Nude Family swim at Stoke Waterworld

[VortexofBloggery]

Flagged up by Sammy Woodhouse on Twitter.
mobile.twitter.com/sammywoodhouse1/status/1308822025797013509

Supported by who else but NSPCC.

Adults can buy a single ticket.

To Shut it down, Change petition here:
www.change.org/p/water-world-stop-nude-family-swim-session-for-adults-and-children-of-all-ages-at-water-world?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_24863394_en-GB%3A2&recruiter=1151217419&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=tap_basic_share

Attended by convicted paedophile
www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/4047602.convicted-brierfield-paedophile-member-naturist-club/

Unbelievable.

@Pelleas

I'm sure there are - what I'm saying is, that's no bad thing!

That was to Handsoff's post about old men, not the post about perverts.

Just on the point if “not real naturism”, I was taken to several very well established naturist holiday parks as well as some beaches

@Handsoffisback

And pelleas more to the point, why do small children need to have the opportunity to look at naked ageing bodies? My children aren’t affected by not being exposed to them. I don’t get the point?

Obviously I can't comment about your individual children.

My point is that many young people only see -

1. Their own naked body
2. The scantily clad airbrushed bodies of celebrities, or the naked bodies of pornographic models/actors

In most cases 1 does not match 2, which can lead to lack of confidence, eating disorders, obsession with plastic surgery/cosmetics etc. Also unrealistic expectations in terms of what a sexual partner should look like.

Anyone who’s suspicious of people defending taking children to these places, please believe your instincts

You can see practically all of “real” people’s bodies on a normal beach

It was on holiday with my dad (very authoritarian) and step mum. Dsis and I didn’t see them often and were frightened of them. They took us to these places and it was expected of us to take all our clothes off. Until around age 16.

I felt completely unable to say no. I was so distressed that I sort of dissociated I think, not sure but in any case it led to me feeling I couldn’t say no to boys/men later on, and let them do anything they wanted to me

I’m kind of furious about it now actually. I still never wear anything that exposes my legs or stomach, all these years later

It’s quite cathartic writing about it!

I’ve had lots of counselling about various things but never mentioned this, none of my friends know either. The shame must’ve gone very deep

@DarkmilkAddict

It was on holiday with my dad (very authoritarian) and step mum. Dsis and I didn’t see them often and were frightened of them. They took us to these places and it was expected of us to take all our clothes off. Until around age 16.

I felt completely unable to say no. I was so distressed that I sort of dissociated I think, not sure but in any case it led to me feeling I couldn’t say no to boys/men later on, and let them do anything they wanted to me

I’m kind of furious about it now actually. I still never wear anything that exposes my legs or stomach, all these years later

God, that's awful. Quite apart from the whole concept of naturism. That is absolutely abusive. 💐

People defending naturism on this thread, is there any reason why every single person who is at a naturist event isn't DBS checked?

It's such a niche thing. And so obviously open to exploitation, why isn't everyone DBS checked?

Thanks, it feels good to hear that I wasn’t being oversensitive or uptight (as I was often described)

Believe me, it wasn’t just me feeling that way. Mostly the young children were happy, but I noticed many of us older ones couldn’t look each other in the eye and never spoke to each other. It was mortifying at times

@Datun

People defending naturism on this thread, is there any reason why every single person who is at a naturist event isn't DBS checked?

It's such a niche thing. And so obviously open to exploitation, why isn't everyone DBS checked?

I mentioned this earlier on. DBS checks are not typically required for adults in any context where they will only be interacting with children who are accompanied by their parents.

It would also be of limited value. If a paedophile were using naturist events as a voyeur, it would be very difficult to prove that he was going home afterwards and using his mental images (cameras are banned at naturist events) for sexual gratification. Therefore, it's unlikely he would be a convicted paedophile, which is the only kind a DBS check can screen.

Hence paedophiles regrettably surfacing in professions that are DBS checked, such as sports coaching or teaching.

