Some Republicans could learn from naturists

Bathroom and change room hangups are instantly dispelled in social nudism settings

The Universal Naturist Symbol was voted for by naturists from all over the world in October 2020. The purpose is to recognize naturists, even when they wear clothes. (Source: Jacob Braun/Wikimedia Commons)

If you haven’t totally tuned out U.S. news these days, you’ve probably heard about Republican Nancy Mace’s very loud and public objections to Delaware Congresswoman-elect Sarah McBride, a trans person, using the women’s washroom facilities at work.

Writes Ron Filipkowski in his substack newsletter Meidas+:

Democratic Congresswoman McBride is the first transgender member of Congress. She had an accomplished career in the Delaware legislature before winning the congressional seat. Nancy Mace and other MAGA members introduced legislation specifically targeting Congresswoman McBride, seeking to ban her from using the female bathroom. Nancy Mace described Congresswoman McBride using the women’s bathroom as an “assault” on her. In addition to making 126 posts on the subject, Nancy Mace also embarked on a media tour, appearing on right-wing outlets to disparage Congresswoman McBride.

One female Republican pushed it even further, saying McBride should be barred from using all bathroom facilities there — male and female.

OK, there are obvious HR issues there. Chances are pretty high that most people would face disciplinary action if they launched a similar campaign against someone at work.

Whatever the motivations behind the attacks on McBride, it’s clear to me that an afternoon of participatory social nudism at work might do those Republicans some good. Maybe they need to bring in an expert on naturism.

I’m pretty sure there are a lot of naturists following this newsletter. Most of you probably follow my other substack newsletter called The Naturism Community. So, you folks know what I am talking about right off the bat. But for people who don’t know much about naturism, I’ll try to give you a brief primer here.

First, from Wikipedia:

Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms are broadly interchangeable, nudism emphasizes the practice of nudity, whilst naturism highlights an attitude favoring harmony with nature and respect for the environment, into which that practice is integrated. That said, naturists come from a range of philosophical and cultural backgrounds; there is no single naturist ideology.

Body hangups are one of the first things that dissipate when you practise social nudism. There are people of all shapes and sizes and, as it says on Wikipedia, of philosophical and cultural backgrounds. There is a sense of equality in organized social nudism settings. Everyone is accepted. In short order, you don’t really see bodies so much in the same way you don’t see them in a clothed office setting.

And just like in the office, people tend to leave their sexuality at the door, or in the case of naturists in an indoor setting like a swimming pool, in the locker rooms. In the naturism group I used to attend in Ottawa before the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone got undressed in the same locker room. They used the same washroom facility, all the while stark naked.

After all, if you are going to be socializing with a bunch of naked people, there is really no need to have segregated washroom and dressing room facilities.

I wrote an article — among many others — about my first time out in a social nudism setting with the Ottawa Naturists organization. Here’s the link to a copy of it in my personal blog, if interested.

You can learn a lot about respect for others in naturism. Sexual orientation and gender identity are non-issues. Ditto for politics. We had heterosexual and gay and lesbian and bisexual folks in our group, as well as trans and non-binary individuals. We had conservative and liberal types. People aren’t separated by those things in a social nudism setting. They are irrelevant.

Everyone is the same, because after all, we ARE all essentially the same. As a Theosophist of old once wrote:

The great lost chord of modern civilization is forgetfulness of the fact in nature of universal brotherhood, which means not merely a sentimental or political brotherhood; it means that we are all of one common cosmic or spiritual origin, and that what affects one affects all . . . – G. de Purucker

Naturism embodies that sentiment in many ways. And as mentioned earlier, naturists come from all walks of life — including people who vote for Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. The aforementioned Naturism Community newsletter on substack has many members in the United States, some who identify as Republicans, some as Democrats.

Naturism has a lot to offer the world. It could solve a lot of the world’s problems by reminding everyone that we are all the same beneath the textiles, belief systems and politics we might embrace.