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!)

I'd hate it because I was sexually abused as a child, and I hate to use the word triggering because it's so overused for ridiculous reasons these days, but it would absolutely trigger me.

If I'm in the presence of a naked man, I'd like it to be my choice. I still have panic attacks around my DP sometimes, so coming across a naked stranger when I'm not expecting it would terrify me.

He's not forcing you to look at them. Just keep your eyes at eye level, it's that difficult, surely?

If I met a naked man out walking, the last thing I would do is take my eyes off him. I would probably stare at his penis to check if he was getting aroused.

Fuck this "you can look away" nonsense. He's naked in public because he wants to be seen naked.

@SymoneT

I wish this kind of thing was more accepted in GB. It's a bit more accepted in some European countries and it's quite a nice experience

Down with this sort of thing is what I say

@SymoneT if you want that 'nice experience' then go to a naturist club and have the experience there. It's not, as shown by the posts on this thread, a nice experience for the people who come across naked hikers. I wouldn't feel threatened but I also wouldn't want to see it, it's not a pleasant sight.

If I'm in the presence of a naked man, I'd like it to be my choice

This - with bells on (and applies to naked women too!). I feel like being in the presence of another person naked is something I'd like to freely consent to, not have foisted upon me.

I also think this behaviour is exhibitionism and an attempt at power over others by making them feel uncomfortable. Any idiot understands that being a naked man in an isolated spot is going to make others uncomfortable and sometimes afraid and I think any person with an ounce of decency doesn't behave that way. I would hate to think I was behaving in a way that could frighten or intimidate others, and if I knew I was, I'd stop.

It would,only bother me if it was a very remote area with no other people around, but I don't walk in those areas alone anyway

Does he have a backpack on? If he does, doesn't it chafe and rub

If he doesn't have a bag, then where does he keep his Kendall Mint Cake?

He would intimidate me if I saw him while walking alone. I love nudity, human bodies are amazing, but male bodies are threatening to some females, he is selfish to think his wants and needs outway other people's comfort

@Mollscroll

Any chance of coming across a naked female rambler alone ? No. This is male dominance dressed up (hah!) as harmless eccentricity.

You’ve put into words, what I was trying to in my head. It’s usually men who do this and the women who complain about meeting a naked person of the sex that commits the vast vast majority of sex crimes against women and children, are just ‘uptight’. I’m fucking sick of the role back of women’s rights to feel and be safe.

@testing987654321

He's not forcing you to look at them. Just keep your eyes at eye level, it's that difficult, surely?

If I met a naked man out walking, the last thing I would do is take my eyes off him. I would probably stare at his penis to check if he was getting aroused.

Fuck this "you can look away" nonsense. He's naked in public because he wants to be seen naked.

I'd make sure I could see him so if he was going to attack or charge at me he couldn't surprise me, so I could better prepare and defend myself (or any kids out walking, back when I was a kid we used to love playing and hanging out in the woods or the hills in a group, I'm glad I never encountered this when I was young).

I now want to go naked hiking.

Why ?

I would definitely be worried.

I’ve stayed several times with my children at a mixed naturalist & non naturalist camp site. The naturalists there were really sensible and considerate. Areas where nudity could be expected were clearly signposted. You were never surprised or embarrassed (though I did goggle a bit in the cafe).

What you are describing is completely different. At worst this man is exposing himself, deliberately and for his own purposes, knowing he is likely to cause distress. At best he’s grossly inconsiderate and/or utterly unaware of social norms - and that itself can be threatening.

I have no problem at all with nudity (hence the camp site!) but I really wouldn’t be walking alone until this man has been caught. I’m sorry OP but I don’t think you should either. It’s just not worth risking - you have no idea of his psychology, background, or how his recent behaviour has affected him - it could be for instance that each time he does it, the feelings that drive him are escalating.

And I’m really shocked that men are joking about his behaviour. They seem not to realise the threat which, sexually, men can pose to women, and the role of social boundaries in recognising & policing those threats.

