I’m in that period of my year where next year’s holidays begin to loom large, and thoughts of 2018’s holidays are uppermost in my mind.

Something to look forward to in the cold, dark nights of a European (or North American) winter.

Of course, it’s not all a bed of roses, as international terrorism has led to a situation where flying is something to be endured rather than enjoyed. Personally, I find it a bloody awful experience.

We’ll probably endure another round of media scare stories about being ‘seen in the nude’ by airport X-ray machines.

Not only can the authorities see your penis…

..they can process the x-rays to a positive and effectively see you fully nude. Breasts, vulva….the lot!

Or can they? Or should we even care?

Here I am, in SL, on an aircraft, in negative form, the photo from a post from last year’s ‘Postcards from Spain’ series. Maybe a little similar to those airport security hold in real life form? (Or maybe not…it’s hard to know how much detail x-ray machines at airports actually record).

As a naturist, I don’t really care. Thousands have seen my real life naked form. Thousands(?) have probably seen some of the real life photos of me that have emerged online (although my real, full name, or any name at all is never tagged on them…so far at least). A security man at an airport here and there makes little difference to me. I just don’t care.

But some people, the bodyphobics in real life, do. ‘An infringement on privacy’.

Look…I’m going to be going in a tin tube six miles high. If the price of my security, up there, is someone seeing my ‘private parts’ on an x-ray to ensure it…work away!

Anyway, I have the answer.

Sometimes, naturists fear being known as naturists because they reason photos, or even the knowledge they’re naturists, will damage or end their career. It’s why many naturists are ‘in the closet’.

So…let’s work around that fear.

Ladies and gentlemen, the World Naked Photobase.

Every three years, you go and get your naked photo taken, front and back view, which identifies scars, tattoos and so on. These are uploaded to a database which anyone in the world can access. The President of the United States will be on there. Hollywood ‘A’ listers will be on there. You and I will be on there. Everyone will be on it within three years, and for infinity beyond that.

Airport security can match and overlay your previous ‘nude database’ photo with your current outline. And that rules out people travelling under stolen passports. I mean…your breasts haven’t shrunk in the last three years. Your penis hasn’t grown another two inches.

So there’s going to be a programme that can match a current nude negative to a current nude negative, a bit like face identification on some internet services like Facebook.

You’re going for a job. Does that employer want someone covered with tattoos representing the company? (Yes, there remains discrimination against tattoos) It works both ways. Logging into and viewing the World Nude Database is logged, thereby providing prospective employees with a record that their prospective employer viewed the nude photos, and maybe made a decision on hiring based on that. Something for the declined prospective employee to bring up with an industrial tribunal.

I start a new job. My new co-workers can view me naked online. And I can view them online.

Sure, I suspect that many, many people would log in to check out their colleagues. And then what? The mystery, the mystique, is over. That leggy blonde new to Accounts? Looks lovely naked, sure, but where’s your sexual innuendo in the workplace going thereafter? Nowhere. That’s right. A whole raft of suggestive, off-colour remarks are rendered redundant. You now HAVE seen him/her naked.

Don’t get me wrong…such a database would be THE biggest thing on the internet forever, for a while. And would then fade as ‘a thing’. Do you really care to see that leggy blonde naked? Well, you might get around to it but in the meantime, what were last night’s soccer/basketball results.

Believe me, like naturism means you don’t look anymore, a World Naked Database means you wouldn’t look anymore.

She’s just joined the Accounts department. Wanna see her naked?

Now you have. Now what? Gonna ‘out’ her as naturist? Sorry, what’s the point?

She’s just joined HR. Wanna see her naked?

Now you have. Now what?

She’s going through airport security and a red flag has come up against her. Let’s check her against our World Naked Database photo. Nope, she’s the same woman. She is who she says she is. Next!

She’s going through security and a red flag has come up against her name. Let’s check her out…nope, her body shape doesn’t match the database. Bring her in for questioning!

Believe me, half in jest or not, a World Naked Database would effectively kill off all manner of nasty whistleblowing ‘outing’ by office busybodies in an instant (you’ve seen my saggy boobs, I’ve seen your flaccid penis), as well as improving airport security.

Ella

I’m pretty sure the tax people didn’t know her as ‘Betty Sycamore’! 🙂

And ‘Katarina’ was too long to write on in body paint, so ‘Kat’ it is.

Pookes covered similar ground to this in a blog post in February 2015.

She also likened, very accurately, to the way Second Life works with name tags generally covering over avatars’ heads.

Back in the 60s, naturist clubs, specifically US ones, had a tradition of writing people’s names on their arms on entry to the club. It kind of served two purposes.

