Getting Youth More Actively Involved In Naturism

[Aaron Stern]

I was chatting with some younger couples at my reort some weeks ago and we were talking about what resorts do to attract the younger crowd.  The consensus was -- nothing!

They always seem to play 50's music at the dances, and the games available tend to be enjoyed more by the older crowd.  Such things are fine to have to cater to your clientele, but it is not the way to go if you're trying to attract younger folk.

What resort do you go to, PirateJohn? There was an article in the Los
Angeles Times today (California section) saying the only resort in OC is
shutting down. Glen Eden is a fun place, but it's only two/three people
our age there, out of maybe 400 present at a time. Same at Olive
Ranch. Whenever possible, my mom, dad, sister and me go to San
Onofre State Beach or Black's Beach. Many years back my dad taught me
how to surf, at San Onofre, and some surfers asked, is it ok to surf
naked here, and my dad said, absolutely, so some of them did. We're
moving to Huntington Beach next month and it makes me sick that we
will not be allowed to be naked at the beach and surf naked there, it
makes me so angry  :x . Aaron

[chrisisnaked]

i think more people would do it if people didnt freak out so easy and didnt like forbid it and tell us naked is bad

[chrisisnaked]

also if more beaches were optional and kids could just go and skinny dip or whatever without worrying about getting caught and getting in trouble

[PirateJohn]

What resort do you go to, PirateJohn? There was an article in the Los
Angeles Times today (California section) saying the only resort in OC is
shutting down. Glen Eden is a fun place, but it's only two/three people
our age there, out of maybe 400 present at a time. Same at Olive
Ranch. Whenever possible, my mom, dad, sister and me go to San
Onofre State Beach or Black's Beach. Many years back my dad taught me
how to surf, at San Onofre, and some surfers asked, is it ok to surf
naked here, and my dad said, absolutely, so some of them did. We're
moving to Huntington Beach next month and it makes me sick that we
will not be allowed to be naked at the beach and surf naked there, it
makes me so angry  :x . Aaron

As coincidence would have it, I go to Glen Eden also.  I plan to start going again soon as the weather has been much warmer lately.  I'll have to let you know sometime when I'm going.

[jasondude125]

I agree with the fact that there remains an older crowd at nudist resorts.  I've talked with other nudists before and they say young people do tend to come, but when they don't see any other youth there they don't come back.  Now if only the youth would all come in the same evening that would make more sense.  I haven't been to many nudist resorts but I'm planning on hitting up the one nearby this summer, so hopefully there will be some young adults there, that would be cool.

[Dario Western]

1) Convince them it's a necessity
2) Link it to a popular sport or soft drink
3) Get a teen girl pop/rock band to endorse it
4) Incite a critical mass rebellion against the fashion/clothes industry
5) Pressure schoolteachers to teach about it in social sciences
6) Introduce communal change rooms in primary and high schools with no cubicles
7) Make others feel inferior to us if they don't participate

[Tomcatter]

It will take schools that allow kids to come to school naked, and it will take some government sanctioning

[Danee]

It will take schools that allow kids to come to school naked, and it will take some government sanctioning

It's a dated photo, I have posted it before but its still so cute!

[Tomcatter]

That is really cool photo, When was that photo taken, Where, and what is it of?

[Brandon]

I read somewhere, probably on this forum, that there was a naturist school in the United States, at some point in the mid-20th century.

[Aaron Stern]

What a great photo, Danee. Where did you get it? Anyone there you know personally? I wish there were  schools like that in Southern California,
I would enroll in a heartbeat, as long as they're high quality. My
dad said he'd pay tuition for my sister and me as long as we would stay
at home overnight. Is there a chance parents could go ahead and start
such a school? Oh, I wish, I really wish. Aaron

[SOF153]

Really, for the youth to be interested at all, there has got to be some kind of role model promoting the idea.

[tophatfrog]

Oops forgot the towels in the picture, but none the less good photo.

[Neonude]

What do you think it will take to get youths more involved in the naturist lifestyle?

More positive advertising and less talking about weirdos.
Most times we hear something on tv about nudists in australia its always a joke or a few people complaining about sexual harrasment or gays at a beach some where. We never hear anything positive in australia exept for the olympics days once a year and its on the news for about 30 seconds. I love that but they never interview anyone under 25. They are not alowed to i think. It should be advertised all the time and everyone welcome. There should be a nudist episode of some tv series that everyone watches but they will probably mess it up and turn in into a sexual harrasment story.

Cate

olympics day ? well at least you have that .. here in sweden we have nothing like that

[roversfan1]

Hi All.

Ive resisted so far but here is my two penneth...

The main thing to work on when trying to get younger people involved in naturism is, in my opinion, perception.

Before YBN in the UK young people would enquire about naturism and write or check out the BN website but when they got info through or up on a website there was nothing they could identify with, nothing that made them think 'well even though this is an alternative lifestyle there are other people my age so it must be ok' Instead the photos and activities seemed more geared to those with familes or retired people and young people were left thinking that there was nothing for them.

You could argue that it wasnt broke so why fix it, they were getting the numbers and everyone was  happy so nothing was wrong. But things have changed and people have more free time and more things that they could be doing so naturism needs to modernise and adapt. It needs to see itself as more of a business and as Cate says, stop allowing weirdo's and eccentrics to dominate all media coverage of naturism. Young people are more conscious of their image and if its only the stange that we see on tv or in magazines they will distance themselves as much as possible from it.

Naturism needs to change the way people see it - not just as an activity for the strange, old or families (Im not saying there is anything bad with these groups but they arent representitive of all naturists) but as a perfectly viable leisure activity. We wont make it 'cool' as it is an alternative lifestyle but ywe can stop it looking odd and if we do that then I beleve more people - including young people - will get involved.

In the UK we now have YBN and when we go to clubs and swims young people there can see that there are other 'younger' people still involved and still enjoying it so it stops being something that just their parents do but something that is fun that they could meet people at and have a laugh. They then feel more inclined to tell their friends etc as they have the backing and support of a group and the image of naturism improves and grows....

Anyway, thats my opinion and sorry it is so long !

Cheers,

Ben