It is through nudism and naturism that
most of us have gained a healthy regard and acceptance of all of our bodily
functions,
as well as acceptance of our fellow man
Just as we have become comfortable with a woman's monthly period, unshaven body, or someone missing a leg or breast due to surgery, so have MOST of us become comfortable in ur acceptance and tolerance of someone's religion, skin color or sexual preference. But there are still those people in the nudist and naturist lifestyles who judge and ostracize people whose skin is a different color or whose sexual preference is different from their own.
As I campaign for public acceptance and tolerance of the clothes-optional lifestyle, I confront ignorance on a daily basis. Surely this is my greatest enemy.
I realized early, though, that intolerance exists within our own movement, and this knowledge made me sad. I realized that the tolerance that grew, and continues to grow, with my acceptance of myself, did not grow within everyone. I discovered both racism and homophobia within our lifestyle, and was more than a little disappointed that many people hadn’t discovered that self-acceptance and self-appreciation are but a partial step towards full naturist growth potential. When we can accept, without judgment, that which is different from ourselves? When we can ask questions which will lead us to a greater understanding of why people make different choices than those we’ve made in our lives?
What surprised me even more though, was reverse brand of intolerance which shows itself in two ways.
There are those who become angry at people with closed minds that cannot accept the rationale that though they might not do it themselves, they can’t judge you for doing it. Instead of analyzing the closed mind, and coming in quietly, working WITH the fear to allay it, they become frustrated and angry when their head-on tactics don’t work. We must gauge our opposition carefully before we can wage the campaign to win allies.
And yet another twist to intolerance comes from those people whp actually exhibit the most tolerance. Thisa reverse intolerance comes from some of the most liberal and accepting people I know, who feel that clubs and groups that don’t accept our policy of tolerance towards everyone shoud be excluded from the naturist movement. They would be most smart to go back to their early beginnings on the road to acceptance and realize that their tolerance came through education. Would it not be intolerant of us to exclude a group because of their ignorant intolerance?
Let’s us use homophobia as an example. Literally, this means fear of homosexuals. Fear is a result of ignorance. Education is the solution to ignorance. Should we ostracize these groups and clubs and tell them they cannot be part of the naturist movement, or should we use patience and understanding to expose, in a non-threatening way, the irrationality behind these fears? Let us use the resources at hand to educate the ignorant and erase the fears that result.
And let us remember – Rome was not built in a day. Just as the non-naturist’s fears of nudism and naturism did not happen suddenly, but evolved out of years of misinformation which we are working to change with correct information, so did intolerance in the naturist and nudist grow out of misinformation. Consider this example: the child that was thrown into the water and told to swim, with no knowledge of swimming, develops a terrifying fear of water which only gentle understanding will help alleviate. All things take time, and we cannot force someone to exhibit that which their fears have not allowed. We must exhibit the same patience with our fellow nudists and naturists as we do with our non-naturist public.
We must remember what someone far wiser than I said many years ago: “I wish to change their minds, not kill them for weaknesses we all possess.” (Gandhi)
Most of all, let us not forget that growth in naturism does not stop with self-acceptance, but reaches beyond the self to acceptance of others, without judgment.
Michelle HandleEast Coast Naturist Coordinator
(Source: The Event, Journal of Clothes-Optional Living on the Eastern Seabord, Issue 9, November 1983)
Just as we have become comfortable with a woman's monthly period, unshaven body, or someone missing a leg or breast due to surgery, so have MOST of us become comfortable in ur acceptance and tolerance of someone's religion, skin color or sexual preference. But there are still those people in the nudist and naturist lifestyles who judge and ostracize people whose skin is a different color or whose sexual preference is different from their own.
As I campaign for public acceptance and tolerance of the clothes-optional lifestyle, I confront ignorance on a daily basis. Surely this is my greatest enemy.
I realized early, though, that intolerance exists within our own movement, and this knowledge made me sad. I realized that the tolerance that grew, and continues to grow, with my acceptance of myself, did not grow within everyone. I discovered both racism and homophobia within our lifestyle, and was more than a little disappointed that many people hadn’t discovered that self-acceptance and self-appreciation are but a partial step towards full naturist growth potential. When we can accept, without judgment, that which is different from ourselves? When we can ask questions which will lead us to a greater understanding of why people make different choices than those we’ve made in our lives?
What surprised me even more though, was reverse brand of intolerance which shows itself in two ways.
There are those who become angry at people with closed minds that cannot accept the rationale that though they might not do it themselves, they can’t judge you for doing it. Instead of analyzing the closed mind, and coming in quietly, working WITH the fear to allay it, they become frustrated and angry when their head-on tactics don’t work. We must gauge our opposition carefully before we can wage the campaign to win allies.
And yet another twist to intolerance comes from those people whp actually exhibit the most tolerance. Thisa reverse intolerance comes from some of the most liberal and accepting people I know, who feel that clubs and groups that don’t accept our policy of tolerance towards everyone shoud be excluded from the naturist movement. They would be most smart to go back to their early beginnings on the road to acceptance and realize that their tolerance came through education. Would it not be intolerant of us to exclude a group because of their ignorant intolerance?
Let’s us use homophobia as an example. Literally, this means fear of homosexuals. Fear is a result of ignorance. Education is the solution to ignorance. Should we ostracize these groups and clubs and tell them they cannot be part of the naturist movement, or should we use patience and understanding to expose, in a non-threatening way, the irrationality behind these fears? Let us use the resources at hand to educate the ignorant and erase the fears that result.
And let us remember – Rome was not built in a day. Just as the non-naturist’s fears of nudism and naturism did not happen suddenly, but evolved out of years of misinformation which we are working to change with correct information, so did intolerance in the naturist and nudist grow out of misinformation. Consider this example: the child that was thrown into the water and told to swim, with no knowledge of swimming, develops a terrifying fear of water which only gentle understanding will help alleviate. All things take time, and we cannot force someone to exhibit that which their fears have not allowed. We must exhibit the same patience with our fellow nudists and naturists as we do with our non-naturist public.
We must remember what someone far wiser than I said many years ago: “I wish to change their minds, not kill them for weaknesses we all possess.” (Gandhi)
Most of all, let us not forget that growth in naturism does not stop with self-acceptance, but reaches beyond the self to acceptance of others, without judgment.
Michelle HandleEast Coast Naturist Coordinator
(Source: The Event, Journal of Clothes-Optional Living on the Eastern Seabord, Issue 9, November 1983)
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