As African-Americans, we hear nightmare stories about travel groups that are mistreated and aren’t allowed to be carefree at certain establishments. Well, one group decided they were going to change that dynamic and travel while bearing it all. Literally.
Eight friends combine their love of traveling and body positivity to create the Black Naturists Association (“BNA”), https://www.blacknaturistsassociation.com/home a travel company looking to change the game by shattering stigma around nudity and encouraging self love among black travelers. That’s right. The folks at BNA are nudists.
And they’re not the only ones wanting to feel free. Since starting this journey in 2016, nearly 3,000 naturists have joined their Facebook group inquiring about the various trips they take annually, already conquering Miami, Haiti, Mexico, and Curaçao. Membership fees cost $90 and that comes with some pretty cool perks. By joining BNA, you also become a member of the American Association for Nude Recreation, which gets you benefits and access to all their associated resorts. You also get 10% off of the non-member price of trips.
So why is BNA so important to the naturist community? In an interview with Essence Magazine, the group said it’s about feeling comfortable in your own skin, something that society tells us not to be.
“We felt it was important to start BNA so that people who looked like us had more representation in naturist spaces, and that the spaces we provide on trips and meet-ups were free from any sexual pressures or overt sexual undertones,” BNA said. “We realize that sex is healthy and natural, but we also want to make nudity normal without it being automatically associated with sex or sexuality.”