I don't know... it would depend on the situation. I think if he just ignored me and concentraed on his own business, I wouldn't be worried.

I think being naked in this context is an aggressive and obnoxious act. The men that do it are getting off on the reaction they get. It's not a gentle 'at one with nature' behaviour. You would have to be a completely selfish idiot to think you could do this without causing offence or distress.

Oh look. Yet more men appropriating something relatively benign in order to indulge their fetish.

In this case appropriating naturism in order to indulge their exhibitionism.

I thought public nudity, was illegal unless in designated places?

@Pertella

Oh look. Yet more men appropriating something relatively benign in order to indulge their fetish.

In this case appropriating naturism in order to indulge their exhibitionism.

This.

I would absolutely worry about my safety. He's already made clear that he doesn't care about obeying the most basic of social norms/ courtesy to others, so what else would he be prepared to do?

And no woman should have to look at a penis unless she has consented to do so e.g. a nudist beach.

@ScarsdaleSurprise

Blimey that's horrible. What happened next?

It's a hostile and intimidating act. We are clothed when in public and any man (or woman) naked in public in front of children should be arrested for indecent exposure.
As others have said, if you're a naturist you use previously negotiated areas. Unbelievable that this has to be said frankly.

I don't think the issue for me is really seeing someone naked, even unexpectedly. That's just bodies and it's the larger cultural context that tells us whether it's "normal", or an embarrassing accident, or weird and concerning.

I do think a lot of people who do this sort of thing like the attention in some way, whether they are people who choose to do naked gardening day (my mother's hairdresser often has strategic photos of himself in his garden on that day, his male bits obscured by some shrubbery,) or that naked yoga women in the US.

There are also people who think we should de-stigmatise the body more generally, as they feel covering them is about prudery. There was a big fad here for female runners to go shirtless for a while supposedly in pursuit of female toplessness being the same as male toplessness. Which seems silly, since obviously they are not anatomically the same.

As far as hill walking man, I'd probably tend to assume that he was a bit off, which might make me a bit wary. Or, that he'd encountered trouble. Possibly that he thought he's really not meet anyone if it were that kind of place. A lot might depend on body language. I don't know that I would tend to think he was likely a danger as far as sexual assault. I don't care about the nudity per se, it's the social implications that would be at issue.

I’m not sure if I’m getting the co text right but it wouldn’t appear to me that he is forcing you to look at him, he is not strolling naked down the high street or in a shop, he is in the middle of nowhere with lots of space around him for people to avoid him if they choose. He’s not forcing interaction.
And while it’s not for me it’s worthwhile noting that going nude is very much accepted in many cultures and it is ours that has an issue with it.
I assume if you in the hills you could spot him from a distance and avoid him?

What you are describing is completely different. At worst this man is exposing himself, deliberately and for his own purposes, knowing he is likely to cause distress. At best he’s grossly inconsiderate and/or utterly unaware of social norms - and that itself can be threatening

That's the context behind the prosecutions in Scotland of the Naked Rambler.

Actually, thinking about it - there are a lot of people who seem to struggle with the idea that it is ok to have a set of cultural practices around public clothing that aren't identical to other places.

It's ok that in the Amazon jungle, the cultural norm is no clothing for the tribes that live there, it makes sense based on their environment and is not sexual. It's ok that in some hot places, no one wears a top. Its ok that in some places people wear hats or head coverings in public, and in others you don't. It's ok that in some places skirts need to be longer, and in others they don't, or that shorts are considered only private casual wear and you wear trousers out in public. (none of this means clothing can't be used in an oppressive way ever, but these differences don't imply that.)

In most places, if you transgress beyond what is considered socially appropriate, either by accident or design, it creates a certain amount of discomfort in others. It's the social contract that sets the expectation. People who transgress it do so generally for two reasons - they are ignorant or have made a social error, or they are trying to push some kind of envelope.

But a heck of a lot of westerners take the view that because the body is not innately "bad" that there should be no social norms about dress. Which just seems a little immature to me.