In one of those delightful quirks of SL (and SLN), I’ve been working on a new series of posts which is provisionally titled ‘Around the World in 80 Nudes’. I’ll be trying to capture the essence of naturism around the globe in 2018, and work has already commenced on the series, sourcing locations, finding SL locations that can be used as backdrops to real life, and mixing and matching real and second life photos regarding naturism around the globe as we commence 2018. During this research I discovered Zipolite Beach, apparently Mexico’s only naturist beach. And better than that, they’re having a naturist festival at the beginning of February, 2018. There appears to be a website regarding it…

Naked bodies spell out the words ‘Zipolite Zone’This programme of events is from the 2017 festival

Of course, I’m also reading phrases like ‘sex on the beach’ at the festival, so more research needs to be done to ascertain whether it’s a genuine naturist event, or some sort of Cap D’Agde/Hedonism styled ‘swingers and exhibitionists’ event. The photos I’ve unearthed would suggest it’s more genuine than swingers, but I’ll not give it our seal of approval until I learn more. However, it is certainly worthwhile posting on a location I’ve never even considered as a potential naturist destination before.

On that note…a bit of an EDITORIAL

On that note…this blog has always been about genuine naturism, or my definition or interpretation of what makes genuine naturism, i.e. non-sexual and family orientated. The question is…has the time come -without ever thinking that it’s core naturism or without being approving of it- to acknowledge that there are locations around the world where genuine naturism is being ‘tweaked’ or usurped by the swingers and exhibitionists (i.e. Agde/Hedonism/bits of Vera Playa, Spain). I can continue to ignore this aspect of real life ‘naturism’, but am I burying my head in the sand? Has the time come to face the challenges set by the swingers, at least acknowledge their existence, in terms of reporting them, disapprovingly if needs be, in real life and also conflate and confuse what constitutes my vision of naturism as often set in Second Life?

Do I need to face up to the fact that there are many sex sims in SL pretending to be naturist, rise up, speak loudly and maybe even shame them into their hijacking of the word ‘naturist’?

I know there’s a lot more beaches out there in SL purporting to be ‘naturist’ or ‘nudist’ but which are nothing more than locations for SLex. On a personal level, my belief is that we maintain the status quo. Some readers, and some staff members, hold a different viewpoint, suggesting that rather than ignoring them we should report them and bring their devaluing of naturist values out into the open. Any comments will be welcomed. It’s my blog, my vision, but I’m not opposed to offering a viewpoint (which may not reflect the views of the blog in itself, as they often say in magazines) if there’s any sort of support for this. Even if we do decide to offer a slightly different viewpoint on ‘naturism’ in the real and Second worlds, editorial policy, entirely disapproving of these swinging/exhibitionist ‘naturists’, won’t change. But whether we, specifically I, like it or not, I suppose I have to acknowledge that others have a different take on what constitutes naturism. While the blog exists, while I’m an active naturist, I’ll never alter my views on my naturist values. But I’m just one voice. All voices must be heard. All views, as we move into 2018, are welcome.

I’d also be pleased to hear if readers would like to read more articles about a broader, more holistic definition of naturism. For me, my naturism includes things like eating healthily, taking exercise, taking care of the environment and such like. Is there space for us to adopt a bit of an eco-warrior side to the blog? We’ve previously reported on things like ‘Rainbow’ gatherings and even on mens sana in corpore sano (healthy mind in a healthy body) aspects of a much broader naturism -sims that support environmentalism, for example. I’ve one avatar who would love to write for the blog, and her focus is on things like environmental protection and good food (although within this she has also experienced RL naturism). If anyone would like to read stuff about the environment -and sometimes naturism and eco-warrior politics do collide- I’d be pleased to add her to our list of occasional contributors.

Ella.