Trends in nude
November 6, 2011 Category: General News, Victoria 2 Comments 
Been a little while since our last post, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been anything going on – with the weather warming up here in Victoria, it’s great to get outside again and shake off the winter chills! Although, early morning visits to the beach are still not super warm, and the water is quite brisk!
A recent visit to one of Victoria’s beaches highlighted the plight of the traditional Victorian (and probably global) nudist – we’re an aging community if you were to only take the beach-goers as representative of our population!! Today we saw a few people at our chosen beach, less than expected for a warm day – mostly middle-to-late aged males, single, although we did see two older couples turn up at different times, and one solitary female who walked the length of the beach and then tucked herself into a corner of the beach away from prying eyes!
What is becoming of our community? We’re a group of aged introverts casting furtive glances in the direction of other nudists, occasionally saying a curt “hello” or a brief nod, wondering if we should chat to anyone or keep to ourselves, or something? Going to the beach these days is not exactly easy even for the most comfortable nudist, with all the dune dwellers, carpark cruisers and poor facilities or access.
It would appear to be the same the world over, although internationally there are a few new trends emerging that are interesting and worth keeping an eye on. The first is that underground nudist movement in an ultra conservative culture like India is actually (slowly) becoming more public. According to the article titled “Being Nude: Nothing Unnatural About it“, meetup groups have formed and the topic is at least generating a little discussion. If nudism can become more public in a heavily conservative culture like India, surely there is hope for us here in our more liberal western cultures? Hmmm…
Another positive trend seems to highlight that nudism is not actually dead with today’s youth – while the current generation are often talking about how to get more of the younger generation interested in the lifestyle, it would appear they already are, and have set about being nudists in their own way.
Check out the article on MTSUSidelines – “Nudism Embraced by the Younger Generation” – it would appear that the 20-somethings would rather be nude in the safe company of a small group of like-minded friends than hit the beach or join a club. That’s not to say they don’t occasionally visit clubs or resorts, but they do so more as a holiday/break rather than an ongoing practice. And naked dinners seem to be popular in the US as well.
What’s interesting about all this is that the unwillingness of the youth to hang out in clubs and on beaches may well have nothing to do with their unwillingness to be nude. Put simply, nudism is still perceived as being an older generation lifestyle choice – and we all know that once the kids leave home, the last thing they plan to do is hang out with people the same age as their parents.
This could explain why Vita Nuda has been so popular with the younger generation – it is the youth providing a forum for the youth, and not the older generation trying to get the youth. That makes it interesting for the people involved with this portal (including this webmaster) – we’re aged in the middle somewhere, early to late 30′s, not part of the older generation and a bit beyond the younger generation. How do we fit in?
Us 30-somethings have the opportunity to empower the youth with our experience, without trying to muscle in on what they are trying to achieve. Let them do what they want to do, in a forum or location that is comfortable for them. It’s not about trying to get the youth involved in _our_ nudist community, it’s about getting the youth interested in being active in their own community, and helping them spread the word and generate interest for themselves. That kind of “behind the scenes” encouragement and experience should help as the youth get older and wiser themselves – if they’ve had great experiences in safe surroundings, they’re more likely to stay nudists and be more relaxed and open about their interests.
Read the article, it is definitely an interesting insight, and food for thought… hmmm, naked dinner perhaps?
I’ve always held the belief that we could not ‘force’ society to like and even understand naturism. That we couldn’t ‘manufacture’ an interest.
I hope the horse hasn’t completely bolted. I must comment that it is SO good to see THIS. This article, so correctly and well-written.
Oh, how I would have liked to have seen this a few years ago!!
As a 40 year old single female, I had my first (and last) nudist experience yesterday at Sunnyside beach, Vic. I was quite excited at the prospect of discovering nudism and the anticipated freedom. I am not shy of my own or others naked bodies and did expect people to look. What I didn’t expect was the extensive ogling and outright lengthy staring of the predominately single male 55+ age group there. It was really creepy and has put me off ever doing this again. It’s a real shame as it was something I’d been looking forward to discovering but this experience has left a very sour taste. When on old pervert would stare for too long, I’d glare back, expecting them to divert their eyes. OH NO! They just kept staring! If I turned my back on them, they’d try to start a conversation so that I’d turn around. The odd younger person and couples were fine, it was just these creepy old men who felt they could stare at you for as long as they liked. One older lady (there with her husband) even warned me to be careful of the “shark attack” in the water. A couple of 30ish ladies in the water were being gradually surrounded by around 6 single old men. Horrible! Is it not possible to have segregated areas for single men, couples, single women? This happens at swingers parties to keep undesirable ogling men out. Maybe the nudist beaches need this too? Can you tell me if Point Impossible has a less perving type of nudist (ie less old, single men) or is this the general demographic now? From reading this article, I’m scared that it may be. I’m really disappointed