Hi

[Ember Bright]

I am 28, living in QLD, Australia. I have been an on-and-off nudist for maybe a decade, though I'm in a place where I'm not sure what to think about being a nudist. Hoping to one day find out.

I am Catholic, and enjoy tabletop games, video games, and similar hobbies. I am a beginner enthusiast of military/firearms, as well as European history and culture.

Sorry for the (very) long delay in making an intro post. I had originally made the account ages ago, and then didn't do anything with it.

[q905401]

Hi bro welcome. 
Im from Melbourne, I don"t think there are many Aussies here and even less active ones.

Feel free to reach out

[Szymooon04]

welcome, greetings from Poland

[TheNudeBot]

welcome to the site Ember!
  

[James]

Welcome!

[Dylan]

Hi welcome

[RS]

Howdy

[Naked_boi]

Hey man welcome :)

[Timmy]

[Naturalguy87]

Welcome to the group!

What exactly do you mean by off and on nudist?

[Ember Bright]

Welcome to the group!

What exactly do you mean by off and on nudist?

Basically, I have a pull towards nudism (perhaps in the feeling, freedom, peace etc. of it), but I always end up struggling with doubts.

I have had a lot of difficulty separating nudity from sexual arousal. I have no desire to look inappropriately at anyone or anything, but I often find those instincts hard to disassociate from nudity. I am told that more exposure to nudist environments will solve that issue, but where I live doesn't have a lot of options for that, so it is easier said than done.

Aside from that, I've encountered a lot of people who have seemed suspicious in the nudist community, and that has sometimes caused me to lose confidence that nudism is really as non-sexual and wholesome as I want to believe.

I also just have a general back-and-forth on whether I think nudism is ok or doubting that it is.

Because of that, I have basically gone from being a committed nudist, to quitting being a nudist, then coming back, then quitting again, and so on, over the years. I am hoping one day to find closure and settle on it one way or another.

[Shiden Kai San]

Welcome, Ember!

You know, I actually understand where you're coming from.  Particularly as it relates to questionable encounters as well as "off and on" again interests in nudism.  I once thought that nudism was purely wholesome and by extension, that meant the people should be mostly wholesome as well.  This outlook set me up for a lot of frustration.  Here's basically what I took away from this whole thing:

FIRST,, let's talk about sex and what led me down a frustrating path.  You see, when I got into nudism at around 16, adults drilled into my head that nudism was so non-sexual, that if I ever experienced strong hormones while talking to other nudists, that meant I was in it for the wrong reasons. And for a time, I really did drink their kool-aid.  What I later learned is that doctrine was pure BS. People are people.  Whether they are nudists or not.  Just because somebody is a nudist doesn't mean they are impervious to feelings of sexual arousal.  For example:

Let's say you take a dozen young nudists (aged 18 – 29) and put them in a 2-week summer camp together with shared rooms.  What do you think is going to happen?  If you guessed "some spicy things", you'd be right.  I would know because that I was a part of a group just like that.  Now at the time, I was rather turned off.  I thought that nudists were supposed to have more restraint than your usual "textile".  It wasn't until after the trip when I realized that I was the one who was trippin.  The bottom line is that young people are going to do what young people are naturally inclined to do.  Nudist or not.  You could have replaced those nudists with textile band nerds, and the results would have been similar. The bottom line is that you can be a nudist and still have hormones that you act upon.  The more important question is:  Why are you into nudism? 

Now, let's talk about your struggles with separating nudity from sexual arousal.  If I may... of course you are struggling!  Many people do. After all, few people have access to nudist destinations or live in nude friendly countries.  Few people know what it's like to hang out nude (casually) with friends/peers. And almost all of us were raised to believe that nudity = sex or embarrassment.  Throw in environmental factors like religion, and what you're experiencing isn't crazy at all.  It's a perfectly normal reaction to something that's been highly sexualized and turned into something culturally taboo. 

Lastly, my advice is simple:   First, understand that you can be a nudist and a sexual human being at the same time.  Second, ask yourself why you're into nudism and be totally honest with that answer. Third, if your answer doesn't have to do with sexual motivation, then I think you'll be fine.  You then need to accept your current life position, accept that your feelings are normal given the above variables, and then give yourself permission to not feel guilty when your hormones surge the moment those clothes come off.  Yes, in time they will eventually lessen, but until then, as long as you get to genuinely enjoy being nude once your hormones have passed/been satisfied, that's all that really matters.

[Shiden Kai San]

Hell, I mine as well add one more paragraph to my wall of text:

To provide context to the above long ah post, this is my personal definition of nudism. To oversimplify:  it's about enjoying parts of your life without clothes. For some people, there's a philosophical component to nudism that encompasses body acceptance, spirituality, freedom, health, and/or community.  For other people, it's nothing more than literally enjoying the feeling of not wearing clothes when one can/is in the mood.  The point is: You don't need to check off a list of boxes to be into 'nudism' or appreciate a 'nude positive'attitude. The important thing is that you value at least one of the above tenets.

[Andy1112010]

Hallo Ember 👋

Welcome to the forum 🙂

[DovaDova]

Welcome to the group!

What exactly do you mean by off and on nudist?

Basically, I have a pull towards nudism (perhaps in the feeling, freedom, peace etc. of it), but I always end up struggling with doubts.

I have had a lot of difficulty separating nudity from sexual arousal. I have no desire to look inappropriately at anyone or anything, but I often find those instincts hard to disassociate from nudity. I am told that more exposure to nudist environments will solve that issue, but where I live doesn't have a lot of options for that, so it is easier said than done.

Aside from that, I've encountered a lot of people who have seemed suspicious in the nudist community, and that has sometimes caused me to lose confidence that nudism is really as non-sexual and wholesome as I want to believe.

I also just have a general back-and-forth on whether I think nudism is ok or doubting that it is.

Because of that, I have basically gone from being a committed nudist, to quitting being a nudist, then coming back, then quitting again, and so on, over the years. I am hoping one day to find closure and settle on it one way or another.

Nudism is non-sexual, but that doesn't mean nudists are non-sexual too. Nudists are people, and their identity isn't defined solely by "being a nudist."

Of course, when I practice nudism, I'm not looking for sex, but sometimes I come across an interesting person who I find sexually attractive—I'm fine with that; after all, I meet people like that in non-nudist situations too.