Nudist Life #454
By juliemartin | February 2, 2010
Inside: The Nudist Magazine (Click)
Happiness Is A Smiling Nudist
Quite a few of my males friends dispute my claims that nudism is for all ages, including them (men in their forties, fifties and beyond). Essentially, the idea of walking around naked in the presence of naked teenagers or women in their thirties strikes them as oddly improper, not that they don’t like the idea.
European men have no problem undressing anywhere, and particularly on a nude beach. In some capitals you can even pee in public standing behind a courtesy barrier barely four feet tall–that is something I could never quite get comfortable with. But being naked on crowded beaches? No problem, and the more the merrier.
As you’ll see, “more” means just that, as nudism’s popularity continues to grow in Europe and the USA. Forget Hedonism II, which is at best a hybrid version of someone’s idea of a sexual Nirvana. Just go to nearly any other Caribbean resort and you’ll find topless beaches are the norm, and nudist beaches often just a hundred yards “down the beach.” In short, it’s acceptable to be naked in mixed company, regardless of age, young or old.
When you first walk on to any nudist beach you’ll be greeted with that most wonderful of things, a nudist smile. Be sure to say hello and don’t forget to enjoy yourself.
SidneyG for The Nude Review “The Nudist Smile: On A Nudist Beach Near You”
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Nudist Girls
By juliemartin | January 25, 2010
From: Nudist Magazine: Nudist Girls
Call Me Simple Minded
Ten years ago this week I gave up a small photography business in Chicago to pursue a life dream. After a brutal divorce and halving of my net worth, I decided to abandon the grind of city life and become a roaming correspondent focused on tropical paradises. I’d sell my reportage as I went, and not look back.
My first destination was Jamaica. I did sold a few pieces but soon discovered I found the writing tedious and really only enjoyed the photography, but travel photography alone doesn’t pay very well. Then one day while mulling my options sitting on a beach near a singles resort an indescribable beauty walked past me from behind heading to the water. She was wearing nothing but a seashell necklace. I couldn’t help but to grab my camera and click away. That night I called my editor and said I was working on a piece about nudists in the Caribbean, and would he be interested. He said he’d have to be careful with the photography, that maybe backsides would be okay but nothing “frontal.” I said I’d work on it.
It turned out to be very frustrating. The backside shots were certainly pleasant to look at, but it unnatural to exclude the other shots. I decided to go ahead with the article, but then put the other photography online and refer to the article at the publisher’s site. It turned out to be one of their most popular travel pieces that year, driven by the Web. Having determined there was a strong interest in nudism, I looked for places to have my pictures published online. I wanted to travel and take pictures and let someone else handle the details. That someone turned out to Julie Martin, photo editor of this magazine.
I then felt I was the luckiest guy on the planet. My mission? Capture the beauty of nudists in their natural habitats, namely beaches or sunny lake sides. Let’s face it. You’d have nothing to look at if someone wasn’t on the job. Fortunately, I never, ever tire of the subject matter. If my subjects lean in any one direction, it’s toward youth and female, and what could be better than that?
Some may think I’ve narrowed my interests too severely. The fact is, the subjects themselves are always changing, from the nudist beaches of France and Ukraine, to the winter season beaches of the Caribbean. Every day there’s a new smiling face to meet, and happy sunshine providing the background.
TorbenG for The Nude Review “Nudist Girls: Endlessly Fascinating”
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A Nudist Paradise?
By juliemartin | January 17, 2010
From: The Nudist Magazine on the Web
Even Eden Had To Start Somewhere…
Unless you suffer a kind of ostrich stoicism, you’ve been pulled recently by events in Haiti. The images of extreme poverty compounded by devilish plate tectonics make for unpleasant statistics. If there is plus side, maybe this catastrophe will create a once-and-for-all resolve to bring Haiti into the 21st Century and end its hideous history of human suffering.
There is reason to be hopeful. Haiti is blessed with an agreeable climate, beautiful beaches, a rich cultural history and varied topography. Historically its only lack has been a viable and fair system of government. A quick tour of that history reveals Western influences should rightly take much of the blame. It’s therefore reasonable that the West should now turn things around for Haiti. It will entail nothing less than a Marshall Plan for this Caribbean nation. We feel, as unfortunate as the recent earthquake is proving to be, it will be looked upon as the seminal event in turning Haiti’s fortunes around.
