Nudity takes off
The clothing-optional lifestyle is becoming a big business, and nobody's blushing.
July 30, 2003: 2:01 PM EDT
By Gordon T. Anderson, CNN/Money Contributing Writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The words "nudist colony" might conjure up notions of waifs dancing through fields like castoffs from a production of "Hair." But those who do stuff in the buff want to project a different image.
Nudism is trying to dress itself up.
"Nude recreation encompasses an incredibly wide variety of activities," says Judy Ditzler of the Naturist Society, an industry association.
There are nude cruises and motorcycle rallies, clothing-free hiking and camping. A charter airline ran a nude flight, and at least three nudist summer camps for teenagers are in operation.
Most important, there are about 260 clothing-optional resorts in North America, which are responsible for the bulk of spending in the nudity business. That's nearly twice the number of 10 years ago, according to the American Association for Nude Recreation. Many charge top dollar for spa treatments and really fluffy towels.
A relatively affluent customer base has pushed nudism in the U.S. to $400 million in annual revenues, according to the AANR. That's up from $120 million a decade ago.
"Any time somebody can drop a couple of grand on a cruise, you can assume they're at least comfortable financially," says Nancy Tiemann of Bare Necessities, a travel agent in Austin, Tex., that specializes in nudist cruise packages.
Resorts building out
In Palm Springs, Calif., Steve Payne, a former manager with Hilton and Sheraton, opened the Desert Shadows Inn in 1992 as an 11-room bed-and-breakfast. Today, it's a 92-room complex, including villas, condominiums, and a spa. Cost for a suite: $2,500 per week, including tax but not sun screen.
In Pasco County, Fla., the $45 million Caliente hotel and condominium recently opened. You can play tennis, volleyball, and shuffleboard -- while letting it all hang out. It is one of 6 nudist resorts in the county.
"These are mainstream properties, with common pools, landscaping, roads and the kinds of amenities you'd see at any other upscale development," says Hugh Lichter, vice president of Diversified Mortgage in Clearwater, Fla. One of them is even next to a Wal-Mart.
Lichter is not a nudist, but he has written loans both to developers and individual property owners in the Pasco County nudist community. He says prices for building lots in nudist developments in Pasco exceed the cost of similar lots nearby.
Third-of-an acre lots in nudist developments have recently sold for between $80,000 and $110,000, according to Lichter. "The same lot up the road would cost between $45,000 and $50,000," says the lender.
Mindful of such numbers, some public officials promote nude recreation as just another element of the local tourist trade.
When the Desert Shadows built a foot bridge to connect two parts of its property last year, the city of Palm Springs kicked in $185,000 to make nearby road improvements. The county also granted Payne a variance for a liquor license (a law aimed at strip clubs had been a hindrance).
In Florida, according to the AANR's Carolyn Hawkins, the Pasco County Chamber of Commerce holds regular get-togethers at nude clubs that attract as many as 300 (clothed) guests.
Naked appeals
Nudists are careful to stay on message -- "no sex please, we're naked" -- and tend to speak from the same page when promoting their avocation.
The benefit of a nude beach? No sand in your suit, three said in separate interviews.
Two sources stressed that when you're naked, class distinctions disappear. "You can't tell the difference between an attorney and a bus driver when they're not wearing clothes," one said, without even chuckling at a lawyer joke made in response.
Boosterism aside, few would dispute that nudism's a niche.
According to the Travel Industry Association, Americans spent $455 billion on travel and tourism last year. Camping alone is a $7 billion business, notes Cathy Keefe of the TIA.
Measured against that, nude recreation is barely a rounding error. Even so, cruise packager Tiemann's experience may be instructive.
Bare Necessities started out 12 years ago selling cruises on boats with a few hundred passengers. Now, the business is a mix of high-margin small groups and mass-market trips.
Last year, Carnival Cruises, which operates the ships as charters, told Tiemann that a smaller vessel would be unavailable for a planned cruise. So she had a sudden sales challenge to fill many more berths on a bigger-than-expected ship.
