European Naturism from a Nordic Outlook

Nudism In Norway and European Nudity
Naturism In Norway - Last summer, my family was at a playa vacationing jointly with another family that we've known for years. Shortly after we arrived at the plage, the father of another family stripped his youngest child who was perhaps three years of age at the time naked and sent the kid to play at the edge of the water.
Now, a little circumstance this plage wasn't in the United States, but in Norway.
That the dad asked me if I knew it was OK struck me as strange at time, but in hindsight makes perfect sense. Despite the fact that he and I are both Norwegian, and we were in Norway, he still felt the need to assess with me to make sure I didn't think he was abusing his kid in some way.
Naturism In Norway -
We often wish that everyone in America had precisely the same mindset as residents of more liberal nations. But why are those states like this in the first place? It's often joked that many Americans can not even find North America on a map let alone states elsewhere. So we don't anticipate many people to know what makes other states tick socially.
For me, I am only able to speak for naturism in Norway, which will be my country of origin. But many of the nations of Europe and elsewhere share certain social traits are very different from America and that make the public's perspective of nudity considerably more forgiving. They comprise:
Mandatory Sex Education
Sex education is mandatory in Norway. There isn't any abstinence only option. (Like most nations, Norway isn't subdivided into states that have powers separate in the national government.) So there's absolutely no protecting children in the realities of sex and the human body. Sex educators have long claimed that speaking to kids early and often about sex goes a considerable ways toward removing the taboo surrounding the subject, and makes them less likely to engage in it recklessly since they know the possible effects. It is no wonder in America, then, the demonization of sex and the equating of nudity with sex has made people fearful of investigating nudism.
National Broadcaster
Like many nations, Norway has a government-owned broadcast company in addition to privately-owned media outlets. The assignment of the national broadcaster is to present the news never to earn money. It's funded by a small licensing that families pay. Compare this to America, where media is just not only 100% privately-owned, but a substantial part is possessed by a small group of big firms.
To keep the readers and the viewers coming, independently-owned media needs sensational stories along with the everyday news. And because sex and nudity are the most-forbidden of all the forbidden fruits, they make to find the best news stories particularly when sensationalized. Nudity is rarely depicted positively in American media, and is often presented in the context of what can only just be called Naked Crime stories about people committing offenses while they are already naked (not because they're nude, though that important distinction is intentionally hidden in many cases).
Since national broadcasters aren't profit-driven, the sleaze level is close to zero. (For an English-language example of a national broadcaster, look up the British Broadcasting Company [BBC]).
Lesser Role for Religion
The nations of Scandinavia are known because of their near-complete lack of religious fervor. Around 20% of Scandinavians consider themselves believers, when compared with a much greater percent in the States.
Religion is probably the prime driver of anti-nudity sentiment, both in the United States and other conservative countries (though we in the naturist community comprehend, praise and support the contribution of religious naturist groups who are striving to illustrate that faith and nudism are not mutually exclusive). Maybe http://beach-patrol.biz of body-pity is the burqa, a total-body cloak that's needed to be worn by many Muslim women.
The narrative of Adam and Eve is among the Bible's best known narratives - and potentially one of the most misunderstood. Much to the detriment of naturism, Eve's actions in the Garden of Eden fall under the Nude Crime class. Instead, they'd bitten into the apple from the Tree of Knowledge which God had expressly forbidden. He was tipped off just by the fact the next time He found them, they'd covered up their touches. Nudity didn't lead to the crime. But the crime was committed while naked.
Conclusion
These are just a few of many differences which make the battle for bare acceptance that much more difficult within the United States. But what we do have to understand is the totality of the forces which are working against nudists.
Just as much as women are under-represented in the nudist community, so are young adults of both genders. Our mission must not only be to practice nudism in defiance of these negative perceptions, but to instruct and provide chances for the unclothed-inquisitive. Young and old, girls and boys.
European Naturists and Naturism In Norway and other Blogs and Posts About Societal Nudity by Young Naturists andYoung Naturists America
Tags: youngsters and kids, culture, europe, norway, sexuality, the bible
Type: Nudism and Naturism, Nudism and Naturism In Europe, Nudist Kids and Issues with Nudity and Children, Faith and Nudity, Social Nudity Websites
About the Writer (Author Profile)
Erik Jakobsen works in Nyc, lives in New Jersey and has been an avid naturist for 25 years. He is a regular contributor to FKK's websites.