The Freedom of Skinny Dipping (and Nude Art)

I advertise skinny dipping and nudism in general, about 364 days a year, as you know. So International Skinny Dip Day couldn’t be that single day of the year I neglect to do that, could it?

Incidentally, I call myself a “nudist”, not a “naturist”. I didn’t like the term “naturism” since the first time I heard it. It felt as if it tries to “cover” something that doesn’t need covering – quite the opposite, actually – with a “proper” word, as if the act itself is something improper. Now, I find that term even more distant from what I am. That’s because most people who identify themselves as “naturists” are also vegetarians, vegans, or of some other group of “healthy” food supporters. On the other hand, I’m a carnivorous junk food fan.

But this post isn’t about diet habits, so let’s get back to the point. 😇

Skinny Dipping: Freedom in Every Wave

Skinny Dipping is a pleasure, of course, but also an act of self love, as I see it. By freeing yourself from clothes, you also are freeing yourself – even if temporarily – from shame, society’s rules and (self-)imposed restrictions. Naked, you are just you, physically, but the mind tends to reflect the body, so you feel just-you on a deeper level, as well. It’s also a good opportunity to embrace your body, and show love to it.

If you want to experience how the mind reflects the body, stand in front of a mirror for two or three minutes while smiling – an honest smile, not a grimace – and you’ll find out that pleasant, or funny thoughts just pop up in your mind.

Personally, I never felt the shame of taking off my swimsuit. Quite the opposite, in fact, I felt liberated, from the first moment. On the contrary, I had always felt embarrassed for wearing a swimsuit. But I know quite a few people who, at first, felt some embarrassment. They all say it doesn’t last long, while the sense of freedom that comes after it is totally worth it.

The almost-first-hand experience I have on the matter is that I have witnessed this happening not just once or twice. You are not sure it will happen to you? Try it and see for yourself. You have nothing to lose. You don’t even need to buy… “props”.

The Bunny has a Dream

Peculiar as it might sound, when I was 7yo and 8yo I had two dreams that helped me discover myself easier and better. The second one showed me what I want from a relationship, or how my perfect relationship should be. Not that I liked men, for I knew that already. The qualities. The very basic skeleton of it, of course. Books, movies, life… lots of things filled in the details, but I’ve never adopted details that go against this “skeleton”, for they feel wrong to me, just as much as they did to my 8yo self.

The first dream was the one that showed me that I want to be a nudist. Or, more accurately, that I was a nudist in hiding. That hiding was an imposed situation. I’m not from a nudists’ family, in case you got this wrong. In actuality, my family is quite prudish. I’m just the black sheep – or maybe the pink one. What I saw in that dream, in short, was me, as a young adult, not the 7yo kid I was, having a nice time at a beach, along with my friends, naked. All of us. Those friends in my dream weren’t people I knew in real life, just symbols of my subconscious mind. And I felt happier, more content and more fulfilled than ever before.

I won’t deny that the kid-me thought that this was a prophetic dream of what was to happen, and I couldn’t wait for it to happen. Nonetheless, the knowledge that “this is me” was rooted in my mind and soul.

Freud and Jung

Speaking of dreams, the two big figures of Psychology, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung have given us their scientific ways to interpret dreams.

Following Freud’s thoughts, as presented in “The Interpretation of Dreams”, seeing ourselves naked in a dream can be the subconscious’ way to inform us – amongst some other things – of our desire to be free from societal constraints or personal inhibitions.

Similarly, following Jung’s method as described in “Man and His Symbols” and “Memories, Dreams, Reflections”, seeing ourselves naked in a dream can symbolise our subconscious mind’s desire for authenticity, or a need for self-discovery. It can represent a desire to shed false personas or societal masks, revealing our true selves, as well as a willingness to be open and honest with ourselves and others.

Assuming these two knew what they were saying – and I believe that, but it’s up to you to decide whether you believe that, as well – as nudity is our inner self’s symbol of what I mentioned above, it also means that our inner self recognises those symbols. Therefore being naked is like encouraging, at the very least, your mind and telling it, “let’s be authentic”, “let’s shed our masks”, “let’s be honest”, etc. It’s not the finishing line, but it’s a start.

Busting the Nudism Myths

Nudism is practised for sex – to find someone to have sex with – or, at least is exhibitionism. Both of these are false. And yes, you can find people who are not really nudists but use nudism for these reasons. Nudists don’t!

Nudism and exhibitionism both need the person to be naked. A nudist takes pleasure in the fact that they are naked and the sense of freedom and self-acceptance that comes from this. On the other hand, an exhibitionist takes pleasure in the fact that they are seen being naked, or having sex. You see the difference, don’t you?

Have you ever seen someone in the streets, at school, at work, at the beach – wearing swimsuit – and found them hot? Or had a crush for them, or even fell in love with them? I bet it has happened. You see? It’s not nudity’s fault or blessing. At a nudist beach, the only difference is, you can see all of each other. That’s a good thing. No unpleasant surprises for later on. 😉😏😋

Nudists don’t go to the beach, or wherever they can be their naked selves for this reason. Additionally, at most nudist beaches you will see people of all ages and, of course, families. A visit to a popular nudist beach, on its own, can dispel the misconception that nudism is a sexual act, faster and better than I can achieve even by writing another 10k words on the subject.

But nudism is practised for oneself. Therefore, if you don’t feel comfortable to make a start in a popular nudist beach, why not try a more secluded and quiet one, where you can be alone, or with someone you trust?

Nudism in Art

Nudism has been depicted in art, too. I won’t talk about ancient Greece, or anywhere the unusual thing to happen would be to actually wear something at the beach.

I’ll only mention one artist, Henry Scott Tuke, whose main subject is naked boys having a nice time at the sea. Tuke was introduced to nudism by a friend of his, and fell in love with it, right away. And from then on, he frequented that beach and painted naked boys there. By looking at his absolutely astonishing paintings, you can more or less tell he was painting at the same beach each time.

Tuke didn’t sexualise nudism, or the boys he painted. In fact, in most of his paintings no dick is visible – I only have seen one case where a dick is painted in his characteristic style that reduces details, while making the painting feel like there are plenty of those – and his boys are never depicted in poses that can indicate sexual desire for each other.

He simply shows boys who enjoy the sun, the sea, and each other’s company, in a friendly way. His use of mostly warm colours along with the usually calm waters make their peaceful joy – not strong excitement – pop out of his paintings, at least for me.

Three Nudist Friends

You might or might not have seen the previous drawing and oil painting I posted above. The pencil drawing is made by a few tones and, hence, it shows the diver in the water, without many details. I wouldn’t call it impressionistic, but it surely is not perfectly realistic.

The painting is an experiment I had made. It was made by tapping the brush on the paper. The only brush strokes are the white lines in the sea, and the hair. A very frustrating experience for someone who pays so much attention to the details, but for the same reason, it was a very liberating experience.

Those two you might have seen before, on my Twitter.

The following is a new pencil drawing, showing three naked friends at the beach. Although it has two more tones than the diver above, it is still far from a smooth, full-spectrum drawing.

I kind of love this technique, because it gives me a way to achieve something like the ambience of impressionism, while using the defined lines of a realistic drawing. So, let’s agree it’s my kind of impressionism. I’d appreciate it if you told me your thoughts about this style.

That’s all!

Thanks for reading.

Have fun, naked, and in every other way you like, and always be happy!

Love and Kisses!

😘😘😘😘😘

💖💖💖💖💖

Yorgos KC