She marketed the trip in the nudist press and mainstream travel magazines owned by Conde Nast. Result: 2,000 naked passengers on one of the largest, ahem, "bareback" cruises ever. (Carnival's Jennifer De La Cruz confirmed the number.)
Not only did the boat sell out, says Tiemann, "there was a waiting list."
Bare Necessities is organizing an even larger cruise for next year.
New York Times - June 18, 2003
At Nude Youth Camp, Skin Is Bare but Lust Is Verboten
By KATE ZERNIKE
LUTZ, Fla., June 12 — On the third-to-last day of summer camp, the temperature has risen to 98 degrees, and even the troupers have begun to whine.
"I don't want to play strip volleyball!" complained Jane Jeffries, 13, her sunburned shoulders sagging. "I want to play regular volleyball."
Halie Nelson, 14, agreed, "Yeah, I'd rather get all the clothes off, and keep all the clothes off."
Naked summer camp might strike non-nudists as illegal or prurient, or like striking a match to the gasoline of adolescent hormones.
Anti-nudity statutes in Florida and other states, however, say that nudity on private property is perfectly legal, even among minors, as long as there is no lewdness. And camp rules, drawn up by campers themselves a few years ago, guard against that. "Do not allow nudity and lust to mingle," they state. "No improper touch. Nudity must not be humiliating, degrading or promote ridicule." Even the occasional clothing, worn in the camp's shuttle van, must not be "sexually alluring."
Nude tourism has grown to a $400 million business this year from a $120 million business in 1992, reports the nudist association, with travel agencies noting a surge in nude cruises and, in May, the first nude charter flight. The association itself is growing, with 30 new clubs, for a total of 267, in the last two years.
There are still few places, however, for teenagers.
Parents and campers say the camp promotes a healthy body image at an age when confidence can crumble, and better relations between the sexes when awkwardness normally prevails.
"In gym class, some of the girls will hide in their lockers to take off their shirts in front of other girls," Halie said. "Sometimes I'll say, `Why are you so insecure?' They all say, `I need to lose a few pounds.' I just don't care about that stuff. I accept my body the way it is."
The nudist association, the larger of two nationwide, sees this as a place to train "youth ambassadors" to what nudists call the "textile" world. (To the question posed by one after-dinner discussion, "I'm a Nudist; Am I a Nut?," the answer, not surprisingly, was no.)
There are things that set this camp apart. Mosquito bites are more irritating, the sunscreen police more vigilant. Campers pack lighter, but drag towels, Linus-like, because nudist etiquette dictates using one when sitting. And the discussion groups feature topics like "Is God Mad at Me Because I'm a Nudist?" (Again, no.)
And everyone is on guard against COG's — "creepy outside guys" — who try to sneak in past the tall fences and security gates, to peek. On Tuesday, when a suspicious-looking man arrived at the pool, counselors quickly herded campers away and guards escorted the unwelcome visitor from the premises.
"It makes me a bit freaked out that people would think of nudity as a sexual thing," said Michelle Jones, 15, a camper from Texas.
Pat Brown, president of the American Association for Nude Recreation, said the camps run extensive background and criminal checks on counselors, often college students who have been nude campers themselves.
Bernie McCabe, the state attorney for Pasco County, where the Lutz camp is, said he had never heard any complaints about it.
Parents seem to have no worries about pedophilia, speaking of nudist camps and resorts as safe, family-like environments.
"Everybody keeps an eye on the children," George Jeffries, Jane's father, said. "There are no transgressions by regular folks coming here, and newcomers are watched very closely."
Still, even parents who have sent their children here for several years do not necessarily tell their church friends or relatives about it.
"If I'm confronted I will not lie, but it's not something I want to have to explain," the father of two boys, an engineer for a telecommunications company, said. "I worry about my kids being ostracized. I believe in this, but a lot of people don't."
The father, like others, said the camp discourages some of the less attractive behavior of adolescents: "I don't have to worry about them sneaking around and seeing things their friends are, the girlie magazines and the porn movies."
