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.

@FireUnderTheHand

Naturists typically think that it's good to have a kind of body positivity that isn't built around sex, and to see all kinds of bodies at different stages of life. Rather than having to compare themselves to just young, slim, airbrushed bodies in sexual poses.

I get that I really do and think it is a beautiful sentiment but I don't find it pragmatic as a rule (but entirely based on my culture and life experience admittedly). I am fine with going to clothing optional beaches and I wear a bikini because I am not comfortable with people I don't know seeing my body nude (regardless of whether or not they look). Being in the presence of an unknown nude child would evoke great despair and discomfort for me.

Helping my mom bathe my great grandma and helping my grandma post surgery as a child and having them bathe me makes sense, showers/baths with my dad stopped at about 5yrs old (when I asked the dreaded question) and all of those innocent interactions that occur in a loving family dynamic with innocent purpose are understandable and expected IMO. What I don't get is family recreational nudity and nudity around strangers.

In regards to children I stand by what I said, respectfully however, if I came off judgmental my apologies perhaps I should have said it isn't appropriate in the US and from what I understand it isn't appropriate in the UK either (am I misunderstanding?).

Traveling overseas is awesome but very expensive as a US resident citizen so I have had limited opportunity to travel overseas beyond work trips. Respecting customs and 'doing as the Romans' is exciting and new but that stops short of nudity for me as a personal preference.

This (the concept of naturists and cultures with similar perspectives) is quite an interesting discussion.

I think naturism has a similar status in the UK as in the US, maybe though people are more likely to have experiences traveling to other cultures in Europe in particular.

But basically it's a niche interest. On the other hand it's not new, it's been around as a thing since the late 19th century and there are families that have been naturists for several generations. There aren't actually a lot of scandals that have come out of naturist groups, and you don't see tell all books by the grown kids of naturists about how they have complexes from seeing people naked without their consent as kid.

Tbh I struggle to get worked up about this, I don’t see naked bodies as inherently sexual or something to hide from children, so I don’t see an issue with children seeing adults naked. I see the point made that children can’t really consent to being naked in front of strangers, but they can’t consent to being half naked on the beach either, which could also have paedophiles there, only with phones and cameras etc. I see plenty of parents letting their children run around naked on beaches, which I think is more of an issue given it’s not regulated in terms of who is there and like I said, people can easily take photos or videos etc, which would be a lot more difficult at an event like this.

Also, I would imagine being a naked male who is aroused by the sight of naked women and/or children might actually be somewhat risky given you’re surrounded by people and security cameras (and you’re naked), which makes it harder to hide that you’re aroused and therefore could alarm others and make it obvious that you’re not there for innocent reasons? I’m not a nudist or an expert on male anatomy (lesbian), but would it not be hard to hide sexual excitement (e.g. an erection) at an event like this?

Just to be clear, there is NO way, irrespective of conviction, to stop paedophiles attending these events with the exception of physically them entry.

@Handsoffisback

Wow sterfran you have now taken the tactic of blaming your kids for getting the family into naturism? You hadn’t even heard of it before they were so excited to be on a nudist beach? Shameful. If you are taking these children to naturist events and they have to take their clothes off, you are coercing them and encouraging them to be naked in front of strangers without their consent and understanding. Read what stillagirl wrote. Although I doubt it’ll make any difference to you tbh. Just so glad you weren’t my mother. A parents job is to protect their child and show them safe guarding and boundaries.

You’ve actually made a valid point - being naked isn’t a huge hang up for kids. It’s natural for them and they know it, that’s why so many love being on beaches naked. I think a lot of parents can relate to the struggle of actually trying to get children into clothes at times! So yes, lovely that we found a beach where we could be naked as a family together and we loved it. And that our lifestyle had a name and other people are cool with nudity too. PS I think I may have already said this (!) no one forces anyone, let alone kids, to be naked.

Is this an advert for the whole shebang?

@PurpleHoodie

Is this an advert for the whole shebang?

No, just happy to clear up some misconceptions and answer any genuine questions if people are curious.

If I was a naturist, which I am not, then I would really be resenting the implication that I am incapable of risk assessment and safe/guarding my own children.
Why don’t we just wind our necks in a bit here!

No.

@ItsAllGoingToBeFine

I would be slightly more believing of the innocence of this, if it was only families swimming. As far as I can tell it is also open to men and women swimming without children which is disturbing. What non-dodgy reason could a man have to go to a naked family swim at a water park?

So you're not allowed to be a naturist unless you have children?

I find the idea that, because someone has had children, they are 'safe' to be misguided. An awful lot of child abuse happens within the family circle.

I think a lot of people in this thread have severe hang ups about their own bodies.

I have hang ups, I freely admit it. But I hope I am open minded enough to see that my hang ups are probably not normal and that naturists probably have it right.

I think they are naive to run an open family event (so not an event for the SW naturists Swimming society etc), sell single tickets to the general public and not consider that there will be some people who will alter to attend for bad reasons.

Come on...

A good point to raise here is that naturists are regular people from a vast cross section of society. I’ve met cleaners, nurses, engineers, social workers, children’s charity executives to name a small few. So as well as parents looking after their children, there’s people who’s profession lends them to being trained in child protection and safe guarding. They would raise alarms if someone was acting untoward or displaying worrying behaviour. The same as we would do in any situation regardless if it was our our children or someone else’s...

@Handsoffisback

ster can you answer me this, why do children need to be around naked adults? What benefit do they get seeing a grown mans genitals?

You’ve been personally rude to me all the way through this thread. I’m happy to interact with those who don’t personally attack me, but I’m not engaging in a conversation with you because of this.

It's a perfectly valid question, SterFran, and it speaks volumes that you've been so dismissive rather than actually answer it.
Tells us all we need to know.

@StephenKong

It's a perfectly valid question, SterFran, and it speaks volumes that you've been so dismissive rather than actually answer it. Tells us all we need to know.

If you read back through the thread, it’s all there, many times...

Quote it then, I can't see it?

@SterFran00

Seems like an article designed to inflame... we are a naturist family and have been to loads of UK events and the swims. These events are run by the naturist organisation for the naturist community. They are not full of paedophiles...

pbs.twimg.com/media/Eino1kCWkAMrKpB?format=jpg&name=medium