Opinions

Opinions? I've got loads of 'em! Actually not all that I expound is a genuinely held belief and I just like debating for the sake of good argument. Or silly argument. Tongue firmly in cheek. Whatever.

On the term Nudist...

Nudist? Naturist? What's in a name? Well, quite a bit it would seem depending on who you ask.

Personally I'm all for the term Nudist if a term is really needed. It's "in yer face". No mistaking it. It describes someone who likes to be nude. Butt nekkid. Perhaps "likes" isn't entirely accurate either. "Doesn't mind" perhaps, or even "is comfortable being". Whatever, you just know it's got something to do with nudity.

On the other hand there's Naturism. To be a Naturist. To be at one with nature perhaps? To be in favour of nature? To be natural? Ah yes, that must be it. Of course wearing clothes is also perfectly natural. In many climes we'd die without them. Often confused with naturalist, most naturalists now call themselves ecologists so as not to be mistaken for a nudist.

It seems that in certain circles, naturist is regarded as somewhat more politically correct, even if it doesn't really clearly define the activity being referred to. The New Zealand Naturist Federation only recently changed its name from The New Zealand Nudist Federation. Perhaps it's actually because it doesn't clearly define the activity that it's more acceptable. That makes it somewhat like calling someone European or Caucasian when they don't come from Europe or the Caucasus region but what was really being described was the colour of their skin. Not exactly calling a spade a spade is it?

Okay, so lets take a look at the New Zealand Pocket Oxford Dictionary to see if it concurs.

nudist n. person who advocates or practices going unclothed; nudism n.[NUDE]

naturist n. nudist; naturism n.

Says it all really...

On the term Textile...

Well this one really makes me laugh. Used to describe people who wear clothes. A term coined, presumably, by a nudist who decided that if they were going to be classified by others, then they would classify them right back! It somewhat smacks of desperation and indignance to me. I tend to agree with a friend who said he objected to being classified as a nudist when it is a natural state of being for humans. It's not like we'd classify a bird as a fly-ist for flying is it? Well classifying someone who wears clothes seems to make no more sense than classifying someone who doesn't and, let's face it, non-nudists have plenty of times when they don't wear clothes and nudists have plenty of times when they do.

On the suffixes -ist and -ism...

This almost comes under the classification argument expounded above but I thought I'd try a different tack on this one just to try the argument on for size, so here goes...

If a sexist as someone who discriminates against others on the basis one's gender and a racist is someone who discriminates against others on the basis of ethnic origin, then why isn't a nudist one who discriminates against those who are nude?

Surely this would make the wowsers of the world that would like to prevent others from going nude at beaches, in their own back yards and so on, the real nudists!

Okay, well it was worth a try...

On houses and castles...

My home is my castle, my sanctuary, my domain (well, it is if my wife allows it to be anyway). In summer, when it's hot and muggy, when beer slips down without touching the sides as it were, we both get around in the nick. After work, get home, shuck the suit and tie, grab a refreshing drink and sit in the sun. Of course if guests come around, depending on who they are and whether we think they'd give a damn, we'll grab a sarong and protect their sensibilities. Note that? Their sensibilities. We do it for them. At times I really wonder why, it is, after all, our home and castle, not theirs. I wonder if any would look out the window when we pay them a visit, see that it's us arriving, and drop their kit so as to make us feel comfortable in their presence? I think not!

I guess we're just more considerate than them...

On wowsers...

Wowsers: in this context those that are not content just to not go nude themselves but who wish to prevent others from indulging in the practice. The Patricia Bartletts and Mary Whitehouses of the world.

Wowsers tend to fall into a couple of broad categories although I'd be stunned if most don't fall into both.

The first just feel uncomfortable being around nudity. Their own as well as others. Deep down they just seem to feel it "ain't right". They may have a valid point...

...after all, if we were meant to get around naked we probably would've been born that way.

The second group feels that our bodies were made by God and that certain, ah, parts should be hidden away from sight.

Which parts do they mean? The parts He didn't create perfectly? The bits He sorta screwed up on?

I find both arguments somewhat self defeating.