Campers agree.
"It takes the mystery out of what the other person looks like, so sex becomes more something you know you're waiting to experience, rather than just a physical thing where you want to find out," said an 18-year-old who gave her name as Jeanene.
"At school, if you see a person, you just see their clothes," Jane said. "Here you have to actually get to know the people."
But some things about teenagers, nudist or not, remain true. Boys at 13 still find scatological humor far funnier than anyone else does. Eleven-year-old girls still fight about who gets to dance as J. Lo in the talent show. Even nudist campers coo at the "cute" swimsuits as they pull on clothing to get back in the van.
Pulling out of one resort during a field trip, a few campers ask the van driver to stop so they can check out the souvenirs. Inside, they finger sarongs and embroidered T-shirts. But they don't buy.
Too expensive.
TIME MAGAZINE, June 30, 2003 Issue
Nude Family Values
By JOHN CLOUD, Lutz
Looking for a healthy escape, more parents join nudist camps. But are they any place for kids?
Like any boy who has felt the furnace of a June afternoon in the South, 16-year-old James Gordon knows the pleasures of stripping nude for a swim. But a couple of weeks ago at his summer camp, Gordon was nude just about 24/7. He sang Kumbayah around the campfire naked, gave a speech to the entire camp naked and played the violin in a talent show naked. Which is what's expected when your camp is organized by the American Association for Nude Recreation (A.A.N.R.). Gordon was one of two dozen young people, ages 11 to 25, who attended the camp, which ran
from June 5 to June 13 in sweltering Lutz, Fla., outside Tampa, at a secluded place known as the Lake Como Family Nudist Resort.
All the campers had, like Gordon, been raised in families that routinely visit - or reside at - places like Lake Como (there are 259 A.A.N.R. resorts and clubs). Gordon says he has been a nudist since he was 2, "and now we come out [to the local nudist resort] every Sunday after church." (Gordon and his parents attend a conservative Christian church, and because it's a congregation that may not welcome nudists, we have changed his name.) Despite his religious background - in fact, partly because of it - Gordon sees nothing wrong with nudism. "God created all of us," he says. "He made our bodies, and we shouldn't be ashamed."
Gordon is old enough to know that many people disagree. Some even think he - or, rather, A.A.N.R.--should be not only ashamed but also investigated. Congressman Mark Foley, a Florida Republican who is planning a run for the U.S. Senate, bitterly attacked the A.A.N.R. youth camp last week. "I have no way of knowing whether illegal behavior is taking place in this camp," he told Governor Jeb Bush in a letter. Nonetheless, Foley asserted that the camp was "exploiting nudity among
minor children to make money." He worried that the campers were in danger of sexual abuse. And he asked the Governor to help determine whether the camp is legal.
Though the summer camp was in its 11th annual incarnation, Foley hadn't heard of it until last week, when he read a story in the New York Times. As it happens, I attended the Florida camp, as a (fully clothed) reporter invited by A.A.N.R. The group hoped to publicize its effort to expand nudist camps for kids across the U.S. A weeklong camp for young nudists opened last week in Ivor, Va. (Conservatives in the state, including the attorney general, promptly criticized the camp and promised to monitor it.) Another A.A.N.R. youth camp is set to start in New River, Ariz., in July; yet another is planned for Texas as early as next summer.
In some respects, Foley is right to be worried, but he's also less informed than he could be. Foley seemed to fear that adults would see the young campers naked, but nudist adults see naked kids - their own and the children of other nudists - all the time. All three A.A.N.R. camps this summer are being held on campgrounds of larger resorts full of adult nudist visitors - RVers, foreigners, locals - many with their own nudist kids. There's a fair amount of intermingling. At Lake Como, for instance, A.A.N.R. campers used the same pool as regular Lake Como visitors. For the most part, there were no problems.
