Naturism in Thailand and beyond

Today, June 10 marks the opening of the 5th International Naturist and Nudist Conference in Thailand, hosted by the Naturist Association of Thailand on a lake.
The choice of site is original, and in many ways the association itself is also groundbreaking. Naturism has for too long been thought of as a mainly European, overwhelmingly Caucasian affair. Virtually each European country now has free clothing-optional beaches, naturist hotels or at least resorts where one can play sports, walk, run, swim, eat or just sunbathe naked.
Naturism also exists in other continents, in Latin America, in South Africa, and of course in Australia and New Zealand, the latter playing host to the International Naturist Federation's world congress in November this year.
Yet Thailand is the spearhead of an effort to make naturism more acceptable in Asia, and it is working. Since its inception years ago, NAT has been successful in converting more resort operators in the Southeast Asian country - one of the world's top holiday destinations - to give naturism a chance.
According to the NAT website, http://thailandnaturist.com, at least two new resorts are likely to open in the near future, the first on the popular island of Phuket, the other west of Bangkok. That comes in addition to those already in existence in other tourist destinations like Pattaya, Chiang Mai and the Bangkok region.
One of the features of this weekend's three-day conference is that NAT is also looking beyond Thailand to help local naturists set up similar associations in other Asian countries, such as India.
Residing in Taiwan, I know what the problems are. Public nudity is banned in most countries in the area, and even topless bathing is unseen or frowned upon. Add to that, the fear of many Asians of the hot sun in their countries, driving them away from beaches, and the beauty ideal which says that a white skin is more beautiful than a healthy tan.
Topless bathing and naturism are also not allowed in Thailand, but because the naturist resorts are shut off from the outside world, they are legal, as the nudity is not deemed public.
The more than 50 delegates from over a dozen countries present at the Thai conference will enjoy water games and a trip on rafts, but they will also discuss the situation of naturism in India, the Southeast Asian ASEAN nations, and other countries.
Last June 5 was World Naturism Day, this weekend sees NATCON 2016 in Thailand and many World Naked Bike Rides across the globe, leading into the summer, which should see naturist activities all over the world.
Now is the best time to prepare for more naturism, and try it during your holiday, even if it's just an hour on a free beach somewhere.

Naturism, Italy, and the Law

Thanks to the Italian naturist magazine Info Naturista I receive, I know that Italy is about to take a giant step forward toward naturism.
A group of seven senators have brought a bill to the Italian parliament for the 'decriminalization and legalization of the practice of naturism.'
Their arguments are mainly economic: if Italy remains the odd one out on naturism, it will miss the income from thousands of naturists who will spend their holidays elsewhere.
The argument is absolutely right: France and Croatia are famous for not just their nude beaches, but also their completely naturist resorts, where men, women and children can spend their family holidays together without the fear of being gawked at by non-naturist outsiders. Spain and Greece also have countless naturist beaches, and a growing number of naturist villas, apartments and small resorts.
Italy really is the odd one out. There are only a handful of naturist clubs catering mostly to local members and to limited groups of foreign naturists, but large-scale seaside naturism is virtually not in the picture.
The senators made their call for the legalization of naturism in Italy on World Naturist Day, last June 7, and we'll make sure we watch how it will proceed. The key supporters come from the Radical Party, a small group within the leftwing opposition, though it has to be said that unlike what many outsiders think, naturism is not a left-right issue, so there is no direct fear that because the right has a majority, the law will not pass.
Senator Donatella Poretti's piece in Info Naturista notes that there are 500,000 Italians who practice naturism inside the country or abroad. Europe has about 20 million people who practice naturism, sometimes only during the holidays, while the United States has 40 million. In other words, the senator says Italy is missing out on 60 million potential visitors.
The proposal also mentions that the naturist beach areas should be clearly marked to warn non-naturists.
As far as I can see, this piece of legislation should find no opponents - Europeans are already completely used to topless sunbathing, while naturism has been winning ground, as images of the naked human body without any sexual connotation have become more acceptable.
If millions of naturists can enjoy holidays in Spain, France, Greece, Croatia and more northerly countries, there is no reason for Italy to stay outside. An orderly introduction of naturism to the country would benefit everybody.
The Italian legislation could also form an example for Asian countries, where unfortunately true naturists are still a small, fragmented and misunderstood minority. Instead of having police going all nervous about three topless Brazilian athletes on a Taiwanese beach during the World Games, maybe we should have the Italian type of legislative proposals instead.
You can find the full Italian legislative proposal in the original version on Senator Poretti's blog at http://blog.donatellaporetti.it/?p=385.