the definition of nudity? — Conduct and Etiquette on True Nudists

canudie19Original Poster

Apr 9, 2010

this might seem like an odd question but i was discussing it with a nudist friend of mine and it got me wondering about it. its my understanding usually when a nudist is cold they put a shirt on, but would they still be nude if they had a piece of clothing on such as the shirt? and if they are because their just wearing a shirt and considered half a nudist, would they be half a nudist if they were just wearing bottoms? (shorts, pants, etc...) if anyone would like to give their 2 cents worth to this topic/debate, feel free to. i wanna hear what you all think

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CA
catbird
Apr 9, 2010
[quote]Nudism: Nude when possible, clothed when practical, and non-sexual.[/quote] Nude when in clothing optional setting or in private. Clothed when needed for warmth or protection, and in clothing compulsory setting. AND non-sexual
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CD
Cheri Donna Dawson
Apr 10, 2010
If you're asking about definition of nudity - the state of being without clothing, no garments or covering.
IMHO nudism is about de-stressing, relaxing, returning to innocense, clothes-free.
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BI
Bicyclenude
Apr 10, 2010
If a man is at the beach and is wearing a Speedo, he is appropriately, if not fully clothed for the circumstances. He might even be fully clothed, vis a vis being at the beach, if he is wearing a thong. At least in France. So basically, the man is not nude until he removes the last two inches of cloth and exposes his genitals. Therefore, in answer to the original question, nudity is genital exposure. At the beach anyway. Of course if you're at the bus stop and expose your genitals, that is not nudity. That is perversion.
But back to the beach - if the man takes off his thong but wears it as a hat to shade his bald head, is he still considered nude? What if he puts on sandals? Sunglasses? I suspect most people would call him nude. Of course, a naked man with a thong on his head will be called many other things as well.
I think you have hit on a cosmic conundrum. In defining nudity, genital exposure is necessary but not sufficient whereas complete absence of covering is sufficient but not necessary. Maybe nudity is the absence of covering between the neck and the ankles. Works for me.
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OC
ocmick
Apr 10, 2010
[quote]Nudism: Nude when possible, clothed when practical, and non-sexual.[/quote]simple...next question...
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GE
Gerry-4
Apr 10, 2010
"For the purposes of this section, a person is nude who is so clad as to offend against public decency or order."

That's from the Criminal Code of Canada. Technically, I could be fully dressed, but if my choice of clothing or the way I wear it offends public decency or order, I could be charged.

I'm exaggerating, of course. Case law must have narrowed the definition somewhat from it's point of departure.
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ME
Member
Apr 11, 2010
I'm always nude, even if it's under my clothesJen
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ME
Member
Apr 11, 2010
*
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CD
Cheri Donna Dawson
Apr 11, 2010
[quote]I'm always nude, even if it's under my clothesJen[/quote] Us too. :) It's a mindset rather than a state of being.
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CA
canudie19Original Poster
Apr 12, 2010
thank you to everyone who replied. you all have given me much more than i had asked for and i thank you very much for that as it not only educated me with the answer to my question, but gave me much more insight and knowledge on the topic of nudism. as someone who has yet to experience social naturism in a public setting, i feel like i am new to the whole scene and having all of you help me out with this was truly fantastic. thanks! :)
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CO
Curt, or Cowboy
Apr 15, 2010
It's a good question !
From what I've seen, here and at resorts, there is almost always genital involvement before one is considered "nude" per se.
Under Ohio law, exposing the buttocks is also considered nude, even if genitals are not visible.
Personally, I like to run across the wide open field ( about 15 acres ) wearing nothing that I wasn't born with, but generally wear sandals on the gravel roads and such.
Many, mostly women, wear wrap-around sarongs in the "you must be nude" areas without complaints from anyone, so .... ??
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LA
Lakeman221
Dec 11, 2015
I would say being nude is no clothes on between at least the chin and ankles. If you have on a shirt or sarong, then you are not truly nude, just partially nude. But not really nude. I sometimes wear a cap to shade my eyes from the sun, or wear some kind of footwear if the ground is not barefoot friendly.
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GL
globalnudeboy
Dec 11, 2015
Once you have established yourself as a nudist - someone who prefers to live life naked as much as possible - you remain a nudist also during those times when you have to wear clothes (just as a smoker remains a smoker between cigarettes) ... but you are not naked - until you remove those clothes. Compared to other living creatures we tend to be tenderfoot and have heat sensitive heads. Therefore I would consider a person who wears only shoes and/or hat as being naked ...
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NU
nudony
Dec 20, 2015
To me it's an interesting concept. Over the years I've known die-hard nudists - that still looked pretty much "nudist" even with clothes one. That's probably because they still had the "attitude" that even though they were covered, the coverage was indeed but a "temporary state."
2. On the other hand...I've seen self-conscious nudists be nude - but be so "boxed in" that they gave out a "non-nude vibe" - even though they might be completely undressed.
1. So I think "nudity" is part physical state of undress; part state of mind. It takes a little bit of both to be "truly nude."
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ST
Steve
Dec 21, 2015
I'm aware of two nudity-mandatory events around here. One is a regular nude volleyball game, which imposed the mandatory rule on players and spectators after tour groups starting coming to watch. There, nudity means sensible footwear, any jewelry you never take off, and nothing else. I know of an exception made for an elderly man who has difficulty dressing and undressing, when he came along with friends.

The other is a non-landed, indoor, club with the rule. Shoes come off, but that's just local custom. For the Halloween party, the rule was distilled to "genitals exposed."
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NU
nudony
Dec 23, 2015
[quote]I'm aware of two nudity-mandatory events around here. One is a regular nude volleyball game, which imposed the mandatory rule on players and spectators after tour groups starting coming to watch. There, nudity means sensible footwear, any jewelry you never take off, and nothing else. I know of an exception made for an elderly man who has difficulty dressing and undressing, when he came along with friends.

The other is a non-landed, indoor, club with the rule. Shoes come off, but that's just local custom. For the Halloween party, the rule was distilled to "genitals exposed."
[/quote]
Certainly, when nudity is ruled as "mandatory", there is little to no room left for debating what nudity means. The word is defined by someone else, and typically means "the absence of clothing of any kind - excluding hat, sunglasses and shoes." In layman's terms: nothing covering the chest or genitals.
- The choice then becomes clear: either abide by someone else's definition of nudity; or reject it and walk away. But does that mean that this "imposed" definition of nudity is the "only" correct definition?
- I'll let you be the judge of that, because after all, it's all about choice.
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