One, you could approach a stranger and call them by name, making for a friendly atmosphere. The sort of friendly atmosphere for which naturism is famed. Having your name on your arm merely short-circuited the introductions to a degree. Ditto Second Life. Hovering name tags mean you can say ‘hello John’ or ‘hi Janet’ immediately without the need for long-winded introductions.

Two, although less common by the 60s, was that some people liked anonymity in their club and not necessarily known by their real name because of attitudes that prevailed in the workplace beyond the naturist club.

In 1920s Britain, the desire for anonymity and secrecy was such that people in clubs would be assigned a name on joining, usually something Greco-Roman, so you could have a naturist club career as ‘Ajax’ or ‘Achilles’ or ‘Euripides’.

Incidentally, ‘Betty Sycamore’ sounds like a name made for Second Life!

French avatar Noreena adopts a 1960s US style of identification

Ella

No sooner had I posted this than a photo I’d never seen before appeared online…so here’s Roberta and Wilhelmina…

Naturist films have a long history.

There were early 60s ‘nudesploitation’ movies such as those above.

All the way through to Educating Julie…

..and right up to the most recent exploration of the lifestyle, Act Naturally…

They’re of varying quality, but they’re always an interesting watch. (Blaze Starr is an excerpt, Act Naturally a trailer, and Educating Julie a full movie)

So let’s expand that small, varied and interesting canon of naturist movies by adding one more…The SL Naturist movie, and naturism within Second Life! 🙂

Yes…amongst our plans for 2018 is our very own naturist movie, shot in Second Life and including several avatars. I have no idea how long production of this will take or how complicated it may be, but we’re going to do both that and also do some short ‘travelogues’ from within SL naturist sims, all free to view from the SLN youtube channel we’re also setting up.

Don’t hold your breath just yet! It’s a whole new learning curve and there will be an entire raft of mistakes to make while learning. BUT we should be able, at the very least, to do little ‘live action’ videos from some of your favourite SL naturism sims as 2018 progresses. I’ve already ‘completed’ one very short video of me demonstrating a free Bento dance that’s currently available.

As I’ve done a couple of screen grabs from the video itself definition isn’t as good as it would be in a usual SL photograph, but hopefully the images above will demonstrate where we’re coming from, and going to!

By complete, I mean I’ve danced…it’s now necessary to add some music to it and add some titles (such as the location to get it!) but believe me when I say it’s a whole new way of looking at SL naturism and adds a whole new dimension to what we’ll (eventually) be reporting.

Stay tuned!

Real life is busy this weekend, it being New Year’s Eve, but I’ll see if I can grab some time -no promises, this may well roll into next week- to complete the dance demonstration and then publicise our own youtube channel in due course.

Ella

Remove swimwear

Carry swimwear until it can be discarded in a suitable recycling spot.

Face the sea in your birthday suit 

Wade right in, to the sea and naturism. No one is looking. No one cares.

Take to the water with a friend or loved one.

Thrill to the feeling of swimming without a costume.

Wish you’d done this years ago and vow never to go clothed on a beach ever again!

Yep! Welcome to the wonderful world of naturism!

Ella

With a bit of my inventory/wardrobe now being redundant in the shift to a mesh body, I’ve been adding bits to ‘fill the gaps’ left by that changeover.

I saw this Christmas gift at the Maitreya store. 

It’s offered as ‘an evening dress’ but, to me, has elements of a ‘tied at the bosom’ sarong about it too, so I’ve simply renamed it in my inventory and will wear it as such.

I’m also in the process of rejigging the couple of alts I have, one being re-cast as a ‘petite’ avatar, who will fulfil the role of my children in some 2018 posts. Why? Naturism is family orientated and we seem to have got into a position where we naturists have altered our mindset to fit in with the sick, depraved minds who gets thrills from photos of children. That’s more than OK where it’s real life photos of children. Do nothing to feed the perverted minds of paedophiles. Challenge them and report them at every turn.

But in Second Life and its essentially ‘cartoon’ figures, I see nothing wrong with the inclusion of petite avatars in a naturist setting in order to reinforce the idea that naturism is for families, and that children should be taught to grow up without shame regarding their, and others, bodies. It’s all completely natural and healthy and I believe I can include them in the occasional post to make people aware it’s a family orientated lifestyle without ever focusing on the children. Their avatar form is merely there to add some context, hence me cajoling a reluctant child from the sea (above).

Of course, I won’t be dwelling on petite nudity in an explicit way -see the photo above- rather implying it. And it will be a rare post that includes it. But it’s important that we reinforce the ‘family’ element of naturism to an audience, such as there may be on this blog, who aren’t entirely familiar with naturist culture and who may be here solely for the real life photos of adult women.

Which is why I’ve previously included many real life photos of elderly naturists, much to the chagrin of some readers who imagine that naturism should be the sole preserve of the lithe and lissome female.

Ella