Ask people who’ve never tried it what naturism is, and they’ll usually say “being naked”. Ask a naturist and you’ll hear about sun on your skin, a swim with nothing in the way, and conversations that start without anyone sizing anyone else up. The nakedness is just the starting point.
1. Naturism in a sentence
In 1974 the International Naturist Federation agreed the definition most naturist organisations still use: naturism is “a way of life in harmony with nature, characterised by the practice of communal nudity, with the intention of encouraging self-respect, respect for others and for the environment.”
Notice what’s in there: nature, respect, and other people. Naturism isn’t sexual, and it isn’t about showing off. It’s about being comfortable as you are, alongside other people doing the same.
2. Naturist or nudist?
Most people use the words interchangeably, and that’s fine. But many naturists draw a line. Nudism is simply being nude: a nude beach, a nude swim. Naturism is the wider outlook that comes with it: living simply, spending time outdoors, respecting the environment and accepting bodies as they are.
That “as they are” often shows. Naturists tend to be relaxed about the natural body, and on many naturist beaches you’ll see plenty of people who don’t shave or wax at all. Plenty of naturists do, of course, and nobody minds either way. It’s a tendency, not a rule.
3. The swim that changes everything
If there’s one thing that turns the curious into naturists, it’s the first naked swim. No wet fabric clinging to you, no straps, nothing to adjust when you come out. Just water against skin, all over. And afterwards you dry in the sun in minutes, instead of sitting in a soggy costume.
Want to try it before a beach? Swimming sessions run by naturist clubs, and events like the Great British Skinny Dip from British Naturism, are a gentle first step.
4. No labels, just people
Clothes say a lot about us before we open our mouths: what we earn, what we do, which group we belong to. Take them away and that shorthand disappears. On a naturist beach you have no idea whether the person next to you is a surgeon or a scaffolder, rich or broke. So you just talk.
There’s research behind the feeling too. Psychologist Keon West’s studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, found that taking part in naturist activities was linked to better body image, self-esteem and life satisfaction. We cover the evidence in the health benefits of naturism.
5. A community, as far as the eye can see
The best way to understand naturism is to stand in the middle of a naturist beach on a hot day. At Studland in Dorset, the National Trust’s marked naturist area runs for about 900 metres, a little over half a mile, of Knoll Beach.
You’ll find the same at naturist festivals like Nudefest, where within 10 to 20 minutes nobody even thinks about being naked.
6. What people get wrong
- “It’s sexual.” It isn’t. Naturist places have strict rules, and anyone who behaves otherwise is asked to leave.
- “You need a perfect body.” Quite the opposite. Every age, shape, scar and stretch mark is there, and nobody cares.
- “Everyone stares.” Nobody stares. Within 10 to 20 minutes you forget you’re naked, and by half an hour a clothed person looks odd.
- “It’s a tiny fringe.” Nearly 7 million people in the UK call themselves naturists.
- “People have always been ashamed of nudity.” Not so. Clothes began as protection, and the first Olympic athletes competed naked.