News and Articles

News and articles about BN and the wonderful world of Naturism

International update: 34th INF/FNI World Congress Report:

In September I attended the INF World Congress at Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, Ireland as the BN delegate. (Please see the italics at the end of the article for an explanation of the mechanics of the congress) Overall, the congress was very useful and many important subjects were progressed with enthusiasm. From BN’s perspective there were many more positive than negative outcomes and, most importantly, ways forward were agreed. The congress covered a wide range of issues, so my apologies for jumping around. This report covers the most important issues for BN only. Probably the most important result for BN was that our motion to amend the statutes (constitution), received unanimous approval. This was: To add ‘Protecting against threats to Naturism’ to the purposes of the INF/FNI organisation, as defined by the statutes. This is important because its inclusion means that action and budget planning no longer has to be accompanied by justification as to why we should be taking the action and can concentrate on delivery.
At the previous congress two years ago in Croatia, BN were successful in getting the preparation of an INF action plan agreed. Whilst this has taken some time, the two-year ‘Working Plan’ has been produced and it contains clear actions and budgets. The plan was often referred to during congress and we also had a workshop session where separate groups progressed the subject of inappropriate censorship. Responsibilities have begun to be allocated and BN needs to do its part in stepping forward to help. I will be identifying these volunteer opportunities over the next few weeks, but some are clear already. It must be realised that the INF board are only five volunteers spread very widely. They have a part time secretary for just nine hours a week. Hence they are smaller than most federations (including BN) and they can only develop with the assistance of additional enthusiastic volunteers.
Other positive outcomes:
• BN’s proposal to explore the feasibility of a management forum to progress actions and share information will be trialled using an existing Canadian platform at no cost. It was agreed that English would be the main language.
• Hungary is to lead on compiling an agreed list of expected Naturist behaviour guidelines and they have produced a first draft. BN will input.
• The marketing strategy needs to be more ‘professional’ and clearly focused and formalised in a plan. This is to be led by the Rest of the
World CC rep, but I pledged BN assistance, so if you can help progress this, please contact me.
• A Brazilian proposal to add Spanish as a fourth official language was modified, at my suggestion, to cover key promotional and website material only. Thus it is fairly low effort, but potentially high impact.
• ‘Naturist lifestyle as a right’ to be added to the Working Plan and France will lead.
• The congress was very successful for the Irish Naturist Association. They achieved much credibility, lots of positive press and quite a few new members. Some of my press contributions were printed, but not credited. There was also an interest in developing Naturism in Northern Ireland that BN will be engaging with. The illegality of Naturism in Ireland was shown to be without basis and a serious handicap to their tourism in particular. The various reports included some interesting feedback:
• The INF’s finances are very healthy and well managed and audited (actually ‘checked’, as are BN’s). The many challenging questions asked were well answered. The budgets for each of the next two years are based on the Working Plan and were approved. This includes a modest planned ‘loss’ in 2016.
• All federations are experiencing reduced membership numbers. BN’s
membership reductions are a little less than the others. We all have the
same challenges! • France are prioritising defending Naturism in the media and heavily funding it. They asked to share experiences.
• Canada has started to phase out their printed magazine, but this is not
progressing well for them and they are reviewing it.
• The Dutch reported on their successful challenge to the basis for
categorisation of a traditional Naturist beach. This had cost them a very large amount as they had used the best lawyer for this, but it was a vital
principle, so a significant result for European Naturism. They agreed to
produce a summary in the three INF languages.
• Spain has taken four city councils to their Supreme Court over anti-Naturism byelaws (ongoing)
There was a significant disappointment:
• The Spanish motion to allocate an annual budget to create a legal fund, strongly supported by BN, was defeated. Although there was support from almost half of the delegates, this result was mainly due to the lack of
details for implementation. The INF CC asked Spain to lead the ‘Protecting
Naturism’ Working Plan action and to work to draft the detail for managing
a future legal fund. BN help will be required, so if you can help progress
this, please contact me.
Next congress:
Italy and New Zealand both proposed themselves to host the next World Congress in 2016. New Zealand had had major help from their tourist board and regional councils and had produced much excellent proposal material. INF funding implications were worked through and a satisfactory solution agreed. New Zealand won the secret ballot by161 to 40 votes. With the INF’s funding assistance this will not cost BN any more than attending a European location. Elections: INF EC, Vice-President- Secretariat:
Secret ballot: Mick Ayers (Spain) 63, Jean Peters (Luxembourg) 138.
Mick Ayers was thanked for 14 years of service on the CC/EC and received a standing ovation.
INF CC, Assessor Europe: Bernd Huijser (Netherlands) was standing down.
Secret ballot: Christophe Muller (Germany) 43, Garmt Kolhorn (Netherlands president) 158 Law Council: The existing three were all elected unanimously.
Auditors (checkers): The existing two, plus one reserve, were all elected unanimously.Background to the congress mechanics: 22 (of 30) federations were represented, and in total about 130 attended the congress. The meetings are open to any INF cardcarrying member, but only a single delegate from each federation, plus the INF committee of 5** (sometimes joined by the legal and audit teams when requested) can speak. There is simultaneous translation via microphones and earpieces between the three official languages of German, French and English. Only the 22 delegates can vote, and voting strength is based on the size of membership. BN is the fourth largest federation with 15 votes out of a total of 201 present. Apart from the Europeans, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa (new), Canada and Brazil were represented. The congress consists of two nine-hour days of reports, motions and elections and is fast-paced, lively and very challenging. It is anything but cosy, and input needs to be concise, assertive and supportable. The two main days are preceded by an afternoon where the press are invited, which is less intense and this Congress included a debate about Naturist tourism and other promotional messages. **The INF board comprises three Executive Committee (EC) members and the two other committee members make up the Central Committee (CC) of five. They manage the INF/FNI affairs between them, but some decisions can only be made by the board (EC).

BN202 Magazine

· We feature a round up of many of the fantastic events of the summer including Nudefest
· Read an in-depth interview with Laura Dodsworth, founder of the Bare Reality project
· Find out about the three new BN Members’ Holidays announced for 2015
– open for booking now
· France is our featured destination – be inspired by others’ holiday stories
· We report from the INF Congress in Ireland
Plus more features and articles, news and information from the UK and beyond, updates on BN’s work and full listings of clubs, swims and events
BN Magazine is available to members only and issued four times a year as part of the annual subscription. Members can also download a full PDF of the magazine here. If you are not a member, you can join us and get your own copy here.

YouGov poll - Stephen Gough

It is surprisingly difficult to write good opinion poll questions so it is no surprise that this poll, excellent in many ways, does have some failings. Also, the aggregation of the figures into the YouGov article, Britain: still a nation of nude prudes, has obscured some important points. More detailed figures are available from a YouGov pdf file.
Other British Naturism articles concerning Stephen Gough:
General article with links to wide range of articles, polls, and analysis Analysis of the European Court of Human Rights judgement Press release Summary
Personal nudity - slightly more people are uncomfortable with personal nudity than are comfortable with it, 50% to 42%. A very clear majority support the contention that Britain is too prudish. 65% to 24%, and for those who feel strongly about it 14% to 2%. About a quarter of the UK population have skinny dipped Which is more important, naturist's right to freedom of expression 31%, protection from harassment and distress 50%. But the premise of the question is so seriously flawed that the figures mean little. Knew of the naked rambler 64%, no prior knowledge 31%. Treatment of Stephen Gough: Too harsh 49%, about right 30%, too soft 5%. Overall, strong support for Stephen Gough, and the poll would have been even more in his favour but for some shortcomings in the questions. Only a tiny minority, 2%, strongly support any further increase in prudery.
Personal nudity
The figures are consistent with the anecdotal evidence and other polls. The patterns across gender, age, social grade and region are also consistent. Attitudes are broadly the same across the political parties and what differences there are may be due to social grade effects, but it needs a detailed look at the raw survey data to verify that.
Personal nudity - slightly more people are uncomfortable with personal nudity than are comfortable with it, 50% to 42%.
British Attitudes
"British people are too easily offended by matters relating to sex or nudity?" As with most polls it pays to look at the details rather than the headline figures in the media report. Most people will have answered a different question than was asked and the conclusion often depends how you aggregate the figures. For example the figure of 24% disagree is made up from tend to disagree 22% and only a tiny 2% strongly disagree. By comparison there were 14% strongly agree and 51% tend to agree.
The other problem is that this is actually a very complex question and it is impossible to know how many people answered a different question to the one asked! This question asks for the respondents view on their perception of the public's attitude but we know from other polls that public perception of public attitude is often very different from the actual public attitude. That makes it very difficult for somebody who actually knows what public attitudes are to answer the question. Whatever they answer it will be untruthful or misleading! As one naturist wrote:
However, I doubt if that had a major impact as the figures are consistent with the anecdotal evidence. Only a very tiny minority strongly support the prudification of society.
A very clear majority support the contention that Britain is too prudish. 65% to 24%, and for those who feel strongly about it 14% to 2%.
Experience of Skinny Dipping
The figure of 27% is consistent with the 2001 NOP and the 2011 Ipsos MORI polls. The patterns across gender, age, social grade and region are also consistent.
About a quarter of the UK population have skinny dipped
Naturist rights
This question is very seriously flawed because it starts from a false premise.
Oh dear, there are so many assumptions, mistakes, and simplifications wrapped up in those seemingly simple words that it is difficult to know where to start.
It is not just the right to freedom of expression, there are several other Human Rights also engaged. Naturism is a matter of belief for many people. That is why people who know about the subject use a capital 'N'. The wider public do indeed have a right to be protected from harassment and they have a right to be protected from justified distress, but: Naturism is not harassment and the practice of Naturism does not result in harassment. Nobody has a right to be protected from their own misapprehension, myth, and prejudice. The correct response is reassurance and education. Some consideration should be shown whilst that is carried out. As one naturist commented:
As it stands, the question is offensive and seriously biased.
Which is more important, naturist's right to freedom of expression 31%, or protection from harassment and distress 50%. But the premise of the question is so seriously flawed that the figures mean little.
Knowledge of "the naked rambler"
Knew of him 64%, no prior knowledge 31%.
Sentencing of Stephen Gough
The YouGov document has been misprinted and part of the question is missing. However enough of it remains for valid comments to be made.
It states that Steve Gough has been convicted of "Indecent Exposure" on a number of occasions. Obviously the person who wrote the questions has inadequate knowledge of both the case and the law. There is no such offence so it is unsurprising that he has never been convicted of it. Most of his time in prison has been for doing something that a judge or magistrate told him not to.
Breach of the peace - Scottish common law. In other words devised by judges, not Parliament. Contempt of Court - The judge did not agree with Mr Gough's sartorial style. s.5 Public Order Act 1986 - One conviction only, a small fine. A magistrate imposed an ASBO, having refused to even listen to the evidence regarding harm and benefit, and it is for breach of that ASBO that he remains in prison. It is not clear how much background information the respondents were given. For example were they told that Mr Gough has spent the last ten years in almost continuous solitary confinement? Did they know about the problems obtaining medical treatment? Did they know that he has been denied legal representation? Did they know that food has been withheld? Did they know that he is denied visitors and has problems obtaining writing materials? Did they know that he has won damages for his mistreatment?
The figures from this poll are very supportive of Mr Gough and if the deficiencies in this question and earlier were rectified then they would undoubtedly be even more supportive.
Treatment of Stephen Gough: Too harsh 49%, about right 30%, too soft 5%.
Concluding remarks
There is much more support for Mr Gough than police, prosecutors, magistrates, and judges assumed when making their decisions. Only a tiny minority, about 2%, have any significant problem over nudity. The public are strongly in favour of reducing prudery despite the government policy, and widespread propaganda, to increase it. I don't want to appear overly critical of YouGov. Writing good poll questions is extraordinarily difficult, but please, another time, check your facts. We are always pleased to help. This would be a good example for teaching students the difficulties of writing polls!

