Nake history, in the dunes of the cape, drinking Pina Coladas.; 9/1/19, 12:51 PM
JPS said...: Nothing very interesting, but many times over the years: The odd remote beach where others were naked and no one seemed to care; the occasional hot tub or pool, usually at night with some discretion; and any number of mountain lakes during remote solo hikes.; 9/1/19, 12:59 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: We swim naked in our backyard when the kids are sound asleep; if the neighbors worked moderately hard they could see us but whatever. They see what they see. And it gives us the opportunity to make the Chief Wiggum "Continue swimming naked!!!" joke every time which is a win.

Naked elsewhere: no thanks. Don't want to be; don't want to see anyone else.; 9/1/19, 1:48 PM
mikee said...: In college in the late 1970s, Jerry was a heavyweight wrestler living in my dorm. He had a job in the campus library, checking backpacks for library books as students exited the front door. Nobody argued with Jerry, and very few tried to take books out without getting them stamped first (ah, the days of no RFID, and card catalogs!).

One night, a streaker (they were a fad still) started out on the top floor of the library, and ran around each of its 3 upper floors chaotically, before hitting the ground floor, screaming like a banshee and being screamed back at by guys and girls alike. He did a full circuit of the main floor, right past the front desk. Then he ran past Jerry, still yelling, and waving his arms like a madman.

The Head Librarian, an elderly lady who was quite upset by the naked ruckus-rouser, asked Jerry why he hadn't stopped the streaker, it being obvious that a big strong wrestler like Jerry could have apprehended the malefactor with ease. Jerry replied with absolute aplomb, "No backpack to check."; 9/1/19, 2:05 PM
Megaera said...: Three compelling arguments against nude anything for those who live where they thrive: mosquitoes, blackflies, and deerflies. We used to canoe in Canada and of all the time we spent there I recall perhaps two or three days when the idea of uncovering ANY skin that wasn't marinated in DEET might have been attractive. See how charmed the Finns are about stripping off when their bugs are swarming (Hint: any time the temperatures aren't actually sub-zero).; 9/1/19, 2:10 PM
Szoszolo said...: When I swim at my sister's house and it's just us and her husband, all of us are naked. I've come to hate swimsuits because they're so much less comfortable.

But we all used to spend time at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, where everyone's naked at the hot springs baths and there's mixed bathing on the men's side in the evening.

The first time I took my Brooklynite husband up there, I said, "Are you going to be okay with the nudity?" and he said, "Sure, I'm a paramedic, I see naked people all the time, so ... Wait a minute! You don't mean I'd be nude, too, do you?!"

But he was fine, even when he was alone on the men's side and a gay couple approached him to ask some questions about the local customs (shower first, then the plunge).; 9/1/19, 2:36 PM
Robert Cook said...: It is pleasant to be naked outdoors.; 9/1/19, 3:42 PM
Oso Negro said...: It's fun to be naked outdoors. Austin in the 1970s was a fine place to go up on Lake Travis. Skinny-dipping in the Ozarks was good. Walking out in the dunes naked at night on Padre Island was fun. Hiking in Canyonlands National Park, pretty good. Also going to the beach in Croatia, where pubescent and post-pubescent girls swim totally naked and no one gets arrested.; 9/1/19, 3:56 PM
Lydia said...: Results from a search on "naked" in Germania by the Roman historian Tacitus:

--Their horsemen are content with a shield and a spear; but the foot-soldiers also rain javelins on their foes: each of them carries several, and they hurl them to immense distances, being naked or lightly clad in short cloaks.

--In every home the children go naked and dirty, and develop that strength of limb and tall stature which excite our admiration.

--They have only one kind of public show, which is performed without variation at every festive gathering. Naked youths, trained to the sport, dance about among swords and spears levelled at them.

