My mom immigrated to the US from Germany and my brother grew up in Germany, and I know both would take huge exception to something like "Germans love to get naked". They often complain that...
My mom immigrated to the US from Germany and my brother grew up in Germany, and I know both would take huge exception to something like "Germans love to get naked". They often complain that foreigners vastly overestimate how widespread this movement is and confuse it for acceptance of non-sexual nudity on TV. My mom's originally from West Berlin and my brother from Schleswig-Holstein, both are pretty socially liberal regions of Germany, although I know nudism is more a thing in the east because they received less exposure to American influence. I don't quite feel qualified to offer my own thoughts on this issue, but I feel like the author is making this out to be a much bigger thing than it actually is.
It’s almost formulaic in foreign reporting and travel writing. Take a niche subculture that is slightly less niche in a foreign country, and make it out to be mainstream. Go looking for nudists...
It’s almost formulaic in foreign reporting and travel writing. Take a niche subculture that is slightly less niche in a foreign country, and make it out to be mainstream. Go looking for nudists and you will find them. Easier to do if attitudes to the least extreme, mainstream-adjacent elements of the subculture are somewhat more liberal.
I’m not German, so I can’t comment on Germany, but I’ve seen similar stories about how Scandinavians love to get nude, how it’s acceptable anywhere, etc. Which is definitely not true. There are certain elements that are more liberal. It’s normal to see young children nude at the beach (this starts becoming unusual above age seven or so). Topless sunbathing is not that uncommon, but it’s restricted to the activity sunbathing in typical places for that activity (beaches, parks). Going topless elsewhere would be unusual or unacceptable, and adults do not go bottomless anywhere except designated nudist areas. You might see mothers nursing babies in public but that’s about it.
That’s not exciting enough, though, so you have to exaggerate to sell the story. You go looking for members of a niche subculture and then you support the supposed mainstream-ness of the subculture with acceptance of the less extreme aspects of that subculture in highly specific contexts (but you omit the context to hype the story).
I would say it’s more common than you would think in Germany. I actually just am lying at a lake where next to a small wall there’s a nude beach right next to us. That was also the case on the...
I would say it’s more common than you would think in Germany. I actually just am lying at a lake where next to a small wall there’s a nude beach right next to us. That was also the case on the last lake I went to. But of course this is anecdotal. But it is not really uncommon. In normal Public swimming pools they sometimes have a nude evening, etc.
Well, like I said, I can’t comment in depth about Germany (I’ve been to Berlin and Flensburg, but that’s about it). But I’m skeptical of the extent because I’ve seen the same kind of story told...
Well, like I said, I can’t comment in depth about Germany (I’ve been to Berlin and Flensburg, but that’s about it). But I’m skeptical of the extent because I’ve seen the same kind of story told about my own country, where the story is definitely way overhyped compared to the reality.
I'll add that there are multiple naturist societies [https://naturistsociety.com/] in many countries. Most often, there's a network of clothing-optional private or semi-private beaches, parks, and...
I'll add that there are multiple naturist societies [https://naturistsociety.com/] in many countries. Most often, there's a network of clothing-optional private or semi-private beaches, parks, and resorts - you have to go out of your way to seek a naturist opportunity or lifestyle.
What's unusual about Germany is the extent to which nudity has been made a normal, legally protected occurrence in public spaces, not the existence of naturists.
To my knowledge, there was a significant historical impact on naturist participation from public health pronouncements about UV exposure as a cause of melanoma and other skin cancers, the ozone depletion crisis, and other issues that caused more circumspection about sunbathing. I had friends in the state naturist society and was a semi-regular park visitor when that news was new; many people basically stopped going out. [Gobs of sunscreen are not an ideal part of the experience, especially where sand is involved.]
There's also the legal pressure of child pornography risks. I'm not going to minimize this by calling it moral panic; there have been incidents at family naturist locations, with expulsions of suspected pedophiles. As much as naturism generally attempts to separate the free expression of the human body from sexuality, there've been some pretty gross harassment incidents, too. As usual, the presence of bad actors doesn't impugn the principle of naturism, but the barriers to adoption and maintenance of the culture are higher than in less-fraught subcultures.
My mom immigrated to the US from Germany and my brother grew up in Germany, and I know both would take huge exception to something like "Germans love to get naked". They often complain that foreigners vastly overestimate how widespread this movement is and confuse it for acceptance of non-sexual nudity on TV. My mom's originally from West Berlin and my brother from Schleswig-Holstein, both are pretty socially liberal regions of Germany, although I know nudism is more a thing in the east because they received less exposure to American influence. I don't quite feel qualified to offer my own thoughts on this issue, but I feel like the author is making this out to be a much bigger thing than it actually is.
It’s almost formulaic in foreign reporting and travel writing. Take a niche subculture that is slightly less niche in a foreign country, and make it out to be mainstream. Go looking for nudists and you will find them. Easier to do if attitudes to the least extreme, mainstream-adjacent elements of the subculture are somewhat more liberal.
I’m not German, so I can’t comment on Germany, but I’ve seen similar stories about how Scandinavians love to get nude, how it’s acceptable anywhere, etc. Which is definitely not true. There are certain elements that are more liberal. It’s normal to see young children nude at the beach (this starts becoming unusual above age seven or so). Topless sunbathing is not that uncommon, but it’s restricted to the activity sunbathing in typical places for that activity (beaches, parks). Going topless elsewhere would be unusual or unacceptable, and adults do not go bottomless anywhere except designated nudist areas. You might see mothers nursing babies in public but that’s about it.
That’s not exciting enough, though, so you have to exaggerate to sell the story. You go looking for members of a niche subculture and then you support the supposed mainstream-ness of the subculture with acceptance of the less extreme aspects of that subculture in highly specific contexts (but you omit the context to hype the story).
I would say it’s more common than you would think in Germany. I actually just am lying at a lake where next to a small wall there’s a nude beach right next to us. That was also the case on the last lake I went to. But of course this is anecdotal. But it is not really uncommon. In normal Public swimming pools they sometimes have a nude evening, etc.
Well, like I said, I can’t comment in depth about Germany (I’ve been to Berlin and Flensburg, but that’s about it). But I’m skeptical of the extent because I’ve seen the same kind of story told about my own country, where the story is definitely way overhyped compared to the reality.
And a very interesting sort of behind-the-scenes companion piece: "what do you wear — or not wear — when you’re reporting out a story on nudists?"
I'll add that there are multiple naturist societies [https://naturistsociety.com/] in many countries. Most often, there's a network of clothing-optional private or semi-private beaches, parks, and resorts - you have to go out of your way to seek a naturist opportunity or lifestyle.
What's unusual about Germany is the extent to which nudity has been made a normal, legally protected occurrence in public spaces, not the existence of naturists.
To my knowledge, there was a significant historical impact on naturist participation from public health pronouncements about UV exposure as a cause of melanoma and other skin cancers, the ozone depletion crisis, and other issues that caused more circumspection about sunbathing. I had friends in the state naturist society and was a semi-regular park visitor when that news was new; many people basically stopped going out. [Gobs of sunscreen are not an ideal part of the experience, especially where sand is involved.]
There's also the legal pressure of child pornography risks. I'm not going to minimize this by calling it moral panic; there have been incidents at family naturist locations, with expulsions of suspected pedophiles. As much as naturism generally attempts to separate the free expression of the human body from sexuality, there've been some pretty gross harassment incidents, too. As usual, the presence of bad actors doesn't impugn the principle of naturism, but the barriers to adoption and maintenance of the culture are higher than in less-fraught subcultures.