Nudist Jeff

I would be lying if I said my body shape doesn’t give me privilege when it comes to being naked. I’m an able bodied white man in my early 30’s with a gym fit body that more or less fits the conventional ideal of today. So it’s no surprise that I often receive comments saying that it’s easy for me to be naked with my body. Sometimes people take a more accusatory tone, as if I’m a hypocrite to promote naturism with my body, or that I’m naive to the struggles of other people in accepting their bodies. I can understand these comments, given the world we live in. Our culture has such an obsession with physical appearances, and even within naturism there are a lot of non-genuine people, who’s comments lead many people to become disillusioned and skeptical of our promise of universal body acceptance. I have spoken to so many people about their body image struggles, and I understand how damaging our culture’s beauty standards can be, even though I haven’t been the victim of them personally. H...

When I first became a nudist, I was a bit wary of “unofficial” nude beaches. With no legal protection or signage to notify other beach users, and warnings on the internet about the need for discretion, I was afraid of getting into trouble with the law or other beach users. It’s a big part of why I took so long to try it, as both nude beaches within driving distance of my home were unofficial. As I became more confident as a nudist, these worries faded, but it’s important not to forget the value of legal protection in making newcomers feel safe to try something that can already be quite scary in itself. Last year we had our shire council elections, so I did what any politically active nudist in my situation would do, and contacted the candidates to suggest that signage be installed at our local clothing optional beach, to give nudists legal protection. I received positive responses in principle, but they pointed out that the beach is within Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and A...

It’s a lot easier to be naked in front of strangers, than our family and friends. That’s something a lot of people have told me, and something I’ve experienced too. If a stranger judges our bodies, or thinks we are weird or perverted for being naked, it’s no big deal. We never had any emotional investment in them and we don’t have to see or talk to them again anyway. But when it comes to family and friends, we worry that our nudism might cause conflict, so many of us either hide our nudism altogether, or don’t discuss it or express it around those who matter most to us. This is a shame, since it’s with our loved ones that we should feel most comfortable to be our true selves. Everyone’s in a different situation, and I wouldn’t give any one-size-fits-all advice on coming out, or being naked around family members. That’s something you need to decide based on your own knowledge of your family. For some people, it really is going to be best to just keep it to themselves, and I respect tha...

Photography is one of the most powerful ways that we as naturists can express ourselves, share our experiences, and show people what naturism is all about. It is also an area that can be fraught for a lot of naturists, worrying that our pictures might be misinterpreted. For people who haven’t studied the subject, photography can seem as simple as pointing the camera at the subject, and pressing a button. But there are so many decisions that we make, often unconsciously, that determine both the quality of the photo, and more importantly, what the photo says to the viewer. Here I would like to share some tips I have picked up from my experience and studies, to help the naturist community to take photos that not only look great, but also show what naturism is, and avoid giving viewers the wrong impression. This is not meant to be “thou shalt do things my way.” I’m not a professional photographer, photography is an art, and you are the artist. By all means, take your photos however you wan...

I often get people telling me they’d like to participate more in the online nudist community, and post pictures, but they have some hesitations. People usually ask me how I got the courage to post my nude pictures online. So I thought I’d write about my experience so far in being an online nudist and give some tips for people considering taking the plunge. As to how I got the courage? I actually started this at quite a turbulent time in my life. I was recently out of a 10 year relationship and looking for things to give my life meaning. I was a bit reckless about it, although fortunately it’s turned out to be a great thing and there haven’t been any negative consequences. I've had a lot of great interactions, and been able to meet a lot of people who I wouldn't have been able to find if it weren't for my online presence. Most importantly, I've been able to help new people get into nudism or try new nude activities. That's the most rewarding part of being an online ...

We nudists like to keep a clean separation between nudism and sex. There is good justification for this, given the amount of public misunderstanding about nudism. For the most part I’m in favour of this distinction, especially when it comes to nudism in public places. However, sometimes we can be a bit overzealous in deeming anything sexual as anathema to nudism. In particular I think we need to take a nuanced view of how sexual expression can promote body positivity, a goal I hope all nudists share. Many nudists will say that body positivity has nothing to do with sex, but I disagree. The body features that get marginalised are not arbitrary. They are the features that our culture has deemed to be less sexually appealing. Features such as being overweight or underweight, too hairy, scars and other disfigurements, small penis or breasts, skin that is too pale or dark or uneven, or gender non-conforming features, are marginalised specifically because they are deemed to be less sexually...