Naked Dawn

I feel a bit guilty advertising for a television show that most of you can't watch, because it's on British TV, and you are unable to see it outside of Great Britain.
But I still had to write about this, because it looks like a show that goes to the core of what it is to be a naturist.
The show is "Dawn Gets Naked," and it will be shown this weekend on BBC 3. Host Dawn Porter will investigate perceptions of the female body image, and especially its use in the fashion world. One of the key tenets of naturism is that every body can go naked because every body - note the spelling, "every body" - is beautiful. You don't have to be a supermodel to visit a naturist beach or go swimming naked, anybody can do so from 8 to 88.
The BBC show will also visit naturists, which is a reason extra to watch. While as I said, it will be impossible to watch the whole show outside of the UK, you can still see the trailer on YouTube right here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE0cPCY02G4

88 and Naked

A small Dutch political party created quite a stir last week by having an 88-year-old actress undress in a new TV spot.
The ad provoked protests from political rivals, but also wishes of support from part of the public.
What was all the fuss about?
The Socialist Party is complaining about the alleged drop in quality of home care for the elderly, mostly through reduced spending. In the spot, the actress, named Mieke, slowly takes her clothes off, complaining that since she sees another caregiver each week to give her a bath, she might as well undress in front of all the Netherlands.
Our take? Nudity in this case would have been far more 'shocking' if the woman undressing were a voluptuous 20- or 30-something. In that case, there would've been no link between the content of the spot and the cause concerned, i.e. care for the elderly.
By choosing an elderly woman for its spot, the party showed it understood the message. So there is no sexualization, no exploitation of the body here. It might be shocking for many viewers outside of the West, but naked people have been used in political ads before. I remember a poster from another Dutch party from the early seventies, showing a rear view of a naked woman in a field. The slogan: Disarming! The campaign theme: nuclear disarmament.
Naturism is about respect for the human body, so we condemn the abuse of the body, male or female, to sell objects that have nothing to do with the body. But we applaud the positive use of nudity to promote a related cause or product.
Finally, before I forget, you can also watch the Socialist Party TV spot, but only in Dutch, here:
http://www.sp.nl/nieuws/nwsoverz/div/080205_thuiszorg_film.shtml

Naturism, Kiwi-Style

The most endearing piece of news I recently noticed comes from New Zealand, which is often considered as part of the Asia-Pacific region, so I have an excuse to mention it on a blog about naturism in Asia.
For 29 years, the Pineglades Naturist Park in the town of Rolleston has been organizing an annual volleyball competition between naturists and the local firefighters.
The firefighters compete in uniform, the naturists in the nude. That is the most ideal example of what the positive values and openness of naturism are about. A naturist community inviting model citizens who are part of the authority, showing naturism is not only legal, but also a widely accepted lifestyle. This example deserves to be followed worldwide, in Australia, Europe, North America and in every place where there are naturist centers.
Also note that this volleyball event has been going on since 29 years ago, i.e. since 1979, when most Asians probably had never heard of naturism, and when the movement was hardly mentioned about or mainstream even in Europe.
For the full story and the picture from the New Zealand media, visit the web site http://www.stuff.co.nz/4390600a11.html and thanks to the Clothes Free site, which drew my attention to the story.