PicoBlog

I mostly agree with all your points... but there are some important details to consider.

1. "There are communities where a public nudist would get excoriated and ostracized."

A news article (https://auburnpub.com/news/local/cayuga-county-nudism-festival-canceled-due-to-allegations/article_efff8610-3130-11ee-99b0-2fdcb2d454e2.html) just showed up today reporting that the Northeast Naturist Festival in New York was cancelled by the host club. The festival has a history going back more than 30 years. Reason for the cancellation? A social media "influencer" on Instagram alleged that one of the festival's sponsors (Nudism.TV, https://www.nudism.tv} produces videos of volunteer naturist families - with naked children (shudder!). According to the host club, the cancellation was due to actual death threats against Nudism.TV - and potentially to the club itself.

I'm not in a position to say whether Nudism.TV is a 100% legitimate naturist outfit. But if it is, the fundamental idea is great. However, the basic issue is that many in our poorly informed society take a very dim view of participation in naturism by families with young children. That's a problem in Canada too, where the Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park (Stéphane Deschênes' place) has been in trouble for images of naturist children on their website. Far too many people in our sadly misinformed society automatically equate that with child pornography.

TNSF itself could be in a precarious position, as most issues of their magazine, including the latest, contain images of family nudity. Fortunately for TNSF, hardly anyone besides TNSF members sees the magazine. But unfortunately, for the same reason, non-naturists can't grok the normality of family naturism.

2. "It isn't that the opportunity has disappeared. Almost nobody ever takes advantage of it. There are no California nude hiking groups other than the San Diego Camping Bears. They are pretty small. There just aren't enough nudies interested. That's the problem."

That is the problem indeed. Surely almost everyone understands the adage "Use it or lose it." That applies to anywhere naturism can be practiced. But of course, the problem is that being open about naturism invites mild to extreme disapproval in our fractious society. LGBTQ+ people have become more open to some extent. But that's lead to a fierce culture war against decent people who're often viewed as threats by the "mainstream".

3. "The place for nudist blogs is in the main stream blogging community, Blogging to the nudist community is just preaching to the choir."

This is a complicated issue. Many naturist publications, both in print and online, simply "preach to the choir". That's true with TNSF, for example. And it's very different from, say, 50 years ago when many naturist publications could be found on U.S. newsstands. The fact they aren't now is part of the problem. Historically, in countries like France, especially, acceptance of naturism increased along with relaxation of laws against nudity in printed material.

Naturists really do - urgently - need to present their case to the mainstream. On the other hand, "preaching to the choir" is what professional preachers do - incessantly - for a living. Every Sunday, at least. Naturist writers on social media like blogs and Substack need to address both communities. Of course, it's much more comfortable to write for the already committed rather than risk ostracism by the unenlightened multitudes. So committed naturists need to be prodded into openly defending their lifestyle. All naturists would benefit if enough more would endeavor to change the minds of family members, friends, or acquaintance who'd respect the naturist's opinion.

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