Real Naturist of the Year 2010: Naturist Association Thailand

Naturism has long been seen as a mostly European phenomenon, with outposts in most of the "Western" world. Germany, France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Croatia are the countries where naturism is the most popular among the locals and where the number of free beaches and naturist resorts are the highest. Outside of Europe, only the most Westernized countries such as the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand have strong naturist movements, while the rest of the world is seen as a dark area.

Not so anymore. If you frequent naturist Internet forums, you'll soon come to the conclusion that naturism is growing into a universal value. People in countries as varied as India, Malaysia, China, Mexico, Costa Rica and Egypt want to find naturist resorts closer to home. Globalization, closer international interaction through frequent travel, foreign studies, and not to forget the power of the Internet and its social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Last year, we recognized the power of the Internet by giving our Real Naturist of the Year Award to the web-based ClothesFree International.

This year, we recognize the growing potential of naturism across the world by awarding the Naturist Association Thailand Co., Ltd. While known for its beaches and sometimes as a sex tourism destination, the prominent Southeast Asian country has been culturally closed to public nudity and its non-sexual expression in the form of naturist beaches and naturist hotels. The Naturist Association Thailand can be proud that it is working to change the country's image and make it a welcome destination for naturists from around the world while promoting the good sides of the practice with the local population.

As you can read at its web site http://www.thailandnaturist.com, the Naturist Association Thailand has more than 450 members and has awarded naturist-friendly status to four resorts in Pattaya close to Bangkok, in Cha Am and on the island of Phuket. In order to brave the ban on naturism in Thailand, the association has been set up as a private company, meaning its activities count as shareholders' meetings and can take place in the nude.

Support the expansion of naturism by getting in touch with naturist associations in overseas destinations where otherwise the practice of healthy non-sexual social nudity is not known. The next time you plan a trip to Thailand, contact the association and at least investigate the possibility of a naturist holiday in that beautiful country.

Naturists of the Year

Ali Larter is a naturist. Ali Larter, the actress from the hit TV series Heroes. Stars have been known for appearing nude in movies, pictures and ads, but that doesn't make them naturists. In this case however, Larter said herself she was a naturist, so we can trust her, so says the web site Clothesfree International in its latest TV news about naturism.
With her declaration, Ali Larter puts herself immediately in line as a prime candidate for the title of Celebrity Naturist of the Year which will be announced about a month from now. This blog - then still under its name of Asianaturist - has announced the awards for three years in a row. Eva Mendes won in 2007 due to her avowal that she liked gardening naked, Hilary Swank in 2008 because she says walking around naked at home was no big deal, and Rosario Dawson in 2009 as she said her mother took her to naturist beaches near New York. Ali Larter should be a frontrunner for 2010, though let's not forget other celebrities who are also widely known as having taken a liking to non-sexual social nudity, including German model and Project Runway host Heidi Klum.
Each year, this blog picks the end of December to announce its awards, which also include a Real Naturist of the Year Award for someone who might not be famous but has also made contributions to the cause of naturism "on the ground" or at the grassroots level. Last year's winner of that award, by the way, was the web site ClothesFree International, where I found the Ali Larter news item.
To find the winners of the awards for 2010, visit this site again before January 1, 2011.

Celebrity Naturist of the Year 2009: Hilary Swank

Academy Award-winning U.S. actress Hilary Swank is the Celebrity Naturist of the Year 2009 for her healthy attitudes about non-sexual nudity, nudity in the home and sleeping in the nude.

The Oscar-winner for "Boys Don't Cry" and Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" caused a wave of admiration in the international naturist community the past year by giving just one interview to the American version of Marie Claire.

You can read the full text at the link below, but Swank basically said it was normal for anybody to be sleeping in the nude - a practice that has won supporters worldwide without much acclaim or uproar - and that there was no problem with her partner's young child seeing her naked by accident since he was at an age children thought nothing of that.

Even though we have no evidence that Swank lives a full naturist lifestyle - enjoying sports, swimming and sunbathing in the nude and seeing non-sexual nudity as healthy - her statements to the magazine show she has the right attitude.

Hilary Swank's words earned her the right to follow in the footsteps of Eva Mendes in 2007 - for admitting she liked gardening in the nude - and Rosario Dawson in 2008 - for saying her mother took her to naturist beaches. Hilary Swank may or may not be a naturist, and because of her celebrity status might not be willing to admit it, but her comments have benefited the naturist cause, and that's enough for her to win the Asianaturist blog's Celebrity Naturist of the Year Award for 2009.

The winner for the Real Naturist of the Year Award for 2009 was the ClothesFree International team for its web site, TV news shows and forums about naturism.

You can find Hilary Swank's interview with Marie Claire at http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity-lifestyle/celebrities/hilary-swank-interview?click=pp.

Real Naturists of the Year 2009: ClothesFree International

The Asianaturist blog Real Naturist of the Year 2009 Award goes to ClothesFree International for being one of the strongest supporters of naturism on the Internet and in the world.
The organization is about promoting naturist values on many fronts: its web site http://www.clothesfree.com not only hosts an excellent forum, where you can find valuable information as well as share your ideas about all aspects of naturism, but also offers a wide range of resources and even a naturist television service. Unlike what you hear about from Russia or Canada, this is not newscasters stripping while pretending to be bringing the news, but a real news service about naturists by naturists for naturists. The team and forum are not afraid to call for campaigns if naturism comes under threat from its many opponents who cannot understand why living (almost) without textiles can be so liberating and yet so normal.
As you can find at http://www.clothesfree.com/aboutus.html, the award comes on the Oakhurst, California-based organization's 10th anniversary. Congratulations!
This award is not about money, there is not even a statue or a small memento involved, it's all about recognition. In 2007, our first Real Naturist of the Year Award went to a British couple who opened a naturist hotel on a Greek island, in 2008 we chose a Taiwanese writer who published a book about her naturist experiences in that - so far - non-naturist country.
ClothesFree International has won because it is all about real naturism, about emphasizing the positive aspects of the body, any body. Young, old, male, female. If you want to learn more about naturism, if you want to find practical information, it's all there on their web site.
Expect the announcement of our second award for this year, the Celebrity Naturist of the Year 2009 Award, by the end of the week.