10,000 Voices in the Choir – Who’s in the Audience?

THE BARE Platypus is delighted to be reading posts, tweets, and websites from so many who tell the world they’re nudists and naturists.

We titled this post “10,000 voices” but, in reality, have no way of knowing how many people regularly share what nudism is to them.  We know the membership numbers of leading nudist organizations and have International Naturist Federation numbers also.  But this is different.  We’re talking about the people who regularly share their personal experiences online. 

These fellow bloggers and posters are amazing in the reliability with which they uncover and relay news of all that is happening within nudist circles and at various clubs.  If they were paid journalists writing daily columns it would amount to the equivalent of millions of dollars in payroll.

Our question: Do you think that the non-nudist community is listening?

Do non nudists stumble into our websites, forums, Twitter pages, and Facebook walls?  Do they become “converted” this way?  Or do fellow nudists who already identify with what we do simply go looking for others of like mind?  No doubt it is some percentage of both, but the question then becomes, “what percentage”? 

Put another way, do you think nudists are “born” or “made”?  Are we helping people who are already predisposed to trying nudism when they find us?  Or are we bringing a message that changes mindsets?

With so many people willing to share their stories why hasn’t more of the world become one big nude beach?

They say that a typical person receives thousands of messages within a single day from advertisers, news, music, etc.   Maybe 10,000 voices aren’t loud enough to overcome all those other messages.  Or maybe the world is changing and a viable nudist candidate running for US President is just around the corner.

Real philosophical stuff for a Friday Evening.

Why did the Platypus Cross the Road?...

...  IN SOLIDARITY with our web-footed sisters and brothers, who crossed in solidarity with their chicken sisters and brothers.


...  Nudist resort on the other side.


...  Platypuses seek out cars to run over their tails.  How else do you think they get them so flat?

...  Duck bill platypus?  We thought you said "truck grill platypus!" 




... Out driving naked when the car broke down.


...  To avoid the Giant Mastadon at the Bare (Bay) to Breakers run last week in 'Frisco.


...  There was a lawyer on this side of the road and a pit filled with hazardous waste on the other side.


...  There was a lawyer and a pit filled with hazardous waste on the other side but a student loan officer on this side.


...  Why else? To get a better pic of the naked woman covered in blue food coloring at last year's World Naked Bike Ride.


...  To change a light bulb in the bar. (His life is a joke.)




...  To join the "Occupy Platypus Street" demonstration.




...  Well, he had just left the pharmacy after picking up a prescription for that new drug that causes your "anatomy" to triple in size after just a few weeks and... Say, you're probably not interested in knowing about why he crossed a road at this point are you?

Sleeping Naked Is… Normal!

BARE PLATYPUS is not too proud to shamelessly jump on a trendy story about nudity and ham it up for all it’s worth in search engine traffic.  Alas, this week’s story about Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda of Today Show fame is too good to pass up.

If you hadn’t heard, Kathy Lee and Hoda were playing a bit of an on-air game based upon answering questions from a new game show.  The show polls an audience about what’s considered “normal” and contestants have to guess what is and isn’t a la’ the Family Feud show from days gone by.  The women were asked, “Is skinny dipping normal?” “Is sleeping naked normal?”  To their credit, they answered “YES” to both questions (and we whole-heartily agree with Kathy Lee and Hoda about that).

For some reason, however, the survey of attitudes had a majority of those polled saying “not normal” to nude sleeping. (Swimming in the buff got the okay.  You can  read more by clicking a link to  Sleeping Naked is Normal on The Today Show .)

We don’t know where they surveyed the poor folks who said sleeping starkers is strange, but we feel bad for them.  They’re really missing out on a special way to spend a third of your life in more comfort. AND save money on laundering and purchasing pajamas for the family!  The Bare Platypus provides some GREAT tips for sleeping naked in a previous blog post .

Well, the good news is that Mrs. Gifford and Hoda have the RIGHT idea.  In fact, the pair once opened a complete nakation-in-a-box on the air and gave it a good reception.  So they score a wag of the flat Platypus tail from us.  Good going!

9/8/13 Update:  1 in 3 Brits Sleep Bare

9/27/13 Update: Dakota U "beditorial" suggestsSleeping Naked

Bare Platypus now offers products with Platypus artwork at the Bare Platypus Souvenir Shop .  You can get a tote bag or a coffee mug, a t-shirt, or all three!  Plus there's more to come.

These designs are one-of-a-kinds that you won't find elsewhere.  Tasteful enough that you can show or serve them to all guests, but unusual enough (and always bare) that they can help you get a conversation going.

You're invited to visit!

06/03/12 Week's Walter Award Goes to...

BEFORE ANNOUNCING this week's Walter Award we should note that one of the roles we see for the Bare Platypus is preserving an element of nudist history.  The movement for black equality remembers Rosa Parks and Thurgood Marshall.  The womens' movement remembers Susan B. Anthony.  We think nudists should do the same.

In that spirit, our Walter of the week goes to Robert Page---not for anything especially noteworthy occuring over the past seven days so much as a lifetime of service.

Bob was already an up-and-coming lawyer when Saul Stern, one of the first attorneys to represent organized nudism in North America, recruited him to be Stern's successor.  For many, many years thereafter, Page represented the American Sunbathing Association and its related organizations. 