While it may seem strange to bring this all up in a nudist blog, most of us here are very fond of the Caribbean. While the other islands have made their way, more or less, into the Western world, they are hardly perfect. There’s an exclusionary trend taking over many of the islands, making them Meccas for the rich and famous, but not the rest of us. There is presently an influx of capital from Eastern Europe and elites from elsewhere buying second citizenship and land. Think Wall Street, and brutish people with short necks, and understand that in many of those idyllic Caribbean islands familiar to you, Russian is becoming more common than English. Joie de Vivre is being displaced by an insidious energy of ostentatious overkill. In short, it’s killing the mood in many of the more popular resorts.
Haiti could become the paradise for the rest of us, unsullied by 21st Century greed, a humble, burgeoning Eden, where your dollars will contribute to building a nation newly resolved to provide equitable and nourishing lifestyles for all. It’s lack of development means whatever development follows can be done right. As nudism is one of the fastest growing “recreations” in the travel industry, it would make sense to include “nudist Meccas” in the mix of developments. Nudists are environmentally friendly, not given to ostentatious displays of any kind (how could they be?), and bring with them low-impact investment. Just give us a beach with some nice, rustic accommodations. We tend not to go for that all-inclusive nonsense. We don’t need our towels shaped into small animals.
It has to start somewhere. While much of Haiti takes on the task of rebuilding itself, keep in mind that a lot of the country was unaffected by the earthquake. Tourism will contribute to a big part of its comeback, so in the years ahead keep an open mind. We’ll be reporting on where it’s safe to go, as well as organizing tours of our own once things settle down a bit.
It may not be Eden yet, but we sense it coming on the horizon. This century it will be Haiti’s turn to enjoy what the rest of us take for granted, and to do it right.
Gerald Cox for The Nude Review
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Vanilla Nudism
By juliemartin | January 1, 2010
Nudist Picture Galleries (Click)
What Some People Don’t Get About Us
We sometimes receive complaints that we’re “too vanilla” in our coverage of nudism. Usually it’s the people looking for instruction in gynecology, or rude display of genitalia and rear-ends, people who connote nudism with rough sexual practices, swingers or “nude bitches.” What the hell? Where did they get those ideas? Well, a lot of nudist sites are just fronts for porn. You can usually tell when, clicking on a nice picture, you’re zapped to some horrendous display of odd human behavior. It gives nudism and nudity in general a bad name.
We realize people have genitals, but we don’t make them our focus. From our perspective, genitalia “happens”–we don’t brush them out of our photography if in frame. But we wouldn’t crop a photograph to reveal just the genitals. There are sites that do, but what’s the appeal? There are many who simply don’t find vivid display of female or male genitalia to be very appetizing. As we say elsewhere, we’re more Playboy circa 1970, which for some tastes is decidedly chaste. Maybe Vanilla is simply our niche. Or maybe most men and women are like us. We prefer mystery and suggestion over blatant display.
“Nudism” is, in our view, a genuinely joyful and sensual activity. It’s not about static display, or exhibitionism, or sex. It may include sexual overtones for many, a puerile excitement, and that’s great. We enjoy it too. There’s a weird wholesomeness to it, like you imagine for Adam and Eve in the garden, sans fig leafs.
2009 was a great year for nudism, and 2010 looks to be even better. If you’re looking to explore the joy and excitement of nudism without the nonsense, you’re welcome to join us for the New Year.
Happy New Year!
Ed
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Nudist Bliss
By juliemartin | December 15, 2009
Nudist Picture Galleries (Click)
updated December 29, 2009
Joseph Campbell Would Be Proud
About twenty years ago during a lull in my otherwise bright career I channel-surfed into a PBS program featuring Joseph Campbell, the profit of the “follow your bliss” mantra. I found him thoroughly engaging, proceeded to consume all of his videos and books, and began the arduous process of transforming my life.
