AANR-Northwest
This week in the Northwest
*Saturday*
Christmas Party – Squaw Mt. Ranch
Winter Snow Ball – Fraternity Snoqualmie
Sauna/Hot Tub Night – SLUGS
Christmas Party – The Rogue Suncatchers
The Ethical Nudist
According to
American English Dictionary, a nudist is “a person who believes that not
wearing clothes is healthy and who is often part of a group of people
who meet to practice their belief.”
The latest Dallas Nudist blog includes a link to a survey asking how you
feel about nude access to public lands, Read the article and take the
survey here.
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-ethical-nudist?CID=examiner_alerts_article
Nothing to Hide: West Michigan should open market for nude beach
We encourage readers to send us pointers to interesting articles. Here
is a blog forwarded by a reader from earlier this year. The author
makes interesting points.
This article is quoted in whole from
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20130420/OPINION02/304200035/
Written by Bill Schroer — Nothing to Hide
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From earlier columns the alert reader will recall the author is a
naturist … someone who believes non-sexual nudity is a positive, healthy
approach to living and brings us closer to nature and an appreciation of
the world around us.
One of the ways even many non-naturists enjoy occasional public nudity
is via skinny dipping. In a 2006 Roper poll over 25 percent of adults in
a national sampling have skinny dipped in mixed company at some point.
While many of these occurrences take place at private homes with
swimming pools, at one of the thousands of obscure lakes or ponds around
the country or at naturist resorts, there are a number of public nude
beaches around the country.
From Florida to New Jersey to California … these legal nude beaches
provide an opportunity to work on your tan without tan lines or simply
swim as nature intended … without wearing wet, clammy bathing suits.
But why does Michigan need a nude beach?
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I imagine many readers have their own reasons for the answer to that
question but here are my top selections:
1. It’s cool. Nude beaches exist all over Europe … particularly Spain,
Germany, France, Denmark and Sweden.
The most progressive and forward thinking countries are also the most
open about public nudity. Here in the U.S., Florida, California and New
York/New Jersey lead the way as trend setters in other areas of society
as well as nude beaches. We could be right up there with them.
2. It’s good business. The nude beach in Miami (Haulover Beach)
represents only 1/3 mile of beachfront in South Miami, but is
responsible for more than twice the parking and user fees of a
comparable non-naturist beach nearby.
From the time Haulover Beach was identified as clothing optional in
1991, revenues have increased 126 percent while revenues for the nearby
“textile” Crandon Beach have declined.
3. Its good for tourism. There are naturists all over the world seeking
positive, safe, beautiful nude beaches.
Isn’t Michigan’s tourist industry one of the leading generators of
revenue in the state? If Florida’s Pasco County commission can authorize
thousands of dollars to be spent in German naturist magazines attracting
German naturists to Florida’s naturist resorts, why would we doubt Pure
Michigan’s pristine beaches couldn’t be equally (or more) compelling to
European naturists?
4. It’s fair. It doesn’t often occur to non-naturists … but naturists
are taxpayers too. We fund the state and national parks and seashores as
much as any other dedicated user group (think snowmobilers, horseback
riders, bicyclists, hikers and campers).
These user groups have dedicated trails, riding paths, campgrounds or
other parts of state and national parks dedicated for their use … why
not a clothing optional beach for naturists?
Citing the same Roper poll from 2006, 74 percent of respondents to the
poll “believe that people who enjoy nude sunbathing should be able to do
so … as long as they do so at a beach that is accepted for that purpose.”
5. And, lastly, and importantly for me, it gives us all a chance to get
comfortable with our own bodies. I wrote earlier about the body image
issues so many Americans have. Too many of us are embarrassed by our
bodies. And, we are even more intolerant of others. You don’t see that
in Europe.
None of us have perfect bodies … but too often I hear people say “I
don’t want to see that “fat”, “old”, “wrinkled” or whatever hurtful
descriptor comes to mind.
Really? I don’t want to see pigeons either but somehow I’m mature enough
to deal with it. That lack of acceptance of our own bodies and others is
debilitating, hurts our self-esteem and our ability to accept and
connect with others.
As a final thought … to those who think a clothing optional or nude
beach means an abandonment of the fabric of society and/or the advent of
a new debauchery: One cannot do anything on a nude beach one can’t do on
a “textile” beach (i.e public sex, gawk at women, etc.)
The only difference in standards is that one doesn’t have clothes on. It
doesn’t mean you can behave like a jackass.
Now, how about carving out a section of Willard Beach to be clothing
optional?