Wednesday, July 24, 2013

If we have the courage to decorate our bodies with many tattoos, I think we should have the courage to go au natural like our cousins in Europe. It's just one tiny step from showing off skin art, and actual skin art, the natural body. It's a natural progression we should go ahead and take. Like riding a roller coaster, it thrills for a while and we can come out of it safe and sound, but much happier. And that's a good thing.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Justin Timberlake's New Song 'Tunnel Vision' Has Artful Nudes



Youtube comment: This is a really beautiful music video. Everyone's comparing it to Robin Thicke's music video, where he, Pharrell, and T.I. are all staring at these topless women, but actually that music video is just a playfully sexual video (hence why there are two versions). This is just the blatant beauty of the human body. He's not even touching or gaping at these women, they're just gracefully moving with the music. It's really art. W o w.

When is topless sunbathing OK?

Amazingly today is 'Bikini Day' (who knew?), which marks the 67th anniversary of the invention of the two-piece swimsuit by a Parisian fashion designer, Louis Réard. With a UK July heatwave expected and New Yorkers stripping off in Central Park, Dr Brooke Magnanti offers a cheeky guide as to when it's OK to bare all.

News has broken that police have been warned to let topless women sunbathing in Central Park do their thing. I love that this is happening, and especially, that it's happening in New York. You could not pay me to put on a swimsuit in New York, but not because of fear of having my wobbly bits on display so much as being from Florida, where natives don't even think about leaving their scarves and coats at home until the mercury tops 35 degrees. The middle of New York City sure does get warm in summer, but the way they go on about it, you'd think it was the surface of Venus. I've been there in August (New York, not Venus). It ain't.

Still, more power to the topless lasses of New York, because this is a huge step for the US. Where I grew up has approximately the same climate as the inside of a boiled kettle, only with mosquitoes. Sadly it is also at the tail end of the Bible belt so going topless was out of the question. There came a point every summer where it felt like we weren't living, so much as swimming at the bottom of a boiling ocean. Less garb up top would have been a welcome relief.

Since living in Britain the rules on when to don and when to doff bikini tops have been difficult to parse. Bathing topless has that sometimes-common, sometimes-posh air that makes the apparent rules absolutely impenetrable to someone like me. Marbella fine, Margate not fine. Cool to do on a continental holiday, unless you're Kate Middleton, in which case you've let the royals down. Lack of tan lines is classy, until you get a sunburn, then it's mug shots and the dole queue all the way.

Read more

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Victorian Breastfeeding Photo Fad: Shifting Discourses Of Motherhood

Last year Lynne Grumet set the Internet a-flutter when she appeared on the cover of TIME magazine breastfeeding her toddler. Reactions were largely negative, often reflecting unease at the open display of a sexualized body part being used to feed a child older than the age we generally find acceptable. Others objected to what they saw as the sensationalism of the photo. Grumet later posed on the cover of another magazine in a pose that focused on bonding and intimacy, commonly cited as benefits by breastfeeding advocates. The entire episode tapped into larger cultural anxieties about appropriate mothering.

And as Jill Lepore explains in The Mansion of Happiness, it’s just the latest round in the changing discourse about breastfeeding; in the mid-1800s, images of breastfeeding mothers became a fad in the U.S. The use of wet nurses had never been as common in the U.S. as in Europe, and it became even less popular by the early 1800s; breastfeeding your own child became a central measure of your worth as a mother. Cultural constructions of femininity became highly centered on motherhood and the special bond between a mother and her children in the Victorian era.

As daguerreotypes became available, women began to pose breastfeeding their infants, capturing them in this most essential of maternal roles:

Read more, see photos

Friday, June 14, 2013

Miss USA Winners For PETA: Four Crown-Holders Pose Naked To 'Say No To Fur'

Four Miss USA crown-holders became the latest faces -- and bodies -- of PETA's anti-fur campaign.

In a video for PETA, the Miss USA winners posed naked alongside a Miss USA sash and crown to lend their support to the animal rights organization.

In addition to baring it all for the PETA ad, Susie Castillo, Shandi Finnessey, Shanna Moakler and Alyssa Campanella also pledged to go fur-free in their own lives.

More

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Naked bike ride in Mexico City – video






Hundreds of cyclists strip off to take part in World Naked Bike Ride Day on Saturday. Participants ride on the capital's main streets, bringing traffic to a standstill as onlookers take photos. The international event is designed to raise awareness of road safety for bikes, though some in Mexico also use the event to promote the normality of nudity

Source

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Nudism/Naturism: One of the crowd

“Seek and ye shall find,” the sages have instructed us, along with this: “The answers often lie within.”

