As the Bare Platypus has noted before, we live South of the Mason-Dixon line. It's still warm here and, when you travel four hours further South, it's warm enough to visit the beach. So it was that mom and dad Platypus found ourselves accompanying a certain youth organization for some nearly on-the-beach camping. We also did some pier fishing.
Guess what we observed among most beach patrons?
Girls or guys, young or old, not many people show skin at the beach. And by that we mean bare chests on guys. Swimwear on ladies. Nary a bikini in sight. Far more likely the beachgoer is sporting long cargo shorts and an oversized t-shirt.
Body concious? Sun concious? Dunno.
Oh there were exceptions to be sure, though not a single Speedo. A few brave souls bared a hairy chest, but not many.
We do so many nudist destinations that we hadn't been to a textile beach in a long time. A lot has changed. It's a lot more textile.
Maybe this trip was an anomaly and the beach crowd just happened to cover up more by chance. Is our experience typical? If so we see doom. And hope. On one hand, with everyone covered up it may be harder to convince people to bare. (We didn't see a bare butt even on a baby. ) Yet when we finally DO get them naked they're really going to appreciate how good it feels!
Still, we can't help feeling a bit dissapointed that a great coverup is in progress.
Modern fashion tells us we have to be perfect. Let's face it, America is fat. Nobody wants to see 'that'. Hide your shame.. Hey I gotta couple extra pounds around the middle. Ok, more than a couple... The human body in the United States...is shame. We are shamed because the body is about hiding. It's Puritan religion. It's sacred. hide hide hide.... It's about body-class warfare. The have's and have not's. Beautiful or condescending shades of ugly. Nudity and Sex are synonymous with the textile mindset.
ReplyDeleteI ditched my clothes this summer at a Naturist camp. It was awesome. I stopped feeling so self conscious 30 minutes after my clothes were off. The Synonymous Nudity/Sex mindset was shattered in my mind. it really opened my mind about Naturism/Nudism. I am glad I did.
The first thing I noticed when I took off my clothes at my car and walked to the pool, was the warm sunshine on my body and the warm breeze on my skin. I never want to be textile again. Ever.
The social class of society disappeared. Rich, Poor, fat, skinny, white, black, red, yellow. Meaningless. I just saw people just like me. There was a bond there. Something that could never exist in this modern world. Unplugged humans. It felt really good to just connect, and not hide behind anything. I was just ME. no deception of a cool car, or cool glasses or what kind of phone I had... just me, just us.
I tried to get my wife to go. She said go ahead, have fun. I asked her why. why should wouldn't go with me. She said."because my breasts aren't perfect. I'm older and I am self conscious, and I could never let other people see me..
That is just sad..so afraid of the FEAR of being judged. Frozen in Fear. That is no way to live.
We understand just how you feel Gregory and we congratulate you on trying your first naturist camp this summer! Here's hoping your wife will join you eventually too.
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