So You Want To Be An Online Nudist?
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 nudist.
I wouldn’t suggest people just throw caution to the wind and do it like I did, but I do think in many cases when you think through the usual concerns rationally, people’s fears are often overblown. People’s concerns usually fall into two categories: How will my pictures be received online? And what if people find out?
The first type of concern usually comes because people are worried about trolls criticizing their bodies, or they are worried about people viewing their nude pictures in a sexual way. These are both issues you will unfortunately have to deal with when you post nude pictures online. That said, as long as we remind ourselves that it’s what’s in our own hearts and minds that defines us, and not the judgements of others, we can ignore these people. Remember, with the click of a button you can delete a negative comment, block someone and erase them from your life forever. Trolls have no power unless you give it to them. The encouragement and positivity of the online nudist community more than makes up for the undesirable interactions.
Now, onto the concerns about people finding out. Firstly, I think people can often overestimate the risk. Even at 47,000 followers, I’m yet to have anyone I’m close to find out without me telling them. Even if you’re a big fish in the online nudist world, you’re still a small fish on the internet. That said, the risk is never zero, so you do need to think about what it might mean if people in your life found out.
This is going to vary depending on a person’s situation, so I can’t tell you the right answer here. For some people, particularly if you’re a public figure or have an extremely conservative family, or certain careers, it might be the case that the risk isn’t worth it. But I think in many cases people catastrophise the worst case scenario. So think about it carefully. Would your friends and family really disown you if they found out? Would you really get fired? Or would there just be some temporary awkwardness until people adjust to knowing you're a nudist? Often people's response is actually positive. How important is nudism to you? Only you can answer that. For me, I can’t foresee losing any friends and family, but even if I did, nudism is such an important part of my life, that if a friend couldn’t accept me being a nudist, I’d rather lose that friendship and stay true to myself. But I know not everyone feels this strongly, and that’s fine. Whatever feels right for you.
Sidenote on getting fired: In many countries there are laws against firing someone because of their legal out-of-work activities, so have a look into that for your area.
If you don’t feel comfortable, there are still ways you can mitigate the risks and maybe feel comfortable participating. A lot of people only post pictures from behind so their face isn’t recognisable. You can still take some great pictures from behind, especially when you put the focus on the location or the activity you’re doing rather than on showing your naked body. Some people will censor their face. This is fine, although I'd personally reccomend favouring photos from behind if you don't want your face seen. Censored face photos can give the impression of being ashamed to be seen as a nudist, which you definitely don’t want. You can also use a locked account so that you can choose who gets to follow you, but I’d consider this a less desirable option, because it limits your ability to network and spread the nudist message. Of course, the ideal is an unlocked account with face visible in your pictures, but don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Do what you're comfortable with.
Now, if you’re still interested and feel that posting your pictures is something you want to do, great! The more of us there are showing the world what nudism looks like, the better. A bigger online nudist community means it’s easier for people to network and meet other nudists. You might even plant the seed in someone’s mind that leads to them becoming a nudist too. I’ve had several people tell me that I inspired them to try nudism, and it’s the most rewarding thing to hear. There’s also a lot of misinformation about nudism on the internet, so the more real nudist content we create, the more we can drown it out.
But how do you go about it?
My biggest recommendation would be, do not use your alt account. I know a lot of people use their alt account to follow nudists because they have family or friends that they don’t want to see them liking and sharing nudist content, and that’s fine. But if you’re a nudist content creator, mixing your nudist content in with sexual content gives the impression that you’re sexualising nudism (even if you’re not). Since this is a misconception that nudists have to fight against a lot, it’s better for the cause to keep them separate. Most people won’t want to use their main accounts, so creating a dedicated nudist account is the best way to go. Having to create an additional account may be a hassle, but it’s good for nudism, and also good for you, because you’ll have much more, and better interactions with other nudists if you show that you can separate nudity and sex.
Apart from that, it’s about being genuine. Show yourself doing the things that you love to do naked. I mostly go hiking and go to beaches, so that’s what most of my twitter feed is. Maybe you love playing board games naked, or making music, or just being naked while you do your household chores. Whatever it is, the more we can show the world normal people doing stuff naked, the more we can normalise nudity.
One more bonus tip if you want to go the extra step would be to brush up on your photography skills. There’s plenty of tutorials out there on the internet to learn some basic foundations of how to take good photos. Also a selfie-stick/tripod for your phone is a cheap investment that will give you much more flexibility with your photography than relying on resting the phone against random objects.
