USAnudist.com

Once again the State of Virginia is in the news for intolerance toward nudists.  From the State that tried to outlaw nudist sumer camps now comes another story of nudist repression.

Recently appearing on Delmarvanow.com was a story, Vocal Nudists battle to bare it on the beach.  The story gives the general background of Donn & Cindy Murphy’s visit to Virginia and Assateague Island where they were cited for public nudity.

Although they were on Federal Property, part of the National Seashore, they were cited by the Federal Park Ranger under 50CFR which allows the Feds to cite based on local laws, in this case, a County ordinance that prohibits public nudity.

Donn & Cindy are the owners of a Nudist Resort in Mexico, Playa Sonrisa, and  took the advice of some of their guests at their resort that there was a nude beach on Assateague Island.  Unfortunately, it has been years since it was common there.

Once arriving, they took many precautions to avoid offending anyone with their skinny-dipping, including a 2-mile walk up the beach, and judiciously scouting the area for others before stripping for a swim..

The web article mentions that the Murphys wrote an open letter to the  “citizens and legislators of Virginia”, but stops short of actually providing the actual letter.  Murph has graciously allowed permission to print the complete letter here.

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Caliente Resort recently was dropped from AANR membership for it’s connection with a swinger’s group and for allowing the group to host parties on Caliente property.  Many of the Caliente residents and members are upset at this turn of events and are considering several actions, including legal action.

What I see as the major conflict is that the original concept of Caliente was to be the pinnacle in nudist resorts, and has changed those standards as time passed.  Since the ground-breaking 10 years ago, the ownership/management has changed several times, and with each cycle, the rules changed.

Under the original concept, Caliente was to be a high-end traditional nudist resort meeting the standards of the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) and offering a nudist destination for vacationers and homes for those wanting to move to Florida and live or retire in a nudist environment.  Due to the changes in club policies, Caliente is no longer a nudist resort, but instead, is a clothing optional resort, trying to become another high ticket, sexually charged destination such as Hedonism II & III, Desire, or Sea Mountain Spas.

Caliente says they are trying to attract a younger clientele but a more reasonable assumption would be that they were trying to attract more people, of any age, to spend even more money in the resort and make even more profits.  There have been comments that Caliente invited the swingers because they were losing money and on the verge of having to close.  Suggesting that Caliente is losing money is like saying Exxon is failing in the oil business.

There are a lot more swinger’s clubs than there are nudist clubs.  I’d be foolish to deny that there are some who share both the nudist and swinger lifestyles, but there are many more nudists who have no desire to associate with swinger activities. By allowing these activities occur within the confines of a club known by the general public as a nudist resort can do nothing but make the unknowing assume these two very diverse lifestyles are similar, which is far from the truth.

This is not what the original nudist members and residents contracted for.  They invested a large sum buying homes in a place where they could practice their non-sexual nudist lifestyle. Imagine if your nice middle class neighborhoods suddenly decided that it would be nice to have a porno shop and strip club open next to the local park.  If swingers want to enjoy the nudist lifestyle, we welcome you, but don’t swing in our backyard and we won’t be nude in yours.

At the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, as Justin Timberlake sang “Rock Your Body” onstage with Janet Jackson and reached the last few lines of the song — “Let’s do something, let’s make a bet, ’cause I gotta have you naked by the end of this song” — he reached across her body and pulled off part of her bustier, exposing most of her right breast:

The response was immediate… While a few expressed outrage, the majority were rewinding their tapes and TiVo’s to see it over and over.  Within hours, the internet was filled with close-ups of Jackson’s breast and nipple shield she was wearing.  Sales of nipple shields skyrocketed.  This was not the outrageous event that the detractors wanted to make it out to be.

However, the Federal Communications Commission decided to take the “family values” route, even though previously, it was required that something much more outrageous was required to warrant such a fine.  The police drama, “NYPD Blue” often showed completely nude actors, tastefully depicted, with no major fines.  In this case, the FCC bowed under the minority pressure and fined CBS $550,000.00.

