Naturism and the Courage to Make Space
Naturism helped us feel free in our own skin. But we’ve come to realize that not everyone gets to feel that kind of freedom when naturism and inclusivity collide.
This is our reflection, as a couple, on why standing beside marginalized people matters in naturist spaces, and how making room for every body means having the courage to admit what we don’t know, and listen with humility.
As naturists, we’ve grown accustomed to living a little outside the mainstream. We’re used to being misunderstood, judged, and even ridiculed for a personal lifestyle that, at its core, is about freedom, body acceptance, and mutual respect. So it always catches us off guard when others, especially those who also identify with countercultural or marginalized lifestyles, express the same kind of judgment toward groups they don’t understand.
Most recently, we’ve seen this with regard to non-binary individuals and the broader LGBTQ+ community. Let us be clear: we don’t speak for them. That’s not our experience, and we’re not here to pretend otherwise. But we do want to speak about why we support their right to self-expression. Just as we wish others would support ours.
This isn’t a political statement. It’s a human one.
Shared Struggles: Naturists and Marginalized Voices
There’s something deeply ironic about naturists being dismissive of others who live outside the conventional mold. We are a group often forced into secrecy for fear of being misunderstood. We know what it’s like to live in hiding, avoiding conversations about our lifestyle with coworkers, neighbors, and sometimes even close family. Why? Because of the assumptions society makes about people who choose to live clothes-free.
Many naturists fear losing careers, being ostracized from their communities, or bringing shame upon their families due to deeply entrenched cultural or religious values. This is not unlike the experience of those in marginalized groups… whether LGBTQ+, people of color, or others whose identities challenge societal norms. They, too, face real risks in coming out, being visible, or even simply expressing themselves authentically.
In that sense, naturists should be among the most empathetic voices when it comes to understanding others who live differently. And yet, we sometimes see the opposite.
The ‘Woke’ Boogeyman and False Equivalencies
We’ve received comments from readers claiming that belief in non-binary gender is “just ideology,” that it’s a “biological impossibility,” or that it’s part of some nefarious agenda to confuse children. These claims are not only disingenuous, they’re dismissive of real people’s lives.
Let’s be honest: science isn’t as black and white as some would like it to be. While biological sex is often simplified as male or female, it’s more nuanced than that. Differences in sex development (DSDs) affect around 1 in 100 people in some form, comparable in frequency to red hair. And just as importantly, gender is not the same as sex. Gender is a social and psychological experience of identity, and cultures around the world have long recognized more than two genders.
Yes, there are extremists pushing agendas at both ends of every spectrum. That’s true in politics, religion, activism, and even naturism. But the radicals are not the majority. The overwhelming majority of people, including non-binary individuals, just want to live in peace, be seen for who they are, and feel safe doing so. Unfortunately, their voices are often drowned out by the loudest, most combative ones.
Naturist Values Are About Personal Integrity
When people say things like “non-binary individuals are changing who they are” or “going against nature,” we wonder, what does that even mean? Naturism, at its best, is about embracing who you are without shame. It’s not about what you look like on the outside. It’s about stripping away the artificial roles and judgments society imposes on us and standing in our authentic skin.
That’s exactly what many non-binary people are trying to do. Just because their expression doesn’t align with what’s familiar to you doesn’t make it invalid.
And here’s another truth: many naturists do identify as LGBTQ+, including non-binary. They are part of our community. Sometimes quietly, because naturism hasn’t always been as welcoming to them as it should be.
We have a responsibility to change that.
You Don’t Have to Understand Everything to Respect It
We get it. This stuff can be confusing. Maybe you were raised to believe there are only two genders. Maybe terms like “non-binary,” “genderqueer,” or “they/them pronouns” seem strange. That’s okay. You don’t need to fully understand someone’s identity in order to respect them. Respect starts with the recognition that your experience of the world is not the only valid one.
We don’t discuss non-binary gender identities often in our writing. Not because we don’t care, but because it’s not our lived experience. We write from the perspective of a naturist couple in midlife. We can’t speak from the perspective of a single parent, a transgender person, or a person of color in naturism either. But we can speak to the importance of listening, of not rushing to judgment, and of standing up for the dignity of others.
Drawing Parallels with Naturism
Let’s revisit one more point: many of us, as naturists, are afraid to be open because we’ve seen what happens to those who are. Loss of friends. Rejection from family. Career jeopardy. The fear of being seen as “weird,” “immoral,” or “perverse.” So we hide. We censor ourselves. We wait until retirement to tell the truth—or never tell it at all.Sound familiar?
That’s exactly what many in the LGBTQ+ and non-binary community have experienced their entire lives.
Just as we don’t want to be judged for living clothes-free, others don’t want to be judged for living outside the gender binary or loving someone society says they shouldn’t. That’s not ideology. That’s humanity.
If your upbringing, religion, or politics are teaching you to hate someone simply for who they are, it’s time to take a long, honest look at yourself. Because that kind of belief has no place in any community built on respect.
Radical Self-Acceptance Is for Everyone
Some have pointed to events like Kiwiburn or Burning Man as examples of people practicing nudity without the “issues” they claim plague naturism… suggesting that women feel safer, that gender dynamics are healthier. But it’s important to understand that these environments often explicitly center around radical self-expression and inclusion. Their participants are encouraged to show up exactly as they are. That includes non-binary people, trans people, queer people, neurodivergent people, and others who often feel unsafe elsewhere.
Naturism could learn something from that. Radical self-acceptance means accepting bodies and identities in all their diversity. Not just the ones we find easy to understand.
Final Thoughts: Respect Is Not a Zero-Sum Game
Again, we need to reiterate, we don’t claim to speak on behalf of non-binary individuals, trans people, people of color, or any other marginalized communities. And we fully acknowledge that as naturists, especially white, cisgender naturists, we’ve never faced the same level of misunderstanding, threat, or danger for simply being who we are. Our choice to live nude has never put our lives at risk.
So no… we won’t pretend to fully understand how it feels to live inside a body that the world treats as “other.” We won’t ever fully understand their plight. But we can listen. We can learn. And we can support those who have to navigate a far more hostile world just for showing up as themselves.
We have seen the subtle (and not-so-subtle) biases in naturist spaces, assumptions about gender, discomfort with diverse bodies, and silence in the face of exclusion. And we know that silence is sometimes complicity.
Naturism, to us, isn’t about erasing differences. It’s about creating space where those differences are honored and accepted. The goal is not uniformity. The goal is authenticity within the philosophy… whatever that looks like for each person.
Our version of naturism is unapologetically body-positive, inclusive, and grounded in the belief that everyone deserves to feel safe and seen just as they are inside. Because honesty doesn’t come in one shape. And freedom doesn’t belong to just one kind of body. No one should be left alone.
After all, if we naturists want the world to accept us as we are, the least we can do is return the favor.
If this triggered you a bit… maybe check out our article “Yes… We Are Naturists! Yes… We Are WOKE!!“
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