OK, after years of simply not being bothered (i.e. the entire length of my now almost two decade long love of naturism) I signed up and joined British Naturism.

Why?

In terms of ‘organisation’, naturism is probably in decline to an extent. Younger people don’t join clubs, not because they’re more conservative or shy than their parents and grandparents generation, but because ‘organisation’ isn’t what it’s all about. To them, ‘naturism’ is the opportunity to simply go naked at a beach if they choose to, without the need for rules, membership fees or anything else. And to some extent it’s a battle already won, by their parents and grandparents, to ensure that their right to be naturist exists.

Today, many many countries have naturist beaches, swim nights, campsites, hotels that exist unremarked. That said, it’s a hard won fight, and one that could just so readily be eroded unless we continue to band together and create a platform for our hard won rights. Many years ago I would probably have needed a British Naturist card (or International Naturist Federation card) to even gain entry into a naturist event. To some degree, that remains the same and would almost certainly be the same for my husband were he to decide to take in a swim night in another part of the country while on business and unaccompanied by me.

A side benefit of membership, for SLN purposes, will be that we can keep on top of forthcoming events. As SLN has evolved, we’ve tried to reflect RL naturist activity and place it in a SL context, so hopefully we will be able to further identify events and reflect them in the blog. I’ve already spotted that BN are doing a holiday in El Portus, in Spain, and I’m/we’re tempted! I’ve never been to El Portus and it’s something I’d like to experience.

Ella