When we decided to go on the Nude Cruise, we thought it was quite an adventure (and still do :)). We were excited and nervous and excited again. The experience itself was by far the funnest experience I've EVER had in a billion ways that are very hard to explain.
When we returned, people all had very different reactions to it. Some were intrigued and would LOVE to try it someday. Others were intrigued but knew that they could never do it. Some had no interest at all in ever doing it. And this is all good... God knows we're all different and not everyone has to like everything.
But what has surprised me lately is how many people are coming out of the woodwork telling me that they have a friend/aunt/neighbour who think that it is IMMORAL and WRONG and DISGUSTING and all kinds of other things. One man approached me and said, “Well, aren't YOU the talk of the town?”. Someone else said that it was disgusting that I was blogging about it and that I must really think a lot of myself parading around all naked like that.... Hmmm...
Honestly, this just blows my hair back. I realize that I tend to think outside of the conventional box, but normally I can at least understand the thoughts inside the box. But this one has me bewildered. And so, I thought I would share some of my experiences around the morality of nudity and see if it helps...
The main concerns that I've heard or imagine are:
1) Nudity is heavily linked to sexuality and so therefore if people are nude, they must be doing “inappropriate” things
2) Nudists think a lot of themselves to be walking around like that showing off their bodies
3) Some vague opinion that “It's just wrong” that doesn't need explanation. Any moral person would know that... or something...
OK. So here goes:
1) Sexuality: The interesting thing about nudist resorts, clubs, and this cruise ship is that overt sexual behaviour is absolutely prohibited. There are certain resorts that are all about swinging and sex games and all that. But you don't have to be nude to do that (and most of that activity happens among the clothed population).
In fact, on the cruise, any kind of overt or inferred sexual anything is absolutely prohibited! If you do anything at all to make another person uncomfortable in the least, then you will be put off the ship at the next port. And they are so serious about this that they ACTUALLY enforce it.
And so, what you end up with is an environment that is not sexual at all. What's interesting is that there aren't these strict rules at normal clothed beaches or bars or resorts. You can do anything you want there. But here, because nudists are trying to change all of the misconceptions that society has about them, they are absolutely militant about keeping things “clean”.
And so, when you're walking around or dancing or swimming or anything, there aren't people staring or leering or making comments or approaching you or anything. It's just a bunch of people hanging out (sorry :)) naked.
Now, there certainly is a sensuality about being naked in the fresh air. It's like the amazing feeling of skinny dipping. There's something wonderful about feeling the water all over you. There is the same sense when you are walking around in the sunshine. But this is just a sensation of the body. It's not sexual.
Honestly it felt more like we were a bunch of little kids just running around the backyard through the sprinkler naked on a hot day than a bunch of adults naked on a cruise ship.
2) Self-Image: There will always be all kinds of people everywhere you go. There are people who work hard to be fit and are very proud of their bodies in all sections of society – and in the nudist world as well. But what is interesting is that most nudists aren't like that. In fact, that's one of the rotten things that I do hear on occasion... “Ya, nudists are all just old and fat anyway” or “Most people who are nudists really shouldn't be naked (because their bodies are unattractive)”
These comments are part of the training and programming that we all received that makes us so terrified of being naked.
Truthfully, it took us about 3 days before we felt comfortable. But it wasn't the other people who made us uncomfortable. It was our own brains. Every day we were there I could feel programming and thoughts and fears and judgements coming up and being discarded. It honestly felt like I needed to be de-programmed to be able to be there at all.
At first, my issue was that I didn't want anyone to look at me. My body isn't “perfect”. I've got surgical scars and cellulite and varicose veins, and things just don't look like they did when I was 18....
And then I didn't know where to look. Was it appropriate to look at other people's naked bodies? Was it rude? Was it going to feel sexual? It was very confusing.
But everyone acts so natural and casual about it all, your fears and judgements just disappear. They make no sense there. There is no judgement. Your body is just your body. (And in fact I've come to a beautiful new appreciation for our bodies – when you consider what they've been through and carried us through and survived!! Honestly how could I not appreciate how this body has survived nearly dying three times and all the other things it's gone through... Our bodies are quite miraculous actually!!)
So by the time we got to the cruise, being naked wasn't a big deal. The “de-programming” was completed. There was no judgement or fear or worries. It was just easy.
And the reality is that we all have “imperfect” bodies. There were people on the ship who were 400-500 pounds (likely this was the one place where they were the least judged). There were people in wheelchairs, paraplegics, people with extreme reconstructive surgeries done so that they could just walk with arm crutches. And of course you see every scar from every surgery... and trust me it's amazing how many of us have lots of scars... :)
There were also very young and very buff people. But they just looked like young, buff people... And because there's no judgement, there's no “good” judgement either. They just had different bodies than others... But it just didn't matter. We were all just there to have fun. What our bodies looked like was completely irrelevant. You can just enjoy being who you are.
3) “It's just wrong”: This is a curious one. I'm guessing that it comes from our religious roots - modesty being important and all that. But the curious thing is that in the Christian religion, Adam and Eve were living in perfection in Eden – nude!! And then the snake came, and they now felt the need to hide themselves... Interesting...
Truthfully, I can't judge whether something is right or wrong for someone. All I know is that my experience of nudists and nudist “adventures” have been overwhelmingly positive. Being around these people released me from negative thoughts about my own body. It has allowed me to be more relaxed in ways that I can't explain. These people are fun in a way that I've never experienced.
I've never experienced an environment that was so truly non-judgemental. I think that this is such a big deal. This is the one thing that we cannot even imagine living in the world we live in – which is why when you get to one of these places, it takes time for our brains to adjust. We just don't even know how to act or think or interact with people where there is no judgement at all. I find this the most mind-boggling because I didn't think I was a judgemental person. But being there, I've realized that the programming goes deep.. and even if I try not to judge others, I can still be pretty hard on myself. It's a fascinating realization to have and I'm very thankful for the de-programming!!! Definitely easier than 20 years of counselling!! :)
And so, “Is Nudity Immoral?” I truly don't think so. It hasn't been my experience. I can understand that the IDEA of it might be frightening and what we IMAGINE it could be like could go a thousand bad places... But it just doesn't seem to be true in the real world...
In the end, my heart now has a permasmile that was cemented there one day on a nude cruise as I danced to YMCA with a thousand other naked people. And when I ever get down, I can just close my eyes and go there... And I think that that's a VERY good thing. :)