Single men – problem or perception?

We deplore any kind of discrimination within Naturism. In our ‘Aims’ set out in our Three Year Plan (available to download from the BN website) we state “We will welcome participation in Naturism by all without discrimination” – and that means EVERYONE regardless of race, colour, creed, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation or relationship status. All we ask is good behaviour. All BN-organised events are open to all, though at some it is a pre-requisite to be a BN member. It is easy to join.Whoever you are, it would be highly desirable if your BN membership card allowed access to all clubs and swims but sadly, this is not the case. Although clubs and swims are members of BN, they own and run themselves, making their own decisions, though they must demonstrate certain standards before their membership is approved.Equally, most clubs are run by the members in their spare time and it is not possible for them to be staffed 24 hours and therefore allow guests simply to turn up, pay a fee and enjoy the facilities for a few hours. And, so, whilst it may seem defensive, the vast majority of our clubs will offer memberships only and ask applicants to go through a process before they can join. A big plus is that the club is more likely to be a safer place as a result – and showing the steps that are taken certainly helps us when the media want to throw mud. So, is the single men issue a real problem or is it just imagined? It’s probably a bit of both. There are plenty of single men in membership of clubs, but many who clearly have been turned away because of being unaccompanied – and often before they have even been given the chance to visit and meet people face to face. Owing to our natural human instinct to want to make a fuss when we think we’ve been treated badly, is it possible that there are simply more stories around about membership refusals than acceptances? Perhaps it is this that has created the presumption that – under any circumstances – single men are unwelcome in Naturism? And in any case, what actually is the problem with men on their own? Granted,for whatever reason, there are more men than women in Naturism but why a ‘gender imbalance’ should cause any difficulties, we don’t know. Are all club members always present so that any imbalance is noticeable? And why should there be any issue if there are more men than women around? The sadly often heard phrase ‘predatory male’ shows as much prejudice and lack of understanding as we complain about from those outside Naturism. If ‘accepting anyone’ leads to hordes of single men, we certainly don’t see it at events like Nudefest for which anyone can buy a ticket and where the gender balance is less than 2:1, men to women, with no ‘vetting’ procedure at all. One of the problems is that we often only hear of issues arising third hand, with many of the people who are turned away from clubs for being on their own not letting us know so that we can take some action. We can’t guarantee success but we are always willing to try. An interesting consideration in these tough economictimes, when all organisations struggle to make ends meet, is the act of turning away a fee-paying member who may also help with the running of the club which seems to make no sense! It’s also often said that single people may well have more free time to devote to helping the club to thrive.
At any age, for men or women, being single can be a temporary state of affairs. It very often happens that a single member of a club introduces a friend or new partner after a while. How many young single men have been turned away from Naturist clubs in the past and who are now married with the families that the clubs crave? There is a sub category – the ‘singlemarrieds’ – people with a partner who has no interest in Naturism. We can’t see that there is anything wrong with that – many millions of couples around the world will be doing different things in their leisure time, but we know that some clubs and swims are hesitant about allowing such people to join. Why? An obvious strategy is for clubs and swims to recruit more women, not just turn away perfectly acceptable prospective members because of their gender. Our recruitment strategy (also available to download from the website) has lots of ideas for how more women might be encouraged to give Naturism a try – start a campaign today!
Click here for a feature article on the issue
If you have a view on this subject, whether you are a disaffected individual,
serve on a club committee, or just a member with an opinion, we’d love to
hear from you.

How DOES a lone male get acceptance?

Q1 I am a single man and cannot get accepted for membership into a Naturist club Why is this?
Reply: I’m sorry to hear of your difficulty in securing membership. There are several reasons why this might happen but I think the main one tends to be that most clubs wish to maintain a balance of gender and singles to couples, to create a comfortable mix. Clubs can easily get inundated with applications from single males and some will get through whilst others might be placed on a waiting list. However there could be a completely different reason for the club turning you down and they are allowed to decline if they regard you as unsuitable. In my 10 years experience there have been very few we’ve had to refuse. If they seem reluctant to be naked despite several visits in suitable temperatures then we suggest Naturism is not for them. Likewise if they are seeking “adult parties” or they seem to be looking for cheap thrills, then the club is not for them either. When applying to a club do try to come across as genuine and friendly and try not to get defensive from the start. I am not going against the rules of Equality; ALL applicants should be open and honest. I would hope that all clubs respond in a professional and polite manner too.
Q2 Do clubs view me, a single man, to be a threat, a nuisance, a pervert, what? I find even the possibility of them thinking that, to be offensive and unfair when they don’t know me nor give me a chance to prove myself.
Reply: Please do not take it personally; there could be various reasons you are refused and they need not be any of your suggestions. It could simply be that they have their quota for the policy they run for their club. A good club will explain their system and reasoning and keep your details on record for when they DO have a vacancy; so do ask for an explanation.
Q3 Do single females get treated the same?
Reply: Well, I have to admit single females seem to be received more readily but then there are generally very few that apply, so when they do, they could be useful to address the balance if the club already has single males. On the whole it seems to be the male that instigates being Naturist and the female is often the apprehensive one, unsure they wish to do so and lacking the confidence to give it a try. If only they would make that initial visit with their man, they would soon see the rest of us women are all pretty average and of all shapes and sizes! Few of us think we are perfect and even the ones we envy often have their own body hang ups. On the whole it’s about body confidence rather than body beautiful and whilst we all have plans to lose weight and so forth, we just get on with accepting ourselves as we are and make the most of it!
Q4 Surely with Equality laws they HAVE to treat the genders the same?
Reply: Well, yes and no: Gender IS a protected characteristic of the Equality Act 2010 but clubs ARE allowed to, for example, advertise specifically for females if they can show they are under represented by them compared to their male membership figures. This is “positive action”. Clubs would have to have figures ready to back them up and be seen to be actively attempting to attract single females hence the suggestion I made last year for clubs to hold open days for ladies, to encourage them to visit and try it out. However, Singles and Couples are not protected characteristics so it is within the law to promote or refuse people on those grounds as we are not meaning single as in a relationship status compared to a married couple: we are talking of an application for membership by a person on their own or of two people applying together.
Q5 But why won’t clubs take on virtually everyone that wants to join, don’t they need the money?
Reply: Commercially run clubs, owned by someone making their living from it might well take in almost anyone who pays their way but many Naturist clubs are like Blackthorns and own the land and the club outright and manage it for themselves, so no one is creaming huge profits from the income. They run it at rates to cover the bills and maintenance and have sufficient money for improvements. We all want the same thing: a pleasant atmosphere with facilities, at a price we can afford. We also want it to be a safe environment so everyone is there for the right reason; that way we can relax and enjoy the lifestyle. Private Members Clubs used to be able to make their own rules and whilst members needed to be selected and elected at Board level, and still are, they now have to follow the rules of Equality & Diversity, with few exceptions.
Q6 But what have they got against any number of single males becoming members? Why would it matter?
Reply: Even the single male members tell me they don’t wish it to be over-run, for want of a better word, with single men: they too enjoy the mix of ages, genders, couples, families and singles but yes, some people do have a fear, that if they let everyone in, they will be outnumbered by single men.
Q7 So why is there an imagined threat by single males, who might not even be single?
Reply: Good question, as being single doesn’t make that person any different in ways that could affect any of us. If they are a nice person it makes no difference to us that they are in a relationship, married, divorced or widowed; they are still that nice person. Many of the men that hold single membership actually have a partner who does not wish to be Naturist. I always suggest they accompany them on at least one visit, just to see what we are like and hopefully realise the reason their partner wants to join.
Another thing that goes against single males is that the typical “meerkats” found on Naturist beaches, usually bobbing up and down in the dunes, seemingly getting turned on by the sight of nudity are, I think, always male. However if you read national newspapers you’ll see that it isn’t always men that get into trouble on sex related offences. No, those who could be a threat to us and our children come in all guises; single, married, parents and of either sex. We do need to be vigilant but not paranoid.
Q8 So what should a single male do to get to be part of the Naturist community? I don’t want to become a lone male on a beach and be viewed with suspicion.
Reply: First of all, try contacting the clubs and swims and explain your circumstances; give your contact details and be open and honest. The men that contact me yet show reluctance to supplying personal information are the ones I tend to distrust and I would feel the same if it were a woman. Join BN, The Suntreckers or the Singles Outdoor Club. Attend BN events: the beach days, Abbey House Gardens open days, Alton Towers weekends, AGMs and Regional Meetings. Get involved in sports. You will become known to people. Prove yourself to be a decent person so that when clubs DO have vacancies they’ll remember you. People would rather take someone who comes recommended. If you get the opportunity to visit clubs, do so: show you want to socialise and be part of their community. It’s funny but when I ask women why they are anxious at the thought of more single males joining their clubs they almost always say it’s because they don’t know them. They tend to forget they didn’t know ANY of their friends BEFORE they had opportunity to get to know them, male or female, singles or couples!
Click here to see BN's view on the issue
NB. Any reference to the Equality Act 2010 is as I personally understand it to mean. Before taking any action with your club or business please refer to https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance-guidance for information on Equality & Diversity. The protected characteristics are: Age, Disability, Gender Reassignment, Pregnancy & Maternity, Race, Religion & Belief, Sex, Sexual Orientation and Marriage & Civil Partnership.Their “Quick start guide to positive action in recruitment & promotion” explains it in detail with reference to “positive action” with regards to a protected characteristic being under represented.

