AIBU or is this a MAJOR safeguarding issue?

[Whatthefudgeisthis]

NC for this,

I’ve been absolutely stunned at the ignorance shown by the organisers with this one! A naturist night at the water park 😱 this place is designed for kids entertainment, it’s basically loads of water slides a wave pool and play area etc
Who in their right mind would take a child to such an event. Obviously I’m not shooting down naturists, each to their own, but this is an event that ANYONE can attend. Known paedophiles have attended these events, with one saying that he can’t even swim. What the actual fuck is going on? Who thought this one up?
If adults want to swim naked that’s their call, but why open the event to children too?

I’m pretty sure I’m not the one missing the blindingly obvious here, but I’m so amazed at the stupidity I had to share and maybe raise some awareness.

www.stokesentinel.co.uk/whats-on/family-nude-swimming-session-coming-2589946

These events are being held across the country, so there’s possibly one near you.

I stand by my original statement.

Come on women, get your kit of in front of the blokes! Don't feel ashamed of your body, it's lovely, you must have body confidence issues if you don't want to be naked in front of male strangers. You will feel so liberated if we can all get a good look at your jugs. Just try it!

Where has anyone said that?

Most of us have said that due to our own personal body image issues we would not feel comfortable being naked in front of strangers.

But that we respect the legal rights of those who choose to follow that way of life.

And this is why naturists wear clothes sometimes. Not because they have to, but because they are being polite and are aware of your feelings. And yet naturists seemingly cant hold their own private events now, because it upsets you even though you won't be there and won't see anything. How is that right?

I don't care if adult naturists want to put on their own evening at the waterpark. I object to children, who don't have the capacity to consent to seeing the naked genitals of strangers, and who being given mixed messages about bodily autonomy and boundaries, being involved.

Come on women, get your kit of in front of the blokes! Don't feel ashamed of your body, it's lovely, you must have body confidence issues if you don't want to be naked in front of male strangers. You will feel so liberated if we can all get a good look at your jugs. Just try it!

There are female nudists / naturists who feel absolutely fine with it. Neither they, nor any poster here, will suggest that anyone who doesn't feel comfortable being nude in public is anything other than 'dressed'. Such hyperbole!

I don't see the problem. I have been to nudist beaches - no big deal. Obviously the parents will be keeping an eye on their children, as they would if they were in swimsuits.

"the newspaper report claims this to be the case, but according to people upthread who have checked that seems to be incorrect. Newpaper tries to hype up shock factor, who'd have thought it?"

Eventbrite website lets you buy just one adult ticket.

So perhaps not incorrect at all.

*BigChocFrenzy Fri 08-Mar-19 12:45:26

I'm in my early 60s and it used to be much more usual for kids to be naked on beaches until about 5

• I remember I always was, back around 1960 -

and for many more women to sunbathe topless on ordinary UK beaches (on the few days per year when our knockers didn't freeze)

Social attitudes seem to have changed*

This definitely. In Neville Shute's Pied Piper, set during WW2, there is a scene where the British children splash around naked in a river in France and the French little girl is shocked but the British soldiers who pass just find it sweet and comment that it's just like Blackpool.

I reckoned there was a change round about the 80s. Same change didn't happen in e.g. Scandinavia, at least not to the same extent.

@RockyFlintstone well I don't imagine he wants to see me naked, any more than I want to be naked - it's cold, you know!

I think you might be imagining me opening the door and shouting TA DA I'M NAKED? Because it really doesn't go down like that.

I don't care if adult naturists want to put on their own evening at the waterpark. I object to children, who don't have the capacity to consent to seeing the naked genitals of strangers, and who being given mixed messages about bodily autonomy and boundaries, being involved.

You are entitled to your personal opinion. But you are not entitled to slander all narurist parents.

Parliament has debated the issue and disagrees with you. The UK law disagrees with you.

Most of us have said that due to our own personal body image issues we would not feel comfortable being naked in front of strangers.

My not wanting to be naked in front of a man I don't know has nothing to do with my 'personal body image issues'.

