Why I love getting naked

Do you want to know why I love getting naked? I have always enjoyed taking off my clothes. This is a post about nudism, not exhibitionism, although I can say that I am an enthusiast of both at times. It’s fine – this post has an M-rating and I am not trying to frighten you with my nudity. You can read this post safely. I love getting naked, but I am a normal gal – I swear!

Australians are prudes. I know, I know. This may surprise you. If you are an international reader of mine, then you may think that all Australians are free, casual, nature-lovers who are healthy, good looking and secure in their bodies.

Not so. We are prudes. Aussie men are chauvinists. Aussie women don’t even think they have a right to paid maternity leave. We are quite backwards in many ways.

Including nudity. Yes, it’s not for everyone. I am not sure why I like to get my gear off so much. I really like to be naked and I guess it makes me feel free.

Ashamed of my naked body as a child:

The first time I remember being ashamed about my naked body was as a little girl aged 9. I went to an all girls school and had just been transferred there from another co-ed school, which was also in another country. When I got back to Australia, I found that some of the things I said and did were not acceptable. People thought I was a bit weird, but really, I was just used to a different system.

An embarrassing mistake in kindergarten

Like in kindergarten (when I was about 5) the teachers told us it was time to use the toilets. I marched right up to the boys’ urinal and started to take down my pants. I was just following what all the other kids were doing, and I was obviously talking to a group of boys not girls in line for the loos. I had never seen a urinal before but my child’s mind simply thought, “Well, this must be how toilets in schools are.” A teacher quickly showed me to a stall and said – “You don’t go there! That’s for the boys!” I was confused. I still am, I guess.

So, back to the all girls’ school, aged 9.

It was time for swimming class. We were all showed into the change rooms and told to put on our cozzies (that’s what we call swimming costumes in Australia – don’t you love that?) and instructed to be quick about it. As a 9 year old girl, I simply started to unbutton my school uniform (almost every kid in Australia wears a uniform, whether they are at a public or private school) and take it off.

The next thing I knew – one of the other little girls was howling at me!

“Alyce Vayle likes to get naked! Woo woo! Look at her!”

I looked around and noticed that all the other little girls were shielding their little naked bodies with their uniforms as they changed, carefully sliding them down so that they didn’t show any skin. Why on earth these girls were behaving in this way was baffling to me. We were children! We didn’t even have bras or boobs!

My class let me know in no uncertain terms (today this would be called bullying) that my behaviour was wrong, unusual and not the socially acceptable thing. This was news to me at the time. I was very, very embarrassed. From that moment on, I made sure that I changed the same way – covering myself up at all times like I was in Victorian England.

Growing up I felt no shame

Luckily for me, I was brought up in a liberal household and we were never made to feel ashamed about our bodies. As a child, I was taught the correct names for my private parts and saw my body as a simple, functional thing.

Where to get your nude on – because you know I love getting naked

These days I don’t often get to be nude, outside the four walls of my apartment. The Boyf is also often reminding me to put on clothes and not stand in front of the windows when naked. It’s nearly summer here in Sydney and I would like to go to a nude beach. Being nude at the beach is illegal in Australia (pfft! I told you we were prudes!) but a blind eye is often turned at these ‘nude’ beaches in Sydney.

• Little Conwong Beach at La Perouse – read this article about the crappy NSW police harassing harmless nude bathers!
• Camp Cove – there is a nude beach around the back. I find women are not often accepted there, which is very disappointing. I have found that the correct name for the nude section is Lady  Bay Beach .
• Cobblers Beach in Mosman – yep, you can get your gear off here too.
• Check out this website – for nude beaches in Sydney.

So – what’s wrong with that? There is nothing wrong with being nude. It does not make me weird, or a pervert, or overtly sexual.

“Nudity is an essential part of all primitive agricultural rites … By unveiling the body, and especially the sexual organs, women more effectually represented the goddess of fertility, and more effectually as her representatives, or through their own powers, magically conveyed fertility to the fields. “

John Arnott Maculloch :The Religion of the Ancient Celts

Well said, John. Plus your name sounds like a biscuit, so I will listen to you.