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From: pvlm@hou2f.UUCP (P.LAMASTER)
Newsgroups: net.rec.nude
Subject: Re: how about some elaboration on clothes-optional?
Message-ID: <176@hou2f.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 30-Mar-84 15:35:26 EST
Article-I.D.: hou2f.176
Posted: Fri Mar 30 15:35:26 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 31-Mar-84 08:04:00 EST
References: <603@pyuxqq.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 20


  "Clothes-optional" is a deliberately different term from "nude."
It does, indeed, mean that the amount of clothing worn is entirely
up to the individual: any combination of dress/undress is acceptable.
  The term is intended to assure newcomers to social nudity that
they may attend events and see how they feel about the whole thing
before (if at all) taking anything off.  This (I'm told) is a
relatively new idea in the field of social nudity which traditionally
required participants to be nude in order to discourage gawkers.
In spite of being a new idea, it's a quite well-supported one since
many people who never would have attended a nude event will attend
a clothing-optional event and, in the non-threatening environment,
find out that they like it.  It also makes the environment less
threatening since noone has to worry about when it's appropriate
to "break the rules" about requiring nudity (like when it suddenly
gets cold or when one person's tolerance of cold requires more
dress than another person's).

   Pete LaMaster (201)949-5009   hou2f!pvlm