Holkham beach - saved for Naturism by BN

It’s not always easy to persuade people to join an organisation, especially one like ours where you need nothing (literally!) to be able to participate. Aside from the benefits our incredibly cheap annual membership offers and the opportunity to be part of a community – whether meeting other people face to face, or the feeling of not being alone – a crucial part of our work is to challenge threats to our lifestyle – something we do very well, as the following shows…and don’t be one of those who say ‘I never use that beach’; think of how we will act when your favourite place is taken away from you…
Photo by Andy Crawford. The sign is a long way from where it should be, so that no one notices it!
It is excellent news that there is once again Naturism at Holkham, one of the largest and most beautiful beaches in the UK. It has taken a lot of work, the intervention of lawyers – and a lot of money.
The Holkham Estate owns the dunes and the beach above mean high water. Below mean high water the beach belongs to The Crown Estate (therefore national property) and Natural England (the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England’s natural environment, is protected and improved) has a lease giving partial control until 2017.
Since time immemorial, nude sunbathing has been a feature of Holkham beach, but we believe it was in the 1950s that it was formally recognised. From the 1990s to the present, Naturism was not permitted in the
dunes, but the lack of notices resulted in most users not knowing that. Annually BN met with The Holkham Estate, sometimes even Lord Coke himself, usually at BN beach days. On occasions they mentioned some problems but told us they had resolved them. There was no mention of any problems when we met them again, with the police, in Summer 2012.
Out of the blue, in March 2013, the Holkham Estate told us that they were considering a ban on Naturism because of indecent activities in the dunes. There followed correspondence, phone calls and meetings, in which we challenged the decision, stating that problems in the dunes should be tackled in the dunes, and not that all Naturists using the beach should be made to suffer. We also queried the validity of a ban. In June 2013, they issued a press release that a ban on Naturism on the whole beach was about to start. We immediately embarked on fact finding and information gathering but by August reasonable persuasion had not worked so we brought in the lawyers.
We sent a letter, a QC prepared seven page legal master class, to The Crown Estate, as the first step in Judicial Review. We engaged one of the top firms of Human Rights solicitors…and The Crown Estate promptly lifted the ban on their part of the beach. Not long after, we heard from Natural England with an invitation to a meeting and we sat down with them to discuss the location of the nude area at Holkham and how signs would be worded. Result!
So, Naturists can once again use the beach at Holkham without having to worry, though some aspects of the present situation are less than satisfactory and the future is not certain. We’re also not back to exactly where we were before – an approximately 10 metre strip in front of the dunes still carries the ‘ban’ because it is owned by the Holkham Estate.
On a recent visit to the beach we opened conversations with beach users with two questions “Any problems?” and “What do you think of what happened last year?” Note that the questions are carefully neutral. The answers were much as expected, and there were many contradictions of what the Holkham Estate has claimed.
About half immediately said that it was unclear where the preferred area for Naturism is and more importantly where it is banned. Signs are needed on the Holkham Estate land but our requests have been refused.
A similar number of people blamed the problems on the “perverts in the dunes” and few knew about the other reasons which we have discovered since the announcement of the ban. If the dispute flairs up again we have the option of going public with the real reasons.
Several of the beach users had some knowledge of Holkham Estate enforcement action in the dunes over several years and their opinion was scathing. There was a lot of anger at the unfairness of the ban last summer and it is going to take time and persuasion to build up good relations between beach users and the Holkham Estate. We did warn the Holkham Estate that that would be the result of their actions but they ignored us.
But this is real progress and has only come about because of the work of British Naturism and its volunteers.We estimate that we have expended getting on for £10,000 on Holkham over the past 18 months. Fortunately a lot of that was in the form of donated time, and we obtained substantial discounts from the solicitors, but even so there was an appreciable cash outlay. We don’t have the war-chest to be able to fight issues like this very often and is a reason why we are always encouraging people to join us – each individual subscription really matters.
We hope you can see why.