Those two pearls of wisdom, basically, are what led me to Ottawa on Saturday to answer a question I had about nudists/naturists, and about why I was so interested, personally speaking, in this subject as opposed to, say, in hot-air ballooning.

My question for the naturists was: Why do people want to be naked in non-sexual public or semi-public social settings?

I had been invited by the Ottawa Naturists organization to an evening swim event at an indoor pool, one of 18 they hold annually. The group is celebrating its 20th anniversary and has about 200 members, with a strong contingent from Quebec, I’m told. They also hold other social gatherings, such as a summer barbecue and a weekend camping event.

I accepted the invitation, but told them I would be attending as a private individual, not as a journalist on assignment for my paper. Sure, I would probably write about it in both my blogs, but they are labours of free love, i.e. I am not paid for writing them.

I spent a good part of Saturday afternoon chatting with my host for the event, Ted, the president of the board of the Ottawa Naturists. I asked him about the appeal of public nudity, and about the origins of his passion for naturism.

Read more

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Nudist Resort Etiquette: Top 4 Tips To make You a Classy Nudist

Everything, everywhere and every place has protocols to follow. Nudist resorts aren’t any different. It’s one thing to go free and shed your clothes in the name of pure freedom but it’s another thing to be all goofy on a nudist resort and embarrass yourself (and your family or friends, if they accompany you). Here are at least four tips to make sure you get the etiquette part right and enjoy yourself instead of embarrassing yourself:

There are boundaries there, even if it doesn’t appear to be so

Yes, it’s a nudist resort and there’s no stopping you from shedding your clothes and going naked. There are, however, clear boundaries. Even if it appears to be a free for all, check the fine print of your admission ticket or ask someone. Most nudist camps and resorts do have clear rules for you to follow. The guidelines are often strict and are developed that way for a reason. Be aware of them; You don’t want to make a fool of yourself.

No photos, absolutely

Most nudist resorts will check your baggage for cameras or disallow you from using cameras. Photography isn’t allowed. Never do the mistake of thinking that you can roam free and shoot pictures of anyone you like just because they are naked. It’s a fact that they are naked and they are under the impression that everyone there respects privacy. Don’t be the only one to breach this trust.

Read more

Monday, May 27, 2013

Average breast cup size in the world

Nudity: The Health Benefits of Being Naked - Female Naturist

The Sun

There shelves full of sun screen products in many stores because you hear about how bad the sun is for you. You hear about how damaging the sun can be to your skin. The sun can cause discomfort at least and skin cancer at worse. The truth is the sun is good for you and have some good benefits for your body, particularly in the production of Vitamin D and mentally also.

Nudity and Air

Many people don't think of it but like you feet needing to breathe, so does the rest of the skin on your body. Exposing yourself to the open air (of course in the privacy of your own home) is always a good idea. Allow your body to breathe and cool itself in the open air in your home. This will work wonders for your skin staying health.

Read more

Monday, May 20, 2013


Although Thailand outlaws public nudity, people can legally shed their clothes at private resorts. Wanna-be naturalists sometimes worry that having an imperfect body prohibits them from enjoying a clothing-optional vacation. However, nudist resorts allow people to relax in their natural state without fear of judgment. The naturalist concept doesn't endorse overt sexual behavior---just a relaxed state of nude being.

Source


Chan Home and Resort

At the Chan Resort, the pool and area around your villa is clothing-optional. Property features include cable television, a refrigerator, kitchen area, free wireless Internet and swimming pool. Guests stay in one-bedroom villas that include a living room and porches. They also receive breakfast. The Chan Resort is located in Pattaya, a coastal town about two hours from Bangkok. A Thai family owns it.

Chan Resort

391/98 Thap Phraya Road, Soi 15

Banglamung

Chomburi 201510, Thailand

0066-81-6646003

chanresort.com

Phuket Island Villa

This privately owned one bedroom villa on the island of Phuket sleeps two. The villa offers a secluded sunbathing area and pool, and the property owners have a boat in which they can show you the island, pointing out snorkeling hot spots. Phuket offers beaches, golf and eco-adventures in tropical forests. Several restaurants also lie within walking distance from the villa, owned by a pair from the United Kingdom.

Phuket Island Villa

44-07786-245274

naturistproperty.com

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Why topless and nude sunbathing should now become common

With so many states legalizing gay marriage, and so many men in touch with their feminine side, how long before the United States legalizes topless and nude beaches? The reason is many woman can now feel safe knowing most males will not try to pick them up or bother them while nude or topless sunbathing. I believe this is how it became common in Europe, just take a look at all the guys in Speedos over there! There is also a long tradition in the West of admiring the nude human body, since at least the statue of David, but also going back to the original Greek Olympics. Movie stars and other celebrities can't wait to show off their sheer dresses, side boob, cleavage, or window boob, side butt, etc. And when on vacation even the British love to sunbathe topless, remember Kate Middleton's topless pictures. So I think we're ready, ready to enjoy this short life we've been given to its fullest! Nudism is about freedom, not sex, and as this becomes common knowledge the US can finally begin to accept and tolerate the nudist lifestyle.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Let's Get Naked

We enter the world without clothing so why not live life with out them too? We examine what life is like being a nudist with those who believe it's better wearing your birthday suit.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Does Snap Show German Chancellor Aged 18 At Nudist Beach With Two Other Women?