That said, there were two Peeping Tom - type incidents during the A.A.N.R. camp at Lake Como. One adult nudist leered at the kids as they swam in the pool; another allegedly asked two girls to pose suggestively for photos. Both men were ejected. A.A.N.R. officials say the first man was placed on its do-not- admit list, which goes to all member clubs. The other man was reported by the girls to camp authorities, who confiscated his film. It turned out he had not taken inappropriate photos, according to Susan Weaver, A.A.N.R. p.r. chairwoman. "These incidents are always acted upon immediately," she says.
The Florida camp had 24-hour sentries, a well- lighted security fence - and no reports of child abuse, according to the Pasco County sheriff's office. It was perfectly legal under Florida law, which - like most other state codes - doesn't prohibit anyone of any age from being naked at home, in locker rooms, at nudist resorts or in any other areas where nudity is expected. Lewd behavior is outlawed in public and private, say Florida legal experts, but not mere nudity.
Still, Foley has a point. One reason A.A.N.R. is so attuned to preventing sexual abuse is that it knows that pedophiles are a rare but persistent problem in nudist America. Every nudist resort has policies in place to protect potential victims, and every nudist parent I met watches for suspicious behavior. Members of both nudist resorts Ivisited, Lake Como and Cypress Cove Nudist Resort & Spa, in Kissimmee, Fla., said they have had to keep an eye on creepy men.
So why would anyone want their kids in such an environment? The answer begins with nudist demographics. Two years ago, A.A.N.R. paid the marketing firm Claritas Inc. to analyze the membership of the 72-year-old group. Claritas found that the cluster most likely to renew A.A.N.R. membership is a group it labels "God's Country"--primarily executives from the exurbs who tend to be Republican. Their key issues are tax reform and terrorism; they like Golf Magazine and GMC Safari
vans. And most have kids at home.
This demographic picture often shocks those new to the nudist world. Four years ago, Florida state senator Victor Crist, a Republican, was redistricted into an area that includes Lake Como. At first, he says, he was apprehensive about having so many naked constituents. "So I went out there for myself. I think the most surprising point was that the majority of these people are just regular people ... I don't promote this lifestyle, but some people that are active nudists are individuals you would never expect - some of our most prominent lawyers, doctors, judges, policemen ..." His list continues for some time, painting a positively Rockwellian picture.
Children are a quotidian feature of nudist America. Swingers who think they will find like-minded libertines at nudist clubs will, with a few exceptions, face disappointment. In fact, most nudist clubs are so dominated by married parents that A.A.N.R. occasionally fields calls from singles claiming discrimination against them.
If the world of nudists brims with surprises, perhaps the biggest is that it is a propitious moment for nudism in America. Membership in A.A.N.R. has climbed from about 40,000 a decade ago to nearly 50,000 today. A tourism official in Pasco County, Fla., says more than 100,000 tourists a year visit its five nudist resorts, of which Lake Como, founded in 1947, is the oldest. In 1992, Forbes estimated nudism to be a $120 million- a-year industry. A.A.N.R. claims that with all the nudist resorts, clothing-optional cruises (seven this year) and other enterprises (there was a nude passenger flight to Cancun not long ago), the figure is nearing $400 million.
Why the growth? One reason may be that at a time of crushing global uncertainty, nudism thrusts its devotees back to basics. In surveys, the No. 1 reason nudists offer for going around without clothes is
relaxation: as confining garments fall away, so do the worldly responsibilities that they signify. Many nudists - especially women - also argue that the nudist subculture prizes body acceptance, meaning
they don't have to stop eating carbs or fat; there is little Botox here.
But contrary to what you might think, American nudism is not rooted in the hippie '60s. A 1988 history, Family Naturism in America, credits German immigrant Kurt Barthel with organizing the first nudist outing in the U.S. in 1929. Barthel trumpeted the presumed hygienic benefits of light and air on the body. Within a decade, the American Sunbathing Association - which later became A.A.N.R.--was founded. It was run by Baptist minister Ilsley Boone, who for decades enforced a family atmosphere by refusing membership to clubs that sold alcohol.
