Is there a need for naturist literature?
I say, “yes, there is”. My reason for that is that literature, any kind of writing on the subject, is a good way to introduce people to the idea and principles of naturism. Why literature, you might ask. Well, there are of course a few alternatives. Let me go into those first.
Experience.
That is of course the very best way to make people know how healthy and liberating naturism is. The problem here, as we all know, is that many people aren’t exactly willing to give this a try when you invite them. Many of you have probably tried, and failed many a time.
Films/movies/images.
There are not many good films/movies on the matter, and the ones that are out there are hard to find. Too easily people will get lost in their search and end up in the shady areas where porn is labeled naturism and taken for that. Which is about as far from the truth as we can imagine. And images… they go down the same slippery slope.
So, we end up with things in writing.
I think writing is the clearest and least intrusive or challenging way for people to learn about proper naturism. Good naturist writing shows that nudity is not bad. It shows that there’s more to it than just being naked. The feeling of belonging to nature. The respect for one’s own body and that of others. Eventually even, although maybe not for everyone, the awareness that this is not just a physical thing but also something that can help you grow emotionally or even spiritually. Of course I don’t expect people to experience these things from reading, but a good story will show them that naturism is more than taking your clothes off. And that might encourage them to give it a try, which is a step on the right road.
Is there something like naturist literature?
Oops. This is a prickly area because… what is literature? Ask ten people and you may get ten answers. Wikipedia defines literature 
as: Literature, most generically, is any body of written works. More restrictively, literature is writing considered to be an art form, or any single writing deemed to have artistic or intellectual value, often due to deploying language in ways that differ from ordinary usage.
I tend to go with the less restrictive description (since naturism does away with restrictions, a.k.a. clothing anyway). Together with my friends, Will and Robert, I think we’re adding to the body or naturist literature. Will wrote ‘Aglow‘, a wonderful book that takes us into the forest where people find a connection with nature. Robert wrote several books with poems, and poetry is definitely considered literature.
Anything written with good intent (and proper editing) is what I consider naturist literature. Feel free to disagree, to each their naked own…
Paul, I think there is a need for naturist literature, and I’m glad for the contributions that you and Will and Robert are making to it: literature that compels us not to assume that any given character wears clothes, but is clearly not exploiting the nakedness in any prurient manner. The naked folks you all write about are naked for the simple comfort and freedom of being naked, for instance, but it’s clear that they are naked. And this may indeed serve to broaden the conversation about “being naked” and about “naturist literature.”
Thanks very much for your comment and your support, Allen! I enjoy the fact that we are able to portray, across our works and those of many others, a significant range of naturist literature circumstances, characters, plots, etc. to help widen the discussion.
Hello Allen,
That is exactly the point I want to get across. Being naked for comfort, for well-being. We all know it’s a health thing, mental and physical.
Paul, we all know that “it’s a health thing, mental and physical.” And yet, along with comfort and well-being, it’s something I forgot to say. So we need to say it again and again: the more comfortable we are being naked with family and friends as well as strangers (as we are, for example, at a beach). One might call what you are trying to do is “to norm the naked”: so that one eventually forgets that one “is naked” and comes to realize that “one simply is.” But it does take time, and deliberateness, and self-confidence. And I suppose it takes a degree of humility, and a sense of humor and a fearless imagination. But it takes a great deal of time to make the move from a world in which one has been shaped since forever into the “brave new world” of clothes-free living.
When the characters in fiction feel real and true , we can experience their inner lives. Naturism in literature can allow people who may have never experienced nudism in the flesh,so to speak, to experience it vicariouly and form positive attitudes. And a good story is always a positive, so thanks for the good work.
Terrific point, very well expressed! Thank you for joining the conversation.