The actual details aren’t that interesting to the general public, so I’ll save them for a memoir. But what clicked most for me that may be of interest to you is I did a simple exercise of listing all that pleased me about life and decided to spend the remaining term of my life enjoying that which pleased me, dispensing with all the rest. I quit the corporate would and became a freelance writer. What I lost in income I made up for in free time pursuing a simple regimen. Good but simple food, good books and company, physical well being, and sensual pleasure, including but not exclusive to sex. I concluded that marriage didn’t work for me, or at least I hadn’t timed it right. In short, I would only do that which was either simply enjoyable or attractively engaging, or both. As it pertains to the photograph above and this post, I discovered that I really, really enjoyed nudism, living naked under the sun, and partaking of the same with other like-minded individuals.
Now, if I asked you what you wanted to do today and including the possibility of frolicking naked with attractive people on a sandy beach, would you need to hear the rest? When I learned I could assemble the proper circumstances to live a good deal of my life in the nude with attractive company, it rather focused my energy. The result is I now spend a good part of the year circling the tropics writing about my experiences, often naked. Six hours a day of work, a few hours of self improvement (often on beaches or boats reading), the rest play, with much energy devoted to good food and its enjoyment with fellow “hedonists.” I do mix things up to keep it all interesting, but like hunger, the appetite for communal nudity in refreshing climates is seldom slaked. Can anyone pursue this lifestyle? Decidedly not. Some have too much invested in their careers or appearances; or they simply don’t get it. That’s fine.
My test is to ask myself, what do I really wish I was doing right now? If it’s not what I’m doing, it’s not my bliss. Aside from the petty tasks we all face as humans, the rest is up to us.
DanN for The Nude Review “Hedonism & Nudist Bliss”
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All Ages Nudism
By juliemartin | December 8, 2009
Nudism Is A Family Affair
If you have a broad nudist experience, you’ve likely been to both adult and family oriented nudist destinations or beaches. It’s clear enough that Europe, and particularly Eastern Europe, has the lion’s share of the latter. In fact, it’s a given, as I can’t think of a specifically “adult” nudist beach anywhere on the continent. In our hemisphere one can name dozens of adults only nudist resorts beginning with Hedonism II, where you would definitely not take your family.
The spectacle of an all-ages nudist environment is especially pleasing in that all generations are represented and all seem to mingle and get along well. You seldom see the gawking older men typical on U.S. nudist beaches. European men seem more interested in their papers or chess while their women occupy themselves with the children or their fellow female nudists friends. Often the beach is connected to a campground (mostly “caravans”) and nudity is prevalent there as well. You’ll see youngsters arm-in-arm heading to beach, older women fussing with knitting, absolutely striking teens behaving in their usual way, albeit nude, with their friends and siblings. It’s as if the entire concept of modesty was left home in a drawer.
California beaches come closet to resembling their European counterparts in open nudity across generations, but of course any sanctioned nudist beach in the U.S. will have its share of families present. The question is, does it harm youngsters to participate in communal nudity with adults present? The evidence seems to indicated their development of healthful attitudes toward nudity rewards them in later life, as of course it would. If normal precautions are taken they should not come to any harm (any more than they would on a textile beach, where predators are known to roam).
Nudism implies an openness and fairness to all comers. That it sometimes attracts the wrong element isn’t in question. But overall nudists are healthy, wholesome and honest with their practice, which doesn’t diminish by any means the sensual side of nudism. It’s there all the time. Besides, whoever said “sensuality” couldn’t be wholesome? Any activity that nurtures the soul in a good way and leads to body acceptance without shame should be available to all.
MeganW for The Nude Review “Nudism Is A Family Affair”
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Nudist Tan
By juliemartin | December 5, 2009
The Pre-Nudist Tan
I’ve been an avid nudist for nearly twenty years. I’m not sure how many naked people I’ve seen in my life, but it certainly reaches the thousands, which doesn’t diminish my excitement or enthusiasm to return to a nude beach again and again. The one thing nudism guarantees is variety, of human form and execution, no two being alike, etc. How it manifests when the wrapper is removed is endlessly (or nearly so) enjoyable to peruse.
