How te become a naturist? My experiences

At first glance, it’s actually quite a strange question: how do you become a naturist? I don’t think there’s one simple answer to that, but I can of course share how my own naturist journey began.

Personally, I don’t think you really become a naturist. I believe naturism is already somewhere inside you. For some people it comes to the surface, while for others it doesn’t. At least, that’s how I see it. We all come into this world naked, so it really isn’t strange at all if someone feels more comfortable without clothes than with them. Society around us, however, often sees things differently. Nudity apparently has something threatening, shocking, or whatever uncomfortable label you want to put on it. So somewhere along the way, people decided that nudity is something humanity needs to be protected from. We are expected to cover ourselves.

Knowing that, I completely understand why people who are still discovering naturism may feel hesitant about exposing themselves. Almost everyone has a threshold to cross, and for some people that threshold is higher than for others. If you grew up with naturism, or at least in a family where nudity was not treated as a big issue, that step will probably be fairly small. But if, like me, you grew up in a household where being naked was anything but normal, it can feel like quite a big hurdle and it may take some courage. Still, I now know from experience that it does get easier. Over time, shame and discomfort make way for comfort and a wonderful sense of freedom. How did I get there? Keep reading.

Sleeping naked is a good start

Even as a child, I already felt the need to be naked. I felt very comfortable without clothes, but in our home that was definitely not the norm. Quite the opposite, actually. So, to still be able to be naked now and then, I started sleeping naked in my early teens. I was about 12 years old at the time. In the beginning, that was quite exciting, of course. What would happen if my parents or my sisters came into my room and saw me without clothes? I already slept in just my underwear, and as soon as I was in bed, I would take it off under the covers and put it under my pillow. That way I could easily find it again in the morning, or during the night if I had to go to the toilet, and quickly put it back on. Imagine someone finding out — that would have felt absolutely terrible.

To be honest, in the beginning there was definitely some sexual tension as well. You’re young, you’re discovering your sexuality, and at home nudity was associated much more with sex than with comfort and freedom. So it wasn’t strange that this tension was there too. But you get used to being naked surprisingly quickly, and once you are used to it, you naturally notice that the tension fades away. That is how I experienced it, anyway.

Sleeping naked was therefore a good first step in discovering naturism and becoming comfortable with nudity. And sleeping naked is something I still do today.

Walking naked to the bathroom and back

Once I started living on my own, I began exploring naturism further. From the bedroom to the bathroom, for example. How many people walk to the bathroom wearing nightwear? They undress, take a shower or a bath, dry themselves, and then put something on again just to walk back to the bedroom. I used to do exactly that too.

Why go to the bathroom dressed if you are going to undress anyway?

And why? You are in your own home and, unless you are very visible from outside, there is nothing stopping you from walking naked back and forth between the bedroom and the bathroom. 

As I mentioned, I had started sleeping naked, but when I went to the bathroom, I would still put something on. I stopped doing that, and that helped me quickly get used to moving comfortably around the house naked.

Do household chores without clothes

For me, a great way to take things one step further was simply doing everyday tasks naked. We get up every morning at quarter past five. Before, I would quickly put on a pair of short jogging shorts and go downstairs. Making coffee, setting the table, taking bread out of the freezer for lunch — just the normal things everyone does in the morning. At some point, I took the plunge and simply walked downstairs naked. The first time, I quickly closed the blinds in front of the kitchen window so that passers-by would not accidentally see me. I was definitely on guard. Were there people walking past who might happen to look inside? But after a few times, I stopped worrying about that too. Being naked felt natural so quickly, and before long I felt completely at ease.

Ordinary household chores. Setting the table

Or doing the dishes.

Cooking, doing the dishes, vacuuming, and even doing bigger jobs around the house. When I am busy like that, I simply forget that I am naked. The great thing is that your movements are not restricted at all. One small downside? Well, you cannot quickly put a few screws or a tape measure in your trouser pocket when you are doing DIY. But there is usually a solution for that too.

Tip! Always make sure you have something nearby that you can quickly put on. My in-laws were coming over to help wallpaper the living room, but they arrived a little early. Since they have their own key, they suddenly walked right into the room. At that moment, I was very glad I had a pair of shorts within reach.

Or simply enjoying some work on my model railway

So you have a partner. What do they think of it?

This is probably a good moment to mention that. A short intermezzo. Before I met my partner, I was already exploring naturism. I regularly went to the sauna and to nude beaches. When I met him, I did not tell him about it — and looking back, that was not very smart. In fact, I abruptly stopped my naturist journey altogether. But once you have experienced the free feeling that being naked can give you, hiding it away is not a lasting option. The need definitely comes back, and for me it did.

