Did other naturists recognize that beauty pageants werent precisely in line with their ideals It is hard to say how many people were for or against it but it appears that many saw nothing wrong with it
From looking through our small personal collection of naturist magazines from the 40's - 60's, people had a different mindset. Naturists felt that they should honor the great thing about the human form and that people should strive to achieve a healthy, toned physique. Health, during those days, was equated with attractiveness. (And still is today, with how folks believe slim = healthy = wonderful.)
At precisely the same time, it is not as if naturists didn't comprehend how naturism encouraged body recognition and offered a means of looking beyond superficial qualities.
In a 1958 issue of Canadian nudist magazine Sunbathing For Health, there's an article, written by a female naturist, entitled: "Naturism - What Is inside for we girls?"
The writer writes:
"Many girls imagine that they would never dare to walk naked amidst a bunch of strangers in any sunlight club; consider me, I did too, before I ever tried it. 'But my figure - I Have lost it - I'd feel horrible walking around in the nude,' you say. The vast majority of the women (and the guys also!) have likely lost their youthful contours with the passing of the years, but don't let that worry you. Naturism is no social whirl, you are not going to try and 'keep up with the Jones's' so to speak. Everyone is recognized for what they're as PEOPLE, and not what their vital statistics are!"
But then, in another article, in an identical magazine, a female columnist offers exercise and diet guidance to women who are worried about extra fat on their hips. And on the opposite page is an exercise guide aimed at girls for "creating body attractiveness."
So the naturist philosophy wasn't totally absent. They simply didn't appear to see it as contradictory to designate only specific bodies as "wonderful."
Canadian History presents evidence that some nudist club owners were unquestionably conflicted or against the pageants. On the one hand, they were conscious of the contradictions in placing young, "captivating" female bodies on display to encourage naturism. On the other hand, the quantity of promotion and cash created by the pageants was irrefutable. It became a cost vs. benefit analysis.
Writers Gentile and Nicholas say that the nudist beauty pageants were assumed to show the people that nudity was natural, not obscene, or sexual. In [https:/s3.amazonaws.com/viva-naturist/family-nudist-photos.html https:/s3.amazonaws.com/viva-naturist/family-nudist-photos.html] , that basic message was readily lost. The authors came to this conclusion:
"Nevertheless, while naturist pageants were purportedly intended to encourage the general public to see the body in a new light, the public appeal of these events depended on an exploitation of the taboo nature of nudity and made a spectacle of naked bodies. In doing so, these pageants were as revealing of the tensions within naturism as they were of the contestants on stage."
Also, the authors reasoned the pageants were a means for naturists to show they were "normal" by using a mainstream sort of event that adhered to sexual and gender standards. Celebrating girls for their beauty and femininity, placing them on display, electing a "king" and "queen"..these were ways of showing how nudists preserved their masculinity / femininity and adopted heterosexual normativity.
Ultimately, was the Miss Naked World Pageant more dangerous or beneficial to the naturist movement? [https:/s3.amazonaws.com/viva-naturist/beach-babes.html https:/s3.amazonaws.com/viva-naturist/beach-babes.html] is up for debate.
In the Steins' viewpoint, it was a resounding success and brought more focus on naturism than any other event ever had. At the conclusion of the interview, Stephane asked them if they could go back in time, would they change anything? They answered with a resolute "no."
Personally, I wish nudism hadn't so easily left its ideals for profit and publicity.
Listen to the complete interview with the Steins in the podcast below. Inside my section, Stephane and I talk about the celebrity unclothed jpg hack.
http://www.bareoaks.ca/podcast/Ponderosa.mp3
Podcast show links:
Episode 26 - Exploitation (Ponderosa Sun Club in Roselawn, Indiana)
Bare Oaks site: Four Seasons Nudist Resort going textile
Bare Oaks blog:
Mondo Nude picture (1979) about the Miss Nude contest at the Four Seasons Nudist Resort
Or stream the podcast on the Naturist Living Show web site.
What does one think of the nudist beauty pageant? Should it be forgiven as a relic of its time, or could it be a permanent smear on the nudist movement?
Young Naturists and Nudists America
