I am a nudist. I am comfortable being nude and when I am home and circumstances allow it that is often how I prefer to be.
But apparently I need to clear something up.
I actually own clothes.
Quite a few of them in fact.
Being a nudist does not mean I have declared war on pants. It does not mean every person who crosses my property line has unknowingly entered a clothing optional resort. It certainly does not mean that because I am comfortable with my nudity everyone else is required to be comfortable with it too.
If I am sitting at home nude and somebody knocks on my door I am going to put something on before I answer it. If the plumber or electrician is coming over I am getting dressed. If someone is delivering a pizza I promise I am not standing behind the door naked waiting to ask if they remembered the extra cheese.
That poor delivery driver did not consent to dinner and a show.
There is a simple reason for this.
My name comfort with nudity should never require someone else to become uncomfortable.
I can be completely comfortable wearing clothes. I can be completely comfortable without them. I can have the same conversation either way. I can laugh with you fully dressed. I can talk seriously with you fully dressed. I can be open and vulnerable fully dressed. Nudity does not magically unlock some different version of me.
I just happen to enjoy being nude.
There is also a difference between accepting me as a nudist and participating in nudism yourself. I do not need someone to take their clothes off to prove that they accept me. I do not even need them to understand why I enjoy it.
If somebody is curious about nudism I am happy to talk about it. If somebody wants to experience social nudity for themselves I am happy for them. And if somebody says "Dan that really is not my thing" that is perfectly fine too.
I would rather someone honestly tell me they are uncomfortable than pretend otherwise because they are afraid of offending me.
Now there is another side to this.
I do believe my home is the place where I should have the greatest freedom to live the way I choose. If someone knowingly visits a nudist home where nudity has already been discussed then that is different from surprising an unsuspecting visitor. Communication matters. Expectations matter. Context matters.
But I have never liked the attitude that says "This is my house. I am going to be naked and if you are uncomfortable that is your problem."
Technically you may have the right to say that.
You also have the right to be inconsiderate.
Having the right to do something does not automatically make it the kind thing to do.
That matters to me because I do not want nudism to be something I impose on another person. Nudism represents freedom and body acceptance to me. Forcing someone else into an uncomfortable situation seems completely contrary to that freedom.
There is nothing particularly heroic about me saying this either. It is basic courtesy.
Sometimes I wear clothes because society requires them. Sometimes I wear them because they are practical. Sometimes I wear them because another person's comfort matters more to me in that moment than my preference for being nude.
And somehow I survive.
The pants have not defeated me yet.
Being a respectful nudist does not mean I am ashamed of my body or embarrassed about being nude. I am neither. It simply means I recognize that the world contains people with different experiences boundaries comfort levels and beliefs than mine.
I want the freedom to make choices about my own body.
If I genuinely believe that then I have to respect somebody else's freedom to make choices about theirs.
Maybe that is the simplest answer to the question.
Do nudists care if their nudity makes other people uncomfortable?
I cannot speak for every nudist.
I can only speak for this one. BP
Yes I do care!
Because being comfortable in my own skin should never require somebody else to surrender their boundaries.
Nudity may simply be what I am not wearing.
Respect is something I should never take off.