One of the goals of Women In Nude Recreation (WINR) is to encourage
and empower women to see themselves in a positive light. “As a female, I
am aware of the negative voice that can creep in about body image. Being
a nudist helped me silence the negativity,” Kathy W. explains. That
negative voice can come from the lies we hear on the daily. Linda W.
proposes that, “The media has convinced women they need to be or look a
certain way to be considered beautiful or successful,” but that, “Being a
nudist has empowered me to eschew what they considered ‘normal.’ I love
the skin I am in and I have made peace with my body.”
One important step towards stronger self-esteem is connecting with other
women, hearing their stories and seeing their confidence and pride.
The women One Word (WOW) campaign features incredible women who
developed confidence in themselves through social nudism. One such
newcomer to social nudism is Mel W. who believes, “Becoming a nudist
has given me the freedom to be myself fully…The freedom to love my
body.” Contributors chose a word, or words, with great personal meaning
to them: freedom, family, courage, strength, self-assurance, empowerment,
and more.
One chosen word is profoundly enlightening: ImPerfect. Though the word
is imperfect, when capitalized in this way, becomes “I’m Perfect.” And we
are. Diane C. tells us, “I am grateful for what my body does for me. My
legs dance, my arms hug, my stretch marks remind me of my beautiful
children, wrinkles are laughter, gray hair my sparkles.” Wrinkles, stretch
marks, gray hair. All things society looks down on but truly should be
celebrated. They make us perfectly ImPerfect!
Sometimes the journey to being comfortable as a nudist is a quick one.
When you take that bold step and attend a nudist event or club, it just
seems like the most natural thing in the world. For others though the journey
takes a lot longer. It has taken me most of my life to become friends with
my body. Becoming a nudist helped me see how beautiful I am. It was
years before I honestly saw myself that way. When I finally accepted my
body, I experienced the freedom of mind and soul. Anna W. explains it so well
by telling us, “The journey from self-conscious to self-confident is learning
that when we remove the barriers of clothing we do much more than just
expose our skin – we bare our true nature. We place ourselves in a
vulnerable state and by doing so find great strength: something you cannot
fully comprehend until you actually do it.” It takes that first step, that first
conversation, that first realization of how social nudism can change your
mindset and allows you to truly see yourself.
Shedding our clothing and accouterments seems counterproductive for
gaining self-esteem, but long-time nudist advocate, Shirley Gauthier, tells
us it’s quite the opposite. “No matter my age or my size, my skin has
always been far more comfortable than any piece of clothing I’ve ever
found.”
These are just snippets of the stories told by the WOW women. Go to
womeninnuderecreation.com to see them in their entirety. Please consider
joining the campaign next year!
-Andee Rogers