Meeting naturists when hill walking - would you be worried?

[JGACC]

Hi all, I'm interested to gather women's thoughts on this. I read a Facebook post by Macclesfield police this morning asking people to report if they see a male naturist in the Peak District (screenshot attached) as there has been a lot of reports over the last few weeks. I was really surprised that the vast majority of the comments are saying it's legal (which yes it is) and to leave him alone. As a young female who often walks in the Peaks on my own my first thought was...I'd be worried and extremely uncomfortable if I came across him and would probably hide behind a tree or rock and try to call someone. Am I paranoid or is this actually fine and something I should take as lightly as the majority of the (mostly, but not all male) commenting public seem to?

I'll admit I was surprised to learn that it is entirely legal to wander round anywhere nude. It does seem a lot of naturists have no sexual intent and are more interested in being at one with nature. The man in question doesn't seem to have been reported as carrying out threatening behaviour and is probably harmless but it still makes me worried and I don't know if I'm ridiculous or not. (I would rather be ridiculous than not in this case!)

Apart from the cold/wet do they not mind stinging nettles and brambles?

you can mostly avoid brambles but stinging nettles and ticks do love bare legs.... and things...

I imagine such a hiker would prefer well groomed trails rather than cross country through the brush.

I have to say, though nudity doesn't have a particular appeal to me, I'd probably rather be nude hiking than in an indoor area or a swimming patio party type gathering. The latter I would just keep thinking about other people's parts sitting on chairs and leaving fluids behind. Or public hairs drifting into the jello mould.

I would not be worried but still think that it's not the place for nakedness.

Swim, sauna, sunbathe yes, in a designated place.

Greetings all! I actually am one of those awful naturist male hikers. It’s very unfortunate that I could potentially worry or frighten someone else; it’s not something that I do at any other time. I wish I could give you reassurances, but of course I can’t speak for everyone in the world (or even a strange minority like us naturist walkers).

One thing I can point out is that this is not a totally new idea. If you look in Colin Fletcher’s The Complete Walker from 1968, you’ll see that he advocated walking nude, and said he’d done it many times. This book has its own Wikipedia entry, where Fletcher’s obituary is quoted saying he “could be credited with starting the backpacking industry”. I read another of his books, The Man Who Walked Through Time, where he walked the length of the Grand Canyon, and he did a lot of that nude too.

I do recognize that our society makes nudity into something different for women and for men. We men can take our clothes off and feel free, with vulnerability being (maybe) a little extra thrill, whereas for women simply being alone is vulnerability enough. That’s been mentioned amply in this thread, and I’m very sorry that women have to experience that. I know better than to claim to be a male feminist, but I’ve thought about some of the issues. By the way, if that man mentioned in the first posting had been me, I'd have whipped a cover into place as soon as I saw someone approaching. If you ever met a man in a short wrap skirt and no shirt, it might be me.

There genuinely is a pleasure in just feeling the air all around you, never having cloth pressing your sweat into your skin. I wish I could explain that, but it’s a question of how you experience the world. And once again just speaking for myself, it definitely isn’t exhibitionism. If it were, I’d be eager to have an audience, and I’m not. If I could walk all day with an assurance that I wouldn’t meet anyone, I’d happily do that. As far as I’m concerned, any meeting with someone else is a chance for trouble! That’s true even if the law is basically on my side these days (in England and Wales, maybe not Scotland). Yes, I’m married, and my wife knows about my naturist activities, and she’s met some of my friends and agrees that we seem like a reasonably sane group of people. It’s not a thing that I hide from the entire world.

If anyone’s interested in learning more, there is a hiking club called the Naturist Ramblers, that walks in areas reachable from London. You could look them up—even go on some of their trips! True, it’s mostly male, but some women occasionally join. They’re a good bunch of blokes (personal experience here) and I hope they’d act like gentlemen. And if anyone didn’t, I think he’d be pulled up about it pretty smartly. I think they’d say that they aren’t trying to alarm anyone, and they do their best to act responsibly. Of course if you call public nudity inherently irresponsible, then it would be difficult to discuss the issue.

www.justwearasmile.co.uk/natram/

@Babdoc

Anybody remember rhe naked rambler who made the news years ago - repeatedly arrested for offending public decency, got locked up, but went straight out again when released? What happened to him - or is this the same chap?

I saw the naked rambler in person once, walking with a naked female companion.

From a distance I thought it was two walkers wearing matching pale pink shell suits!

