German nudists fear for future of lifestyle amid falling interest

[56harrisond]

An organisation promoting nudity and a self-confident approach towards the body in Germany has sounded the alarm over the future of naturism in the country.

The German Association for Free Body Culture (DFK), an umbrella organisation for myriad naturist interest groups, has told its members that celebrations in August marking the anniversary of its creation will no longer go ahead owing to a lack of interest.

German naturists fear for future of lifestyle amid falling interest | Germany | The Guardian

WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM

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Celebrations cancelled due to low uptake as people go off public nudity in country known for liberal attitudes

 

[+ DynamicUno]

This is something a lot of social organizations have to contend with, especially when they are no longer seen as cultural outliers.  I kind of doubt there's a large reduction of people in Germany who enjoy naturism, rather they have more outlets to do it without the need for a specific social organization to support it. 

The article also mentions that the organization has fairly rigid rules that have been off-putting to younger people participating.  I've seen a similar dynamic in other organizations where an "old guard" becomes entrenched and resistant to changing things to keep the participation of newer members.  If there are other less formal ways to meet the same social need, they'll gravitate towards that and the old group dies off (sometimes rather literally).

 

[marylander1940]

I'm just going to say not everyone should be admitted in a nudist camp.... some bodies were meant NOT to be seeing. Maybe that's what's turning off new people from joining the movement. 

Pardon me for being shallow...

[soloyo215]

12 minutes ago, marylander1940 said:

I'm just going to say not everyone should be admitted in a nudist camp.... some bodies were meant NOT to be seeing. Maybe that's what's turning off new people from joining the movement. 

Pardon me for being shallow...

The issue with that is who is supposed to determine that, and how, exactly? What is exactly what makes people "not allowed to be seeing" nude?

Personally I accept that not everything that I see in this world is going to be to my liking, but I don't think that I am in the position of questioning the existence or rights to do/be of whoever I don't like. I have been to nude beaches and I have no problem with people who I don't find attractive being there having fun. I just mind my own business. What should it be my business to advocate for not allowing them in the place? I also know that I'm noe exactly great to look at by some people, while others cannot get their eyes off me. So should they a "I like to look at these people only" section, based on one person't particular taste and idea of what nudism is supposed to be? How will that work?

In fact, isn't nudism promoting the exact opposite of discrimintaing on the bases of what some people find adequate to look at? That is, not to mention that nudism does not equate sex.

Just my thoughts.

[pubic_assistance]

22 minutes ago, marylander1940 said:

I'm just going to say not everyone should be admitted in a nudist camp....

Every nude beach I've ever visited was 99% full of people I regretted seeing naked. So yeah...younger, fit attractive people aren't going to be hanging with grandma and her saggy tits dragging on the sand.

[marylander1940]

5 minutes ago, pubic_assistance said:

Every nude beach I've ever visited was 99% full of people I regretted seeing naked. So yeah...younger, fit attractive people aren't going to be hanging with grandma and her saggy tits dragging on the sand.

Exactly!

When a woman's boobs reach her knees to most is not sexy! 

 

[+ Lucky]

2 hours ago, marylander1940 said:

I'm just going to say not everyone should be admitted in a nudist camp.... some bodies were meant NOT to be seeing. Maybe that's what's turning off new people from joining the movement. 

Pardon me for being shallow...

Speak for yourself! 😄

[MikeBiDude]

3 hours ago, marylander1940 said:

I'm just going to say not everyone should be admitted in a nudist camp.... some bodies were meant NOT to be seeing. Maybe that's what's turning off new people from joining the movement. 

Pardon me for being shallow...

Nudist camps/colonies aren’t about hot bodies and sex. They are a completely different paradigm, and they embrace body positivity. I know you’ve posted about that before.

[marylander1940]

27 minutes ago, MikeBiDude said:

Nudist camps/colonies aren’t about hot bodies and sex. They are a completely different paradigm, and they embrace body positivity. I know you’ve posted about that before.

 

1 hour ago, Lucky said:

Speak for yourself! 😄

You forgot to quote @pubic_assistance Just in case...