The Bare Reality Project

Laura is a professional photographer and feminist, who is inspired by the human body and relationships. She set up Bare Reality (www.barereality.net), an art and social project to explore how women feel about their breasts. During the project she has photographed the breasts of one hundred women and captured each woman's personal experiences and their relationship with their breasts. The result is the book Bare Reality, to be published early next year.
The mission statement for the project explains the rationale:
"More than simply part of our bodies, breasts represent sexuality, motherhood and femininity. Their primary purpose is to feed our babies. At the same time, in Western culture they are considered a woman’s single most significant sexual attribute. They can be erogenous zones. Yet to others they bring disappointment, inconvenience, and even health problems."
As a feminist, Laura has long had an interest in women's stories and explains "Bare Reality is inspired by my interest in how women see their breasts versus how we see them in the media. They're just part of our bodies, they're not the most important thing about us, but they are central to some personal experiences of being a woman, from body image to breast feeding, to sexuality and health."
Laura points out that the breasts we see in the media are airbrushed images of perfection, so she wanted to find out how women actually felt about their breasts. "Over the years I felt a tension between how breasts are depicted in the media, compared to how I felt about my breasts privately, my own personal experience of them. Right now there is so much public debate about breasts, in fact there's probably never been as much debate as there is now."
She cites the examples of Vogue Creative Director Grace Coddington, whose Instagram account was suspended following the posting of a topless line drawing, and pop star Rihanna, who also suffered the ire of Instagram's censors after topless photos of the star were posted. "We also have the No More Page Three campaign and at the other end we have 'Free the Nipple'. It's like our breasts are our most public 'private parts' and you see them everywhere, in advertising, magazines and films, yet in real life they're hidden away. That dichotomy fascinates me, it intrigues me."
The hope is that the pictures and stories in the forthcoming book are both surprising and moving for readers. "I hope that it will help deconstruct some of the fantasy around breasts" she explains.
Of course, encouraging women to participate in the Bare Reality project was not simply a case of waiting for them to come forward. "I didn't want it to be a project of just my friends" says Laura "I focused on the number of one hundred as I wanted to make it fairly representative of women in the UK, so in order to find women of different ethnicities, different sexual orientations, different sizes, different places round the country, different walks of life, I had to do a lot of asking around."
Laura found that once she had found people to take part, they became quite 'evangelical' about the project and told others, so in fact she ended up with more women wanting to take part than she could accommodate. She also found herself having to go outside of her normal life to find women to bring the rich diversity to the project that is so apparent. "I went to a strip club because I wanted a stripper to take part and I wanted women from all sorts of different careers. There was a lot of asking around, but there were a lot of women who wanted to take part and it snowballed really."
Everybody who took part had their own story and Laura found herself fascinated by the interesting women she encountered. "There was a club night promoter who would often be topless at club nights, a burlesque dancer, a Buddhist nun, a vicar and social workers" says Laura "I met women who chose not to breastfeed, women who couldn't breastfeed and also sustained breastfeeders who breast fed children into toddlerhood." Of course there were elements of great sadness in some of the stories as well and Laura also met women who had suffered breast cancer, though the tales of these survivors were also imbued with inspiration and a courage that touches deeply.
The project was enriched by the diverse range of women represented, adding ethnic, cultural and sexual orientation perspectives. Laura interviewed and photographed women of different ethnicities, straight, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, all of whom brought their own experiences and journeys to the project. None of this was achieved by chance however. "I wanted to make sure I attracted women from very different walks of life" she explains "for example I knew I wanted to speak to women with a strong faith". This particular aspect of Laura's quest proved challenging though: "Finding a nun was difficult - it took a lot of Tweeting, sharing on Facebook and ringing people up, but eventually I found a Buddhist nun willing to take part and I could never have anticipated the things she had to say."
So, out of all the wide range of women who Laura met, was there a particular story that stood out as particularly inspirational? Says Laura "I knew that I wanted to include a woman who hadn't had a reconstruction following a mastectomy. I'd seen a picture of a woman in the United States who had a beautiful tattoo over a mastectomy scar and managed to find a woman in the UK who had done the same. She was really lovely, she opened up and was honest and you can't help being moved and inspired by hearing life or death stories."
Some of the older women also fascinated Laura with their experiences and their views on breasts, which were from a previous generation. One women of 101 had escaped the Nazis - "I felt she deserved a book on her own!"
As Laura reflected and mulled over the fruits f her project she experienced her own period of change as well. “It's changed how I feel about women in general and I feel more tender about the female experience. It’s changed how I feel about myself as a women too, I've transformed my relationship with my breasts and my own body."
There is no attempt within the project to steer the reader in a particular direction or to get them to feel a certain way and Laura is keen that readers draw their own conclusions and have their own experiences of the project. This neutrality, where the reader is left to reflect and contemplate, is evidenced by a purposely brief introduction. The project sets out to confront, to inform and to enable transformation and, significantly, Laura herself ends the book as the one hundredth woman.
Beyond breasts though, Bare Reality highlights some of the key issues around body image that we see in society, and with which Naturists are only too familiar. "I would say that one of the key issues now is airbrushing" says Laura "When even models are seen as 'not good enough' for advertising unless they are airbrushed to perfection, then what hope is there for the rest of us?"
On seeing the results of the project, some people were surprised by the diversity of the women. Laura explains "If you took one hundred women off the street and asked them to take their tops off, they'd look nothing like these airbrushed fantasy 'media breasts' which is something that Naturists know of course! We're all different, we all have imperfections and we should embrace who we are."
In particular, Laura has found that the younger participants seemed to be under the most pressure to look a certain way. "They're very media savvy, but they're all aware of the barrage of airbrushed perfection they are confronted with."
Laura set out to highlight the apparent double standards that surround the perceptions of women's breasts. She is keen to emphasise that of course people find each other attractive and that breasts are indeed part of that attractiveness for many people. She stresses that "There's nothing wrong with that" but that the issue is around the way that certain presentations of breasts are more acceptable than others in our society."It's become damaging in western culture that breasts are fetishised to the extent they are. It's interesting that you can see breasts on newsagent's shelves, on TV, on films, on the Internet, but as soon as you get your breasts out in public to feed a baby, you know at some point you're going to encounter 'tuts' and disapproving glances, and there is such hypocrisy in that."
She points to other cultures where breasts are not seen purely through the lens of sexual attractiveness. "There is plenty of cross-cultural information to show that breasts are not inherently sexual, we aren't hard wired to find them sexual."
Bare Reality comes at an interesting time. Breasts are in the news at present, with the ongoing debate about 'page three', women's portrayal in the media and of course the wider discourse around body image issues and unrealistic images. So what does the future hold? Says Laura "At the moment there's so much noise about breasts, bodies and women. Look at all the stir about breast feeding 'selfies' on Facebook, look at the reaction to Scout Willis walking topless in New York, the top free movement typified by Free the Nipple. There's a reaction right now - women don't just have adorn front covers or be on page three - it would be nice if women were making the news, not just decorating it! There's some really amazing young activists out there now and campaigns like No More Page Three are bringing greater awareness to the public."
On a personal level, a particular conversation in a swimming pool changing area was particularly significant for Laura when her son noticed the breasts of an older women were, as he described them, 'saggy'. Laura explains "I had to explain the natural aging process to him, that mine would look like that and this what happens."
This led the family to make a (very sensible!) decision. "It was as a result of that conversation, along with encountering Naturists through the Bare Reality project that we decided to try Naturism so the children could be exposed to real bodies."
While not describing herself as a Naturist, Laura has experience of Naturism, having experienced nude beaches when she was younger and never had any problem with it. Working on the Bare Reality project re-kindled this interest. "Through this project I've learned more about Naturism and about the top-free movement and interviewed women who were Naturists. On the back of my son's previous comment about the older woman's 'saggy' breasts, I remembered how much I'd enjoyed being nude on a beach so we tried it as a family. Being naked on the beach on a hot day (at Studland) was lovely."
Laura admits to having 'got the giggles' at first while undressing on the beach, but enjoyed the feeling of liberation and being comfortable that Naturism gave - feelings which of course will be familiar to readers of BN Magazine! The family have also experienced social nudity in Finland and will no doubt experience it again in Austrian spas on this year's holiday. On their holiday, Laura's children were also soon at ease and enjoying the freedom of swimming without costumes. The benefits of a Naturist upbringing were further reinforced by the "refreshing" attitude to body image that Laura saw in the children of a Naturist participant in the Bare Reality project.
Like many of us in the Naturist community, Laura has found it interesting that as a society we are 'programmed' to assume that nudity equals sexuality. "The body can be sexual" she explains "but that doesn't mean that nudity always equals sex. It's interesting how fixed some people's views are - I actually find it offensive for someone to tell me my body is pornographic, because it isn't - it's all about context and intent. For someone to invest a woman's body with a sexual meaning, whether she wants it or not, is actually offensive."
Laura is adamant that the integrity of the project is paramount and for personal and political reasons she will not blur or pixellate any of the images. "The women who have taken part in the project have done so with courage and integrity" she says "This project is all about integrity and heart and the pictures will be shown complete or not all." Sadly, this stance has seen some printers refusing to even quote for printing 'a book about breasts'.
In rounding off our discussion, I ask Laura how, having done her project and experienced Naturism, she thinks Naturists can support people in their self image and relationships with their own bodies. "Oh, hugely" she offers "If people new to Naturism took the plunge and put themselves in an environment where everyone was naked, they would soon realise that we're all the same in that we're not 'perfect'. If people had that much freedom then the companies would have much less power over us because we wouldn't feel this need to spend so much money all the time to make ourselves look really perfect. What would push up bras really be for if we knew what we were really like underneath?"
This highlights a secondary, and wider, benefit from the Bare Reality project: When confronted by one hundred photographs of women's breasts, people will hopefully become more relaxed about their own bodies and more accepting and loving of themselves. These benefits are not intended just for women either - the hope is that men will also gain in that they will learn from the stories in the book and seeing a woman's point of view. "I think some men will be surprised by the diversity of the photographs in the book. Whereas we normally see breasts in a sexual objectification mode, Bare Reality does the opposite. It's a very humanising way of looking at the woman. You read these intimate, surprising and brave stories and I think that if men pick it up they're going to find it fascinating."
Having seen extracts from the book, it is certainly both moving and inspirational, the stories fascinating and full of emotion and some are windows into lives we will never have experienced. As Laura emphasised, it isn't solely a 'woman's book' - men will find the stories profoundly revealing, offering a rarely seen perspective on such an intimate subject, and the stories and photographs are presented with humanity and integrity. It will certainly be a 'must read' book for anyone with an interest in body image issues.
A 'Kickstarter' campaign (go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/barereality/bare-reality-100-women-and-their-breasts) has been launched and is proving really successful, with the book estimated for delivery in February 2015. Please donate if you can.
In the meantime, let us end with this quote from one of the participants: "When I bare my breasts I think I am trying to get to my soul, bare my soul. I’m trying to take everything off, and that’s as far as I can get on a physical level. It’s not in a sexual and provocative way, it’s more about feeling liberated.”
For further information see http://www.barereality.net

BN201 Magazine Autumn 2014

After the euphoria of our 50th Anniversary issue, the magazine that starts our second 50 years is now out!
BN201 is full of good stuff about Naturism in the UK and beyond.
We feature long haul holidays – to North and Central America, and the Caribbean to name a few, plus reports on hiking in Germany and the BN Members’ Holiday to El Portús. There is a round-up of many of the great Naturist events that have already taken place this summer and the story of how BN overturned the ‘ban’ on Naturism at Holkham beach. We also open the can of worms that is the ‘Single Man’ issue and look at what it’s really about… plus news on BN’s activities, listings, news stories from around the world, readers’ letters and more. BN Magazine is available to members only and issued four times a year as part of the annual subscription. Members can also download a full PDF of the magazine here. If you are not a member, you can join us and get your own copy here.
There is also a page with additional information to support the Campaigns Article.

Main Messages

Naturism is normal
We're ordinary people choosing not to wear clothes when the weather and circumstances are appropriate. Other than being nude, our activities are no different from what most people do in their leisure time. We're not anti-clothes, we just know they are not always essential. It's also a lot of fun!
If we were supposed to be naked, we'd have been born that way.
.and yet now anyone wanting to be in that natural state is treated with at best, mild amusement and at worst, suspicion. Being naked isn't obscene, provocative, ridiculous, eccentric, shameful, immodest, weird, rude, disgusting, perverted etc.
Naturism is not illegal
There is no offence of nudity in English law but there are badly defined offences which may be used and abused for just about anything that somebody in authority dislikes. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 specifically excludes Naturism, though intending to upset or cause harm by being naked may well be a criminal offence. Fundamentally the law is a mess but the practice of Naturism is legal in a much wider range of circumstances than many people assume.
Naturism is good for you
Naturism promotes positive body image as there is no such thing as the perfect body and we're all unique. Physical health is improved with the benefits of sunshine and fresh air, which we don't get enough of; and mental health benefits from relaxation, de-stressing and a friendly, comfortable community spirit. Most sunbathers wear very little more than we do.
Swimsuits are pointless - why get dressed to get wet? It has wider benefits too - teenage pregnancy rates are lower in countries with a more relaxed attitude to nudity.
Naturism is not about sex
Naturists are not asexual, but despite what people think, a gathering of naked people doesn't make for a sexually charged environment.
Naturism is not embarrassing
Once in a Naturist place, you soon get used to being surrounded by naked people and forget that nobody is wearing clothes. It's clothed people that stand out. What you look like is irrelevant. No-one stares at you, or judges your appearance - it's all about feeling good for yourself. It's liberating not to have to conform. No-one is forced to undress and people will put something on if the weather turns.
Naturism is very popular
Millions of people around the world have discovered this wonderful way of life. BN's IPSOS-MORI survey of 2011 discovered that there are 3.7 million Naturists in the UK. There are thousands of holiday resorts and other places to go to. Plenty of 'non-Naturist' people in the UK have skinny-dipped, go topless on beaches and spend time happily naked at home.
Naturist children are happy, well-adjusted and safe Children don't care if they are wearing clothes or not, it's adults who make them get dressed. They grow up with a better understanding of what people really look like and enjoy a relaxed, outdoor life. Families can do something together that they all enjoy. Naturist places tend to have entry requirements and secure gates, making the inside a far safer environment than the outside.