This Federal Appeals ruling rejecting the FCC fine against CBS is a sign that not all beauracuries are in the pocket of the vocal minority.  While it’s not a major victory for nudism and naturism, it is a glimmer of hope that the repressed attitudes of the USA are on their way to becoming more in line with the rest of the world.

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After being suspended in May for associating themselves with swinger activity, Caliente Resort has relinquished it’s membership in the American Association for Nude Recreation.  Over the past month, conversations have flourished in nudist circles about the appropriateness of Caliente’s marketing scheme, and it’s affect on nudism.

Many nudists applauded the opening of Caliente as a high end nudist destination but that approval has diminished as Caliente went from a jewel of the nudist world to a blemish. Originally developed by nudists who knew and understood the principals of wholesome nudist behavior, Caliente ownership changed several times from the original mid-nineties group to owners who were more interested in making a profit by whatever means neccessary, including affiliating with sexually oriented groups, a clear violation of nudist and AANR standards.

For those of us who have fought for years to transmit to the non-nudist public a positive healthy attitude about nudism and the nude human body, this action is a slap in the face. It is also a financial slap in the wallet to those who bought into the resort and spent their retirement funds to establish a permanent home there. Those individuals suddenly find themselves in a position of owning a home in a place that no longer reflects their standards and expectations.

While I am sure Caliente will continue to flourish as a resort, until the current policy changes, I will not recommend it as a destination for those who are looking for a nudist experience. While the glitz and glamor of Caliente is attractive, there are many nearby resorts that offer suitable facilities that are still offering what nudists are looking for in a peaceful, comfortable, non-sexual atmosphere. My congratulations to those other resorts and clubs who don’t feel the need to compromise their standards for a few extra dollars.

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Traditionally, Independence Day has been a beach-centric holiday. People who rarely go to the beach often end up spending the 4th slathering on SPF-30 and baking in the sun until they’re the color of a well-boiled lobster.For the nudist the availability of suitable beaches is very limited. The coastline of the United States is 12,380 miles and of that, less that 25 miles is dedicated to nude use. Fortunately, there are several well known nude beaches on both East and West coasts. The unfortunate part is that many of these nude beaches exist because they are so difficult to get to that only someone very dedicated is willing to make the effort.

This seems especially true for the California beaches. While California has more legal nude beaches than any other state, their use is restricted because of long hikes or difficult climbs are required to reach them. Black’s Beach, near San Diego, is at the base of cliffs with limited difficult trails to decend. While close to population areas, with public transportation easily accessible, the difficulty of the climb limits access to many.

Wreck Beach, near Vancouver, Canada is another nude beach near a major population center. 7.8 Km of beach at the base of a 200 foot-high cliff is Canada’s largest, legal, clothing-optional beach and is a Mecca to visitors from around the world! with over 500,000 annual visitors. Adjoining the University of British Columbia campus, Wreck Beach is easily reached from Vancouver.

On the east coast, access is much easier due to the flat coastline. Haulover Beach, near Miami, is easily reached by car via Collins Avenue, the main highway on Miami Beach. Multiple parking lots are available within the park, which is run by Dade County. Handicapped parking is available with paved trails to the boardwalk and sand chairs available for loan at the lifeguard station. The park is near many hotels, restaurants, and amenities. Due too the ease of access and year-round good climate, Haulover is one of the busiest nude beaches in the world, with 5,000 - 7,000 daily visitors.

In the New York Metropolitan area there are nude beaches on Long Island, at Fire Island National Seashore. Near Robert Moses Park, Lighthouse Beach, traditionally clothing optional. While easy enough to get to the general area, it could require a walk of as much as a mile to get to the beach.

Sandy Hook, New Jersey offers a nude beach in view of the Manhattan skyline. Gunnison Beach, a part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, is one of the busy beaches. With it’s close proximity to New York City, the only thing restricting it are lack of adequate parking and easy road access. To counter this, a company in Manhattan is now running a regular ferry service directly from Manhattan to Gunnison Beach. Ironically, the name of the ferry is SeaStreak.

