Women in Nudism: Are You Hesitant?

Are you a woman who’s hesitant to be nude at the beach?

As a woman, being nude in general used to be hard for me considering all the hang-ups I used to have over my body.

Once I started to get comfortable in my own skin, I was still on the fence about nudity out in public.

After all, growing up as a woman in the Midwest, there weren’t a lot of opportunities to be nude out in public in the first place. Also, from the little bit I saw in the media of nudists, it seemed like something people in their retirement enjoyed. Combine all that with a fear that once I got nude in a public place everybody would be gawking at me, or I could at least expect creepy men to be staring- I was just irked by the idea of random strangers seeing me nude.

My fear of people gawking me didn’t come from a place of supreme confidence that others would gawk at me because of how “hot” I was, more so it came from another layer of insecurity that I had yet to work through. A layer of insecurity that was built upon years of ingesting all forms of media with women who had perfectly curated bodies- all the things in all the right places and no flaw in sight.

A layer of insecurity that I decided to meet head-on.

The truth is, most people are so caught up on worrying about themselves and how others see them that they’re hardly considering you or what you might look like nude. Once I realized that it helped to get nude at a clothing-optional beach much easier.

And what do you know? That first time, and every time since then, when I get nude at the beach, the world doesn’t stop. The people around me just carry on with their lives, you’re just another nude body amongst a sea of people embracing themselves- flaws and all. People of all shapes and sizes boldly deciding to not be a prisoner to cultural programming that makes nudity out to be a sin, hyper-sexual, or something only reserved for people with movie screen bodies.

Yes, you might have cellulite, but you won’t be the only one. Yes, you might have a beauty mark that takes up your whole thigh, but you won’t be the only one with beauty marks or a skin rash either.

It’s refreshing to step into a scene where people are unapologetically not ashamed of how their body looks. It’s brave. It’s liberating and it ought to be the natural way of things.

As for all the creepers I was concerned about staring at me? Of all the times I’ve gone nude in public now, the rate at which I’ve experienced a creep is so insignificant. I’ve found there’s a certain code most nudists live by and that’s to make sure everyone is comfortable. The freak occurrence that there is a creep around? It’s not tolerated, and it’s handled swiftly and promptly.

Now that I’m on the other side of all of my body hang-ups after years of battling eating disorders and body dysmorphia, I can say that my practice of getting nude in public has been a powerful tool in my healing.

If you’re hesitant, I get it. But let me tell you, on the other side of that hesitation is liberation.

And that’s something I wish for each and every one of you to feel, is totally body liberation.

If you’re having a hard time getting nude, try these tips to help ease yourself into it:

• Get nude at home. Pick a day when no one else is home, strip down to your birthday suit and embrace being nude in the comfort of your own home. Dance, cook, or just lounge around nude. If you can without neighbors seeing you, go outside.
• Ask your open-minded friend to join you. Enlist the support of an open-minded friend to join you in your nude journeys. Go on a hike together and when you reach your destination take your top off! Or go to a clothing-optional beach together. There’s strength in numbers.
• Start small. You don’t have to get completely nude all at once. Start by just taking your top off to get comfortable and continue to strip down more as you relax and feel safe.
• Follow nudist people you admire online for support and encouragement.
• Liquid courage. If all else fails, lower your inhibitions a bit by taking a shot to help you loosen up.
• Take psychedelics intentionally. Take it a step further by having someone you trust watch over you as you take a small amount of a psychedelic with the intention of working through any hang-ups that prevent you from embracing your beautiful nude self.

Want to hear more from Kelly? Join her mailing list here or read her book on how to safely take “magic mushrooms” which has also helped with her body liberation here!