To be quite frank I don't really care about you or your reasons. I only care about me and what I feel about my own body.

But equally I don't care about naturists, they can go about their non threatening business as they please.

This is simply hysteria. Naturists are extremely aware of the possibility of paedophiles gaining access to their children. I know of at least one naturist beach which naturist parents are advised to avoid, because of the number of "birdwatchers" with binoculars and cameras!
Not only do naturist parents look after their - and other's - children very closely, but all naturist clubs have a trained safeguarding officer, along with rules about no cameras. Some clubs do allow single men, but any would-be member has to spend a certain number of days at the club, where everybody can meet them and assess them; any doubt at all, and they're not accepted. Trust me, this event will have any number of watchful club members keeping their eyes on the strangers.
Finally, everybody here seems to have forgotten one fact - a naked man can't hide sexual excitement!

I stand by my original statement

How on earth do children chose who gets to see their body in such an environment?

There may be no evidence that naturism is linked to paedophilia but it’s not difficult to see how an open public event involving naked children would appeal to paedophiles.

I don't care if adult naturists want to put on their own evening at the waterpark. I object to children, who don't have the capacity to consent to seeing the naked genitals of strangers, and who being given mixed messages about bodily autonomy and boundaries, being involved.

Why do you believe that children cannot consent? I think it would be pretty obvious if there was a child at a naturist event that didn't want to be there.

I also don't see how they are being given mixed messages around bodily autonomy. I would argue that a naturist child knows much more about it than a child brought up in a clothed environment. The reason we have to teach kids about right and wrong around genitals is because we tell them its wrong and dirty to show them, and that's why abuse doesn't get talked about, because they feel ashamed.

Its off for me but especially re the waterslides. A small child waiting on the stairs is likely to have someone's bum or genitalia in their face. Bending down to get onto a waterslide has never been a pretty sight with swimmers on - let alone without. Wouldn't swishing naked down a waterslide risk forcing air into your vagina which I thought was not great for you?

who don't have the capacity to consent

Surely this could stretch to so many things. Children don't have the capacity to consent to being raised vegan, religious, going to childcare, being homeschooled, etc. All decisions that could have a big impact on their lives. Parents do the consenting for them and raise the according to their ways of life - one of which is naturism.

Parents should not be allowed to make their naked child be available for public viewing and children should not be presumed to have the capacity to consent to such a thing.

And yes, it will be for public viewing, the whole fucking naturist argument centres around improving body image via viewing others bodies.

I went to some nude only beaches with my family growing up (as was normal in the country we were living in). Was never an issue. As far as my 'consent to see other people's naked bits', it's just normal human bodies. No more traumatic then seeing people in a swimsuit.

It's a bit sad that people think children need screening from normal natural nakedness.

My parents wouldn't have left me alone with strangers/potential peodiphiles whether it was a nude beach or one with swimwear. (Swim suits do not have magical peodiphile repelling powers).

*I stand by my original statement

How on earth do children chose who gets to see their body in such an environment?*

Children don't have to be naked at a naturist event! They can choose to wear whatever they want, whether that be a swimsuit or nothing at all. Bodily autonomy is extremely important in Naturist society.

(Swim suits do not have magical peodiphile repelling powers).

I would think you would need to have either

1. Adults only
2. Family nights where it was members only,
3. Family nights with "no unaccompanied adults"

Otherwise you will get the wrong people despite the best intentions.

I object to children, who don't have the capacity to consent to seeing the naked genitals of strangers, and who being given mixed messages about bodily autonomy and boundaries, being involved.

I object to children who don't have the capacity to consent hearing the views of racist bigots. I object to their being in houses where people smoke. I object to their being brought up to believe in mythical beings. But I fully accept that none of that gives me any right whatsoever to prevent their respective parents making lawful decisions for them. This is no different.

Some kids are terrified of their parents. It makes me so sad, to think that there could be teenage girls who are going through puberty, being made to attend this event with hundreds of naked males. It would be so damaging.

Anyone who thinks this is a "no risk" event, is in my opinion, totally nuts
and probably a vegan who wears hessian