Glyn Davies Photo Exhibition

When he is not taking pictures - or even when he is, he has a liking for the great outdoors and indulges himself in activities such as extreme rock climbing surfing, mountain walking and nude sunbathing “In my late twenties” says Glyn, “I discovered the freedom and liberation of sunbathing on naturist beaches and became acutely aware that naked bodies outdoors can be so utterly natural and wonderful”.
When Glyn found himself surrounded by the some beautiful, sensually shaped sand dunes, he felt inspired to set up his camera, remove his clothes and attempt to capture this co-joining on film. Later he found himself fascinated by the link between the stripped-bare naked form and the naturalness of the wind-formed sand and the project was born.
He advertised for some intrepid amateur models, prepared to bare all for what could be termed ”extreme modelling” in some of the most inhospitable places Britain has to offer. Considering that many of these volunteers were not too confident about posing for every day portraits, it's incredible that they were able to leave their comfort zone and do something most people would never dream of. I watched each model enjoy a real sense of liberation after removing their clothes and posing for the photographs. There was often a nervous panic at the point of finally removing their underwear but after just a few seconds, having realised that no one was shouting or whistling, and that the sky hadn’t fallen down, I witnessed a rapid change in confidence. I could almost hear them say, “Well blow it, I'm nude now and what can be seen has been seen, so let's make the picture work”. One model, after she had posed on a mountain top crag, with me photographing from perhaps 40 feet away, just screamed out into the void, “I can't believe it, I'm on a huge Welsh mountain top and I'm completely NAKED!” I had a big grin on my face because I knew exactly what she was feeling, and once you have experienced something amazing like that, it can never be taken away.
The pictures will be on show at a major exhibition of approximately fifty prints at the prestigious Oriel Ynys Môn Gallery in Central Anglesey from August 9th - September 21st 2014.
http://www.visitanglesey.co.uk/en/whats-on/events/landscape-figures-glyn-davies/#.U-JeZoBdVi5
www.landscapefigures.com

Police forces ill prepared to deal with nudity, say Naturists

In September 2013, the Crown Prosecution Service issued 'Nudity in Public - Guidance on Handing Cases of Naturism' to CPS prosecutors and all police services, which provides proportionate guidance to police officers who have to make initial decisions where public nudity is reported or witnessed. It indicated that Naturism in a public place should not be charged unless there is a clear breach of the law. Many Naturists have been charged and convicted under section 5 of the Public Order Act; a law intended to curb public disturbances, only for it to be overturned in a higher court.
The Naturist Action Group (NAG) and British Naturism (BN) at first welcomed the move by the CPS and saw it as a positive step but little has been done to inform police officers that it even exists. During her speech to the Police Federation on 21st May 2014, the Home Secretary – The Rt. Hon Theresa May MP – stated three times that the College of Policing was introduced to drive up standards and to improve the professionalism of the police services throughout England and Wales, but BN and NAG are disheartened to learn that the CPS does not intend to take any action to persuade the police to give adequate training to their officers.
The full guidance can be read at http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/nudity_in_public.
Incidents of public nudity have frequently been subject to disproportionate and heavy handed action, based on prejudice, prudery and an inadequate understanding of the law (nudity is legal in a much wider range of circumstances than some people assume). Such actions have caused immense distress to those involved, and represent a poor use of taxpayers' money. Whilst the CPS Guidance addressed most of the Naturists’ concerns, it contained no mechanism to ensure that it cascaded down to the frontline officers who are expected to make initial assessments in cases of public nudity. BN and NAG therefore undertook research to establish how UK police forces were implementing the guidance in practice to ensure proportionate and cost effective decisions. The results can be found below. The full report can be viewed at http://naturistactiongroup.org/2014/04/report-on-the-acpo-project-uptake-of-the-cps-guidelines/
Reg Barlow, Chairman of the Naturist Action Group, said:
“I find it ironic, when the coalition Government is still talking about needing to make savings in public expenditure while driving up standards, the police services, the College of Policing and the CPS all seem to be ignoring something that could save them significant amounts of public money and many hours of police officers’ time, just by giving officers training on how to handle public nudity properly."
Malcolm Boura, Campaigns Director for British Naturism, said:
"Those practising innocent public nudity even in the privacy of their own garden, have often been subject to a heavy handed police action, causing great distress. The CPS Guidelines, whilst not perfect, are an attempt to bring consistency and sensible application of the law to bear on this issue. Worryingly there seems to be little appetite to embed the guidelines in police forces, or to train officers to act in a sensible and proportionate way. The end result is that Naturists will continue to be subject to abuses of the law, and taxpayers' money will continue to be wasted in pursuing these actions. Police Officers cannot be expected to do their job properly if nobody has told them what the law actually is and how best to respond to cases of gymnophobia.”
“Naturists have been caused alarm and distress by being dragged through the legal process and it is completely unacceptable that it can cost thousands of pounds to defend oneself against a charge that is not even a crime. If the Home Secretary, the CPS and the College of Policing were serious about improving standards then this training would be mandatory for all front line officers."
Headline results
Of the 42 police forces, 22 did not reply. Of the 20 who did reply, 19 had no policy on dealing with incidents of public nudity, other than trusting frontline officers to exercise judgement. Only Cheshire Police had a policy consistent with the new guidelines. Of the 20 forces who replied, 5 had no plans to carry out training around the guidelines, 8 were planning to publish the guidelines internally, 4 were intending to brief specialist officers and 4 had undertaken, or were planning, training to all officers. Disappointingly, neither the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) nor the College of Policing responded at all. Only 13 Police and Crime Commissioners out of 42 responded and all of these considered public nudity and the CPS Guidelines to be an operational policing matter. They ignored the injustice and waste of tax payers money caused by mistakes. – ENDS –
Contact details
British Naturism – Parliamentary, legal and societal matters. Campaigns Director Malcolm Boura, campaigns@bn.org.uk: 07734 964435.
Naturist Action Group – Duncan Heenan: 01983 730352,
British Naturism – all other media enquiries - Andrew Welch, andrew.welch@bn.org.uk: 01753 481527 or 07774 955138.
Notes for Editors
British Naturism (BN) is the UK’s officially recognised Naturist organisation. It exists to support and unite Naturists around the UK and celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014, although its predecessors were in existence since the 1930s. https://www.bn.org.uk
Naturist Action Group is a ‘think tank’ dedicated to research and campaigning for greater acceptance of Naturism as a lifestyle in British society. http://naturistactiongroup.org/
Amongst the aims of BN are to campaign for more places to be made available for Naturism and to protect Naturists against discrimination and Victorian attitudes to the human body. www.bn.org.uk/campaigning/index.php.
Fact - in law, there is no offence of nudity. Various pieces of legislation and common law are often mentioned in connection with Naturism but they are rarely relevant. See Crown Prosecution Service guidance on Naturism for details. There is inadequate protection against prejudice, misunderstanding of the law, and abuses of the law, and that can result in Naturists finding themselves in difficulties
In the UK, there are over 130 sun clubs, swim clubs and holiday resorts and many beaches used regularly by Naturists. Membership of BN is around 10,000 people with many more being members of clubs affiliated to BN. https://www.bn.org.uk/activities/placestogo.
YBN (Young British Naturists) has a membership of young men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 who get together at clubs and beaches many weekends. They represent the UK at the International Naturist Federation (INF) Youth Rally held annually. http://ybn.org.uk.
Naturism is good for you! Naturists report improvements in well-being, stress, chronic illness, self-esteem and body image. It’s also a sensible choice of dress when the weather is warm. Naturists are normal people. The only difference is the dress code.
Children are no more at risk in a Naturist environment than anywhere else. The community spirit that pervades ensures that a watchful eye is present. Despite the perception, there are far fewer problems in Naturism than in more “public” places where children and adults mix. Mindful of the need to be aware of child safeguarding issues BN have a robust child safeguarding policy, code of practice, and a Child Safeguarding sub-committee that meets regularly and runs workshops on the subject, sometimes to groups from outside the Naturist world.
For the media, there is a dedicated “Media Centre” at https://www.bn.org.uk/media, which contains useful information for those wishing to write about Naturism or to feature this wonderful world in their publications or programmes.

Here comes the summer - here comes Nudefest!

