German politician says 'time is right' for revival of nudist culture

[Danee]

    Abby Young-Powell, in Berlin
10 August 2017 • 3:07pm
A German politician has said "the time is right" for a revival of nudist culture across the country, blaming the West's "slightly pornographic look" for its decline.

"In the East, men were accustomed to nudity,” Gregor Gysi, of the Left Party, said. “There's nothing special about it. But if you never see it, it's more unusual, and you get big eyes".

The 69-year-old held a (fully clothed) election campaign event from a popular nudist beach in Berlin this week.

"We need more naturist offers again," he told Bild magazine, which accompanied him to Müggelsee beach resort, where he sunbathed and spoke with local nudists. “The time is right to extend naturism now,” he said.

Public nudism is not uncommon in Germany, a country with nude sports clubs and beach areas, as well as many mixed gender “textile free” saunas.

However, the German nudist movement, known as “free body culture” (FKK), may be in decline.

The movement, which started in the 1800’s, and which is not linked to eroticism or sexuality, but to freedom and enjoyment of nature, has historically been part of East Germany.


After being banned by the Nazi’s, it flourished again in the 1950’s in the East German Democratic Republic (GDR). But it didn’t regain the same popularity in West Germany.

Now there are nudists across the country, but Berlin’s FKK regional federation say club membership is shrinking.



And this summer, some naked bathing areas, such as in Wannsee in Berlin, have been cut back, due to an allegedly smaller number of beach-goers willing to ditch their swim-suits.

The nudist bathing area at Wannsee was reduced by 70 metres, according to Berlin daily newspaper BZ – leaving nudists angry.
Wolfgang Hempel, 77, from Templehof, told the paper: "A wet swimsuit is not good. And now you have to lie close together - one towel next to the other."





While Gunther Fassbender, 76, and Andrea Feddern, 53, told Bild: "Nudism can not die! Naturism is a culture, a feeling of life and must be preserved.”

Mr Gysi previously spoke in this month’s Playboy magazine about the decline of free body culture. It “has been abolished step by step," he said. And Western men, with their “slightly pornographic look” are to blame, he says.

Despite his campaign, Mr Gysi maintains he no longer practices public nudity personally: “I am now 69 years old. Everything has boundaries. If at all, being nude will only take place at home," he told Bild magazine.

Tell that, to all the fine Germans here in residence, like [member=644]Pitti[/member] , [member=2604]Torf-Christian[/member] , and more.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/10/german-politician-says-time-right-revival-nudist-culture/#comments

[NudieDaniel]

The Guardian did an editorial on this too

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/commentisfree/2017/aug/11/the-guardian-view-on-nudity-grin-and-bare-it