Clothes Freedom and the Over Forty Bosses - Sherene

 

    Hello everyone, this week we will start a series on different groups of persons who practice clothes free living. It is easier to feel comfortable in a movement if there are like minded persons at a similar age and stage in live who are involved in that movement. It also serves as inspiration for other persons at that stage.  We have already done interviews with nudists in Canada https://aunaturelwellness.blogspot.com/2020/08/interview-with-nudist-jackie-from-canada.html and the U. S.  https://aunaturelwellness.blogspot.com/2020/07/interview-with-nudist-cooper.html

Some of the  groups will be,  Clothes Freedom and the Over Forty Bosses, Clothes Freedom and the College Crowd and Clothes freedom and Young Professionals. Today we interview Sherene who is a 42 year old executive in a Jamaican insurance firm. She converted to nudism five years ago. Here’s her story. 

DH: Hello Sherene, Welcome! And thank you for agreeing to this interview

S. Thank you for having me. I’m excited!

DH: ok let’s go.  Do you call yourself a Nudist, Naturist, either is fine or neither works for you?

S. Well I don’t really like labels to that and some of those labels are so loaded even though some of them are quite positive. I think I prefer to just say I like being Clothes Free.

      DH: Did you have a religious prohibition against nudity before you became a nudist eg. were you told that it is a sin to show yourself without clothes?

      S. Growing up in my house my family was very religious. We went to church every Sunday and we just always wore clothes. We never really talked about being nude

      DH:  Before you became a nudist, were you ever told that the only person to see you naked was your spouse or your doctor etc.?  

      S. Yes and I think I’m not the only one. That was a very common notion when I was growing up. And still now too to some extent.

      DH: How long have you been practicing nudism?

      S. For about five years now. Five wonderful years!

 DH: What did you think about nudism before you tried it?

      S. I didn’t know anything about it. I was introduced to it by my best friend who had just come back from vacation in Canada and while she was there she had visited a nudist resort called Bare Oaks. She had some really interesting stories and I became quite intrigued.

      DH: What do you like about nudism?

S. I like that there is no judgment and people aren’t sizing you up because of how you look. It really is a family affair.

  DH:   List 5 ways that nudism has benefitted you.

       S.

1. It has helped me to get more confident in my body.

      2. it has helped me to appreciate nature more because the sun and breeze on my skin is exquisite!

      3. It has made me not be so judgmental about other people’s bodies

      4. It has made me a lot more self expressive as a person!

      5. I don’t have as many hang –ups about what I thought were flaws in my body

      DH: Do you consider yourself a home nudist, closet nudist, recreational nudist or full -time nudist?

      S. Well I guess I’m more recreational now but wouldn’t it be cool if I could live is a town where everybody liked to be nude? That would be cool.

      DH: Do you go around naked at home?

S. Yes all the time. As soon as I get home from work before I do anything else, off they go

DH: Relate to us your first experience going socially nude…sights, sounds, who you were with, feelings/emotions etc.

      S. I was with my friend, that same girl who went to Canada. We were in the U.S. and we decided to visit another clothes free resort in Florida, we spent the entire weekend in the nude. Her boyfriend was there with us too. It was a great experience of being totally free and not have to worry about having to get dressed!

DH: Relate how nudism has helped you overcome these common barriers to the practice of Nudism.

 

  DH: Sexual Objectification – People’s bodies are constantly being sexualized in advertising, the media, movies, television and magazines. When a person is naked, (or nearly naked), it’s often a “sexy” image being used to capture the attention of the opposite sex. Naked People are portrayed as an object that represents society’s idea of what a sexy person should look like in order to serve the pleasure of the opposite sex

      S. I think the media plays a role in giving the wrong idea about nudity. I think that nudity is a very natural, healthy and beautiful thing but the media makes it perverted. I think it would be great if there were nudist clubs where persons especially teenagers could see that nudism can be great and doesn’t have to be sexual at all

     DH: Modesty and Slut Shaming - Images of sexy naked models are everywhere. But if a person gets naked on their own terms in society, a lot of times they will be shamed, harassed and bullied.

      S. I think people should be the only ones who say what happens to their bodies. That’s the freedom of choice that we have. So long as we’re not hurting anyone that choice should remain ours and if we want to do nude activities, then we should be allowed to without being harassed. 

       DH: Rape Culture and Victim Blaming -Rape culture is a culture in which sexual violence, rape, abuse and harassment are prevalent and, to varying degrees, considered normal and / or acceptable behavior. Victim blaming is when victims of rape / sexual violence / harassment are blamed for what happened to them.

S. People have to take responsibility for their own actions. It is because we haven’t had the privilege of growing up in a culture that accepts nudity that it’s hard for us to accept that people’s nude bodies natural and normal. People do not have to be modest to be respected and modesty on our culture is blown way out of proportion. We are born naked and it's a natural thing

    DH:  Fear of Sexual Harassment

      S. Nude resorts and of course your home are safe places to practice nudism and there is no sexual harassment there. At a nude beach however it a little more tricky however perpetrators are usually spotted easily and called out to be escorted out. I would say if you’re going to the nude beach go with a few friends since there’s safety in numbers

DH: Are you a member of a Nudist/ Naturist organization?

S. No not currently. There isn’t any that I know of in Jamaica

DH:   Have you ever gone to another country specifically to experience the Naturist/Nudist facilities and offerings there?

S. Yeah the first time I went nude!

 DH: What advice would you give to a person who is new to Nudism?

 S. Take your time and get into it. There’s no rush. Do things like sleeping and doing housework without clothes. Get comfortable in your skin at home first before you go outside.

DH: Well that’s all the questions for today. Again, thank you for participating, Sherene!

S. Oh you’re welcome. I cant wait to see the blog post!

Dale Harrison

daleharrison123@gmail.com

www.twitter.com/dharrisanthony