A photograph of what some say reveals a young Angela Merkel strolling nude on a pier is circulating online.

The image, which features two other also naked women, reportedly shows a then 18-year-old Merkel, several European news outlets have suggested.

It was apparently originally posted online in 2009 on nudist lifestyle blog Nudarist.

Read more

Friday, April 12, 2013

How To Shoot 2,000 Nudes a Second

Photographer Shinichi Maruyama’s new work, NUDE, uses cutting-edge technology to create elaborate images from simple origins: the naked human body.

Maruyama collaborated with choreographer Jessica Lang on the series, which involved testing several dancers doing specific routines before pairing up the dancers with picture-perfect movement.

In the past, Maruyama, who was introduced to photography by an elementary-school teacher, has done a lot of work capturing motion, mostly with water.

See the art work, read more here

Brassiere Support Is A Lie, Say French Scientists



Strapping breasts down won't keep them from their inevitable journey south, according to the preliminary results of a 15-year study.

In a 15-year study from the University of Besançon in eastern France, sports science professor Jean-Denis Rouillon found that wearing a bra may not actually keep a woman's breasts from sagging, nor alleviate back pain.

Though the results from Rouillon's study were only preliminary and might not apply to all women, previous work on the science of breast-cages has supported the theory that bras are way more about fashion than function. A pair of D-cup breasts weigh between 15 and 23 pounds, but studies have shown most sports bras can't contain their rampant bouncing. And yes, there are researchers that study the way boobs bounce.

Since 1997, Rouillon and his team have been measuring the incremental changes in orientation of the breasts of 330 female volunteers using a slide rule and caliper. (Apparently breast science has not advanced past the slide-rule era.) Rouillon has emphasized that the volunteers, ages 18 to 35, didn't necessarily encompass the full range of breast diversity, and might not be representative of the global population.

However, the researchers found that the nipples of women who didn't wear bras lifted an average of 7 millimeters toward the shoulders in a year, and the breasts became firmer, according to The Connexion.

Source

Thursday, April 11, 2013

We Are Femen, The Naked Shock Troops of Feminism

Femen is at war with a patriarchy that sees women as sex objects. What weapons do we have? Our bare breasts

You can hear us shouting "Fuck off, dictator!", "I'm not your sex toy!", or "Religion is slavery!" You can see our half-naked bodies facing Berlusconi, Putin or the Pope. You can feel how deep our anger is by looking in our eyes. We are feminism's shock troops, a spearhead unit of militants, a modern incarnation of the word fearless.

We are Femen. Our nakedness attacks the raw nerve of the historic conflict between women and "the system". We are nothing less than its most visual and fitting embodiment. Our activists' bodies represent undisguised hatred for the patriarchal order, and display the new aesthetics of a rejuvenated woman's revolution.

Read more, photos

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Men's Bikini Wax Preference? NOT A Brazilian, Poll Finds

Raise your hand if you've ever gotten a bikini wax.

Now raise your hand if you've ever gotten a bikini wax simply because you thought that's what guys wanted.

If you've got that hand in the air, we've got some good news: That guy might not care as much about your bikini line as you thought. Or he does care, but a full-on Brazilian wax might not be necessary. A new study commissioned by hair removal company Nad's surveyed 1,000 men and found that their most preferred "look" was not a Brazilian, but rather "'trimmed and tidy' –- a well kept 'lady garden.'"

Read the rest

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Nudist Vollyball: nudistvolleyball.com



WELCOME to nudistvolleyball.com. We are dedicated to enhancing and promoting volleyball at family nudist resorts, beaches and clubs. We provide nudists/naturists with information on tournaments and places to play the game the way it should be played. This site celebrates the sport of nudist volleyball and is funded solely by those who love the sport. It is our hope that you can find a location to enjoy the same spirit and comradere that we have discovered.
Support and Sponsorship

Various clubs and private individuals have joined together to support and provide sponsorship funds in support of this effort. Any club or group providing sponsorship will receive prominent display for your yearly volleyball tournament. Your club or group is invited to join this effort. To learn more choose the How To Help link.