There is something particularly intriguing about newbie female nudists, their “tan lines” being a dead giveaway. There is also something about their posture, what they do with their hands, how they control the space around them. They’ve taken the bold to “body freedom” but their psyches haven’t quite caught up with the action. They’re hesitant, in an attractive, prim way that seasoned nudists soon give up. Within a few hours they’re generally acclimated. Within a few days the tan lines are gone, they move naturally, their hands no longer at the defensive to cover up, that knee-jerk response to each fresh realization that they are nude in public.
We were all pre-nudist once. But I never tire of seeing fresh transitions, from novice to pro, lily white to pink, then brown, the nudist badge of honor.
VinceK for The Nude Review “Newbie Nudists: Tan Lines”
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Nudism Means Naked People
By juliemartin | December 1, 2009
Dionysus Had It Right
The big, bacchanalian tropical resort of Hedonism is fairly well known (you’re welcome), but that free-love spirit spills all along Seven Mile Beach, shared with Hedonism, and beckons the Bacchus in all of us (or at least those of us willing to bend a little). If sunbathing nude with plenty of company and socializing in beach bars with topless girls from Dayton appeals to the inner you, Seven Mile could be your destination of choice this winter.
Hedonism’s reputation leans toward swinging but in reality thats just a sidebar to the main event, which is relaxing and partying with well lubricated vacationers who’ve elected to temporarily put their woes and possibly pedestrian lives on hold. Why not? Fretting over life’s speed bumps seldom improves a situation, but fresh perspectives often do. If not, maybe have another Red Stripe, or go dance with that girl from Toledo with the magnificent, well, you know what. Is the wifey along? There’s a rum for that, and it may release her inner sex goddess right there on the beach.
With the season spinning into a higher gear maybe it’s time to consult your travel bookmarks. While all of the Caribbean is a good bet for topless and nudist beaches, Jamaica’s Seven Mile Beach, just a hop from Miami, is a sure thing. If you get my drift, that is.
SteveB for The Nude Review “Jamaica’s Seven Mile Miracle”
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Nudism Is Fun
By juliemartin | November 19, 2009
Like You Didn’t Already Know…
One of the most remarkable things about newbie nudists is their giddiness. Adjusting to social nudism brings out the inner child, blushing, gushing with silliness, at wit’s end attempting trying to figure out what to do with their hands, wit their pale nude bits (the giveaway). Within short order, of course, newbies settle into a comfort zone. Lying prone, slowly the legs assume a dignified repose (versus rigid alignment). The bridge has been crossed. Once becomes an acclimated nudist even before pallid buttocks assume their first rose tint.
So where do these transformations take place in winter season. The Caribbean is a good bet, where topless sunbathing reigns supreme and you’re never more than a kilometer from an enticing nude beach. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Men find their mates transition easily into nudists in exotic locales, in the company of strangers. Coaxing isn’t necessary when stepping into an existing trend, versus starting a new one. Besides, it’s fun.
MarcoR for The Nude Review “Caribbean Newbie Nudists”
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Nudist Body Painting
By juliemartin | September 24, 2009
A Great Ice Breaker
Come-all nudist festivals, particularly in Eastern Europe, often feature body painting contests and other activities designed to bond participants in festive cohesiveness, into a group joie de vivre in celebration of life, particularly “naked” life. Want to go tribal? Try a nudist festival. Dancing naked under moonlight around a communal fire while bonding with new friends will give you a whole new fondness for Mother Earth and its simpler enjoyments.
Body painting is a natural time-killer for most while some take it utterly serious, producing wondrous body art in often witty and beautiful ways. What better canvas than a willing nubile teen? In fact, they line-up to give you the opportunity to doodle. It may sound salacious to wholly western ears, but believe us when we say it’s not. It’s just something they do.
You’ll see body art competitions in the U.S., particularly in California. Also, “nude protests” tend to engage body art to support or articulate their cause (say, Lesbian Pride). Well, it’s a start.
Frederick Mars captures the essence of the “genre” in Romania and Ukraine where it’s all about fun and sensual enjoyments, sans politics.
Ed. “Nudist Festivals: Body Painting”
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