--A guilty wife is summarily punished by her husband. He cuts off her hair, strips her naked, and in the presence of kinsmen turns her out of his house and flogs her all through the village.; 9/1/19, 4:14 PM
David Duffy said...: I made love to my wife once in the woods, after a picnic, before children. We were never naked.; 9/1/19, 4:19 PM
Rosalyn C. said...: I traveled in Crete in the mid 70's with some Germans and they were very insistent on going to a remote beach. After hiking all day to this isolated beach we were soon joined by police officer on a moped who asked when we were leaving. We said three days and were left alone. Yes we did bathe nude. Later on I did a lot of modeling in art schools and very quickly got to a comfort level whether clothed or nude. That was indoors in a professional setting and I was the only naked person in the room -- that dynamic eventually became uncomfortable for me. I also have visited twice a "clothing optional" spa in Northern California where mostly everyone walked around nude. That certainly made swimming, going into the hot springs, laying out on the sun decks and camping much less cumbersome without bathing suits to bother about. It was a very pleasant safe atmosphere. The only thing that bothered me was seeing so many tiny penises and the guys who were insecure about it. I just read recently that the Greeks considered a small penis a sign of moderation and a key virtue of the civilized man. Who knew?; 9/1/19, 4:35 PM
Narayanan said...: People turned to look at Howard Roark as he passed. Some remained staring after him with sudden resentment. They could give no reason for it: it was an instinct his presence awakened in most people. Howard Roark saw no one. For him, the streets were empty. He could have walked there naked without concern.; 9/1/19, 4:37 PM
Narayanan said...: Polar bear plunge

Coming soon to lake near you.; 9/1/19, 4:42 PM
Bob said...: I had an ankle sprain that weekend.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/08/12/wreck-beach-bare-buns-run_n_5672426.html; 9/1/19, 4:46 PM
Jim at said...: Das Booty; 9/1/19, 4:56 PM
Narr said...: East German Youthsex--an old tradition. Now that I have had time to reflect, and aided by the memories of others, I do recall some skinny-dipping in the Ozarks (stag, unfort.).

And once, at a rented lake cabin in Miss'ippi, we devised a "mudslide" down to the water that pretty soon was more of a "rockslide," but we were so lubricated internally by then that we discarded our tattered clothes and slid down buck-nekkid for hours.

Hilarious, until the next morning.

Narr
I blame the beer makers.; 9/1/19, 4:58 PM
Narayanan said...: Uncle Ben naked when he flew kite?; 9/1/19, 5:00 PM
JPS said...: Hey, isn’t Joe Biden a frequent skinny-dipper?; 9/1/19, 5:24 PM
rcocean said...: Is nudism is Ok, then we can televise Biden's Nude Swims? Which reminds me, anyone remember the talk about Bohemian Grove? Supposedly, it was started by Herbert hoover and was a place where all the rich elite could get together, fish, walk around nude, and talk about world domination.

Or so the lefties said.; 9/1/19, 5:26 PM
rcocean said...: I never understood the thrill of being nude. What's the difference between wearing a swim suit or some shorts and being nude? Its only 12 inches. If you're six feet that's only 17% of your body. That's reminds me of the old M. Monroe joke: "I sleep with the radio on, and my clothes off."; 9/1/19, 5:29 PM
Clyde said...: Freedom's just another word for nothing left to wear.

Nude beaches in Germany are a sensual, not a sexual thing. And most of the people you would see on a nude beach are not the sort that you would want to see naked anyway.; 9/1/19, 5:33 PM
rcocean said...: The Germans are an odd bunch. Once on the Big Island we ran into a German women about 45 who had rented a Jeep and asked us if we knew a "secluded Beach" where she could camp by herself and commune with nature. She didn't seem to understand that kind of Hawaii disappeared long ago, and in 2004, with a million tourists a year, no Hawaiian beach was "secluded" even on the big island.; 9/1/19, 5:35 PM
rcocean said...: Why aren't there more Irish nude beaches?; 9/1/19, 5:36 PM
Narr said...: We're just not telling you, rco.

Narr
So, would ye be a Catholic nudist, or a Protestant nudist, anyhoo?; 9/1/19, 7:13 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Seagull rips off man's testicle as he sunbathes naked; 9/1/19, 7:15 PM
Szoszolo said...: @rcocean: "I never understood the thrill of being nude." I've never heard anyone refer to it as a thrill. It's simply very comfortable.

"What's the difference between wearing a swim suit or some shorts and being nude? Its only 12 inches. If you're six feet that's only 17% of your body."