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Our nation’s Capitol is filled with nude artwork, and that makes a Texas Delegate fear for the safety of our children. He feels nude art is indirectly leading to the “decline of morals” in our country and has no place in the Capitol.

These people call themselves “Conservatives”, and say their goal is to keep the Government and Constitution the way the founding fathers created it. It seems to me that we have had a long-time tradition of skinny-dipping and nudity, all the way back to those same men, declining only with the laws created by these “conservatives”.

Here’s the source from the Washington Post
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A Chafed Texan in the Naked City

By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Monday, June 16, 2008

Washington is a town filled with boobs.

They’re everywhere, from the bare-breasted ladies who decorate the fountain at Dupont Circle to the peekaboo statue in the Justice Department’s Great Hall to the countless nudes in our museums. But while those of us who live here hardly blink at the public nudity, it can shock some of our visitors. Such was the case for Robert Hurt, who last week tried to add the issue of artistic indecency in the nation’s capital to the platform of the Texas GOP.

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Much has been reported recently about the lack of young people (18-35) in nudist resorts. One of the many things attributed to this is that young adults are in the process of getting established, with budding careers, families, and a lack of disposable income to spend.

Many nudist resorts have made attempts at welcoming this age group
by advertising special rates, events specifically designed for that age group, and other incentives to participate.

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Another example of misguided logic has hit the news. Battleboro, VT has no law against public nudity. Last year, many of the young people of the town began hanging around nude at a local parking lot. The local reaction was mostly of the “kids will be kids” until outsiders began traveling to Battleboro to take advantage of this.

When strangers started walking naked through downtown businesses, the citizens and local officials reacted by passing a temporary law prohibiting public nudity. It seems the people of Vermont are very tolerant and don’t really want to make unneeded laws until pressured into it by the actions of people who should know better.

The following story illustrates another example of the results of provoking the status quo. (more…)

In our goverment’s misguided quest to fight terrorism, we have endured intelligence agencies monitoring our phone calls, reading our emails and mail, and suffered many assaults on our constitutional and personal rights in the name of the Patriot Act.

What better way to prove your patriotism than to give up your modesty for your country.
Not only would it speed up airline check-in, it would eliminate standing around the baggage carrousel. Everything you needed (a few clean changes of towels) could be carried in small carry-ons. And with this, the environmental impact as people save energy by having less laundry to do, less fuel used, and less air conditioning.

Other benefits would be the added respect from the people of other countries, which has been declining for 5 years. Tourism would increase to U.S. destinations when all beaches became nude beaches. Pornography would lose a lot of its appeal when people realized there is nothing sexual about nude bodies.

Robert Heinlein wrote a story of alien invasion in 1951, The Puppet Masters in which mandatory nudity was required as the only way to detect alien parasites attached to human bodies.

Imagine a world where instead of sticking patriotic flags, banners, and ribbons on our rear bumpers, we all show our patriotism by our actions.

Read the following tongue-in-cheek article for more
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While we know a lot of nudists don’t wear underwear, now we find out it’s not just nudists. In a survey by the New York Post as a part of a story on National Underwear Day, it was revealed that many of New York’s young ladies also welcome the freedom of going commando.

This year has been a banner year for Papparazi up-skirt shots of several of Hollywood’s younger generation showing they also support this social movement. Who hasn’t seen evidence of this as Britney, Paris, and countless others exit cars with everything visible to the waiting cameras.

The old motto, “we’re all naked under our clothes” is becoming more true as people learn to enjoy the less restricting form of dress we already understand.

PANTIES & ‘ANTIS’
SHUNNED-ERWEAR
By MARIANNE GARVEY
New York Post

August 8, 2007 — National Underwear Day was nothing but a panty waste for New Yorkers yesterday - many admitted that they don’t wear any.

“I go commando so there’s no lines - even thongs leave lines,” 20-year-old student Ashley Leveling boldly declared in Times Square, steps away from a bevy of models from Freshpair wearing nothing but their underwear to promote designer duds.
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