While there, Page authored two amicus curaie (Friend of the Court) briefs submitted to the United States Supreme Court.  None other than Justice William Brennan quoted from the brief in Massachusetts v. Oakes.  (The other brief was part of City of Erie v. Pap's A.M., which considered the constitutionality of bans on nude dancing.)

As such, Robert Page distinguished himself among First Amendment advocates and scholars... and his work didn't stop there.  Page also petitioned the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to strike down an Iowa state law prohibiting nudity wherever a sales tax was collected.  While unsuccessful, the case (US v. Farkas) may nevertheless have helped provide a "thumb in the dike" to stem an ever-growing onslaught of anti-nudity legislation by giving folks reason to pause about the implications of such laws.

Bob's spouse of many years was a distinguished figure in the legal community and leant her talents to the nudist cause as well.  Though the couple later divorced, they remained friends.

About ten years ago Robert Page passed away.  But he left a legacy of championing nudist rights that has inpired others to follow.  For this we are most privileged to submit his name to you, our readers, as this week's WALTER recipient.

The Walter is named in honor of Dr. Walter Bishop from the hit TV series, Fringe. Dr. Bishop has a matter-of-fact attitude towards nudity. In his name the Bare Platypus presents a "Walter" award each week to the person, group, or event that best depicts nudity naturally.
Read more at www.bareplatypus.blogspot.com

Ever Notice....

… THAT WHEN the news reports the story it’s, “Police responded to urgent calls about a naked man who was running around downtown and also waving a gun!”  Shouldn’t that be the other way around?

… That when a woman goes for a skinny dip the officers are likely to gather their friends to watch, but pull out their citation books if it's a guy?

… That Superman ducks into a phone booth to change, but the phone booth has glass walls?

… That they STILL call the places we visit nudist colonies?

… That they send you a twenty-minute-wasting slideshow that features puppy dogs and annoying music with the message to “forward to at least 10 friends.” But label a single picture of breasts, “Not SAFE for work?”

… The federal agency that usually tries to prevent us from taking off our clothes OUTSIDE is the US Department of the Interior?

… The places where you apply the most sunblock will still burn the fastest?

… You never remember something you need from out in the car until you’ve stripped naked?

... That the pen is mightier than the sword but "penis" gets you booted off Facebook? 

Naked and on a First Name Basis

IF YOU ever take a trip down to Cypress Cove Nudist Resort and Spa of Florida you should stop in to the American Nudist Research Library located on grounds.

Peruse the bound volumes containing nudist club newsletters from the 1950’s and you’ll see an interesting way that the nudists of old referred to each other in print.  Most of the time, they would write things like, “Our July 4^th barbeque is being organized by Sally M.” or “Congratulations to Sam J. and his team on winning the annual volleyball tournament.”

Given societal attitudes to nudism when Eisenhower was in the White House, it’s understandable why folks felt they had to talk in codes and abbreviations.  Things lightened up, eventually, so that by the 1980’s full names were much more common.  National nudist organizations even adopted editorial policies requiring them in newspapers like The Bulletin and Clothed with the Sun (later N) magazine.

As we’ve been quoting of Yogi Berra a lot lately, things are “Deja’ Vu all over again.”  Putting one’s name out there publicly as a nudist may be just ominous as it once was.  The reason?  The internet and the sophistication of search engines like Google.

Folks may not be completely paranoid that someone could find out they’re a nudist, but that doesn’t mean that they want “Nudist Volleyball Champion!” to be the first thing that pops up when someone Googles their name.  For a person with a common name like Greg Smith (the actual name of a past nudist association president) this may not be much of an issue.  There are hundreds, neigh thousands, of Smiths. 

But what if your first and last name are much more unique?  Or what if your picture appears next to that name?  It can cause problems if pages and pages of your nudist exploits trump the Nobel Prize you earned in physics.  What’s more, getting information deleted from the internet can be near to impossible… even when you had no role in putting it there. (Google “Santorum” some time and you may be surprised that the results don’t always discuss the former Senator’s run for President so much as a sexual slang term named for him by gay activists who didn’t like his policies.)

For those who are secure in their own jobs or retired, and equally strong in all matters of social relationships, please join the ranks of those who make a public stand in support of nudism.  For those who cannot make such a commitment, The Platypus understands. Even if we must grit our duck bills about the very real prejudices that nudists still face.

Practice for November… VOTE in Our Poll

MANY VISIT the Bare Platypus site without noticing that we’re conducting a poll of your favorite place(s) to be naked.  As you’ll see immediately to your right, there are four possible choices: (1) At Home and With Family; (2) A Nude Beach; (3) A Nudist Club; or (4) In Nature / Out on Trails. 

-----------------------------------------------------------à

If none of those places describes your favorite, no worries! Feel free to type in “the moon,” “rock concert,” or whatever in the comments below.

Since we posted the question, nearly 300 people have cast a ballot. But a wise sage with lots of expertise in statistics once told us that an optimum sample size is 1000.  We’d like to have at least 500 votes before we attempt to draw meaningful lessons from what you tell us. 

Who knows? We may be able to prompt a nudist association or NASA with these findings.  At least it will make interesting conversation.

Thanks!