Let me know in the comments if you have any other tips or questions. As always, my DMs on twitter are open to genuine nudist questions, so don’t hesitate to message me if you have any concerns you don’t feel comfortable sharing publicly.
The first type of concern usually comes because people are worried about trolls criticizing their bodies, or they are worried about people viewing their nude pictures in a sexual way. These are both issues you will unfortunately have to deal with when you post nude pictures online. That said, as long as we remind ourselves that it’s what’s in our own hearts and minds that defines us, and not the judgements of others, we can ignore these people. Remember, with the click of a button you can delete a negative comment, block someone and erase them from your life forever. Trolls have no power unless you give it to them. The encouragement and positivity of the online nudist community more than makes up for the undesirable interactions.
Now, onto the concerns about people finding out. Firstly, I think people can often overestimate the risk. Even at 47,000 followers, I’m yet to have anyone I’m close to find out without me telling them. Even if you’re a big fish in the online nudist world, you’re still a small fish on the internet. That said, the risk is never zero, so you do need to think about what it might mean if people in your life found out.
This is going to vary depending on a person’s situation, so I can’t tell you the right answer here. For some people, particularly if you’re a public figure or have an extremely conservative family, or certain careers, it might be the case that the risk isn’t worth it. But I think in many cases people catastrophise the worst case scenario. So think about it carefully. Would your friends and family really disown you if they found out? Would you really get fired? Or would there just be some temporary awkwardness until people adjust to knowing you're a nudist? Often people's response is actually positive. How important is nudism to you? Only you can answer that. For me, I can’t foresee losing any friends and family, but even if I did, nudism is such an important part of my life, that if a friend couldn’t accept me being a nudist, I’d rather lose that friendship and stay true to myself. But I know not everyone feels this strongly, and that’s fine. Whatever feels right for you.
Sidenote on getting fired: In many countries there are laws against firing someone because of their legal out-of-work activities, so have a look into that for your area.
If you don’t feel comfortable, there are still ways you can mitigate the risks and maybe feel comfortable participating. A lot of people only post pictures from behind so their face isn’t recognisable. You can still take some great pictures from behind, especially when you put the focus on the location or the activity you’re doing rather than on showing your naked body. Some people will censor their face. This is fine, although I'd personally reccomend favouring photos from behind if you don't want your face seen. Censored face photos can give the impression of being ashamed to be seen as a nudist, which you definitely don’t want. You can also use a locked account so that you can choose who gets to follow you, but I’d consider this a less desirable option, because it limits your ability to network and spread the nudist message. Of course, the ideal is an unlocked account with face visible in your pictures, but don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Do what you're comfortable with.
Now, if you’re still interested and feel that posting your pictures is something you want to do, great! The more of us there are showing the world what nudism looks like, the better. A bigger online nudist community means it’s easier for people to network and meet other nudists. You might even plant the seed in someone’s mind that leads to them becoming a nudist too. I’ve had several people tell me that I inspired them to try nudism, and it’s the most rewarding thing to hear. There’s also a lot of misinformation about nudism on the internet, so the more real nudist content we create, the more we can drown it out.
But how do you go about it?
My biggest recommendation would be, do not use your alt account. I know a lot of people use their alt account to follow nudists because they have family or friends that they don’t want to see them liking and sharing nudist content, and that’s fine. But if you’re a nudist content creator, mixing your nudist content in with sexual content gives the impression that you’re sexualising nudism (even if you’re not). Since this is a misconception that nudists have to fight against a lot, it’s better for the cause to keep them separate. Most people won’t want to use their main accounts, so creating a dedicated nudist account is the best way to go. Having to create an additional account may be a hassle, but it’s good for nudism, and also good for you, because you’ll have much more, and better interactions with other nudists if you show that you can separate nudity and sex.
Apart from that, it’s about being genuine. Show yourself doing the things that you love to do naked. I mostly go hiking and go to beaches, so that’s what most of my twitter feed is. Maybe you love playing board games naked, or making music, or just being naked while you do your household chores. Whatever it is, the more we can show the world normal people doing stuff naked, the more we can normalise nudity.
One more bonus tip if you want to go the extra step would be to brush up on your photography skills. There’s plenty of tutorials out there on the internet to learn some basic foundations of how to take good photos. Also a selfie-stick/tripod for your phone is a cheap investment that will give you much more flexibility with your photography than relying on resting the phone against random objects.
Let me know in the comments if you have any other tips or questions. As always, my DMs on twitter are open to genuine nudist questions, so don’t hesitate to message me if you have any concerns you don’t feel comfortable sharing publicly.
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