This way to the nude beach
This is a guest post by Magnum Chlenov, a Russian-American computer programmer living in St. Louis. In addition to being a sex-positive nudist, he is a fan of Doctor Who, Harry Potter and the Big Bang Theory, a stamp collector, an amateur author, an alternate historian and a fantasy hockey manager. He is happily engaged to a fellow sex-positive nudist. His Twitter account is @MagnumChlenov.
(Continued from Part 1)
It was a typical “when in Rome” moment. Certainly it is decent to wear clothing on a regular beach. But here, on a nude beach, the situation was completely reversed! Here, it was indecent to be dressed.
Needless to say, we didn’t like the feeling at all.
“Let’s go.” My brother sighed and turned around.
But I hesitated. I didn’t want to go. I liked the beach, I liked the sea breeze, I liked seeing other people (well, women) naked. And besides, there was another option. If I didn’t want to be indecent, I just had to… well, be decent.
I started unbuttoning my shirt.
“What the hell?” My brother couldn’t believe his own eyes.
I took off my shirt and started unzipping my pants.
“Wait a minute!” He finally realized I wasn’t just kidding. “I don’t wanna see your schlong!”
But I was unstoppable. The pants followed the shirt, and my brother relented. No, he didn’t join me. But he agreed to read a book in a nearby forest and guard my clothes.
In less than a minute, I was completely nude. Along with my clothes, I shed my inhibitions. I finally abandoned a mental barrier that states “thou shalt not be nude in front of anyone but thy lover and maybe a doctor”. I felt extremely liberated and relaxed. And I also realized one more thing.
“Holy shit!” I said to myself. “All that stuff in those magazines, all that crap about nudity per se not being sexual… that’s all true! They didn’t lie!”
Indeed, nothing sexual was going on. For the next several hours, I swam in the sea and walked on the beach, casually looking at other naked people with no shame or awkwardness. The initial resentment from other nudists disappeared quickly. Some of them mumbled something like, “thought he was just another gawker, but apparently he is a nudist”.
I still remember that wonderful day, as if it was yesterday. August 31, 2010 — the day of my liberation.
* * *
Needless to say, when I got back home, I quickly found a nudist resort right here in Missouri. I visited it right away, enjoyed the visit very much, and have been going ever since.
Also, I joined some nudist websites, where members post their nude pictures in profiles and occasionally participate in nudist webcam chats. One of these sites organized a get-together at a Virginia resort last summer, and I thoroughly enjoyed my trip.
I also flew to Miami in November 2010 for one day — just to visit Haulover Beach (considered by many to be the best nude beach in the country). Another enjoyable outing.
And I did go back to Latvia in July 2011 — to the very same beach. This time, I met some of the local nudists in advance online, which enabled me to spend a couple of weeks in their company. Turned out they also go to a sauna every Thursday, which I liked very much as well.
So I can definitely say that even though I have only been a nudist for less than two years, it has become one of my favorite hobbies. I would even call it a lifestyle.
Oh, and one more thing. A very important thing, that is. On that fateful day, August 31, my liberation only began. Gradually, I was able to change other things in my life as well. I finally realized my ill-fated marriage wasn’t worth preserving at all. After leaving my ex and enjoying single life for a while, I met a wonderful woman. We are getting married this summer.
And yes, she knows about my peculiar lifestyle. In fact, “nudist” was the very word in my social network profile that attracted her attention. Actually, I have already taken her to my nudist resort, and she absolutely loved it.
But I digress. Since I am such an accomplished nudist, maybe I should finally try answering my own question, which was asked in the beginning of this article.
Is nudism a sexual thing or not?
* * *
Even though I think nudism is one of those things you can’t really understand unless you try it yourself, let me paint you a mental picture.
Imagine a resort far away from city life and traffic noise. A clubhouse, a pool, a tennis court. Some walking trails. Possibly a small pond with a couple of paddleboats. Rather average everyday people walking around, swimming in the pool, playing tennis, reading magazines, watching TV, talking, laughing. Just your regular vanilla Americana.
Now, subtract one thing.
Clothing.
No clothes. All these average everyday people are nude.
That’s it. That’s all the difference. Average people doing average resort things.
The fact that they are nude doesn’t really make a difference. No one is doing anything sexual, no one is touching other people (or one’s own private parts), no sexual harassment is going on.
In fact, any sexual behavior is specifically prohibited by the rules, which is clearly stated on the resort website. No lewd behavior, no pointed staring, no genital jewelry. Even an erection is a no-no. If a guy can’t help it, he should cover up with a towel. Or jump into a pool. Or lay poolside on his stomach.
By the way, I have never had that problem myself. It has been surprisingly easy to handle all the nudity. Of course, I’m 40, not 15, but still… The “when in Rome” factor works quite well. On a clothed beach, it’s OK to wear a bathing suit, but not OK to be naked. Likewise, in a nudist environment, it’s OK to be naked, but not OK to get a hard-on. So I simply follow the rules and customs.
Plus, as one nudist lady said to me in Virginia:
“Everyone knows what a boob looks like. Or a penis”.
“Indeed,” I replied. “The most unique and interesting part of a human body is the face.”
Not to mention it’s a matter of common courtesy — in both clothed and nude environments. When you are talking to another person, you are supposed to look at his or her face, right?
Also, ironically, a body in a bikini might actually look more sexual than a nude one. After all, a bikini draws attention to the private parts, making male onlookers mentally undress the woman. The birthday suit, however, does not draw attention to any particular body part at all.
And, finally, everyone else’s nudity makes your own nakedness a complete non-factor. After all, when everyone is naked, no one is.