My Background & Approach To Nudity

My parents are both from India, living in the UK as first generation immigrants,  they had an arranged marriage, my mother was 16 and father 21 at the time.  I was born a year later!

Although my mother was very young, I was not brought up by a teenage mother.  We have a large family and at the time we lived with the Grandparents and my Uncle/Aunties also lived nearby.  For those not familiar with the Indian way of life, a baby is rarely the sole responsibility of the parents alone.

My pre-teen and early teens was quite tough, although I was never alone, always had a lot of family, including similar age cousins around, my family’s income was not that great so didn’t have the luxuries that the modern childhood expects as standard.

The quality of life improved in my early teenage years when my parents invested in business of their own, however that brought additional challenges.   As well as hard work, there were also benefits, for example I learnt to communicate with the public from early age through serving customers in the shop that my parents ran.  Whilst at the time, I did it because it was expected of me, now looking back I can see the benefits that it provided me by giving me the confidence to talk with anyone, even the people I hardly know, till the cows come home.

During my secondary school period, I had a lot of very good friends, my parents were very understanding and I had no issues with multiracial and gay friends.   Being Indian, I was subject to strict orders regarding any relationship beyond friendship.  I did not wear anything that would attract attention and was brought up to believe that Sex was for later on in life.

When the time came to select a suitable university, I had the opportunity to move to another part of the country to live with close friends of the family and distant relative who I had admired all my life and knew about their naturist like life style.  I say ‘like’ because they weren’t committed naturist, they were not member of any organisation or club and had no badge to say they liked being in the nude whenever they felt like it, but as a family, they were just natural.  This fitted in with my way of thinking and although I had no idea whether I would like to be a naturist or not, and no one asked me or invited me to be one, I just felt comfortable with people who were very relaxed about their approach to nudity.  Most of the time, the nudity only became visible when it was most suited, for example if someone had finished showering or bath, they didn’t bother covering up when going from the bathroom to the bedroom to get dressed, or when on beach or park, the female partner had no issues about going topless or completely nude if and when she desired.

There is obviously lot more that can be said to describe the life style, but it was almost like a dream for me, it was a level of freedom that I felt close to but never had.  So when I was accepted at a uni not too far away from their home, it was agreed by everyone in the families that it would be best if I stayed at with them rather than uni accommodation.  I was delighted because I had great admiration for my new family and I was made very welcome.  This type of arrangement is not unusual in the Indian circle. 

At my new home, in the early stages, I was not able to conduct my life in the same way as my new family.   No one told me that I had to, I knew it was the right thing to do but I also knew it was going to take a little while for me to get used to being so free.  My issue was the fact that I did not have the confidence in myself to be free and nude as I pleased, there were still the voices in the back of my head saying it’s not right, what would people think etc.

It wasn’t until later on during the summer when my new family was planning holidays that I had to decide whether to commit to naturism or not.   I had the option of going to France on holidays in our very large caravan with 4 of us or spend the holiday time with my family in the midlands.  I decide that it would not be right for me to separate myself from my new family so packed my stuff into the caravan and off we went.

It took couple of days to drive down to the South of France, to Cape d’Agde and we arrived in the late afternoon.  The caravan was parked up near by the beach and it was a very large site next to the main complex with hotels and apartments for naturists.

http://www.agdenaturisme.com/site/index.php?page=ve_laplage

As we arrived, I noted that most people were nude or semi nude and they looked quite normal to me because by that time, I had seen enough nudity at home not to be too embarrassed by the naked body.

Seeing children and old age people all together in the same place, also has the impact of confirming that all is well, no need to panic.  I was 19 at the time and therefore had experienced enough of life to know what I wanted.

When the ‘Adults’ were setting up rest of the equipment, I was asked whether I would like to go and have a look around the beach with Mark – a teenage boy, the youngest member of the family at the time.  We were told that we could leave our clothes behind if we intended to go into the sea.  This seemed like the logical thing to do and I didn’t think even for a moment before shedding my sundress and running out naked onto the beach which was less than 20 meters away.  AND that was my entry into the naturist world and I have not looked back since.

My approach to nudity is with pure heart, in that I know what I like and why I like it.  It is NOT for sex as is the case for almost all the females who I have met through naturism.  I am not fazed by anyone,  I can quite happily walk down the high street naked and not feel that I have no clothes on.  I don’t look at myself, so why should I worry.  Over the years, my confidence and belief has grown.  I am not afraid of people because I know that in most cases they mean no harm.  There have been times when men have assumed that just because I’m naked, they can approach me, they soon learn that I don’t have any hidden interests and that there is no benefit in them trying to persuade me to do anything that I obviously am not interested in. 

My attitude is to talk to everyone in the same way whether they are nude or not.   For example if a nice respectably dressed person stops and talks to another about something quite simple and relevant to the situation, they are not considered as a threat,  this should be the same if they are not wearing anything.

This tends to bring normality and mutual respect.  I have never been without a member of my family when nude in public.  I don’t go to places where I might experience anything unsavoury.  So all in all I have very happy memories of being in the nude.

My main philosophy regarding nudity is that, it’s what we are, it’s a life style, so it is with you wherever you are.  You don’t need to go anywhere to experience the benefits of naturist thinking.   Some naturist might argue that naturist is a community thing, however I would argue that naturist is very personal thing first and a social activity later.  You first need to be comfortable being nude alone, have a clear understanding that you can enjoy the experience of doing everyday things whilst nude.  Being in touch with yourself bring more confidence, you get used to being in that state and later when you have company, you don’t feel the need to make a big deal about being in the nude and can just continue enjoying the natural feelings you are used to.

I am very often asked about nudity and sex.  This is another discussion but I can perhaps say this;  If anyone, naturist or otherwise uses nudity as preliminary to sexual activity, then obviously their mind will associate nudity to sex.  IF however you do the everyday thing(s) make your bed, clean the bath, clear up the kitchen, do the painting, clear the bins, do bit of gardening, clean the car, sunbathe in the garden or the park, walk on the beach… all in the nude…. then you will realise that being nude is same as being dressed but with that little bit extra sensation of being closer to nature and therefore that little bit more rewarding.

The ultimate benefit of a healthy approach to nudity is a better understanding of the people and the world we live in, it bring people closer together and allows discussion to take place that might otherwise not happen.  It allows us to be closer to the people we love and care for.  This is an enormous subject that can take you into many different directions.  I am by no means an expert on any of these subjects.  But I have benefit of having gained a wide ranging experience through my Indian upbringing, English education and worldwide experiences.   I’m just trying to explain my own views and wishes, with the hope that it generates discussion and we can perhaps help to accelerate the changing attitudes so that we can enjoy the benefits in our life time.