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The Alltogether

Nudist Values

September 14th, 2009

Written by Ted Hadley, owner of Cypress Cove Nudist Resort & Spa. Reprinted with permission from the Cypress Knee.

There have been some unsettling developments in the nudist community of late. Two of Florida’s largest nudist clubs, Caliente and Paradise Lakes, have voluntarily withdrawn from AANR (the American Association for Nude Recreation). In both cases, AANR had recently suspended the club’s charter due to advertising practices which were perceived to “sexualize the nudist experience.”

Every club has its own culture and values, usually representative of the owners or management. I think most nudist clubs tend to be family oriented, though some do have more of an emphasis on “adult fun.” There may be a place for both. There’s certainly a market for both, as Caliente and Paradise Lakes have proven. However, AANR has always pushed family oriented nudist values and I believe they are right to fight for them.

The truth is, AANR works tirelessly (mostly behind the scenes) against legislation which could erode our right to enjoy social nudity. They must be able to make the argument that organized nudism is absolutely natural, wholesome and harmless to the community. Sexualizing nude recreation illegitimizes that argument.

The other day, I was looking at the VitaNuda website (www.vitanuda.com), and I found some wording that intrigued me. It almost perfectly reflects my personal feelings about nudism and thus, by extension, the values of Cypress Cove as a nudist club. They say:

“Nudists are people who enjoy being nude in appropriate settings. The motivation of a nudist should be pure and non-sexual. It is about simplicity, fun and true relaxation.

“Some people make the mistake of lumping nudists together with a less than wholesome crowd. Exhibitionists are NOT nudists, they are motivated to show their skin for sexual reasons. Voyeurs are NOT nudists, they just want to see skin for sexual reasons. Swingers are NOT nudists, they are motivated by sexual conquest. Strippers are NOT nudists, they are making money selling their skin. Nudists enjoy nudism for the simplicity and sense of freedom it brings them.”

So how does that apply to Cypress Cove? In every possible way. Our culture, values and rules are based solidly on these very simple principles; nudism should be pure and non-sexual. If you choose to visit Cypress Cove, you are accepting these core principles and agreeing to abide by them.

We have great fun at our dances, but suggestive attire and/or dancing are not welcome. We appreciate a tender moment between two adults in love, but public displays of affection should be discreet and innocent. Adventures in the bedroom should always be kept private. Discussions of swinging and recruiting are definitely not welcome here.

Our goal is to maintain a safe, non-threatening, and non-sexual environment where our guests can truly feel comfortable. A little “adult fun” may be harmless in a private setting, but it’s just not appropriate at Cypress Cove. That’s not who we are.

If you agree, we hope to see you by the pool!

To read more about Cypress Cove, click here.

Posted in Nude Attitudes. 2 Comments »

78th AANR Convention A Wrap

August 18th, 2009

A successful 78th annual American Association for Nude Recreation Convention wrapped up Sunday after a weeklong mix of business and cameraderie. Over 300 nudists from across the continent visited Oaklake Trails in Depew, Oklahoma, to discuss association business and refine AANR’s vision for 2010.

The convention was covered by local media, such as The Journal Record, based in Oklahoma City, and received support from neighboring chambers of commerce. The influx of attendees brought a welcome boost to local businesses. Stroud City Manager Steve Gilbert told The Journal Record, “Like most small communities, when a significant amount of people from out of town come to visit, they make a big economic impact. We welcome that busniess activity.” Gilbert went on to describe Oaklake’s operators and visitors as “very discreet, very nice people,” some of which he considers personal friends.

Besides helping boost the local economy, AANR spokespersons helped get AANR’s key messages across to non-nudists who may have not considered such aspects of nude recreation in the past, such as the family-friendly standards set by the association and the promotion of body acceptance nudism brings to adults and young people alike.

All in all, it was a successful convention and everyone is looking forward to next year’s AANR Convention to be held in the AANR-Northwest region at Sun Meadow Resort in Worley, Idaho.

Read the Journal Record article here.

Posted in News. No Comments »

Nudity and Politics

June 15th, 2009

The Fox News blog, The Speaker’s Lobby, ran a story Saturday about AANR’s trip to Washington, D.C., during Great Outdoors Week. The post covered many of the reasons AANR has felt the need to attend the yearly event for the past 10 years. The Association advocates for the right to be nude in appropriate settings at legally sanctioned nudist venues. The piece also featured quotes from many in the AANR contingent on the reasons they are nudists and what nudism has meant to them personally and as part of the Association.

The post, titled “Universal Coverage,” a play on words regarding the healthcare program that is being debated in Congress, contained many of the puns and innuendos that nudists have come to expect occasionally in news stories. Most were harmless but with a decided political flavor such as “And you thought people only lost their shirts because the economy was bad.” But some of the comments seemed unnecessarily divisive and had nothing to do with AANR’s lobbying efforts in D.C., a case of politics as usual.

When it was mentioned that Benjamin Franklin took daily “air baths” and President John Quincy Adams frequently skinny-dipped in the Potomac, once having his clothes held hostage by a reporter until he agreed to an interview, writer Chad Pergram used the information to bring the issue back to another kind of politics.

“Too bad House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) doesn’t go for a daily swim in the Potomac like Adams. Maybe some reporters could hold her clothes hostage to convince the Speaker to finally answer some more questions about her accusations that the CIA lied about interrogation methods,” Pergram wrote.

Luckily, the AANR representatives were able to stay on messages and were generally well received. As one anonymous Democratic aide noted, the American Aassociation for Nude Recreation giveaways are the most popular they receive all year.

Click here to read the article.

Posted in Viewpoint. 2 Comments »

Nude Calendars Help Charities–and Possibly Nudism

June 9th, 2009

The latest nude calendar story to hit the media comes from none other than Oxford University, the prestigious London academic institution. Sixty students shed their clothes to pose for a nude calendar to benefit the university’s TravelAid, a program that provides funding for students that volunteer abroad.

Nude calendars are not really news anymore. Arguably the most well-known nude calendar is the one created 10 years ago when a group of middle-aged British women were looking for a unique way to raise money in memory of a friend’s late husband who died from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Their efforts resulted in the Yorkshire Dales Nude Calendar, which spawned a hit movie, Calendar Girls, starring Helen Mirren and sparked a global trend in nude calendars. The women recently announced they are planning to release another nude calendar in 2010 to benefit Leukemia Research.

Statistics are available to show how nude calendars financially benefit a variety of worthwhile causes from cancer to animal rescue. Yet statistics are unclear as to whether participants in the ventures actually find a new-found body acceptance and/or respect for the fundamentals of nudism.

The Oxford students apparently did. In an article posted about the making of the calendar at SmasHits.com, the students said, “We all got such a taste for stripping after we shot the calendar that we couldn’t stop taking our clothes off around campus–it might be catching. I think we were all shocked at how much we enjoyed it.”

What do you think? Might something such as posing for a nude calendar highlight what nudists already know–the stress-free liberation of going au naturel–for someone who has never experienced it before? Might it lead to new converts to nudism?

Posted in Viewpoint. No Comments »