so today was one of those rainy cold stay inside days, but not me, i was riding my bike, and i found a forest surrounded trail, so i went back and forth on the trail for about 20 minutes and idk why it took me so long, but i stripped down, and did the same nude it was amazing, also a question, say i think its all clear and strip down, and some people pass me while im nude, whats the best thing to do? thanks
I would say the best thing to do is smile at them, and hopefully they'll smile back. Depends a lot where you live as attitudes vary enormously from one country or region to another.
In some areas, people are freaked by it and call the cops to complain. Elsewhere, they go, "Hey there's a guy who really loves nature!" And yes, how you present yourself matters. If you look scared and panicky, that would send the wrong message, wouldn't it? A friendly smile or at least a calm demeanor would seem to be best.
I did the same thing today! I looked outside and it was raining ridiculously hard, but instead of hiding inside I decided to strip down and run around in the rain. It was very nice, but I got a little nervous because my friend's grandparents live next door to me....its one thing to smile and act like it ain't no thang when complete strangers see you naked, but when its someones grandparents...haha i dont think i would ever recover from the embarrassment.
Sorry, I just found this forum. For me it's hard to say what is/was the best. You might say I've experienced most fascits of nudism/naturism. I've been to a clothing-optional beach (nude of course), a naturist resort, and had the opportunity to live the naturist life full time. All have been very pleasurable.
For the most part people will just let you carry on, maybe smile at you - it's quite obvious a naked person in a forest isn't quite the bogeyman. Unless you're covered in blood wielding an axe. There are 2 myths that keep us yoked to the normative: one myth is that anyone going around nakie, or being any way alternative - is dangerous - but we all know deep inside it isn't quite like that. the other myth - "if I practice alternative lifestyles - everyone will consider me as dangerous and I'll be hated, get in trouble etc" - which isn't always quite the case either. So nothing changes - until we go for it.
In Georgia and neighboring states, nudity on the National Forest trails gets complaints and prosecuted and nude hikers get jail time. I have talked with a guy who was released from jail for nude trail hiking. Off trail in National Forests, you have a presumption of privacy and it is harder (but not impossible) to get an indecent exposure conviction. Groups of mixed gender who are hiking nude are less likely to be labelled as flasher perverts, but some friends of mine (guys and gals) were doing this and got reported to forest rangers. They knew something was up so they had clothes on by the time the ranger arrived. In some of the western US states, people seem to be getting away with nude hiking with little or no consequence. Use your own judgement on what the social conditions in your area will allow. I would never tell people in a general sort of way to "just go for it". If you are pushing for social change, legal changes and don't mind arrest, then it will certainly bring plenty of publicity for the cause of body freedom and I applaud those willing to go to jail for the sake of the human body and freedom. I have donated money to help lawyers with the Naturist Action Committee defend clients convicted of doing nothing more than being in their natural state of nudity. In Arkansas it is against the law to even recommend nudism to a person of the opposite sex, even if you are fully clothed. This is as unconstitutional as hell, but no one has challenged the law yet, as far as I can tell. In Kentucky, it is legal to build a nudist campground on private land, but the state has to approve it and....you guessed it! They never get approved.
You make some very good points there Gardenguy. Context and place and even gender all should be considered. It's a little sad that being male means suffering prejudice? [Oh, he's a pervert!] Arkansas and Kentucky are practicing laws that wouldn't be out of place in Iran or N Korea - which is unbelievably sad. UK and Ireland, theocracies in themselves, aren't too far behind. There was a famous naked hiker who was imprisoned in Scotland for his highly publicised naturist walks.
The famous naked hiker is Steve Gough, and although he's in prison now (serving one sentence after another, because every time they release him, he appears naked at the prison gate and promptly gets arrested again) he did walk the length of Britain naked twice. Try that in America, even if you bypass Arkansas and Kentucky! So maybe things aren't all that bad in Merrie England. Scotland seems a lot less Merrie.