 

3 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

Every nude beach I've ever visited was 99% full of people I regretted seeing naked. So yeah...younger, fit attractive people aren't going to be hanging with grandma and her saggy tits dragging on the sand.

 

[soloyo215]

On 6/13/2024 at 8:40 AM, pubic_assistance said:

Every nude beach I've ever visited was 99% full of people I regretted seeing naked. So yeah...younger, fit attractive people aren't going to be hanging with grandma and her saggy tits dragging on the sand.

Well, maybe you are going either (a) to the wrong beaches, or (b) for the wrong reasons.

That is not to mention what you see in non-nudist places are not exactly eye candy either. So I don't see the point in stating that you don't like a percentage of what you see in a nudist place, as if people you don't like seeing don't exist anywhere else. That is, unless you are equating nudism with sexual attraction to people, or a nudist place with a cruising area, which are both the wrong premises.

Edited June 14, 2024 by soloyo215

[pubic_assistance]

9 hours ago, soloyo215 said:

That is, unless you are equating nudism with sexual attraction to people, or a nudist place with a cruising area, which are both the wrong premises.

You make a good point.

Yes...I was probably equating a nude beach with an opportunity to check out the possibilities. Two of the locations were adjacent to gay beaches, so you can't blame me for conflating.

[marylander1940]

On 6/14/2024 at 8:42 AM, soloyo215 said:

Well, maybe you are going either (a) to the wrong beaches, or (b) for the wrong reasons.

That is not to mention what you see in non-nudist places are not exactly eye candy either. So I don't see the point in stating that you don't like a percentage of what you see in a nudist place, as if people you don't like seeing don't exist anywhere else. That is, unless you are equating nudism with sexual attraction to people, or a nudist place with a cruising area, which are both the wrong premises.

Wrong reasons? In this forum of all possible places.

Many nudist beaches specially in Europe have nearby meadows that are cruising areas. Even gay beaches in Sitges are like that. 

On 6/14/2024 at 6:09 PM, pubic_assistance said:

You make a good point.

Yes...I was probably equating a nude beach with an opportunity to check out the possibilities. Two of the locations were adjacent to gay beaches, so you can't blame me for conflating.

Unfortunately as you said before many of those beaches don't have much eye candy. Gay beaches are different although most of them are not necessarily nudist most guys outfits don't leave much to the imagination. 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

On 6/12/2024 at 8:28 AM, 56harrisond said:

An organisation promoting nudity and a self-confident approach towards the body in Germany has sounded the alarm over the future of naturism in the country.

The German Association for Free Body Culture (DFK), an umbrella organisation for myriad naturist interest groups, has told its members that celebrations in August marking the anniversary of its creation will no longer go ahead owing to a lack of interest.

German naturists fear for future of lifestyle amid falling interest | Germany | The Guardian

WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM

---

Celebrations cancelled due to low uptake as people go off public nudity in country known for liberal attitudes

 

The 'lifestyle' will always endure.  Guys like to be naked with other guys.  It ain't going anywhere.

Big, tall, short, small:  I'm for everyone strippping down and enjoying themselves.  No regrets.

Eventually, we all get old and can't keep up appearances.

[Andy768]

For me, outside of bathing (but even sometimes within that context of course), being naked feels sexual. So I've never been able to participate in "platonic" nudism. Perhaps some of this is generational; I think locker room nudity and communal showering became less and less common during the life of millennials, and then Gen Z seems to be even more of a "never nude" generation.

[soloyo215]

10 hours ago, marylander1940 said:

Unfortunately as you said before many of those beaches don't have much eye candy. Gay beaches are different although most of them are not necessarily nudist most guys outfits don't leave much to the imagination. 

I don't mean to be mean, but it starts to sound like you might be the one who doesn't belong there, then. And yes, if you go there for the eye candy, you are going going for the wrong reasons. That's not what nudism is for.