British Naturism are delighted to announce that our flagship summer event, Nudefest, is returning once again to the five star Newperran Holiday Park near Newquay. In this our 50th year, and part of World Naturist Week, we going all out to make this event truly memorable for the many Naturist visitors who come from all over the UK to enjoy a clothing-free event, some for their very first experience of this very special way of life.
From the 6th to the 13th July, the Park becomes a Naturist resort and will host a stunning range of exciting activities, including creative arts events, sports tournaments, dance tuition, mind body and spirit activities, and music and entertainment including discos, live bands, magic, comedy and a casino event.
The fun doesn't just happen onsite though - we've organised a wide range of nude offsite activities at well known attractions, including a walk on Bodmin Moor, Newquay's Blue Reef Aquarium, Poppy Cottage, a fishing trip, and Skinner’s Brewery.
We're delighted to be returning to Newperran and we know that we'll be made welcome once again by the owners, Keith and Christine Brewer, for whom nothing is too much trouble to make hundreds of naked guests at home!
British Naturism Chairman, Judith Stinchcombe said, "Nudefest is an absolutely awesome week of fun activities and entertainment. We are once again delighted that Newperran are welcoming us back their Naturist guests to their superb holiday park for the 8th year running. We are also grateful to the many major attractions who have organised clothes free visits for us. Naturism is in the mainstream now and these sorts of visits are increasing in popularity as attractions discover the benefits of 'the nude pound'.
With Naturism on the increase in the UK, businesses are waking up to the value of engaging with the Naturist community. With almost 4 million people in the UK describing themselves as Naturist or nudist, forward looking companies and venues are keen to welcome us for visits to their attractions, and once we've been once we're invariably welcomed back time and time again. After all, we're just normal people - it's just that the dress code that is different!”
-Ends-
Contacts:
Andrew Welch
British Naturism
T: 01753 481527
M: 07774 955138
E: andrew.welch@bn.org.uk
Notes for Editors
British Naturism (BN) is the UK’s officially recognised Naturist organisation. It exists to support and unite Naturists around the UK and celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014, although its predecessors were in existence since the 1930s.
Amongst the aims of BN are to campaign for more places to be made available for Naturism and to protect Naturists against discrimination and Victorian attitudes to the human body. www.bn.org.uk/campaigning/index.php.
Fact - in law, there is no offence of nudity. Various pieces of legislation and common law are often mentioned in connection with Naturism but they are rarely relevant. See Crown Prosecution Service guidance on Naturism for details. There is inadequate protection against prejudice, misunderstanding of the law, and abuses of the law, and that can result in Naturists finding themselves in difficulties
In the UK, there are over 130 sun clubs, swim clubs and holiday resorts and many beaches used regularly by Naturists. Membership of BN is around 10,000 people with many more being members of clubs affiliated to BN.www.bn.org.uk/activities/placestogo.php.
YBN (Young British Naturists) has a membership of young men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 who get together at clubs and beaches many weekends. They represent the UK at the International Naturist Federation (INF) Youth Rally held annually. http://ybn.org.uk.
Naturism is good for you! Naturists report improvements in well-being, stress, chronic illness, self-esteem and body image. It’s also a sensible choice of dress when the weather is warm. Naturists are normal people. The only difference between activities inside and outside of Naturism is the dress code.
It is a fallacy to believe that naked children are any more at risk in a Naturist environment. Unaccompanied children are not permitted in Naturist places and the community spirit that pervades ensures that a watchful eye is present. Despite the perception, there are far fewer problems in Naturism than in more “public” places where children and adults mix. Mindful of the need to be aware of child safeguarding issues, however, BN have a robust child safeguarding policy, code of practice, and a Child Safeguarding sub-committee that meets regularly and runs workshops on the subject, sometimes to groups from outside the Naturist world.
For the media, there is a dedicated “Media Centre” at www.bn.org.uk/index.php/mediacentre, which contains useful information for those wishing to write about Naturism or to feature this wonderful world in their publications or programmes.
See the Nudefest programme here: nudefest programme.pdf

BN works more magic at Holkham

In early May Allan Kidney (Chairman Eastern Region) and Malcolm Boura
(Campaigns Director) met with Natural England and The Holkham Estate. The
wording of signs has been agreed and the area shown will be much the same as
before with Naturism on the beach. However, it will continue to be banned in the
dunes as it has been for over 25 years. The winter storms did severe damage to the dunes and the entire front row was washed away. Maram grass is starting to appear so given time it will recover but it is very fragile. It is important that we distance ourselves from any problems that there might be in the dunes. For both those reasons please keep well away from the dunes and we suggest at least a hundred metres. Please do speak to anybody jeopardising the future of the beach by not acting responsibly but do not put yourself at risk. This is not the place to push boundaries. Please also come to the beach day on 10th August to celebrate!

WaterWorld 2014

BN have taken over this popular Staffordshire swim after its pending demise was reported in the last issue of BN Magazine. The event, previously hosted by Wirral Naturist club, was being dogged by “tightening financial restraints”. Due to the obvious continued demand for the event, the evangelistic determination of Kevin O’Connor (BN’s National Volunteer Co-Ordinator) and lots of help and advice from the team that used to organise the Watermeadows events, and Wirral Naturists, BN had all the information it needed to put together a plan and made an offer the owners of Waterworld couldn’t refuse!
It’s just one more example of how BN is going from strength to strength and what can be done with the power of persuasion that comes from having an organised active pressure group working on behalf of Naturism. The first BN-run Waterworld naturist event will be held on 27th September. See the Big Days Out page for further information or visit the BN Shop to order your ticket now.

BN200 Magazine Summer 2014

In celebration of our 50th anniversary, BN200, the summer 2014 issue of our quarterly magazine is a ‘souvenir’ edition with a special cover and a big section dedicated to the anniversary, which includes a timeline of our history. We’re trialling some new layouts and have completely refreshed and revised the listings section to make it easier to find events, clubs and contacts.
In addition, there’s a great feature interview with Ruth Rogers from body image champions Body Gossip, articles from two first time YBNers, travel features and an illustrated report of the BN Blackpool weekend, plus the usual volume of news, updates and information.
BN members can download the magazine here.

Abbey House Gardens Update

Many of you may have already read that Abbey House Gardens will be going up for sale following the divorce of its owners Ian and Barbara Pollard.
Although there is no certainty with what will happen to the grounds and gardens once sold, BN can confirm that all clothing-optional events will be going ahead as planned for the remainder of the season.
To see when these events are being held, please visit our ‘Big Days Out’ page here.

British Naturism 50th Anniversary Gathers Pace

Back in 1964, British Naturism (BN) was formed by a merger of the British Sunbathing Association and the Federation of British Sun Clubs. Naturist clubs back then realised that one strong national organisation presented far more opportunities than having two separate bodies, with similar purposes and aims. BN today is a vibrant national organisation which promotes the amazing, healthy and liberating naturist lifestyle, enjoyed by millions of people in the UK. As well as promoting the undeniable benefits of healthy social nudity, which encourage wellbeing and a positive body image, as well as boosting confidence, BN also works hard to campaign for greater acceptance of our way of life.
This year we celebrate our 50th anniversary and our varied programme of events is really starting to gather pace.
Our travelling display is making its first outing on April 19th and 20th in the Bertrand Russell room at the Conway Hall in Holborn. With a fascinating narrative of our rich heritage, this is certain to attract a good audience. For further details see: http://ybn.org.uk.
Naturism is good for you! Naturists report improvements in well-being, stress, chronic illness, self-esteem and body image. It’s also a sensible choice of dress when the weather is warm. Naturists are normal people. The only difference between activities inside and outside of Naturism is the dress code.
It is a fallacy to believe that naked children are any more at risk in a Naturist environment. Unaccompanied children are not permitted in Naturist places and the community spirit that pervades ensures that a watchful eye is present. Despite the perception, there are far fewer problems in Naturism than in more “public” places where children and adults mix. Mindful of the need to be aware of child safeguarding issues, however, BN have a robust child safeguarding policy, code of practice, and a Child Safeguarding sub-committee that meets regularly and runs workshops on the subject, sometimes to groups from outside the Naturist world.
For the media, there is a dedicated “Media Centre” at www.bn.org.uk/index.php/mediacentre, which contains useful information for those wishing to write about Naturism or to feature this wonderful world in their publications or programmes.
-Ends-

Happy 50th Birthday British Naturism!

2014 marks the 50th anniversary of British Naturism (BN), the UK's national organisation for Naturism – www.bn.org.uk. It's going to be a busy year, with special events - and we're already looking forward to the next 50!
Back in 1964, British Naturism was formed by a merger of the British Sunbathing Association and the Federation of British Sun Clubs who realised that one strong national organisation presented far more opportunities than having two separate bodies with similar purposes and aims.
Today, BN is a vibrant national organisation which promotes the amazing, healthy and liberating Naturist lifestyle, enjoyed by millions of people in the UK (https://www.bn.org.uk/news/news/nearly-4-million-naturists-in-the-uk-r97). As well as promoting the undeniable benefits of healthy social nudity, which encourage wellbeing, a positive body image and boost confidence, BN also works hard to campaign for greater acceptance of our way of life. Our campaigns have tackled some serious issues, such as the increase in prudery, orchestrated by a vocal minority, which impact on us and which can also affect many in society at large.
Across the UK we've got a variety of great events and there's truly something for everyone, from the nervous newcomer to the seasoned 'old hand' - We're especially encouraging people who have never tried Naturism to get out there and give it a go. Never before have there been so many exciting ways to get involved and we know that when people experience it for themselves they love it - in fact many Naturists cite their first experience as 'life-changing' and throw away their swimming costumes for good!
Ranging from hotel-based weekends and camping weeks packed with activities, visits to gardens, beach days, waterparks and even overseas group holidays for members, it’s an exciting programme. Sports are well catered for and our national swimming gala takes place next weekend in Leicester and we’re also running our hotly-contested national Petanque tournament in May.
There will be plenty of anniversary celebrations at events and some events arranged specifically for the purpose, including a travelling exhibition charting our proud history which will start off at the Conway Hall in Holborn, London on April 19th and 20th. In Scotland in July we’re looking forward to our Naturist boat trip along the Forth, complete with jazz band and barbecue.
All of this is complemented by around 100 BN member clubs across the country, all of which offer superb opportunities for people to discover and take part in Naturism - https://www.bn.org.uk/activities/placestogo. Many of our member clubs are also organising their own celebrations to mark this important year in our history.
BN Chairman Judith Stinchcombe said "Naturism continues to increase in popularity in the UK as more and more people seek opportunities to relax and de-stress. With body image issues and wellbeing being high on the agenda, Naturism has a glowing future and we are both delighted and excited to be celebrating our 50th anniversary this year. Naturists in the UK are rightly proud of their vibrant culture and with an incredible range of opportunities to try Naturism, we're urging people to come along to an event or a club to experience this unique and life-enhancing lifestyle for themselves."
Media attendance/coverage of events can be made possible. Please contact us for more information.
- ENDS -
Contacts:
Andrew Welch
British Naturism
T: 01753 481527
M: 07774 955138
E: andrew.welch@bn.org.uk
Notes for Editors
British Naturism (BN) is the UK’s officially recognised Naturist organisation. It exists to support and unite Naturists around the UK and celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014, although its predecessors were in existence since the 1930s.
Amongst the aims of BN are to campaign for more places to be made available for Naturism and to protect Naturists against discrimination and Victorian attitudes to the human body. https://www.bn.org.uk/campaigning/index.
Fact - in law, there is no offence of nudity. Various pieces of legislation and common law are often mentioned in connection with Naturism but they are rarely relevant. See Crown Prosecution Service guidance on Naturism for details. There is inadequate protection against prejudice, misunderstanding of the law, and abuses of the law, and that can result in Naturists finding themselves in difficulties
In the UK, there are over 130 sun clubs, swim clubs and holiday resorts and many beaches used regularly by Naturists. Membership of BN is around 10,000 people with many more being members of clubs affiliated to BN. https://www.bn.org.uk/activities/placestogo.
YBN (Young British Naturists) has a membership of young men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 who get together at clubs and beaches many weekends. They represent the UK at the International Naturist Federation (INF) Youth Rally held annually. http://ybn.org.uk.
Naturism is good for you! Naturists report improvements in well-being, stress, chronic illness, self-esteem and body image. It’s also a sensible choice of dress when the weather is warm. Naturists are normal people. The only difference between activities inside and outside of Naturism is the dress code.
It is a fallacy to believe that naked children are any more at risk in a Naturist environment. Unaccompanied children are not permitted in Naturist places and the community spirit that pervades ensures that a watchful eye is present. Despite the perception, there are far fewer problems in Naturism than in more “public” places where children and adults mix. Mindful of the need to be aware of child safeguarding issues, however, BN have a robust child safeguarding policy, code of practice, and a Child Safeguarding sub-committee that meets regularly and runs workshops on the subject, sometimes to groups from outside the Naturist world.
For the media, there is a dedicated “Media Centre” at https://www.bn.org.uk/media, which contains useful information for those wishing to write about Naturism or to feature this wonderful world in their publications or programmes.