Nudists have long been preoccupied with whether the lifestyle is healthy for their children. In 1959 naturist author Donald Johnson wrote a pop sociology called The Nudists. It extolled, in common naturist refrain, "the nudist child's freedom from sexual curiosities ... The unsatisfied desire to see that which is customarily forbidden incites many children to unwise or immoral acts ... Nudist children spend much of their free time at the park with their families; they are therefore less likely to
join motorcycle clubs." One still hears such quaint sentiments today. It's common for nudists to claim, without evidence, that nudist teens are less sexually active than nonnudist kids.
In 1986 a nudist press published the results of a five-year study of children raised by nudists. Growing Up Without Shame concluded, rather expansively, that "the viewing of the unclothed human body, far from being destructive to the psyche, seems to be either benign or to actually provide benefits"-- typically indifference to such inevitabilities as puberty, sags and wrinkles. Dr. David Fassler, a fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, says such claims haven't been validated by independent psychiatric researchers. But a visit to the camp yielded anecdotal support. An 11-year- old girl described - in disarming detail - how she was prepared for her breasts to grow and menstruation to begin. At another point, a group of adolescents listened to a 62-year-old explain why she'd undergone breast reduction. There were no giggles - in fact, most of the kids seemed bored. Nudists believe such frank talk frees their kids from the body-image worries that rack teenage girls and, increasingly, boys. "America's young people, as early as 9 or 10, their goal is to look like Britney Spears," says A.A.N.R. president Pat Brown. "We need to learn body acceptance."
But kids in the throes of puberty can see their developing bodies as horribly inelegant. At the camp, pubescent children covered themselves more often than older boys and girls - though even the pubescent children were nude most of the time. The campers were never required to be naked, but most nudist resorts mandate nudity in pool areas. That can be difficult for some kids. A 15-year-old girl from Texas who has been a nudist since age 3 says she only rarely felt awkward during puberty. But when she did, she didn't always want to be naked - even though her club requires nudity unless it's cold or you have a sunburn. "I found a loophole in the rule," she says proudly. "They won't stop us from wearing a towel. So I would just wrap that around myself." But should kids have to find loopholes to feel comfortable? "Yes, there's a coercion of sorts with the pool," admits Dean Hadley, 55, who owns the Cypress Cove resort. "But they have a choice of getting into the pool or not."
There was little sexual behavior on display at the camp. A typical observation came from Gordon, the 16-year-old: "With girls on the outside, you get to know the clothes, not the person. If I am looking
for a girlfriend, being a nudist is actually better"--better from a moral standpoint, he clarifies--"because I think [nudism] is less sexual than trying to get attention with certain outfits." Nudists as moralizers? There's more. The presence of so many kids at nudist resorts has resulted in a proliferation of rules governing naked behavior. Nudists may ignore the No. 1 precept of human interaction since Adam and Eve, but they have overlaid their world with other strictures. One cannot walk around clad only in underwear, which is considered titillating. At Cypress Cove, nude dancing is forbidden. Nudists are supposed to carry towels to cover seat cushions.
On the last night of camp, the kids held a talent show called "Sunny & Bare." They sang a nudist rendition of a Garth Brooks classic--"I got sand in low places"--as well as a straight version of the G.O.P. standard God Bless the U.S.A. The next day there were tearful end-of-camp goodbyes. Most of the kids were returning to areas where they have few nudist friends, and most nonnudist pals wouldn't
understand the lifestyle.
I wondered how the kids would turn out. The 11- year-old camper who was so frank about her incipient puberty also said that a visitor to the Lake Como resort twice touched her leg in the pool. (Camp wasn't in session; the girl had been visiting a relative who lives at Lake Como full time.) The man was thrown out. Says the girl's mother: "Kids here are taught to talk about it. They immediately tell." But might the man have been emboldened because he saw the girl naked? As America's nudists continue to thrive, they will have to grapple with that question. They may have learned to see the naked body as mundane, but most people haven't.
The Bare Facts
Combined membership of the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) and the Naturist Society
1993 -- 58,000
2003 -- 75,000
AANR clubs and resorts, all of which are in North America
1993 -- 200
2003 -- 259
Number of nudist summer camps for kids in the U.S.