So if DBS checks aren't done, what is to stop a convicted paedophile attending every single one of your events?

Teenagers do not spend every moment of a week long holiday accompanied by their parents.

I've spent a lot of time reading the full thread as this is something that I didn't really know about before (not naturism obv, I mean naturism involving children).

So sorry to hear of PP's distressing experiences

I understand the points made about body positivity/freedom etc. But I must say the idea makes me uncomfortable for several reasons. I appreciate the point that children are more likely to experience abuse from, say, a football coach. My concern would be that a child who believes it is normal to be naked in front of adults they don't really know and for those adults to be naked in front of them may be more vulnerable.

I do find it surprising that some posters don't think it's more likely than other events/locations to draw paedophiles. Surely, any event where children are going to be naked is going to be attractive to people like that.

I'm also concerned about consent. We can never really know what our children are thinking privately, no matter how sure we are that they're happy and comfortable. Children generally want to please their parents, and if the parent clearly sees naturism as an important part of their life, the child may start to feel that they don't want to attend but keep going so as not to upset their mum or dad. This wouldn't even be an indication that the parents were 'pushing' the child to go- if a child gets subtle messages that this is a good thing, the way our family lives, it's important to us, it may be harder than some parents may realise for them to speak up and say no.

When it comes to bodies, often young people's ideas of the naked body are informed by air-brushed pictures of celebrities, or even pornography - which can lead to body dysmorphia, eating disorders etc. because people have few opportunities to see what real and ageing human bodies look like, in a context free of sexual titillation.

But the only difference between swimwear and nudity is the display of genitals. Real and ageing bodies are perfectly visible in swimwear. Why is it necessary for children to specifically see the genitals of other people? Genitals which in every other area of their life they are taught are private?

@Handsoffisback

Are you reading darkmilks post ster?

Of course I am. It’s saddening to read. It isn’t the naturism my family know and have experienced, ever.

The recurring theme in these stories is parents forcing their children into things they aren’t comfortable with. And children being in positions where they are alone with other adults, again, not something of our experience as we are always together.

As well as knowing that we talk a lot as our family, and the things my children already tell me, I can be confident we have provided safe relationships for them to share with us. As well as that though, parents Should be tuned into their kids eg body language etc. It’s how we know they are upset before they tell, it the little cues when we know they might be nervous or want to tell us something. These are ways we can also observe our children’s comfort levels.

Other things are we can go to trusted naturist places where we are with a familiar friendship group and we know it is a respectful environment as we do, and safeguarding is well in place.

@Datun

So if DBS checks aren't done, what is to stop a convicted paedophile attending every single one of your events?

What's to stop a convicted paedophile doing anything other than taking a job where DBS checks are required? What's to stop a convicted paedophile moving to the house next door and seeing your children naked in the paddling pool? What's to stop a convicted paedophile getting a job at Marks & Spencer and installing a hidden camera in the children's changing rooms? What's to stop a convicted paedophile in your neighbourhood attending a barbecue in your street and cornering the neighbourhood children in the garden shed?

The answer is that it's for the parents to safeguard their children in situations where they will be interacting with people who are an unknown quantity.

Darkmilk has described some terrible experiences - if I have understood her posts correctly, these happened because her father and step mother were complicit in the abuse.

Parental complicity isn't something, sadly, that DBS checks are going to prevent. If parents are complicit in abuse, it can take place anywhere - naturism is just one of many contexts in which family abuse might take place.

Agree about consent being so important. For me, I was with a parent I rarely saw and I felt my whole relationship with him could be lost if I was seen as causing a problem. The holidays were booked and that was that.

There are so many reasons why children can’t speak up

SterFran00

I'm still trying to get my head around this.

Is it the case that a convicted paedophile could easily show up at every single naturist event, because you don't DBS check?

They weren’t “complicit in the abuse”. The abuse was being taken there. Which all the other families were doing to their dc too.