Some of my friends were uneasy when they heard what he said and I must confess I was rather shocked at first. A few of us including me were certain that he was just telling a fictitious tale. He had told me that he was a published writer of fantasy stories and I had no doubt his stories of BDSM were all a part of his fantasy.
But his private life is his own affair and I don't care if his stories are true or fictitious. What is important to me is what he said - that he is careful to separate naturism (which is non-sexual) from his own private interest in BDSM. To me, that is all that matters in the world of naturism.
Naturism is not a religion that dictates how you must live your life. However shocked and repulsed you may be at the thought of BDSM (I bet by now, my readers have googled it), it's none of our business what a naturist does in his private life. And he has made it clear that he separates naturism which is non-sexual from his sexual interests.
And he is a good guy too. He sent me all the photos he took of me. My only complaint is he is a little too artistic and professional in his photography for my plebeian taste. I prefer photos in which I am a part of the landscape and not photos in which I occupy most of the frame and there is too little landscape, or the landscape becomes blurred which is just how artists and professional photographers love to do to their photos. But it is a welcome change to look at photos taken by a professional instead of my own badly-taken photos and selfies.
And what is more, he is an honest guy and he gave me my photos just as he had promised and that set me thinking about our own personal prejudices against people who have tastes that differ from our own. It's so important for us to get rid of our prejudices and to be totally tolerant of others. And this advice is intended mainly for me - when he first told me about his inclinations and explained them in clear terms to me after I asked him what he meant, I was totally at a loss for words. I just didn't know how to respond and what to say. I looked around me at the other hikers but everyone fixed their gaze to the ground even though it was obvious they were all ears. But life is a learning process and I'm sure I will be able to respond more courteously if I next meet another BDSMer who chooses to recount his tales to me. Tolerance must be the cardinal principle for naturists and the ability to respond politely to all kinds of people and engage them in a friendly conversation about things that may be alien to the world we live in must be a skill we all aspire to have.
Anyway, here are the photos he sent to me. These thumbnails don't do justice to the artistry of the original photos which are quite large and extremely clear, quite unlike the photos taken with my compact selfie-friendly idiot-proof camera.
Nudists are a diverse community capable of the same discretion and situation appointment behavior as our textile counterparts. But while we're also not asexual, our lifestyle is no more as sexual as textiles assume as the other communities we're a part of seem to other nudists. Whether a "nudist" is also self identified as a member of the BDSM community or LGBT or heterosexual or poly or christian or a person of color, etc. we do not shed our involvement in these communities when we shed our clothes. Nor do we cease being nudists in other environments.
ReplyDeletePrecisely why any prejudice usually brought about by inexperience to the ways of the world should be removed which is the purpose of this blogpost. It's natural to be shocked by something novel and unfamiliar but how we react after we've gathered our thoughts together is important. For me, as long as something is done between consenting adults, it's really nobody else's business. But I suppose it's the way he talked about it openly that shocked not just me but the other hikers too. LOL
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