Young British Naturists 2014

Young British Naturists’ (YBN) first event of 2014 was a weekend visit to Clover Spa. We publicised this on Twitter and Facebook with the aim of attracting young people that are interested in Naturism, but have never taken the plunge to come and join us and experience it for themselves in a friendly and relaxed environment where there is no pressure to get their kit off if they don’t feel comfortable.
It was also a chance for them to meet the new YBN team, so Andy, Harriet, Paul, Simon, Tim and myself made our way to the spa for the weekend to answer any questions that they had and to ease their first-time nerves.
We were delighted to see around 40 people in total! We had a mix of members that had just renewed, those that had joined recently, using the weekend as a chance to go to their first event, and complete first-timers.
Conversation flowed throughout the day and three first-timers were so pleased that their initial nerves went away and they were eager to join YBN. There were also spa guests not connected with YBN – including a couple of textile ladies who had booked into the hotel and spa for a birthday present, not realising it was a Naturist spa, but they didn’t let that put them off! They even took the plunge and had their tops off by the end of their visit – possible converts?!
It was great to see everyone engaging in conversation throughout the day. Even with the cold weather, the hot tub proved to be a popular conversation hub, with guests regularly coming out to see if there was any space for them to get in and participate in the banter.
We used Sunday as an opportunity to finalise the list of YBN events for 2014 (see the panel) and we’ve got some fantastic ones lined up! We were also approached with an extremely generous donation offer by a gentleman who wished the future of YBN and the coming year to be a fantastic success. We are extremely grateful for this offer, as well as a little gobsmacked, and will be making sure that it is put to good use – thank you!
Tim Higgs, owner of Clover Spa, told us, “It’s been a delight to welcome YBN to Clover Spa for the weekend. The enthusiasm of youth is inspiring and it is so important to encourage. The weekend was the busiest ever at the spa and the atmosphere was really positive.”
New members who joined during the weekend were equally as positive in what they had to say, with their comments “really welcoming”, “friendly bunch”, “supportive and easy” frequently being expressed throughout the day. One also had this to say to me “I have been made to feel really welcome today with everyone encouraging me to get involved in as little or as much as I wanted to. I have not been pressured to do anything I didn’t want to do and it has given me the chance to be comfortable in my own skin with no judgement. I wish I had joined YBN sooner!”
Don’t forget you can join in with the conversation on Twitter, @ybn_official,
and find and comment on us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/YoungBritishNaturists
Join us in 2014 and #getyourgladragsoff!
Darren Brooks,
BN Youth Director

50 and still counting

What were you doing back in 1964? Ok, so quite a few of you were yet to
enter the world, and to some it will seem like only yesterday.
I was just eight and the nearest I got to Naturism that year was laughing at those saucy McGill nudist colony postcards on a family holiday in Swanage. Oh, so close to Studland! If only I had known and been older!
While the Searchers were serenading us in the number one spot with Don’t Throw Your Love Away, representatives from 50 of the 70 Naturist clubs were getting together on Sunday, 10 May in the Fountain Room of the Royal London Hotel in Bloomsbury to formally accept the Constitution for the new Central Council for British Naturism and sign the Founders’ Charter.
CCBN was formed by the unification of the British Sun Bathing Association, founded in 1943, and the Federation of British Sun Clubs, founded in 1953. The path to unity started in 1961 as clubs began to realise that having two national organisations made no sense, and a single organisation would better represent the interests of both the autonomous clubs and individual
Naturists who did not belong to clubs.
The vesting date of the new CCBN was set as 1 July, 1964, by which time the Searchers had been knocked off the top of the hit parade by Roy Orbison with It’s Over. Fortunately, that is far from the case and, whilst we have had
some trials and tribulations during our first 50 years, we are still here and planning to be here for many more years to come.
Did you know that for the first 18 years our “headquarters” was a cabin in the grounds of The Naturist Foundation in Orpington? We moved to rented offices in Northampton in 1982 and purchased the Wycliffe Road office in 1994. Where have those twenty years gone, eh?
And whilst clubs have come and gone over the years, we still have around 70 landed clubs and our Naturist swims have risen from none in 1964 to around 40 today.
So how are we going to mark this momentous year? It all began with the signing of the Founders’ Charter, so we are replicating that historic moment with a new Charter that will be taken round the country to be signed by present day clubs. We’re working up some novel ideas to get the Charter from club to club to generate some media interest and raise the BN profile.
We’ll be giving an anniversary slant to our regional and national events this year and regions are finalising plans to make this happen. Individual clubs are also planning special anniversary events, so make sure you watch out for announcements about these in this magazine, our website and your club and regional newsletters.
As you would expect, we are selling an anniversary keepsake – a pin badge, see picture – and we have our special 50th anniversary logo this year – have you noticed it on your new membership card? We’ve also produced a new leaflet giving a potted history of our first 50 years which is available on the website and from the office in printed form, along with other posters and publicity material to help promote BN and bring in new members.
We’ve put together a compact exhibition explaining what Naturism and BN are all about, highlighting some of our milestones since 1964 and also looking to the future. We hope this will be of interest to existing BN members, but the real benefit will be gained from encouraging non-members to join us and help us with our work and, of course, getting new converts to the joys of Naturism.
We have already identified some venues for this exhibition, but if your club would like it at its 50th event or, better still, if you know of suitable non-Naturist venues where our exhibition is likely to be well received, please do let me know. You can email me at archive@bn.org.uk
Over the years BN, clubs and individuals have helped with the production of many films and documentaries to promote and normalise Naturism. These include the BBC Man Alive programme on Naturism in 1969, Let’s Go Naked,
screened on BBC1 to an estimated 20 million viewers in 1979, the Heritage video, Educating Julie, in 1984, the Open Space programme Full Frontal in 1992, Diary of a Teenage Nudist in 2004 and My Daughter the Teenage
Nudist in 2012.
Wouldn’t it be good to have a film documenting our anniversary year? Well, we are in talks to see if we can make that happen.
Now, all of this costs money. Have you bought your tickets for our Anniversary Prize Draw? Or sold some to your friends? I’m pleased to see that already we’ve raised over £1,000 – keep going!
We can’t quite run to the Mini City motor car that was the first prize in our silver jubilee draw, but there are nevertheless some great prizes on offer including a 42 inch flat screen TV, an iPad and a laptop. In the Sixties you would have needed to watch Thunderbirds or Dr Who to get a glimpse of them. The monies raised will help fund both our anniversary events and our regular work. Your tickets were included with your copy of the Winter issue of this magazine, but you can ask for more from the office.
Finally, whilst it is BN’s anniversary year, our organisation is its members – in other words, you. So if you’ve got ideas for something special to mark this great year for us, share it with your club or get together a group of friends to bring your own celebration to life.
Perhaps you could generate some publicity for BN or your group by inviting the local paper or TV station? Or take some photos to share in a future edition of the magazine? Our next issue is a milestone number 200 and we’ll be bringing more news about the anniversary, as well as covering events that have taken place or have still to be enjoyed.

BN199 Magazine Spring 2014

It’s going to be another issue packed full of great articles, topical news and of course bursting with colour.
There is a full report on last year’s Alton Towers event, the story of our own ‘naked cyclist’ and the positive press he received, features on Naturist swims and “Meet & Greet” gatherings, an update on our Campaigning work and a relaunch - with a new team - of YBN, our group for under 30s.
We focus on Spain and Spanish islands in our dedicated travel and holiday feature and squeeze in France and Greece too! There are comprehensive listings of clubs, swims and a huge number of events, plus readers’ letters, BN management updates and much more.
BN members can download the magazine here.

Join YBN – just £10 for a one-year membership for 2014!

2014 will be a big year for YBN, with a new team planning a number of events throughout the year.
To mark this, BN is offering a year's membership for just £10 to anyone aged 18 to 30 at the time of application saving you £28 (based upon a single year's membership of BN).
The offer is open to all new members, so if you have never been a member of a Naturist organisation before, now is a great time to join.
The offer is also open to any returning members who have previously been members of BN but did not renew their membership in 2013. YBN is changing for the better, and we’d love to have you come back.
If you want to join please go to https://www.bn.org.uk/membership/index.php
YBN will be at Clover Spa in Birmingham (cloverspa.co.uk) for the young Naturists' weekend on 18 and 19 January. This is a great opportunity to come along and meet the team and find out more about our plans and those of British Naturism. Come along and say hi!
Don't forget you can join in with the conversation on Twitter, @ybn_official, and find and comment on us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/YoungBritishNaturists
Join us in 2014 and #getyourgladragsoff!

Is the telly turned on for full-frontal nudity?