My partner worked changing shifts, and when he had an evening shift, I could quietly pick up my naturist lifestyle again. As soon as I came home and he had gone to work, my clothes came off. In the evening, when I saw the car pull back into the parking lot, I quickly put on a pair of short jogging shorts. Nothing to see here. On the occasions when we were home together, I gradually started wearing less and less clothing. At some point, I decided it was fine. That evening, when he came home, I had not put on my shorts. Now, confronting someone in that way is not exactly subtle, and I definitely should have handled it differently.

By now, he has got used to it and accepts it, as long as I put something on when visitors come over and do not tell everyone about it. That seems like a fair deal to me. Very occasionally, he even joins me when I go for a naked walk on holiday or visit a nude beach. The moral of the story is this: be open and honest from the start, and above all, talk about it. That is something I certainly did too little.

What about children?

I have no personal experience with that, simply because we do not have children ourselves. But, like everyone, I do have an opinion about it. Whether you agree with it or not is, of course, entirely up to you.

Personally, I do not think children suffer any mental harm from seeing their parents naked. Let alone that children need to be protected from seeing naked bodies. In fact, I think there can be benefits when children grow up in a family that deals with nudity in a relaxed and healthy way. If parents are open about it and clearly explain boundaries, children will usually handle it much more naturally as well. They may also be more likely to talk about it if others cross those boundaries. That might be a good topic for a separate blog someday.

Taking it one step further: being naked outdoors

Anyway, back to the original topic. Once you are used to being naked at home, it is a relatively small step to go outside naked too. Of course, I do not mean walking down the street naked, but being naked in your back garden, for example. In the Netherlands, you are allowed to be naked in your garden, as long as you are not visible from the public road. If you have neighbours who can look into your garden from an upstairs window, then a little subtlety is still advisable.

I slowly grew into it myself. At first, I would quickly walk to the shed at half past five in the morning to put my bicycle outside. I would nervously look around to see if anyone could see me and then quickly go back inside. Later, I would walk to the bin to throw away a rubbish bag. In the beginning, I still did it quickly so no one would see me. These days, I am much more relaxed about it. I think the neighbours have probably all seen it at least once by now. Besides, I am not doing anything that cannot stand the light of day. 

Just stepping outside to throw the rubbish bag into the bin

So, have I thrown subtlety completely overboard? That depends on how you look at it. Yes, I simply walk around naked in the garden, sit in the sun with a cup of coffee, or mow the lawn. I no longer worry much about whether the neighbours can see me or not. After all, I am not doing anything offensive. I am simply doing everyday things that everyone does, only 

without clothes. However, if I notice someone standing at an upstairs window next door, I will not make eye contact or wave. I will simply turn around for a moment, so they only see me from behind. 

And watering the garden in summer is most comfortable without clothes

Being naked with others

For some people, being a home naturist is enough. Others want a little more. In that case, the sauna is a good place to take your first naked steps outside your home and garden. You are in a safe environment with like-minded people. Nobody will think it is strange if you walk around naked there. Unless, of course, you do it on a swimwear day. I have never really understood the practical use of swimwear days myself. When you sweat, swimwear just sticks to your body, and it also seems rather unhygienic to me.

Still, even in that safe environment, it can be quite nerve-racking to take off your clothes in the presence of others for the first time. My advice is: close your eyes and jump. That is eventually how I did it too. The longer you hesitate, the harder it becomes. And once you have taken that step, you will see that nobody looks at you strangely. After all, everyone is naked. In an earlier blog, I already wrote about my first visit to the sauna.

Do naturists never look at each other, then? Yes, of course they do. You do that in the clothed world too, don’t you? When someone walks in, you glance over. You briefly take the person in, and then you carry on with whatever you were doing. Nothing more. Apart from that, we simply look each other in the eye. And yes, unfortunately there are always exceptions, but those are usually the people who cannot separate nudity from sex and who certainly do not live by naturist values.

Besides the sauna, a nude beach is also a great place to become more comfortable in your naked body around other people. The same applies there: visitors are simply enjoying a day at the beach. They just do it without clothes. They sunbathe, read a book, swim, or buy an ice cream. The last thing they will do is worry about what you look like. Unless, of course, you sit there fully dressed, because then you actually stand out more — and that is not always appreciated either.

I have personally never camped at a naturist campsite, and I do not think that will happen anytime soon. I do not want to do that without my partner, and for him that is just one step too far. Still, naturist camping is a good next step if you want to spend a longer period of time without clothes. 

Anyway, these were just some thoughts and personal experiences from my own naturist journey. I hope they are useful to you, because I truly wish everyone could experience that wonderful free feeling that a life without clothes can offer. 

Note: As I’m not a native English speaker, I use ChatGPT to translate my original Dutch text.