Brief History of Nudism and Naturism
by Natalie Aranda
When scientists did a study on the genetic
makeup of the common body louse, they were able to establish the
approximate time that human beings first began to wear clothing. The louse
is a parasite that feed on the human body, but can not do so with out
clothing. The testing showed that humans first began to wear clothing
72,000 years ago. Since Homo sapiens have been around for 200,000 years,
it appears that all humans have been nudists for over half the existence
of the species.
In the historical area, there were less
social and moral issues involved with nudity during the Classical period.
In ancient Greece the human body was viewed as beautiful and was the
subject of art. Athletes commonly were nude as they competed in events
against each other, and the word gymnasium comes from the Greek root,
gymnos, which means nude.
Although the first nudist
colonies were established in British India in 1891, it was in Germany
that the naturism movement really began. In the early 1900's several
papers were published that advocated the idea that the human body was
neither sinful nor obscene. They talked of the concepts of self hate, and
shame. The first nudist colonies were opened in Germany around 1903, and
grew into popularity during the 1920's. They were suppressed by the Nazi
party, but never completely eliminated.
The Germans seemed to be the missionaries
of the Naturism movement. In the 1960's German's vacationing along the
Mediterranean coast in France began nudist colonies, and nudist beaches
and nudist resorts grew in popularity there. The movement had its early
beginning in North America in 1929 when a German immigrant named Kurt
Barthel opened a colony in the United States. In the early days of the
movement in America, nudism became associated with family values and
alcohol was prohibited from all activities.
Despite the attempt to associate high moral
standards with the nudism movement it was subjected to much harassment and
misunderstanding due to the prevailing social climate in the country that
saw nudism as a sexual and even pornographic activity. Over the past three
decades this has largely changed. Nudist
vacations became more common, and nudism lost some of its social
stigma. Nudism became less restrictive as well and clothing optional
gathering became more common. Topless beaches also became popular, and the
organized nudist movement made strides in erasing the negative perception
of nudism.
About the Author
Natalie Aranda loves travel
and write about travel.
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