WARNING:
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE MIGHT CONTAIN NUDITY, BAD LANGUAGE
AND REFERENCES OF A SEXUAL NATURE AND ACTS OF VIOLENCE.
Now, do you immediately want to read on and find out what this relates to?
I feel sure that a lot of readers will now be skimming through the paragraphs trying to locate the rude bits, like most of the population are supposed to do when discovering a copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Am I right?
Similar warnings are broadcast on television channels before a film and are intended to prevent people being exposed to scenes which would make them feel uncomfortable and which they might choose to avoid – but how often does it actually encourage another section of the public to watch, in the hope of seeing something a bit risqué?
It’s a shame that something as natural as nudity is classed as offensive, alongside bad language and violence.
We all know that, on a general family channel, even after 9 pm, the “nudity” is often only semi-nudity; people wrapping their duvet around themselves as they get out of bed or, having supposedly just had sex, leaping out of bed with at least their pants on, if not their pyjamas, too!
It’s not that I need to see their bodies but I do want the storyline to be convincing, so if nudity is going to be shown, then please cut from being in bed to having got dressed – and we can leave the rest to our imagination.
Yet some films seem to have excessive nudity when it isn’t essential to the plot. It wasn’t always like this; in fact, it isn’t that they never had sex in the days of the old black & white movies, it’s just that we didn’t expect to watch them doing it!
(I hope you are smiling at this point, as I am...)
All this leads me to suspect that such scenes are now only included to boost ratings.
I often comment at the end of such a programme that I didn’t recall seeing any nudity at all, so I wonder if some of the viewers feel rather let down that they watched it for 90 minutes and didn’t spot any! Could they complain to some official board somewhere that the warning was misleading and insist that some nudity be included in future?!
It’s often thrown into advertising for no other reason than to grab your attention. The marketing people know what they are doing and when all else fails to make their item stand out from the rest, they throw in some nudity to tempt viewers to take more notice next time it appears.
Can you recall television adverts using nudity? Can you recall what they were advertising?
Perhaps I’m immune to it since becoming a naturist. Is it that I’m no longer surprised to see a naked body? I’m certainly never shocked to see one and never was why anyone would be, I don’t understand, as we all have one.
I recall an ad that had two naked ramblers standing at the roadside whilst a coach-load of people went past; one where a couple strip off their clothes and go skinny-dipping and one for a particular perfume where the lady strides through the door discarding her jewellery and clothes on the way; just another day in a naturist’s household!
I couldn’t tell you exactly what they were advertising, so if I’m an example of the general public, the advertising failed.
Even the radio ads are utilising nudity. Just recently, I kept hearing bits of one advert whilst driving and the word they were constantly repeating was “naked” with great emphasis, as though it were something new and most certainly naughty to be said out loud.
What were they advertising? A brand of car that was offering special terms of payment, with, I believe, no extra costs, though once again I don’t remember the details.
I remember wondering what “Naked” had to do with selling a car? Would anyone really be attracted to that car simply because they repeatedly used that word? Please say “No!"
My point is that nudity is widely used to attract interest, viewers and custom and it is usually in the form of a sexual nature, quite provocative and obviously widely accepted across the nation, otherwise the major TV and radio channels would be stopped from doing so. They do have their limits but they constantly push them and only if viewers’ reaction is strong are they banned.
Saucy seaside postcards were thought very naughty in the 1930’s and remain as popular as ever. There must have been something in the sea air, as many a Victorian pier had a Mutoscope, commonly known as a “what the butler saw” machine!
Think, quickly now, of the most famous scene in any of the “Carry On” films and what springs to mind? Yes, the clip of the young Barbara Windsor throwing open her arms and her bikini top flying off in the 1969 film Carry on Camping which featured a “nudist camp”. The giggling portrayal of Naturism has been difficult for us to shed ever since.
All evidence points to the Great British Public’s love of naughtiness, of suggested nudity with a little glimpse of something they weren’t meant to see.
So why is it that, when given some straightforward nudity that is non- sexual and not provocative in the slightest, but natural and normal, the rest of the population gets agitated and starts proclaiming how rude we all are?! This type of nudity seems to be the one the nation dislikes the most!
Isn’t it crazy?!
This leads me to think they consider the only acceptable nudity is when it is linked with sexuality, so we’re on a loser here!
What can we do to stop this great divide between sexual nudity and naturist nudity and get our nakedness accepted as perfectly harmless and normal?
Answers on a postcard please! (No, seriously, I mean it!)
We are the ones living the same routine, often mundane, without our clothes, as everyone else is doing, with their clothes on, so what’s the big deal?
The day when the TV or film industry can have someone get out of bed naked and get dressed, in the same way as we do in real life, without it meaning to create sexual tension, will mean we have done our job and promoted the naked body as acceptable and normal.
Until then, watch out for that boring old TV film or drama about to start after 9pm that will only get high ratings because, just before it starts, they warn the viewers of nudity.
Take my word for it; it isn’t worth watching if that is the best they can say about it!
(And no, I haven’t used any bad language in this piece as I don’t think it necessary and it certainly isn’t clever!)

BN198 - Winter 2013

The winter 2013 edition of British Naturism magazine (BN 198) is another wonderfully varied and colourful look at the vibrant world of Naturism.
We report on a hugely successful National Convention, which was held at a wonderful new venue, Yarnfield Park in Staffordshire and look back to the 2013 annual general meeting, which was held on the Sunday afternoon of NatConv weekend.
BN magazine editor Martin Warrillow tells the story of how he took part in London Zoo’s Streak for Tigers - a naked run around the world-famous venue to raise money in support of the Zoo’s two Sumatran tigers - and there are also reports from some fantastic naturist events which were part of a long, hot summer for British Naturism.
That wonderful weather gave us lots of positive opportinities to promote our lifestyle and we report on some of the ways in which Naturism was brought into the national consciousness in 2013.
And talking of the national consciousness, it’s BN’s 50th birthday next year and we’ll be everywhere! BN 198 has news of some of the events which are already planned and looks at ways in which Britain’s naturists can help us to celebrate our golden anniversary.
Our travel section features venues in France, South Africa, Croatia and the Caribbean and we explain how to get the best out of our new and improved Holiday Advice Service - plus, how you can benefit from recruiting a new member to BN.
All this and plenty of reports from our clubs, a busy section of What's On listings, swim and sauna details and much more.
Don't forget that the magazine and recent past issues are also available for BN members to download in the members' area.

British Naturism urges Parliament to stop Facebook’s ‘prudery and prejudice’

British Naturism has called on Parliament to protect the British people from prudery and prejudice after Facebook allowed videos depicting graphic beheading - but maintained an absolute block on showing a "fully exposed breast", along with all other nudity.
The social network had introduced a temporary ban on decapitation videos in May following evidence-backed complaints that the clips could cause long-term psychological damage. However, the US firm has now said that users should be free to watch and condemn such videos.
Meanwhile, any form of nudity, including photos of breastfeeding mothers or scenes filmed at naturist clubs or on naturist beaches, is banned. In 2011, the page of a breast-cancer survivor was blocked after she posted a picture of her reconstructed breast while breast-feeding groups have had accounts closed and pages removed and members of British Naturism have often found images of non- sexual nudity blocked or removed from Facebook.
British Naturism’s campaigns director, Malcolm Boura, said: “That they should even consider showing such horrendous violence, never mind go ahead and do it, shows just how hypocritical and damaging their censorship policies are.”
“They are acting on prejudice instead of facts and evidence and it is doing huge damage. They are making it much harder to promote breast-feeding and much harder to promote wholesome body attitudes. The result is that most children and young people get their (mis)information from playground myth and the glamour and pornography industries. The evidence is very clear, body-honesty is essential.
“British Naturism believes Parliament should act. If Facebook is doing significant levels of business in this country, they must play by British rules. The censorship imposed by Facebook hides behind a smokescreen of concern for children - and yet they are allowing these horrific videos.
“This is corporate prudery from faceless and unaccountable overseas companies who take our money, but won’t respect our values and our right to freedom of expression. We call upon Parliament to protect us from big business censorship and to require that internet filtering is evidence based and accountable.”
- ENDS -
Contacts:
Malcolm Boura
Campaigns Director
British Naturism
30-32 Wycliffe Rd, Northampton, NN1 5JF.
01604 620361
07734 964435
rlo@bn.org.uk
Notes for Editors
British Naturism (BN) is the UK’s officially recognised naturist organisation. It exists to support and unite naturists around the UK and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2014, although its predecessors were in existence since the 1930s.
Amongst the aims of BN are to campaign for more places to be made available for naturism and to protect naturists against discrimination and Victorian attitudes to the human body.
Fact – in law, there is no offence of nudity. Various pieces of legislation and common law are often mentioned in connection with naturism but they are rarely relevant.
In the UK, there are over 130 sun clubs, swim clubs and holiday resorts and many beaches used regularly by naturists. Membership of BN is around 10,000 people with many more being members of clubs affiliated to BN.
YBN (Young British Naturists) has a membership of young men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 who get together at clubs and beaches many weekends. They represent the UK at the International Naturist Federation (INF) Youth Rally held annually
Naturism is good for you! Naturists report improvements in well-being, stress, chronic illness, self-esteem and body image. It’s also a sensible choice of dress when the weather is warm. Naturists are normal people. The only difference between activities inside and outside of naturism is the dress code.
It is a fallacy to believe that naked children are any more at risk in a naturist environment. Unaccompanied children are not permitted in naturist places and the community spirit that pervades ensures that a watchful eye is present. Despite the perception, there are far fewer problems in naturism than in more “public” places where children and adults mix. Mindful of the need to be aware of child safeguarding issues, however, BN have a robust child safeguarding policy, code of practice, and a Child Safeguarding sub-committee that meets regularly and runs workshops on the subject, sometimes to groups from outside the naturist world.
For the media, there is a dedicated “Media Centre” at https://www.bn.org.uk/media, which contains useful information for those wishing to write about naturism or to feature this wonderful world in their publications or programmes.

Log In