Nude Family Values

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In 1986 a nudist press published the results of a five-year study of children raised by nudists. Growing Up Without Shame concluded, rather expansively, that "the viewing of the unclothed human body, far from being destructive to the psyche, seems to be either benign or to actually provide benefits"--typically indifference to such inevitabilities as puberty, sags and wrinkles. Dr. David Fassler, a fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, says such claims haven't been validated by independent psychiatric researchers. But a visit to the camp yielded anecdotal support. An 11-year-old girl described--in disarming detail--how she was prepared for her breasts to grow and menstruation to begin. At another point, a group of adolescents listened to a 62-year-old explain why she'd undergone breast reduction. There were no giggles--in fact, most of the kids seemed bored. Nudists believe such frank talk frees their kids from the body-image worries that rack teenage girls and, increasingly, boys. "America's young people, as early as 9 or 10, their goal is to look like Britney Spears," says A.A.N.R. president Pat Brown. "We need to learn body acceptance."

But kids in the throes of puberty can see their developing bodies as horribly inelegant. At the camp, pubescent children covered themselves more often than older boys and girls--though even the pubescent children were nude most of the time. The campers were never required to be naked, but most nudist resorts mandate nudity in pool areas. That can be difficult for some kids. A 15-year-old girl from Texas who has been a nudist since age 3 says she only rarely felt awkward during puberty. But when she did, she didn't always want to be naked--even though her club requires nudity unless it's cold or you have a sunburn. "I found a loophole in the rule," she says proudly. "They won't stop us from wearing a towel. So I would just wrap that around myself." But should kids have to find loopholes to feel comfortable? "Yes, there's a coercion of sorts with the pool," admits Dean Hadley, 55, who owns the Cypress Cove resort. "But they have a choice of getting into the pool or not."

There was little sexual behavior on display at the camp. A typical observation came from Gordon, the 16-year-old: "With girls on the outside, you get to know the clothes, not the person. If I am looking for a girlfriend, being a nudist is actually better"--better from a moral standpoint, he clarifies--"because I think [nudism] is less sexual than trying to get attention with certain outfits." Nudists as moralizers? There's more. The presence of so many kids at nudist resorts has resulted in a proliferation of rules governing naked behavior. Nudists may ignore the No. 1 precept of human interaction since Adam and Eve, but they have overlaid their world with other strictures. One cannot walk around clad only in underwear, which is considered titillating. At Cypress Cove, nude dancing is forbidden. Nudists are supposed to carry towels to cover seat cushions.