I can see why there is such a huge misunderstanding. People don't understand the meaning of naturism.
There is a world of difference between sex and sexuality on the one hand and naturism on the other. I can understand if a person chooses to be a closet gay. Sex and sexuality are private matters. What I do when I have sex with my wife is a private thing. There are people who choose to reveal such details and that is their prerogative but for me, sex is a private matter. Because it's a private matter, I do not post photos of sex. And I won't ever declare that sex is something I do openly and I'm not ashamed of it because that would be dishonest. Sex is something I do in secret and I'm ashamed of it if it's out in the open. In other words, sex is to me, totally a private matter.
But naturism is not a private matter. The whole idea of naturism is to take decent non-sexual nudity out of the closet of privacy into the light of openness. That is why we have the World Naked Bike Ride where naturists go cycling in cities in full view of the whole world and where people are busy snapping photos and posting them online.
Private nudity is for the non-naturist. Every non-naturist accepts the privacy of nudity. It's naturists who say that nudity need not be kept private because it's natural and decent.
This is why 'closet naturism or nudism' is a contradiction in terms. I use the term 'naturism' and 'nudism' interchangeably as defined by the OED. So what exactly are closet naturists? I submit that they are essentially non-naturists who are sympathetic to naturism but are not yet prepared to go into naturism. Let me explain.
Every non-naturist is a closet naturist to some extent. I live in a highly conservative country where naturism is strictly banned. All my friends in this country are not naturists. Recently, some film people wanted to film naturists and they tried to get naturists from my country. They scoured the whole country and in the end the film only consists of me alone. This is the kind of country I live in. And yet all my friends who are non-naturists are prepared to go to a naturist resort PROVIDED PHOTOGRAPHY IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. So what's the difference between a closet nudist and a non-naturist?
Do you see what this means? If you insist that nudist resorts should ban cameras, you are doing precisely what non-naturists expect. Hence, going to a naturist resort cannot possibly mean you are a naturist since non-naturists from even my country are prepared to go to such a resort. This is what I have been saying all along. Non-naturists are really no different from closet naturists.
When I first posted photos of me nude with my face shown, a lot of my friends including my old vicar warned me not to be 'gullible'. They said all naturists hide their faces when they post their own photos because they know nudity is shameful and indecent. I was being a lone fool who accepts their false philosophy that nudity is decent and by posting my photos, I am causing shame to myself and even naturists who always hide their faces are laughing at me. And when I went to the blogs of people who call themselves naturists, I found that what my non-naturist friends say is true. Most people who call themselves naturists hide their faces when they post photos of themselves. That is precisely what my non-naturist friends do when they post on sex or dating sites. Show their genitals but hide their faces. So, what is the difference between a non-naturist and a closet naturist?
Because closet nudists do not dare to show their faces with their nude bodies, some of them go on the offensive and accuse real naturists of being 'exhibitionists'. This has happened in my previous blog. But exhibitionism is a concept only non-naturists understand. To them, nudity is embarrassing and sexual so by showing their bodies, they get a warped sexual gratification and that is what exhibitionism means. You have to think of nudity as sexual in order for you to call a naturist an exhibitionist. The only people who will accuse a naturist of exhibitionism by showing his nude body are non-naturists and closet nudists. So where does that place the closet nudist?
I honestly don't see how I can be faulted in my reasoning above. As I have already said many times in the past, I do not impose my naturism on non-naturists. My own wife is not a naturist and I've never tried to make her one against her will. But it's very important to me that naturism should not get a bad press from people who claim to be naturists. Every time someone who claims to be a naturist posts a pic of himself with his face covered or concealed, he is doing harm to the image of naturism. He's telling the world nudity is shameful which is why his face is hidden. Every time a person posts pics that show only his genitals and yet he claims to be a naturist, he's telling the world naturism is all about the genitals and sex. These are all actions which are inimical to the interest of naturism. It harms the beauty of naturism and gives further ammunition to the non-naturist world to take pot shots at naturism and naturists.
It's not wrong for people who are not prepared to be identified as naturists to say they are not yet naturists. That's the honest thing to say. That's because as I have shown, closet naturism or nudism is really a contradiction in terms. Nudism is the taking of nudity out of the closet and out of the private realm. A person who calls himself a nudist but continues to hide his face has not taken nudity out of the private realm. It's still private to him which is why his face is concealed. It's easy to talk about privacy and safety but the truth is he won't turn his back to the camera if he's wearing clothes.
I am trying very hard not to offend closet nudists but it would be wrong for me to tell lies just to be agreeable to everyone. I have already shown that there is no difference between a closet and a non-naturist. What about the argument that one might lose friends and even one's job if one's face can be seen by the employer or friend?
Again, this is an issue of honesty. If I know that my employer will not hire me if he knows I'm a naturist, concealing my naturism from him is tantamount to getting my job through false pretences. It is deceit and we must all agree that deceit is dishonest. It's the same with friends. I live in a super conservative society where I am the only naturist who is willing to be filmed in a documentary in my country. You can imagine how anti-nudity my friends can be. It's preposterous to say that Americans are more anti-nudity than my friends when it's a fact that there are the World Naked Bike Ride in many US cities and there are nudist beaches and nudist clubs. There is no such thing in my country. If you hold a WNBR anywhere in my country (even on a deserted island), every participant will be in jail together with the organisers.
But the way I see it is if I don't tell my friends I'm a naturist in order to gain or keep the friendship, I must be dishonest. Again this is basic logic. Hiding some quality in me in order for them to be my friends is deceit. I would be gaining friendship through dishonest means. This must be Logic 101.
It is for this reason that I really cannot see how anyone can say they are being perfectly honest when they say nudity is natural, decent and not to something they are ashamed of and yet they hide their faces when they post photos of themselves. How can that be honest?
I live in a conservative country with very strict laws against nudity and with a society that is very disapproving of nudism. I am a church-going, church-serving family man. But I try to be as honest as I can in everything I do. I cannot take a job or friendship by deceit or by concealing something in me that would make a friend refuse to be my friend. I cannot mislead friends into thinking well of me if they think ill of naturists. I think it's only honest and right that I don't give others a different impression of me in order for them to like me or befriend me or give me a job. My wife knew from the very start when we were courting that I was a naturist. I tell everyone who knows me that I'm a naturist - relatives, in-laws, friends, acquaintances and everyone in my professional circle and in my church and everyone has free access to nude photos of me with my face shown. I do not dissemble, deceive or give false impressions. To me, that is the only way to live my life in all honesty. Because naturism is all about bringing nudity out of the closet, there can't be closet naturists. The very idea is a self-contradiction.
I hope closet nudists will forgive me for saying all this truthfully. If I am willing to tell the truth in my society about my naturism and face the consequences, it's natural that I will also tell the truth even if it angers closet nudists. I will not compromise on honesty. I agree that everyone has the right to do whatever they please. They can be non-naturists, closet naturists or real naturists. That's up to them. But I cannot say a person is honest if he says nudity is natural and decent and something he's not ashamed of and yet he hides his face when his nude photos are posted. I would be dishonest if I say he's honest. But I do agree that people have the right to live their lives any way they want. They can be honest or dishonest - that's up to them. But I will be honest and when I see something that smacks of dishonesty, I have to say it's dishonest. I just hope people will see that I'm right and even if they feel emotionally aggrieved by what I say, I hope they can see I'm merely telling the truth. I apologise for any hurt I give to closet nudists but I cannot honestly say what I've said is untrue.
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