Click to go to the site

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Gymnophobia



Gymnophobia (from Greek γυμνός - gumnos, "naked" and φόβος - phobos, "fear") is a fear (phobia) of nudity. Gymnophobics experience anxiety from nudity, even if they realize their fear is irrational. They may worry about seeing others naked or being seen naked, or both. Their fear may stem from a general anxiety about sexuality, from a fear that they are physically inferior, or from a fear that their nakedness leaves them exposed and unprotected.

Gymnophobia should not be confused with avoidance or shunning of many forms of nudity on modesty or other rational or moral grounds. Many people avoid public nudity as well as nudity in private situations, and some have an aversion to nudity as an aspect of prudishness or body shame.

More here

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Why Nudism is Good

Nudism is a wholesome, healthy lifestyle and there are innumerable reasons to be nude when you can. Being nude in a comfortable and relaxed situation is a serene and wonderful experience and offers the freedom to be happy, healthy, active, productive, sane, social, bold, unashamed, and truly alive. Social nudism is an interesting and effective way to communicate and bond with others. Nudity is relaxing and stress-relieving, which is healthy for the body and mind. Nudity also has other positive physical health benefits. Moderate exposure to sunlight increases Vitamin D intake and actually improves many aspects of skin health, discouraging fungal and bacterial infections. In fact, sunlight exposure is even sometimes prescribed for people with some skin diseases. Nudity allows more exposure and gets sunlight to body areas normally neglected.

One of the most compelling principles of nudism is the ideal of body acceptance. Mainstream society and mass media makes harsh judgments about and often discriminates against those who don’t match the unrealistic air-brushed and digitally enhanced ideal promoted by Madison Avenue. In the past women have born the brunt of being made to feel shame by not living up to these unrealistic ideals of the body, but now many younger men are also being made to feel insecure because they don’t match up to similar unrealistic ideals. Most nudists and naturists make you feel welcome no matter what you look like. Nudists have developed some very positive ideas about what nudity should be about and promote acceptance. This in turn helps many to develop a better self-image and improved body image.

Source

Laid-back beach, lost in time, in Zipolite, Mexico

It feels light years away from the areas of Mexico that tourists now avoid due to drug violence. Not only has the U.S. State Department spared Oaxaca from its travel warnings about Mexico, but Zipolite in particular seems lost in time, a place where visitors think nothing of leaving their belongings unattended on the beach and backpackers sleep in hammocks strung along the coast.

Zipolite also has a few claims to fame. The climactic beach scenes in the Mexican blockbuster movie "Y Tu Mama Tambien," were filmed here. And it's gained notoriety as one of Mexico's few nude beaches, although the majority of sunbathers remain clothed. (Farther east, past an outcropping of rocks is the cove known as "Playa de Amor" where nudity is more openly practiced.)

Mike Bolli, a retiree from Vancouver, Canada, says he has been visiting the area for the last 10 years without "accident, issue or injury."

"I have only ever met the nicest and friendliest eclectic mix of locals and visitors — it's a great throwback to the '60s," Bolli said. "So it's all good and safe from my viewpoint."

Read more

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Social Nudity: Nothing Is Better

Of course, it wasn’t such a big deal being among naked men; that happens in locker rooms all the time; but it was very different seeing a woman undress in mixed company. I was particularly struck by how casually a slim redhead removed her clothes while continuing her conversation with her husband, totally unconcerned about others — including me, a stranger — being present.

But those in the car were correct: Within five minutes, being among naked people of both sexes seemed just as natural as being among clothed people in any other setting. While I of course noticed the naked bodies, I was paying more attention to what they were saying and being impressed by the diversity of people there. For they were a diverse and interesting group, ranging from puzzle-makers to computer gurus, telephone executives to truck drivers, bankers to factory workers and nurses … and even a Baptist minister. I would discover that naturism fits everyone from fundamentalist Christians and conservative Catholics to atheists and agnostics. There is a spiritual element to being clad as we came into the world, feeling all the effects of heat, cold, wind, and rain.

Full piece

Monday, February 18, 2013

The "Labia Pride" Movement Is on the March

Rebelling against the porn aesthetic, women are taking to the Internet to sing the praises of "endowed" women.

Underneath a self-portrait snapped of the ruffly pink flesh in-between her legs, a woman writes, “I am 23 and so embarrassed of my labia that I still have never shown it to anyone — to a guy or even a doctor!” It’s a post submitted by an anonymous reader on the Tumblr “Large Labia Project.” The blog is filled with similar photos accompanied by tales of vulval shame. One woman writes of distress over the fact that her labia are lopsided. Another worries that she’s lost lovers in the past because “they all thought my vagina was weird.” There are concerns about taste and smell, too, but mostly vulva shape and size.

It’s just one of several new sites calling on women to bare all — to benefit womankind.

Read more