Should Nudists Be Pinterested?

As explained in yesterday’s post, the Bare Platypus has been expanding our review of social media sites.  After about one week of watching posts on the site Pinterest , we’ll make some observations about whether the site holds promise for nudists.

To begin, a very brief explanation of what the site entails for those who may not know: It’s like a giant bulletin board on the web, broken down into a mass of categories (e.g. cooking, photography, parenting, backyard decorating ideas, etc.), with individuals creating their own boards to post recipes, humorous cartoons, you name it.

The first, and perhaps most important, thing a user will notice if they sign up for the site and search for the term “nudist” or “nudism” is that they will get a stern warning that the site prohibits the use of anything bordering on “sexual” and that violation of the policy could get you banned.  It seems that the purveyors of the site automatically equate nudity with sexual activity.  For a nudist, that’s odd.  You could search for ideas for decorating a “bedroom” and not have the site automatically assume that you’re trying to post about what people do IN bed and give you the same warning.  Oh well.

Second, having said that, after doing a bit of searching it becomes evident that there are, indeed, people who post nude photography and other images…. Some of which are tagged with “nudist.”  Their boards have not been taken down, so, presumably the Pinterest Police are not out on active patrol.  Most likely they respond to user complaints and will respond when they get a bad report.

What this means is that it’s one thing to create a presence on Pinterest (the Platypus has) and to pin some things onsite. It’s another to count on anything being up there tomorrow.  It would probably be a mistake to have the only copy of something you couldn’t live without there.  For our part, those who visit Bare Platypus know that we don’t use much in the way of photography or images on our site.  This somewhat limits the usefulness of Pinterest to us. However, we have pinned the occasional cartoon, Platypus logo, and image of nude beach signage.  We’ll have to see if this offends the sensibilities of anyone.  (Visit Bare Platypus on Pinterest to get directly to our board)

Above all else, our one week impression is that Pinterest is often about buying stuff and showing it off: buying lumber and yard ornaments to spruce up the backyard; upgrading photography equipment to take better pictures; buying craft supplies and making gifts out of them; buying the right sweaters to send your kids off to school in.  One week’s time is probably not enough to make a fair assessment. Yet first impressions often reveal a lot. 

Once upon a time there were catalogs upon catalogs printed and sent to our homes to remind us to buy more stuff. Those of the Platypus generation and older may remember such companies as “Fingerhut” delivering these to your door. And the “Skymall” and “Sharper Image” publications appearing in the back of airline seats.  You know, your swimming pool isn’t really complete unless you have a convenient floating bar to serve mixed drinks to your guests.  Pinterest just gives us that kind of feel whenever we sign in.

The Platypus is not compelled to sell our readers anything.  (True, we offer a mug, totebag, or two at Bare Platypus Souvenir Shop on Cafe Press press.  We sell very little of it and that doesn’t bother us a bit.) If you and your family never leave your own home and simply take off your clothes and enjoy life naturally?  Well that’s A-Okay with us. There’s nothing incomplete about you.

We will continue to provide creative ways to enjoy life naked… And the occasional nude destination you may want to consider.  But doffing your duds is all you really need to do.