Edited June 16, 2024 by soloyo215

[marylander1940]

7 hours ago, Andy768 said:

For me, outside of bathing (but even sometimes within that context of course), being naked feels sexual. So I've never been able to participate in "platonic" nudism. Perhaps some of this is generational; I think locker room nudity and communal showering became less and less common during the life of millennials, and then Gen Z seems to be even more of a "never nude" generation.

shame on you, pervert! 

(end sarcasm)

[marylander1940]

9 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

The 'lifestyle' will always endure.  Guys like to be naked with other guys.  It ain't going anywhere.

Big, tall, short, small:  I'm for everyone strippping down and enjoying themselves.  No regrets.

Eventually, we all get old and can't keep up appearances.

I'm sure you'd be the center of attention! 

[nate_sf]

On 6/16/2024 at 3:16 AM, BenjaminNicholas said:

Big, tall, short, small:  I'm for everyone strippping down and enjoying themselves.  No regrets.

Eventually, we all get old and can't keep up appearances.

I agree. Being naked outdoors is one of life's pleasures, and I think anyone should be able to enjoy it without shame or feeling like they need to conform to some sort of standard. I love being naked outdoors and don't care what everyone else looks like since I know how great it feels.

A subset of being naked outdoors is having an outdoor shower. I don't know why it's so exhilarating but it is!

Also I'm thinking Gen Z may be a bit less uptight about being naked than the Millennials. At least that's what I've been noticing at the gyms. They aren't spending tons of time naked but aren't all doing the towel dance either.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

3 hours ago, nate_sf said:

Also I'm thinking Gen Z may be a bit less uptight about being naked than the Millennials. At least that's what I've been noticing at the gyms. They aren't spending tons of time naked but aren't all doing the towel dance either.

Going off topic for a sec, I'm not so sure, but I do think there's a subset of young guys who know they've got the goods to show off.

But that's a very, very small percentage of younger guys.  Most are antisocial, not massively confident and tend to skip the locker room altogether.

[nate_sf]

4 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

… and tend to skip the locker room altogether.

Yes good point. Definitely noticing a lot of that too.

So back to the nudists, maybe the younger folks just think it’s too uncool. I know when I was younger we’d roll our eyes at anything that seemed too “hippy.” Of course now I like hippy stuff but with age comes wisdom lol. 

[+ WilliamM]

Isn't there a large public park in Muniich  where there is unity and a  small river 

[+ Pensant]

37 minutes ago, WilliamM said:

Isn't there a large public park in Muniich  where there is unity and a  small river 

Die Englischer Garten

[+ Italiano]

19 hours ago, WilliamM said:

Isn't there a large public park in Muniich  where there is unity and a  small river 

Growing up in Italy I remember when I was 12/13 to have seen the first nudists at an isolated gorgeous little beach reachable only by boat in the beach village where I would spend summer vacations with my family. It wasn't officially a nudist beach but a group of young men and women started to feel free to be naked in it (it was the early 70's...). It was the first time I saw adult male walking while swinging their penis and I remember I remained fascinated (duh...). Nonetheless, I was totally used to see topless women since the early 70s  in public beaches in Italy.

Then I went in 1981 (I was 20) to my first vacation with a boyfriend a bit older of myself and we went to my first official nude gay beach in Ibiza. It was a magnificent feeling swimming naked, and since then I tried to go as much as I could. Nude beaches (gay or mixed) were always somehow isolated.

Still, I will never forget when I visited Munich for the first time in the summer of 1987, and while walking in the English Garden my astonishment in seeing naked people sunbathing without any kind of problem on the grass like it was at Central Park in NYC! Very very cool!

[+ poolboy48220]

Friends who'd moved here from Germany let their very-young kids play naked in their yard (behind a privacy fence), every once in a while one of the kids would run out front.  Their mother told me a very strange guy kept driving by the house that day.

[marylander1940]

On 6/13/2024 at 8:40 AM, pubic_assistance said:

Every nude beach I've ever visited was 99% full of people I regretted seeing naked. So yeah...younger, fit attractive people aren't going to be hanging with grandma and her saggy tits dragging on the sand.