Most women aren't six feet tall. We're shaped differently, so clothes and waterlogged swimsuits fit us differently.; 9/1/19, 9:13 PM
rcocean said...: @Szoszolo - Yeah I guess I was all wrong about women. Except I was Never talking about women. Just me. But nice try. Anyway, nice to know girls are shaped "Differently" - that must come in handy when having kids.; 9/1/19, 9:38 PM
narciso said...: Hate it when that happens, why does it have to be a public spectacle.; 9/1/19, 9:59 PM
MacMacConnell said...: Yes women are shaped differently, it comes in handy even if not breeding.
I once invited a gal for a midnight swim, she swam laps. It was a relationship destine to fail, she couldn't slow dance either.; 9/1/19, 10:10 PM
Mr. Majestyk said...: If I am not mistaken, there is only one comment thread about having sex outside -- and even that person (Limited Perspective) was not fully naked. Are y'all a bunch of prudes? I had sex -- fully nude, like God intended -- in a clearing in the woods with a girlfriend. Thank God for a nice moss-covered stone. My uncle's dog was with us and, unfortunately, started checking out our privates after we were done. Just had to laugh at that.; 9/1/19, 10:52 PM
Szoszolo said...: "Except I was Never talking about women. Just me. But nice try."

Sounded like you couldn't figure out why anyone who wasn't you (or built like you) might feel differently about nudity. I offered reasons from the POV of a not-you type of person.; 9/1/19, 11:09 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Wearing the skin of your flayed enemy is not the same as being nude.; 9/2/19, 12:03 AM
c365 said...: Bull crap. I live in Vienna and ride the bicycle path frequently along the Danube. For every naked lounger just "hanging out" along the shores of the river there's a naked couple emerging from the bushes presumably doing more than bird watching, plus another legalized flasher patiently waiting with an erect penis to popout from behind the bushes as you ride by with your kids.

There are a handful for whom this is about comfortable relaxation, but at it's root is always a core of sexuality. I don't expect a people who misunderstand sex to grasp this though. Most westerners, particularly Germans and Austrians are having plenty of sex, but unwilling to actually procreate. So they lounge or proudly parade around with sexual genitalia exposed and say sex has no connection. If both those realities don't foreshadow an ignorance of biology, I'm not sure what does.; 9/2/19, 2:09 AM
Robert Cook said...: “Why aren't there more Irish nude beaches?”

9/1/19, 5:36 PM

Danger of severe burns and skin cancer.; 9/2/19, 6:15 AM
Robert Cook said...: Or Catholic shame.; 9/2/19, 6:15 AM
Smerdyakov said...: My wife and I once spent a couple of nights at a nice hotel in Heiligenblut, Austria. I was taken aback when I approached the changing area near the pool. They were all naked, men women and children together. I guess it's their way.
No, I didn't do as the Romans.; 9/2/19, 10:42 AM
Pianoman said...: You should find a nude beach someday on your travels, and spend part of an afternoon. Yeah, there's the occasional lech who can't help but stare. But it's very liberating.

I had a manager once who went to Spain, and visited a nude beach while he was there. Totally wrecked his perceptions of the "hot, sexy beach". He said that after you've seen a 300 pound woman nude, you'll never think of nude beaches as erotic again.; 9/2/19, 12:52 PM
Robert Cook said...: "I had a manager once who went to Spain, and visited a nude beach while he was there. Totally wrecked his perceptions of the "hot, sexy beach". He said that after you've seen a 300 pound woman nude, you'll never think of nude beaches as erotic again."

But then, regular nudists have always said being nude is not about being sexual. It is a pleasant feeling to be nude outdoors, and that is enough reason for many to make it a regular practice, (just as swimming nude is distinctly different than swimming with trunks on, and also pleasant). I have heard others say that by interacting with others "nude on nude," as it were, nudists relate to each other as equals, without the overt or subtle distancing effects that result from obvious differences in status indicated by clothing and accessories.

As one who spent many years attending life drawing classes, I can say that drawing overweight women is usually far more fun than drawing a woman with a beautiful body. The irregularities of a heavy body are more interesting and individual than the symmetries of typically "beautiful" bodies, which are less individual, in that they fit a template of we consider attractive (and they are harder to draw, frankly, given they have fewer unique aspects). Bodies don't have to be young, sleek, and "sexy" to be interesting or even beautiful.

People who go to nude beaches expecting a "sexy" experience are clueless, and those who find the sight of 300-lb women (or men) disagreeable are childish.; 9/2/19, 4:33 PM
Bilwick said...: I often feel like Andrea Martin in the Robin Williams movie CLUB PARADISE, "I want to be naked the rest of my life." Then, almost just as often, I tell myself, "Put some clothes on--you're not an animal."; 9/2/19, 4:36 PM