I stumbled across a documentary last night called My daughter the teenage nudist
I was intrigued so I decided to watch it
It followed a few different people who were dipping their toe in to the world of naturism
Basically taking their clothes off
First we met Holly
Holly was 18
Having just finished her A levels, she was enjoying her last summer a t home before going to university
She had an interest in nudism so she googled it
She found out about a naked bike ride in her area so her friends and her decided to join it
We saw hundreds of people stark naked, although some had body paint on, all cycling together completely comfortable in their own skin
Holly's mom expressed concern about what she was doing
And her father had had some comments made to him including 'I saw your daughters tits on facebook'
But this didn't deter Holly
She continued to attend events that were clothing optional
Then we met Alex and her friends
They met once a week to cook in the nude
They also write a blog about food and nudism where they post recipes and photos
Alex's friends explained why they chose nudism
One guy said that when he was young teenager he was bullied about the way he looked
He had no self esteem and little self confidence
He was ashamed of his body and didn't like himself very much
He said that nudism had helped his self confidence and felt completely comfortable taking his clothes off
Another guy explained how had eating issues in the past
He restricted his food intake and maintained a low body weight
He didn't actually use the words anorexia or eating disorder but I think that was what he was trying to say in a round about way
He said that nudism had helped him massively to accept and like his body
One day Alex and her friends went in to town to promote a naked tea party that hey were holding
Alex and one of the boys decided to take off their tops
The handed out fliers naked from the waist up
A passing girl made a very good point I thought
She pointed out that the girl and the guy who had taken off their clothes were 'beautiful people' with lovely slim bodies
She said that their bodies were what the media portrayed as normal
I would have to agrees with her
Alex and her friends were attractive, slim and good looking
The reality is that people are not prefect
We all have parts of our bodies that we don't like
We all have lumps and bumps where we don't want them
The media portray women to have impossibly thin bodies
Flawless skin
Full lips
Cheek bones you could slice bread with
Perfect hair
This not reality
Cellulite is real
Spots and blemishes are real
Split ends are real
A bit of flab is real
Have you ever read through a celebrity magazine?
Have you seen those pages where they show images of celebrities and with a big red arrow pointing out their flaws
These magazines love to point out when people are too thin or too fat
I don't buy these magazines as I think it's pretty disgusting the way portray people and celebrities
I was fascinated by this documentary
I was blown away that these people felt so comfortable in their own bodies that they could go without a stitch of clothes
Personally I could never do this
Hell I have a problem functioning fully clothed, never mind being stark bollock naked
Although I can see how it could be liberating and freeing to go clothes free
I hate getting naked
I hated having to look at my own body
I wish that I liked my body more
After all it is a wonderful instrument and should be celebrated
I've put my body through so much abuse over the years
Had little respect for it
I never took care of it properly
I had to bring my dogs to the vet this morning and my mother made the comment that if I looked after myself as well as I look after my dogs, I would be well on my way to recovery
At the moment I can just about tolerate my body
Technically I am underweight but I disagree with that
To me it looks like I am a perfectly healthy weight
To gain any more would in my opinion put me in to the over weight category
Some day I hope to accept my body
Maybe even like it
Although I can't imagine it happening any time soon
To me being naked means 2 things
One being going physically naked
And the other being mentally naked
Bearing your soul
Being vulnerable
It means opening up your soul to someone
Letting them in
Sharing your inner most fears, desires, hopes, dreams, thoughts, future
I fear both types of nudism greatly
The are both equally terrifying to me
What about you?
Can you imagine ever going naked?
Are you comfortable in your own skin?