1993 -- 1
2003 -- 3
TEEN NUDIST CAMPS: HEALTHY OR HARMFUL?
Did you know there were nudist camps for children ages 11-18? Believe it or not, Youth Leadership Camp at Shangri-La Ranch in New River, AZ, as well as nudist camps operating in Virginia and Florida, are just a few of an increasing number of nudist camps for children ages 11-18. Since many of these children attend the camp without their parents, the camp has raised concerns among state officials and lawmakers. Nudists argue that these camps are good for teens’ self-esteem and that nudism is NOT about sexuality and exploitation. But opponents, like Florida Congressman Mark Foley, are concerned about sexual or lewd behavior between campers, as well as the background checks and the application process for camp counselors, volunteers and staff. First, John talks with four nudist pre-teens and teens – Ali, 12, and her sister Amanda, 15 & Justine, 11, and her brother, Kyle, 16. Kyle and Justine say they love going to nudist camp because they feel secure and are not judged based on what clothes they have on or what their bodies look like. Ali has gone to the nudist camp for 3 years and says she enjoys it because going to camp makes her feel good about herself, and kids really get to know each other – and care about what’s on the inside. Amanda has gone to nudist camp for 6 years; she insists that people have the wrong idea about the camp. Eric & Kathy, Ali & Amanda’s stepfather and mother, say that nudist camp has helped their daughters have more confidence and higher self-esteem than they would have at a regular camp, and say opponents of the camps should really investigate before they condemn nudists’ way of life. Marion, Kyle & Justine’s grandmother, is also here to defend the existence of the camps. She’s been a nudist for 15 years and even worked as a volunteer this past summer at the teen nudist camp that her grandchildren attended. Patty is the manager of Shangri-La Ranch, a clothing optional resort just outside of Phoenix, AZ, which recently hosted a teen nudist camp that her three children - ages 11, 14 & 16 - attended. Patty explains why she thinks kids benefit from the nudist camp in the studio. Next, Florida Congressman Mark Foley shares his major concerns regarding these camps and why he thinks they are potentially dangerous for children. Then, 22-year-old Steven, who was a counselor at a teen nudist camp this past June, tells us why he’s tired of hearing all the misconceptions about nudism. Finally, Dr. Jeff Gardere, a clinical psychologist, weighs in with his professional opinion on the topic.
Kyle & Justine
Kyle, 16, and Justine, 11, are siblings who say they love going to nude camp because they are accepted and not judged based on what clothes they have on or what their bodies look like. They say going to nudist camp has improved their self-esteem and has made them feel good about themselves. The siblings say they have made really good friends at camp and say they never feel threatened or uncomfortable in regards to their safety when they are there.
Ali & Amanda
Ali, 12, and Amanda, 15, have been going to teen nudist camps for several years – and they love it! They say that they like the way everyone is treated equally - without material judgments. Ali has gone to the nudist camp for 3 years and says she enjoys it because people don’t make assumptions about her based on her clothes or how she looks -- they care more about learning who she is on the inside. Amanda has gone to the camp for 6 years. She insists that people have the wrong idea about the camp and defends her nudist lifestyle.
Patty Faber
Patty is the manager of Shangri-La Ranch, a clothing optional resort just outside of Phoenix, AZ, which recently hosted a teen nudist camp. Patty’s three children, ages 11, 14 & 16, attended the nudist camp held at Shangri-La this summer. Patty says she believes kids benefit from the nudist camps in several ways – it gives them better self-esteem; it makes them more comfortable with themselves and their bodies, and it even makes them more confident in school. She insists that the children are protected since all counselors and employees at her camp get background checks.
Eric & Kathy
Eric, who is Ali & Amanda’s stepfather, says the teen nudist camp has been a big self-esteem booster for his stepdaughters, and that they’ve developed close friendships with other teens who are involved in the nudist lifestyle. Kathy, the girls’ mom, says that the nudist camps have given her daughters confidence and the freedom to be who they are, no matter their social status or class, because underneath it all, all kids are equal. Eric says he and his wife are totally comfortable and confident that their children are safe when they are at camp, and the couple defends their lifestyle against their opponents.
