How old were you when you became a nudist?

As a teenager of about sixteen, I went for a swim in the English Lake District on my own. With no one else around to see me, I stood naked on the river bank to dry off in the breeze. It wasn't for long because I was worried someone might walk by. Nevertheless, a seed was planted in my mind.

During the hot summer of 1976, I was still in my final year at university. Every day at a lake in the university grounds, there many naked students sunbathing and swimming. The experience of joining them in the nude with my then girlfriend clinched it.

From then on we often got naked on beaches both here in the UK and abroad. That all stopped in my thirties because my second partner didn't like people seeing her naked, although she did have the occasional cheeky skinny dip in the sea with her kids. At the age of 44, I was reintroduced to nude beaches by my future wife. It was fun while it lasted. Kids got in the way. Now we're older, she says that her nude beach days are over.

 

It’s a shame she is not willing to go along as I know it is far more enjoyable when done with a partner or even a friend.

I first attended very young with a buddy, then with a few girlfriends, but my wife was not interested so I primarily went solo for about 25 years with the occasional company of a lovely cousin.

I have returned to the practice since my divorce, but now live further from any “official” nude gathering spots so it’s more often a secluded beach or river (plenty of those) or in my garden .

I do wish there were far more open legally designated venues for nude bathing.
With the many initiatives and great milestones achieved toward acceptance of others no matter their personal paths, beliefs, back-grounds or Origen, naturists seem to have been overlooked… and isn’t it the fundamental beginning of “body acceptance”, yet I believe we have “2” officially designated naturist beaches in Canada.
That’s 1 for every 5 million square kilometres…

With over 240,000 km of coastline and umpteen thousand lakes - it doesn’t seem proportionate. One would think you could squeeze in a few more.

 

Steve, what was that experience like? To be naked with your parents for the first time at that age must've been a bit awkward, especially you & your mom being nude together. Unless you had all been nude together at home before that?

 

I have had naturist leanings since my teenage years. I remember times when I was home all by myself I would take the opportunity to get naked. I always asked when my Mum and Dad when they were expected to be home. I would take 1 hour off that time and get dressed at that time (If they said they would be home by 6:00PM I got dressed at 5:00PM).

Also I am Autistic. I only found out that I was Autistic in my 40's. I also feel that my body becomes over sensitised when I wear clothes. My parents were strongly against me going nude at home, so I have had to wait until we put Mum into a nursing home because of Alzheimer's and Dad died before I could really live the life I always wanted to live.

 

Sorry to hear about your dad passing and your mum with Alzheimer's.

I am happy that you have a friend that agrees with you and understanding. For when she visits you.

Wish you and your mum all the best in your new homes.

 

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Joe90,

Thank you for the kind words.

 

Kind of always. But doing it knowing what I was doing and why, I'd say 10 years old was the first time I spent the day nude around my house knowing what I was doing and why, and not under any practical circumstance like showering together and not getting dressed right away. Or my sister and I playing nude just because we didn't care or were curious. Or at the beach. My family were not naturalists. We just weren't so hung up over it until my sister and I were a certain age and she because more modest. And I became slightly less comfortable nude with just my father and I, thus gravitating more toward nudity with my mother (one of a gazillion early signs of my queer gender.)

College was when I became fully open about it and the motivation of freedom from embarrassment or feeling self-conscious became crystal clear.