That’s been mentioned amply in this thread, and I’m very sorry that women have to experience that

Having discussed this with my husband can I let you know he has as little enthusiasm at seeing your dangly, wrinkled genitals as I have.

But Ananec now you have heard that actually your harmless (thrilling) activity actually is not harmless, but makes women feel very uncomfortable or at threat, doesn't that make you rethink it a bit?
Your hobby frightens and offends people. Not everyone, granted, but a significant number of people and especially women.

Having discussed this with my husband can I let you know he has as little enthusiasm at seeing your dangly, wrinkled genitals as I have.

Oh now, that is very unfair. One thing naturists don't do is attack other people for the way their bodies look! Does your husband have the parts you describe, as you describe them? We'll all be better off if we can respect each other.

Does your husband have the parts you describe, as you describe them? We'll all be better off if we can respect each other

My husband respects other people by only being naked in front of people who have actively expressed the desire to see him naked.

You are showing no respect for others.

Beamur--sorry. I wouldn't willingly frighten or offend anyone, and my friends and I would cover up if we had the chance. But I would say, yes I'm going to keep on doing this. It's too bad if we must be enemies (but we don't know each other, fortunately).

Well, I guess maybe all you sought to do was tell rather than listen.
I don't want to spoil your enjoyment but I can't have much respect for your attitude.

Male nude hiker,
Your reassurance is worthless.
Don't expose your nude self in places where you cannot ensure the consent of others. End of.

I think there is a big difference between not wanting to see naked people in public due to the potential sexual connotations, and not wanting to because you don't want to see their wrinkly bodies.

I would also say that there is a grey area where spaces are not really private, but you could reasonably expect not to see others. Like skinny dipping at a public beach vs a secluded spot that's seldom used, or hiking in an area where there is not normally public use.

If an area is not for public use, then nude male hiker, who has private use, can go ahead with his hobby.

If the area is public, and not clearly set aside for naturalist use, then no. Why on earth should these men be entitled to transgress upon the agreed upon norm, which is that we clothe ourselves in public?

This isn't a freaking human rights issue. Nobody has an inalienable right to hike in the nude.

Not all places are clearly public or private. My husband spends three weeks every Spring in the wilderness, which is certainly open to the public as it's a protected area owned by the crown, but he's never once met anyone there past the first two days of canoeing. If he was swimming in the nude I'd think someone who did happen to meet up with him complaining would be pretty silly.

If it's open to the public, then he can keep his freaking clothes on. This isn't hard, unless you have a vested interest in being able to - stamp foot - do my hobby! Which is childish.

There is no right for blokes to be as one with nature outside of their own homes and naturist hobby camps.

And frankly, it doesn't matter if you think the person complaining is pretty silly. Tell your man to get dressed if someone objects on non-naturist land open to others.

Covering our genitals is a pretty basic part of the social contract. For various reasons. I don't think it's that much to ask, that outwith your own living space/property, you cover your genitals.

@ArabellaScott

Covering our genitals is a pretty basic part of the social contract. For various reasons. I don't think it's that much to ask, that outwith your own living space/property, you cover your genitals.

I agree. I fail to see any valid point in Goosefoot's distinction between not wanting to see someone else's genitals because of fear of sexual assault and not wanting to see someone else's genitals full stop.

@Goosefoot

Not all places are clearly public or private. My husband spends three weeks every Spring in the wilderness, which is certainly open to the public as it's a protected area owned by the crown, but he's never once met anyone there past the first two days of canoeing. If he was swimming in the nude I'd think someone who did happen to meet up with him complaining would be pretty silly.

What has the fact that the area is remote got anything to do with anything?

I would be so scared to come across this man

I'm trying to imagine feeling so entitled as to keep going with your nude rambling when you know that a non-trivial % of people you may meet will be unhappy about it.

But hey, given I'm a woman who is unlikely to be solo hiking anyway, let alone in the nude, because it doesn't feel safe, because we live in a world where men feel entitled to ride roughshod over the feelings of others, I guess entitled men can keep doing what they do.

How hard is it really, if you feel you can only truly be one with nature with your dick out, to engage in your spiritual reverie on land set aside for that purpose?

I'll take another look at this tomorrow. Goosefoot, up in the Canadian wilds I hear the anti-nudity policy is enforced by the black flies!

So you feel your right to enjoy the thrill of your hobby matters more than the discomfort, or even fear, that an unwitting lone woman walker could experience? That really does define male privilege.