Marion
Marion is Kyle & Justine’s grandmother. She’s been a nudist for 15 years and volunteered this past summer at Lake Como’s teen nudist camp, which her grandchildren attended. She says that Congressman Foley needs to educate himself about teen nudist camps before jumping to conclusions about the safety of the children who attend, and they debate this issue in the studio.
Congressman Mark Foley
Congressman Foley of Florida says that letting nude teenagers of such a varying age range engage in activities together is potentially dangerous. He says he is concerned that these camps could expose kids to pedophiles and other dangers, and he has urged state officials to investigate them. Congressman Foley believes leaving kids alone in camp without their parents’ supervision leaves the children open to exploitation, and wants to see extensive background checks conducted on all nudist camp members and staff to make sure the campers are safe.
www.house.gov/foley/
Steven
Steven was a counselor at a Lake Como’s teen nudist camp this past June. Steven grew up in a nudist environment and says it has helped him with his self-esteem. He says critics of nudism don’t take the time to learn about the lifestyle, and says there are many misconceptions about the types of safeguards that are in place at the camps.
Dr. Jeff Gardere
Dr. Gardere is a Clinical Psychologist who says there are dangers with teen nudist camps. He agrees that teens who attend these camps may have a more positive self-image, but he says his issue is that nudist parents are imposing a lifestyle on children that they may not be prepared to deal with. Dr. Gardere also says that putting 11 year olds and 18 year olds together, naked, could be “a disaster waiting to happen” because some children may not be developmentally mature enough to handle it.
www.drjeffgardere.com
Shirley Mason
Shirley is the Executive Director of the B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute, a Florida group that supports clothing-free beaches. Shirley is a supporter of teen nudist camps and says that people are too quick to equate nudity and sexuality. She says people don’t realize how much adult supervision these camps have and says that none of the legislators, including Congressman Foley, have taken the time to learn about the nudist lifestyle and family values. She feels these opponents are overacting to society’s fears regarding sexual abuse and pedophilia.
www.beachesfoundation.org/AboutBoard.html
450 Women Join Nude Photo Shoot in N.Y.
By MADISON J. GRAY Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- The women crossed their arms to keep warm in the main concourse of Grand Central Terminal early Sunday as they prepared to pose for Spencer Tunick's latest human art installation. All 450 of
them were nude.
The women, all volunteers, arrived at about 3 a.m. Sunday, stripped off their clothes and composed their bodies into sculptural shapes and formations meant to imitate streets, buildings and cityscapes. The building had been closed to the public during the shoot.
"I wanted to bring the most beautiful people into the most beautiful building," he said Sunday inside the Grand Central concourse. Tunick took photographs from a stairway in the concourse. He shouted instructions through a megaphone, telling the women to form triangles and square with their bodies on the floor. "I love his art and I think he's creating an amazing thing - something different, something fresh," said Anna Springer, 30, a real estate executive.
Tunick, a New York-based artist, has gained an international reputation for his arrangements of nude art installations involving hundreds of people in
cities around the world. He's also been arrested several times in New York for previous projects.
For his latest, he said, he first sought permission to use the New York Public Library and the Museum of Natural History but was rebuffed by both. Tunick's past nude shoots in New York have sometimes provoked controversy.
In January 1996, two of his nude models were arrested atop of a Manhattan snowdrift, posed beneath an ice-cream parlor sign that advertised "Frozen
Fantasies." On New Year's Eve 1994, Tunick and a model were arrested when she posed nude on top of an 8-foot-high simulated Christmas tree ornament at Rockefeller Center.
Charges were dismissed in both cases. "In the past, the New York administration considered the body to be a crime, or pornographic," Tunick said Sunday. "I hope this administration considers the vulnerability of the body." The current installation is part of the artist's "Naked World," in which he has been traveling the world, hoping to gather more than 35,000 people to pose.
