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BARE-buns campus
runs at midnight. Fraternity initiations. Good
old-fashioned streaking.
'Gettin' nekkid'
is often the rebellious act of choice on
college campuses,
as it has been for decades. Yet anyone who's been
to a nudist park or naturist gathering lately can
tell that by and large, Generation X just doesn't
seem to be taking that next step to body
acceptance and social nude recreation.
Coed Naked Firefighting? Sure. But removed from a
context of titillation and sexuality, the interest
wanes. This generation may be ready for nudity but
maybe not for naturism. Or so it seems. And if you
think about the fact that the majority in this age
group have spent most of their conscious lives
immersed in a relentlessly clothing- and
image-obsessed, MTV-fueled culture, in which
breast implants and liposuction are everyday
procedures, pumped-up athletes are the role models
and supermodels are superstars, well... what can
we expect?
In another way it seems strange, though. Many
aspects of naturist philosophy appear to coincide
with the values of a typically idealistic youth
culture. Concern for the environment and the
"natural" world. tolerance and respect for
diversity. Freedom and equality. What's more, at
its best naturism lacks the insincerity and
general artificiality of which youth in general is
inherently suspicious. This may help explain in
part why there is such a strong youth naturist
culture in Europe--but then, why not here in
America?
The groups featured in the following article raise
hopes. The key players, all in their twenties,
started their own groups "by and for young
naturists" because they got involved with existing
naturist groups and felt just plain left out.
Appreciative, but left out. They are diverse
in personality, background, goals and philosophies
as all naturists are, but they all started from
the same place--they knew there had to be others
who, like them, just didn't know where to go to
enjoy this hip new form of recreation they had
discovered.
Even now, they want to know if there are others
like them out there in the naturist world, what
they're doing, how they're doing it. Each has a
strong desire to network nationally with other
younger naturists, either through traditional
means or through the new modes of communication
like 'zines and the Internet. these groups are
asking, Where are you, Gen X, and what can we do
to find you?
The reason it's so important we answer that
question should be pretty clear. After all, what
will happen to the future of naturism if we, its
practitioners don't cultivate a new generation?
What's more, with the political challenges
naturists are facing today, can we really afford
to have the next generation of lawmakers as
ignorant about and fearful of naturism as the
present one seems to be? Or to have those who
practice naturism not get involved enough to help
defend it?
In our own effort to reach this elusive group, TNS
has begun offering a discounted rate of $30 a year
for students who provide proof of enrollment in an
acceptable university, college or tech school.
Besides that, we too would like to learn what
other Gen X naturists are up to. Drop us a line.
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