A short and sweet reflection for Women on Wednesdays today.
As much as the clothes free / naturist / nudist community talks about how these movements aren’t just about naked bodies, I still see large numbers of retweets of nameless, story-less images.
The following tweet came through my feed today via someone’s retweeting activities:
For me, these kinds of tweets are exactly why the movement is not making great headway. British Naturism is hosting “Women in Naturism” in one week, and yet people are still trying to draw women into naturism by using the same marketing techniques that the rest of society employs to sell their ideas and products.
And the clothes free community, including those who call themselves experienced, long-time nudists, keeps re-tweeting these images.
The account that posted this image claims that sharing this picture is the way to get the word out about how wonderful nudism is. But when I look at this picture, all I’m reminded of are these advertisements from society:
It’s the same nameless woman object on every single image.
These advertisements are part of the same conversations we women have concerning body image and body acceptance. Is it no wonder, then, why some of us might not trust the clothes free community that claims to not obsess over bodies or care what people look like, when what’s touted as the best representation of nudism is the same woman held down at her breasts by a man’s be-jeweled hands? Is it any wonder why some of us might be hesitant to step into the community, particularly in gender-mixed social settings, when what we see are people taking our images to promote their ideas, rather than sharing themselves?
We claim to care about more than the body, but this body (in various gender forms, I should add, because I’ve seen the young over-muscled male ones used, too) is the one used to promote nudism without name, without story.
Many clothes free folks claim to be different, dare I say “above” the “textiles,” but at the end of the day, many use the same stuff to market their nudist ideas.
I had two tweets in response to all of this:
It is challenging for me as I connect with women here and there, to convince them that this is a safe space, that they can just be themselves and be respected and honored as human beings, when really, it looks to be more of the same of what we deal with everywhere else in life. These tactics will never work.
All of the women with whom I’ve connected online have always been more interested in what it is I have to say or write rather than my naked body. Whether through extensive Skype calls, text chats, letters or even just quick comment replies to Instagram, Flickr or Twitter posts, every last one of them has always been more interested in my words. Every single woman.
So the clothes free community needs to keep this in mind when trying to market naturism, nudism and clothes free life. If you want to reach women, don’t sell women to women. We’re interested in stories.
Honestly, the best way to promote naturism / nudism / and clothes freedom is to just be you.
Filed under: WOW
